A few hours had passed since Nyx had fallen asleep and the moon had already started its long descent towards the western horizon.
Over a dozen miles away from Nyx's current location, set in a sprawling city, a brightly lit estate held an unusual amount of activity for this time of night.
In an office at the top of the centre mansion, illuminated by a lit fireplace, magic stones and magic torches, a tired, grumpy looking man leant against his desk with an unamused expression.
If Nyx were to see this man, she would instantly recognise him as the one who had been holding her soul crystal when she was first summoned into the princess's body.
In front of him, a few men, including the old man that Nyx let go, knelt cowering in submission, apprehension dancing in their eyes.
"You're telling me, that one weak, half dead, mortal girl defeated the mansions overseer, slaughtered the house guards with a single attack and then tortured slaves in the main hall?"
While the man's words held the tone of disbelief, his face clearly showed that he was taking this matter extremely seriously. Those that knew him would even a little too serious considering that he always ensured that any of his operations could be cut off, with no traceability, at a moments notice.
The man's eyes locked onto the old man on his knees. "And you say she said her name was Nyx?"
A cold glint flashed across the man's eyes as his heart rate increased slightly. "Like in Nyx, the Body Snatcher? Meredith's Bloodhound? The Shadow Assasin? Demon of Shadows? The Vengeful Revenant?"
"I don't know who those people are, Lord Reu. I am just repeating what that demon told me to say," said the man, shaking at the mere memory of Nyx. "But the name Demon, no Demoness of Shadows fits that monster perfectly. It was as if the shadows came alive and treated her as one of their own."
Lord Reu, a complex expression on his face, turned and stared into the crackling fireplace before whispering to himself. "In the darkness, I am born..."
The old man finished his Lord's sentence, having only giving him the summary and not a word for word account, he had not mentioned something which he considered unnecessary. "To the darkness, I shall return."
Hearing his words finished by the old man, Lord Rue felt a chill creep up his spine as the hairs on his arms stood on end.
Taking out a small, green coloured stone from his pocket and rolling it in his fingers, Lord Reu couldn't help recall the final battle where they had finally defeated that monster and his master.
He had taken this stone, the cracked remains of a summoning crystal, as a memento. He wanted it so he could remember and honour the fallen as well as the price they were all forced to pay to end the rampage of a mad woman.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
However, recently he had been obliged to use it as a healing stone when one of his lackeys had nearly killed a valuable hostage.
Even if he didn't want to believe that Nyx once again stalked their world, Lord Reu couldn't deny that the coincidence was too uncanny to be anything but fact.
The small, green stone was littered with cracks, damaged beyond all repair and seemingly unable to be used to summon the creature that still haunted his dreams.
So much so that he hadn't even considered the possibility until today.
Time slowly flowed as the Lord continued to stare into the fire, seemingly reliving the horrors of his past. An occasional tear, as well as a warm smile, often appeared on his fast just a quickly as it vanished.
After a long time, he finally spoke to the butler standing quietly in the corner.
"Without leaving anything that can be traced back to us, tip off the Welshmar Republic that their lost princess is at the manor."
His gaze than hardened. "Make sure to send a team to guarantee that there are no leads, and excluding the overseer, I want no witnesses."
Panicking, the old man, along with the other kneeling people, started to grovel and crawl towards their Lord's feet, begging for mercy.
"M'lord, can't we just kill the demon? With yo-" The old man was abruptly cut off by the Lord Reu's cold snort.
"Don't be ridiculous, that bastard is as slippery as darkness itself and twice as cunning as a moon fox. Unless you are assured of victory, that monster is something best left unprovoked. Even then, you make sure you crush him to a fine paste, with no hope of recovery, as fast and painlessly as possible."
Reu, sighed, shaking his head and turning his back on the grovelling men. "If we were to leave now, the best case scenario would be that he had already escaped and the whole trip would be pointless, the worst would be that he was waiting for us. I will not fight him at night."
His voice lowered, almost inaudible. "Never again."
Fear gripped the Lord's heart, knowing that if that princess' body had in fact been taken over by Nyx, then with what he must have suffered in little over half a year would have transformed into an earth-shattering grudge.
Everyone who participated in the subjugation all those years ago had learnt of the monster's personality. Causing it pain, either physical or emotional, was something that should never be done unless absolutely necessary. It was far better to kill it cleanly. For both yourself and the those you cared about.
"My Lord, are you sure?" The butler bowed, using his body language to apologise for questioning his master in front of others while stealthily alerting the guards to come in and remove those that had been designated as fertiliser.
"Yes. Let the Welshmar Republic spend the resources to track and collar that monster. With any luck, they might have something that draws his interest or manages to offend him in some way." There was not even a hint of the subject being negotiable in Reu's voice. "Anway, it has the added benefit that we know where it is and where we must not be. A tiger on the planes is indefinitely safer than one hiding in the bush."
The butler wanted to ask why it wasn't more efficient to merely assassinate the target but he could already tell his master was in an unreasonable mood and bowed once more before leaving to carry out his mission.
The others, who had been kneeling, had already been removed from the room, the silence of the manor making their fate clear to all.
Turning back to the fire, Lord Reu displayed a weird, almost crazed smile when no one was left in the room, fear and hope dancing in his eyes. "The darkness does not forgive, nor does it forget hmm? I hope you are true to your words, Nyx."
Turning around, Reu double checked the essence in his magic lamps and put another log on the fire, his obsession with light seemingly increased after learning of Nyx's reincarnation. "Let's see if those bastards can weather this storm."