Commoners holding alignment-incompatible items

[VoxRationis]

So I have a question. There are a number of items that give you a negative level for as long as you hold it, assuming you clash with it in a particular way (alignment being the most common). By the time you get ahold of the items, a single level's loss is an inconvenience, but what happens if a 1st-level commoner picks one up? They usually are stated as never causing "permanent level loss," but what if that temporary level loss is enough to get you to 0? Do you become a wight for as long as you hold the item, then come back to life when you drop it?

[Renen]

I was sure there's an answer to that exact thing somewhere.
But if I had to guess, you'd die, become whatever you become from level loss, but dropping the sword won't do jack, because you are already dead and transformed.

I mean, why on earth would you turn back? You transform and die because of the negative level, but losing it doesn't mean you get magically resurrected.

[AmberVael]

While it doesn't ever convert to real level loss as a normal negative level might, it does confer a real negative level... and if you have too many negative levels, you just die right out. And it doesn't matter if the negative levels go away after that, you've already died- and then presumably come back as a wight.

Which means that holy swords can potentially start an apocalypse if put into the wrong hands, which is kind of hilarious.

[Alasdair89]

I know in pathfinder the rule is that if the negative level would reduce you to zero, you take some constitution damage instead