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.*