The wind howled with a voice like a thousand wailing souls as Caelum and the masked villain clashed before the ancient arch. Every strike of katana against shadowy blade sent shockwaves shattering the stone beneath them. Ice met darkness, sparks and frost swirling into the storm.
Selka leapt from the side, daggers flashing. She landed a deep cut along the villain's side, black mist oozing from the wound. He roared, shadows whipping out like serpents. One slammed Selka, sending her crashing into a broken pillar.
Caelum's rage ignited, cold and pure. Ice spiraled around them in a blizzard as they advanced, katana carving arcs of frost. The villain countered with a surge of darkness that twisted the air, but Caelum pressed forward, forcing him back toward the Shrine's arch.
Lightning struck the stone gate. For an instant, Caelum glimpsed a world beyond: floating islands wreathed in endless winds, and a laughing figure leaping from cloud to cloud — the other timeline, the other self.
The villain screamed, shadows faltering.