As if she were a bolt of lightning falling from the sky above, Nyx flew into the alleyway at her fastest speed, only for her pupils to violently constrict as she lept towards a nearby stack of partially filled bins.

As Nyx's body gracefully arched through the air, it twisted in a seemingly impossible manner, and with a light almost soundless thud, hit the stone wall.

Nyx's limbs were pulled inwards and contorted at strange angles, enabling her petite frame to fit behind the small bin's profile perfectly.

One side of Nyx's top lip raised aggressively as she quickly slowed her breathing, followed by the pulse that emanated from the crystal that had replaced her heart.

The lighting, while dim, was enough that she couldn't use her stealth ability without putting herself in danger of a backlash and while Nyx felt she could try and retreat, she knew it was likely that she would be spotted, and a new flare would appear.

The only good thing was that the flare hadn't already illuminated the sky above, indicating that her foe wasn't entirely sure that she was the target or what she had seen.

Slightly grinding her teeth in frustration, knowing that without the aid of her abilities, she wouldn't be able to cross the dance quick enough to kill cleanly, Nyx's couldn't help but frown as she started to berate herself.

-"What the hell is wrong with me today? First I can't control my temper, then I keep thinking of threats as prey, and now I am throwing myself around corners without checking for dangers first. Have I finally lost it and became suicidal?"

Meanwhile, at the other end of the alley, moving towards Nyx in an extremely cautious, methodical manner was a female elf.

While she had only caught a flash of movement from the corner of her eye when Nyx entered the alley, it was enough for her to become on guard immediately and move to investigate.

With each careful, almost silent step, the elf's pointed ears twitched as her amber, eagle-like eyes constantly scanned the area. Two long, curved daggers were held out in front of her, one in a reverse grip, ready to defend and retreat at a moments notice.

Nyx couldn't help but curse her luck.

She had spotted the elf the moment her head passed the corner, but her momentum was too much, and she could only fully commit to the gamble that she could find cover before she was recognised.

-"Why did it have to have to be an elf? Not only are they expert trackers, their senses are almost at the same level as weak primordial beasts, but they never, ever work alone or fight fairly. If this isn't a trap of some kind, then my name isn't Nyx."

As the footsteps resonated in Nyx's ears, her lips curled into a vicious snarl, and her vocal cords started to tense.

Luckily, at the last moment, Nyx was able to repress the urge to release a hiss-like noise but the shock of what she had been about to do flashed in her eyes as her mind momentarily blanked.

The fact she was about to hiss in irritation because she was seen as prey, and not the predator, as well as the shock that she had almost revealed her position because of this feeling, finally enabled Nyx to partially understand what was happening with her body and, more worryingly, soul.

Slowly circulating her essence, just enough so it wouldn't create an aura or physical manifestation that could be picked up by the elf, the slow beat of her new heart causing pain as its energy coursed through her system, Nyx slightly shook as she started to accept that her sense of identity may have permanently changed.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

While she couldn't say what had changed, at this moment, Nyx felt a deep sense of loss, as if something incredible important had been taken from her.

It wasn't all bad news. Nyx had long since realised that her senses had improved rapidly, as well as the innate qualities of her body, yet she couldn't help but mourn the loss of the unknown thing.

The more she used her spiritual sense to analyse her soul, the more Nyx felt as if her old self was gone, replaced with something else.

A small, crystal-like tear ran down Nyx's cheek, the sense of loss was almost overwhelming as she wondered what kind of impact this would have when she returned to the void or, a thought that was so horrifying that Nyx didn't even want to contemplate it, if it was even possible for her to return.

The elf had made it halfway towards Nyx, her footsteps seemingly more hesitant as if she could sense the presence of another being but couldn't locate it.

In fact, her acute senses couldn't pick up anything out of the ordinary. Yet with each passing step, the sensation of impending danger continued to grow, making the elf feel like she was walking into the lair of some ancient beast.

Listening to the sound of the approaching elf, Nyx's features slowly slackened as her muscles tensed.

The desolate air she had just been releasing, though it could only be seen if someone was looking directly at her, completely vanished as her the glow in her eyes slightly increased.

However, even though the small, white flickers still danced across her sky-blue irises giving them an energetic, captivating feel, all of the emotions that they previously held were gone. Her face had returned to a state that those who interacted with Nyx in the past, would instantly recognise.

The mask of the emotionless, cold-blooded, Nyx.

Nyx shifted her body slightly, knowing that she wasn't in the best position to attack and that the magical torches that had been haphazardly placed along the walls were enough to suppress her abilities to a significant degree.

However, even with this, and knowing that what waited ahead was likely a trap, Nyx wasn't concerned.

Instead, after accepting that she had changed, the desire to test her limits and find some answers to the questions that were swimming in her head caused the power of the pulse in her chest to slightly increase.

Nyx's body stilled, her presence becoming so weak that if one was in a rush, even without using any abilities, they might overlook her completely.

When the elf was no more than four feet from the stacked bins, almost at an angle that she would be able to see the edges of Nyx's limbs, Nyx's muscles violently spasmed as she managed to kick the bin next to her with enough force to fly towards the elf.

The sudden noise, accompanied by the flying, metal objects and rubbish caused the elf to flinch back.

Yet, just as the elf was about to slash the metal bin that had been aimed at her, she pulled back her blades.

Not wanting to dull her weapons, the elf slightly twisted to the side as she released a ferocious kick and redirected the bin towards the nearby wall.

Just as the bin cleared her vision, while she was still off balance from the kick, two blue, predatory eyes, like those of a starving wolf, came into her view from below.

"Merth," yelled the elf as she kicked off the floor with her other foot and threw herself backwards at the highest speed she could muster.

While the plan was to lure the primordial beast into the ambush and rush in together, the elf instinctively knew she was in mortal danger and didn't hesitate and called out to her allies early.

While Nyx's eyes were locked onto her opponent's, she used her peripheral to watch for any movements and weaknesses she could take advantage of.

One of the things she noticed was, seemingly inconsequential, was that pinned to the right side of the green, somewhat foresty, leather armour was a small, silver tag.

-"Mercenaries." While Nyx's emotionless face didn't reveal it, Nyx was ecstatic with the discovery.

The tag was the mark of a silver ranked mercenary and resolved the enigma on why a foreign species would be serving in a human army.

Mercenary groups preferred to act alone, probably wouldn't have any power armour or backup, and were unlikely to move in groups bigger than four or five.

As the elf's shout echoed down the narrow alley, at the centre, the air started to distort around the two sides before two sections of seemingly solid wall disappearing to reveal side lanes that ran along the back of the buildings.

Bursting forth from the gap on the right, a hulking man, in heavy plate armour with a large, broadsword strapped to his back, appeared.

On the other side, a black wolf, appearing to be a tamed beast, along with two men emerged. One man wore clean, somewhat luxurious robes and held a staff while the other wore leather armour similar to the elf portraying his profession as a ranger or hunter.