Split consciousness.
Abrial was experiencing a split consciousness.
Half of her was burning in white-hot flames, bloody tears streaming from her eyes. The other half of her was screaming on the cold black floor of the imperial dining hall, clawing at the skin of her own arms until it was raw and bloodied. Or, was she crying tears of blood in the dining hall? Was she screaming in the dream? Which was real?
Her head felt like it was being torn in two! If this went on any longer, it felt like her spirit was going to rip apart in the middle and tear itself to pieces!
As Abrial clutched her head and wept tears of blood, more images flashed through her mind, each one appearing like lightning and burning into her retina. They were all too close together, too fast, too bright—but somehow, they made sense. As if she was Shao Cheng herself, she recognized each of the images and nearly vomited from the amount of pain and despair that tore into her stomach with each one:
