The moment shattered like thin ice.
Darien's left glove hit the frozen earth with a whisper, his blue aura erupting in a maelstrom of swirling frost. Across from him, Corvin mirrored the motion with mocking precision, his skeletal scythe dripping shadows.
[Darien] *"Ice shards descend...*
*Upon a world cloaked in silence, pale and still.*
*Cast from the warmth of life. Descend now, into eternal frost."*
His chant crystallized in the air, each word forming visible runes that hovered between them.
[Corvin] *"Bones rise from dust...*
*Over a battlefield drenched in crimson light.*
*Called from the void. Rise now, and claim victory for me."*
The ground between them crackedDarien's side blooming with jagged ice spires, Corvin's vomiting up skeletal warriors clad in ethereal armor.
[Darien & Corvin, Simultaneously] **"Soul Resonance!"**
[Darien] *"Heart of ice, a world in eternal slumberFrozen World!"*
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[Corvin] *"Banner of the dead, O souls who fightArise my soldiers!"*
**Glorious Tower Rooftop**
I crunched another handful of popcorn, the buttery aroma oddly comforting amidst the chaos below.
[Kael] "Sorry Tower Masters," I murmured through a full mouth. "I was just bored."
A gloved hand materialized on my shoulder. Cold breath tickled my ear as a voice like oiled silk whispered:
[Mysterious Man] "Having fun? Though I must ask... what exactly are you eating?"
I turned to face a grinning porcelain mask beneath a black top hat, its wearer clad in an immaculate suit that drank in the moonlight.
[Kael] "Popcorn. Had the cooks prepare it special. Want some?" I offered the bowl.
[Joker] "No thank you." The mask tilted. "You're unusually calm for someone who engineered this spectacle."
[Kael] "I was waiting for you, Tower Master of Glorious Tower. Pitting those two against each other was the quickest way to draw you out."
The mask's painted smile seemed to widen.
[Joker] "How intriguing. Even the Count doesn't know of my existence."
[Kael] "A powerless fool like Count Pera would've been dead years ago without a shadow protector. And four unruly Tower Masters? They'd have torn this city apart without a leash." I tossed another kernel. "Ergoa fifth Tower Master. Their leader."
For three heartbeats, only the distant clash of ice and necromancy filled the silence. Then
[Joker] *"Smart people die early."* His hand drifted toward my throat. *"Aren't you afraid?"*
[Kael] "If you wanted me dead, I wouldn't be breathing right now."
The masked figure threw back his head in silent laughter before suddenly vanishing. His voice echoed from everywhere at once:
[Joker] "I like you, little schemer. This time, I'll pretend I saw nothing. But cross me again..."
The unspoken threat hung heavier than the blizzard below.
**Battlefield**
Just as Darien's glacial spear and Corvin's death swarm prepared to collidea black silhouette materialized between them. Joker flicked his wrists.
*Crack.*
Both attacks disintegrated like broken glass.
[Joker] "Children, children." He tutted, dusting his sleeves. "Destroy the city, and who'll clean up the mess?"
Darien's frost recoiled. Corvin's skeletons crumbled.
[Joker] "And Darien? Your wolf's killer wasn't Corvin."
The mask turned slightlyjust enough for me to catch its hollow eyes gazing up at my perch.
[Kael, Internal Monologue] *Well. This just got interesting.*