After reaching the end of the sidestreet, Nyx quickly checked both directions and spotted a long, narrow shadow running along the footpath on the opposite side of the road caused by a tall, spiral-like tower nearby.

After ducking back and hiding against the wall, allowing a group of mounted knights to pass, Nyx once again tilted her head, as if it helped with her sense of hearing, and quickly identified the sound of a couple of sets of heavy footsteps nearby.

Though they were heavy, the sound generated by the footsteps were still too light for the owners to be considered well armoured, and so a somewhat cruel smile appeared on Nyx's face as her eyes revealed a predatory, almost starved look.

-"One of them is much lighter than the rest; I wonder if I will have any luck this time?"

Without warning, Nyx's body flickered and disappeared into the shadow on the opposite side of the street.

Like a spectre that had returned from the depths of hell to torment the living, Nyx's figure once again swept through the streets and alleyways of the capital, silencing any she could take down quickly, while tactfully avoiding those that were too strong, like knights, large groups and those wearing power armour.

Forty-five minutes, and over seventeen assassinations later, Nyx was hiding in the shadows of a large, ornate doorway of a majestic-looking building as a patrol of urban camouflaged knights, the same pattern as those that she had met at the mansion, marched past.

They were extremely vigilant, displaying a much higher level of training than those she had met previously, using small, torch-like crystals to check their surroundings carefully yet, they didn't seem to pay much attention to the doorway as it didn't appear to have any places in which one could hide.

In the distance, at the location that Nyx had eliminated a group of guardsmen a couple of minutes earlier, a red arrow streaked into the sky before exploding and creating another marker.

Seeing the arrow so close through a crack in her eyelids, a snarl appeared on Nyx's features as she realised that not only where her enemies were steadily gaining ground, but the patrols were becoming much more effective and coordinated with each passing moment.

Even though she felt the urge to rush forth and attack, venting her anger on those before her, another strange and impulsive behaviour that she had recently gained, Nyx remained motionless as she used her spiritual sense to watch the knights as they split up in an orderly manner and start sweeping the streets in the direction of the flare.

-"Maybe its time for me to stop with playing with my prey and act more stealthily."

No sooner than the thought crossed her mind and Nyx's body subtly shook.

-"Prey? Why would I think of them as prey? They are nothing more than threats and targets. I have never done so before... What's happening to me? I feel as I am losing my rationality to my emotions and becoming nothing more than a beast."

As these questions were flickering across Nyx's mind, just before the knights were about to leave, one of them decided to search the doorway in which she was lurking.

After his torch-like tool swept past the entrance, the knight was confident that nothing could be hiding in its shadows and quickly moved on to rejoin his unit.

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After the group had disappeared down the nearby streets and alleys, Nyx slowly opened her eyes as the beat from the mysterious gem, the one that had replaced her heart, once again resonated painfully in her chest causing her to wince in pain.

Moments later, Nyx's pale form seemed to emerge from the shadows and joined her glowing eyes, reappearing at the exact location the knight had just searched, as a light sheen of sweat covered her body.

She had just used the ability that she had gained after forming her core and waking up in the hospital. While it was useful when she moved, giving her a weightless, phantom-like appearance and increasing her speed, its real strength was displayed when she remained motionless and erased her presence.

While she didn't know what she looked like to others, having to have her eyes closed for it to work properly, from how they had reacted, it seemed as if she could somehow turn invisible.

However, such a powerful skill consumed staggering amounts of energy, could only be used in low-light conditions and carried a significant risk of generating a magical backlash if it was broken.

In fact, Nyx expected the backlash to be so severe that she had considering revealing herself if the knight's light had shone on her hiding place for a few more seconds.

After taking a deep, calming breath, another abnormality to her usual behaviour, Nyx carefully watched the rooftops for a few moments before creeping from the cover of the doorway and moving further down the street in the opposite direction.

A while later, as her hand brushed against the wall, Nyx remembered the strange, tattoo-like marking was on the back of her right hand, one of two triangles, a crescent moon and a raven with spread wings.

Rubbing the mark with her left hand, almost as she wanted to see it if would disappear, Nyx couldn't help but feel as if she was losing control.

-"Maybe it will vanish like those strange black lines. Even though I have no clue what they were, at least it wasn't blood poisoning like I feared."

Remembering the root cause of her predicament, a wave of anger rose from the depths of Nyx's soul as the brown eyes, and angelic-like appearance of her former master appeared in her mind's eye.

-"I'll make you regret whatever you have done. I'm still alive and kicking you sick old goat. Rip out your heart? I'm going to eat it as if it were a delicacy in front of your dying eyes."

"The darkness does not forgive, nor does it forget." The phrase subconsciously muttered, calmed Nyx and her facial features returned to a passive, if not quiet mask-like, state.

However, the peaceful state of mind didn't last long as Nyx felt a cold, piercing breeze caress her skin, causing her to shiver. Not only that, but she also noticed how much her snow-white skin stood out against the dull, muted colours she tried to hide against.

Grinding her teeth, a small vein appearing on her forehead, Nyx couldn't help but utter a few, almost silent, curses, feeling as if the world was against her at every turn.

-"How the hell can one who is so attuned to the darkness have such white skin? Unless it snows, I am going to stick out like a sore thumb and even then, because of my hair I will still stand out. And why does that god-damned ability only properly work if I am naked? If you can use movement-based abilities without destroying or taking off your clothes, why not that one? Not only that, but all of those intimidating scars are gone making me seem even more pathetic and weak."

The cold wind blew again, causing Nyx's internal thoughts to be spoken aloud, as she uncharacteristically slapped the wall in frustration. "And why the fuck does everyone in this blasted place have to be either six foot four, muscle-bound, fat or wearing plate armour that is only good at slowing you down? Where are all the clothing shops?"

Though her words weren't loud, hearing them shocked Nyx as she quickly sucked in a sharp breath of air and froze.

After not hearing anything for a few moments, and suddenly feeling remarkably vulnerable and exposed, Nyx increased her speed as she silently raced towards another alleyway.

It wasn't brightly lit, but it wasn't dark either, and while the light made Nyx's spiritual sense almost useless due to her affinity, she was pretty confident that no one would be lurking inside as the passing knights would have already checked it.