Nyx's heels rhythmically tapped the bench-like backrest as her small, frail looking body, at least compared to the towering giant that sat nearby, swayed and bumped along with the irregular movements of the carriage as the Twilight Sect caravan travelled along the dusty, unmaintained road leading into the heart of the grassy plains.

Beside her, with a straight back and dignified demeanour, sat Timur. Holding the reign's lightly, he lazily scanned their surroundings while keeping an eye on Nyx.

The impressive war horses didn't need much instruction due to the narrow, one-way trail, and most wildlife had long since retreated from the caravan's path making the journey peacefull.

Amongst the rattle of carriages and the occasional neigh from the horses, the sect members that travelled with the caravan were chatting idly.

However, even though it seemed that they were careless, the occasional sway of grass in the opposite the direction of the wind indicated that powerful spiritual senses were occasionally inspecting their surroundings.

Back at the front, Timur reached out his right hand and plucked a stalk of grass, its length having increased until it was taller than the average man, before snapping it into an adequate size and popping it between his teeth.

Having caught the movement out of the corner of her eye, Nyx turned her head slightly, her muscles tensing as she wiggled her butt to lessen the numb sensation.

Relaxing somewhat after watching Timur continue doing nothing, Nyx raised her left hand and rubbed her sore, swollen eyes as she used her tongue to scrape the itchy roof of her mouth. -"Damn this hard carriage, light essence and this godforsaken, silent oaf."

It had been hours since the precession had started, yet apart from the brief conversation at the start, the pair hadn't said a word to each other.

While this didn't appear to impact Timur much, as Nyx wasn't used to someone being so close, at least when they are both aware of each other's presence and she wasn't about to kill the other, she felt extremely uncomfortable.

As the baking sun continued its relentless march across the sky, a small trickle of sweat ran down Nyx's back, causing her to shift uncomfortably to stop it progressing any further.

As she moved, her leather armour creaked noisily and, in the places where there was no fabric separating her skin from the material, chaffed her skin.

Watching the girl fidget innocently, the occasional sound of her grinding teeth, sigh or random mumbling reaching his ears, Timur couldn't help but reveal a brittle smile as he shook his head slightly. -"Just how many faces does this little lady have?"

After taking a generous swig from a silver canteen, a fruity, comforting scent reaching his nostrils, Timur started to chuckle as he watched Nyx turn her head towards him and wet her cracked lips with her tongue.

Hearing the sound, the expression on Nyx's face vanished before turning into a semi-snarl, her right eye twitching slightly. "What!"

Timur held out the canteen only for Nyx to shake her head as she returned her gaze to the front and folded her arms while pursing her lips slightly.

"Nothing much." Shaking his head with a broad smile plastered upon his face, Timur tucked the canteen back into the small bag at his feet. "Though I am a little surprised that you decided to join us. I was almost certain you would follow behind or head to the Sect on your own."

"And not just disappear?" said Nyx, the corner of her lip twitching as her eyes narrowed.

"If there is one thing this old man has learnt, its to read beasts and humans. Not only do I have something you want, but I can provide safety, nourishment and a means to grow in both strength and influence."

-"And you are being hunted so aggressively that leaving the safety of the forest was nearly impossible without the aid of significant power," thought Timur, though he knew better than to say that bit out loud.

Nyx's frown deepened as she coughed slightly and turned her head, spitting a lump of somewhat glowing, yellow and white phlegm onto the ground beside the carriage. "All things I can obtain elsewhere with a little effort."

-"The girl has essence poisoning? But... that should be impossible unless..." The mirth fled from Timur's face, his eyebrows slightly rasing as he caught a glimpse of Nyx's spit.

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"To be honest, while I was hopeful, I am not stupid enough to believe in rumours without evidence... How high is your darkness affinity?"

-"For the love of all that is dark..." Nyx took a deep breath, realising that she had just inadvertently revealed something she shouldn't have, yet also having any real reason to lie or hide the truth now it was exposed. "Early to mid-nineties."

"Damn~ that's impressive. Highest I have heard of. You're definitely not one to do things half-arsed. That leaves what... little over five per cent for the other element types in your body?" whistled Timur, leaning forward so he could peer into Nyx's hood.

Seeing her face was ashen, more so than when they had left the town, as droplets of sweat glimmered against her skin, he couldn't help but straighten up and scratch his beard. "No wonder Dimi said that she wasn't your opponent after sunset. You're basically a partial dark elemental."

"I'm a lot of things," chuckled Nyx, yet even though it looked as if she was happy, her legs stopped swinging and her body slightly tensed.

Nyx's features loosened somewhat as she stared into the clear, blue sky. After half a minute, she slightly shook her head.

"Though suited to this environment..." Nyx's arm swept out in front of her. "I am not."

"A fragment of truth sprinkled with misdirection," said Timur, causing Nyx's smile to cramp before her face became blank.

"At this particular moment, you are at a disadvantage. But when the sun sets, due to having no cover, the light essence will be replaced with rich dark energy. The perfect place for one to cultivate and break through if they have some protection."

He paused for a moment. "Say a group of powerful cultivators with a large power behind them?"

Silence descended upon the carriage, Nyx seemingly ignoring the man. -"This old goat is dangerous...While that wasn't my original intention, since the bottleneck has been weakened and I have this opportunity... "

After Watching Nyx out of the corner of his eye for a while, the questions that had been bugging him for so long once again appeared at the forefront of Timur's mind. "How much of the rumours about you are true?"

A captivating smile, though somewhat diminished due to her feeble, sickly appearance, emerged on Nyx's lips. "I haven't heard one that doesn't have a fair amount of truth yet."

Timur closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. "That's not an answer..."

"I thought you didn't believe in rumours without evidence. One person's statement, especially if they are the target of such talk, isn't something you should take as proof. Isn't that why you are watching me so carefully?"

"Fair enough." Nyx's response caused Timur to smile. "So, have you worked out what personality you are going to adopt yet? While being cold and aloof will keep people at a distance and somewhat keep your secrets hidden, that will make it harder to gather information, manipulate events and cause people to be curious about you and pushing you into the limelight."

Startling somewhat, Nyx blinked a few times as she carefully studied Timur's face.

"It wasn't that hard to guess," said Timur as he laughed. "Want my advice?"

"Not really."

Timur ignored Nyx's answer. "Just be yourself. That way, as long as you don't cause too much trouble, I can prove myself by sheltering you from the storms while you can work on your social skills. Also, if I have your character right, that should make you much more cooperative in carrying out your duties."

"You mean killing the Twlighlight sect's spies, dissidents and enemies while protecting that 'someone'..."

"That's them." Timur nodded. "The last one is a personal request of mine, one which I will reward with decent skills and ensuring that you get the support needed for your beast bloodline."

"Where's the stick?" Nyx snorted, but as Timur didn't answer her question, she no longer responded to any of his prompts as she stared out across the plains.

It wasn't long until other roads intersected with their own and the caravan unofficially joined up with a procession of merchants and a group of rogue mages, all heading towards the same location, the town of Rafael.

More than happy enough to let the Twilight Sect take the lead, assured that with their presence any bandits would keep away, the two other groups fell in behind after offering their greetings to Timur and casting curious gazes as the seemingly low ranked disciple sitting at his side.

As the day was coming to an end, Timur abruptly raised his left hand slightly before roaring with laughter at Nyx's response.

Poised ready to dive off the side of the carriage backwards, two shiny daggers in each hand, Nyx could only take a deep breath before sitting back down, her face revealing no emotions.

After finally calming down, Timur took a deep breath and nodded his head to the wooden palisade walls, just visible above the tall grass, in the distance. "To think that you would stay on guard the entire afternoon. Your willpower is impressive. Still, that is our destination. I have a spare tent you can have seeing as you only have that tiny bag strapped to your thigh."

Ignoring Timur, after glancing at the gradually setting sun, a small smile tugs at Nyx's lips as she stands up and stretches.

"Off somewhere?" asked, Timur as he watched Nyx about to step off the side of the carriage. -"That shouldn't have been enough to offend her? Surely?"

"Yes." With the single word response, Nyx stepped off the edge and within moments, disappeared in the long grass.

"Stupid girl." Noticing the slight shake in Nyx's hands as she raced off, Timur shook his head while urging the horses to pick up the pace. "I'll dig out some refined dark cores and get her to sit in the carriage tomorrow. What good is a blade if it's dull?"

A few hundred meters away completely surrounded by tall grass Nyx was violently vomiting. However, the substance that escaped her was not what one would expect but a small amount of yellowy-white liquid, which strangely glowed, even under the bright sunlight.

Taking a shaky breath, wiping the corner of her mouth with the sleeve of her robe, Nyx stares at a tiny amount that had covered the back of her hand.

In the sticky, translucent liquid, small motes of yellow glittered in the sunlight, swirling lazily in a somewhat mesmerising pattern.

"Not in a million years." Wiping her hand repeatedly on her robe, finding the nearby grass not enough to cleanse the sticky substance, Nyx glared at the mess she had made while resisting the urge to set fire to her surroundings.