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.*