Late at night, Aleks appeared to be sleeping alone in his room, but he was in fact awake and in deep contemplation. The others appeared to have long gone to sleep and were in their own rooms. The hotel suite they had was extremely large with several rooms. This was normal for this type of hotel because the ones who stayed in it were nobles and other wealthy individuals. They would usually have a large entourage and would need enough living space for their guards and for the close members of their group as well as their servants.

There were many thoughts swirling in his head and he was attempting to keep hold of as many memories as he could. Even though most of his memories were not pleasant ones, he still wished to hold onto as many as possible. However, it seemed to be a losing battle and the only memories he could retain were the most painful of them. He also thought about his sister. Was that really her he saw? Was it an illusion? Sometimes he found it difficult to discern between reality and fantasy. He even wondered if any of this were real.

No, this is not a dream. He thought in silence.

While Aleks wouldn’t use his ‘Astral Projection’ ability out in public within the city, because of his concern for the many clergyman within, that didn’t mean he couldn’t use it while in his hotel room. So, he was completely aware of the individual who was stalking in the shadows. He was clearly attempting to use his stealth ability to sneak up on Aleks, but Aleks was already aware of his presence and remained calmly in his bed.

Not that he could harm me anyway. He thought to himself, a smirk attempting to creep up his face.

The shadowy figure moved swiftly around the room, making his way over to the bed where Aleks slept. He was quite skilled and made no noise at all. Aleks could see everything through his ‘Astral Projection’ ability and could also see that the figure was a mid-Advanced rank being. Although he would be able to hide from a Master class being who didn’t specialize in detection, he couldn’t hide from Aleks’s ability or even Nelay’s senses. Nelay was a peak Advanced class assassin and could certainly detect and hide from an assassin of a lower level than herself. So without the assassin’s knowledge, he was in fact detected by two people and had been completely seen through.

Nonetheless, Aleks pretended to sleep while Nelay was currently in stealth in a corner of the room. She didn’t move or give away her position at all, she only watched as per Aleks’s instructions. The assassin quickly crept over to the bed where Aleks lay and he seemed to fiddle with something for a moment before pulling out an extremely thin needle. He moved close to Aleks and observed him for a moment before carefully injecting the thin needle into Aleks’s arm through his clothing. It was done with great skill and if it were someone else, would most likely have succeeded. It wasn’t someone else though, it was Aleks who had a very unique ability which allowed him to ignore physical damage completely from those of inferior level and class. To the assassin, it appeared as if he was successful in injecting the needle into Aleks’s arm, but this was not the case. It was only an illusion.

The assassin quickly put away the needle and left just as stealthily as he had arrived without looking back. He was feeling quite self satisfied at the belief that he had completed his mission. Meanwhile, Nelay had seen everything and was only waiting until the assassin was out of ear shot before moving next to Aleks.

"Follow him. See where he goes. Kill everyone involved, but don't take any risks. If there is a being too powerful for you to handle alone, then you will leave immediately." Whispered Aleks.

“Yes master, it will be done.”

Nelay was gone in an instant and rushed after the assassin who had no idea he was being followed.

Aleks was left alone and whispered to himself in the dark.

“If you dare to move against me, then you must be prepared for the consequences. I’m sorry Brock, while your concerns may be of this mortal world, I fear no man and no conflict. My only fear, is that of the gods and only for now. I will hide if necessary, run if needed, but if it is in my power to dissuade, I will not allow a single slight. Not one blemish, for this is my creed and my curse. Let them come and seek their revenge. Their souls shall feed my ambition, and become my strength.”

High above in the sky, the moon shone solemnly as if welcoming the dark and all its twisted intentions. A cascade of colors fluttered across the seemingly barren sky, not a single star in sight. Yet a vibrant hue lingered in longing, a foreboding of things to come. It was the perfect night for a massacre.

Across the rooftops of the quiet city, two figures moved swiftly. They were seemingly close, but ever distant, for one was completely unaware of the other’s presence. Although they both moved quickly, there was still a leisure of movement and grace. The one in the front, satisfied with their performance, moved calmly without concern and no thought of failure or consequence. While the other moved with the assurance of success and the surety of a silent predator waiting to pounce on its prey. There was an eerie silence as if only these two existed in the world, and the moon was a mere observer to their vicious minds and the beat of their incessant hearts.

With ill intent and grim certainty, they flew across the cityscape eventually arriving at a manor nestled in a corner of the city far from the hotel where Aleks was staying. These were manors which visiting nobility could rent and live in for a time with their retinue, servants, and associates. It was impossible for the foreign nobles to bring their armies into the city, but it was possible to bring a small retinue of elites into the city for protection. It was here that the assassin led Nelay who pursued closely without alerting to her presence.

She didn’t rush in however, instead carefully scouting the area in order to determine the strength of those within. She carefully inspected the outside premises as much as she could and was careful not to be detected by the guards who were loitering around the manor. Although they could be considered elites, not a single one of them were Advanced class beings and only reached the peak of Intermediate class.

Only a high ranking noble would have the wealth and prestige to have a unit of Advanced class beings as their retinue. The mainstay of any elite army were peak Intermediate class beings with the rare army having a specialized unit of Advanced class beings. In most armies, Advanced class beings depending on their strength, served as officers leading companies or regiments. Only a Master class being was qualified to lead a legion. Legendary beings were far too important to a nation or a church for such things and would usually act as a deterrence at the national level. Although, in sufficiently large scale conflicts, Legendary beings would usually be in charge of overseeing an entire sphere of war.

As for those whose strength was beyond Legendary, those named Demigods, they could be the masters of their own regions, nations, or even empires. Of course, this was assuming they were far from the sphere of influence of the powerful churches. These Demigods sought to gain their own divinity and this was not in the best interests of the existing churches and so Demigods would often seek out of the way places or the vast wildernesses of the continent to reign supreme.

Not being able to sense anyone whose aura was beyond advanced rank, Nelay felt no fear. Her master’s ‘Astral Projection’ was also housed within her and since he was a Legendary being, only a Demigod could escape his senses. While he couldn’t extricate his projection from her body and use it to survey the area due to his concerns of divine detection, he could still use this ability to sense the aura of a being on the same level as himself assuming it wasn’t especially skilled in stealth or were using powerful spells on the level of Legendary spells to hide. The chance of such a situation was miniscule and not even worth consideration.

With such resolve, Nelay made her move. She jumped down from atop her perch in utter silence and move quickly across the outer perimeter without being seen. She could easily move in and out of shadows continuously and without interruption. The night was her friend and her solace, offering comfort in its cold embrace. In mere moments, every guard outside the manor was killed one by one until none remained. Her two daggers moved lithely and without restraint. There was no hesitation in her actions, no feelings of remorse, just the cold indifference of one whose sole trade was murder.

Even before Aleks had met her, she already had a cold and indifferent heart. The kindness had been strangled out of her from her youth. Raised as a plaything for men, without a home, without a family. She had nothing and no one, only herself, and only her desire for revenge. Revenge against a heartless world which had reduced her life to that of a worthless and irrelevant toy for other’s amusement. With Aleks’s actions, her entire life took on a new meaning. She would kill, not for herself or for a despairing heart, but for the man who had become her entire world. The only bright light in the darkness of her heart.

And kill she did, like a fairy dancing in the moonlight, until none remained. It was easy, too easy. She made her way down the dimly lit hallways of the manor, her daggers dripping blood and blood splattered across her black and tight full bodied suit. It fit well around her curves and nimble form fully accentuating her well rounded breasts. With her jet black hair covering half her delicate porcelain face, she seemed more like a wraith than a person. There were none that could threaten her here, and even that assassin was easily dispatched by her. He never even knew she was there till he died with a dagger through his neck.

She wasn’t satisfied until the halls ran red.