The city had sunk into its midnight hush by the time Robert moved. He left the inn like a shadow unmoored, slipping through the narrow lanes where lantern light sputtered against cracked walls. The Carr compound loomed in the distance—its spires faint against the moon, its walls bristling with watch fires and restless guards.
Robert stopped in a narrow alley opposite the compound. He inhaled, focused, and summoned the presence bound to him. A ripple of darkness stirred at his feet, and from it rose the Shadow Reaper Assassin. Its form was tall and gaunt, cloaked in an aura that bent the moonlight away, its blade fingers shimmering like liquid night. A faint pull tugged at Robert's chest—one thousand soul points evaporating like mist. He accepted the loss calmly.
