[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/s0EwNmk.png[/img][/center]
[center][color=#D3D3D3][b][u]Los Angeles - Streets[/u][/b][/color][/center]

[color=#D3D3D3][b]"She?"[/b][/color] Nello took a cautious step back, his heart beating reminiscent of a jackhammer against his ribs. Yes, it was a growing fear, not because of an internal struggle blossoming within the boy, but due to an emotional bond shared with the spirit fused with Nello's very soul. Joy, sadness, sorrow, and ecstasy were all notions brought to a new high because of a doubled source. It would be a lie to claim that such a feature conjured only distress, however. Moments of intimate relation could scarcely be compared to the linked spectrum of emotion. So too, was a mere smile, or the warmth of an embrace. Would it then be a surprise that anger and hatred columnated zealous intent? The explanation would then be a reasonable definition as to why Nello felt exposed as if he stood bare in the face of a blizzard storm. Chilling him to the core, shivering limbs and tremblings fingers told a story of their own, a winter's supernatural cold trickling through the boy's armor like knives forcing their way past the seams of cloth.

[color=#D3D3D3][i]"Crystallia,"[/i][/color] Nocturne's voice echoed from within Nello's mind, the same voice which had brought him comfort and the utmost confidence, now replaced by crystalline terror. [color=#D3D3D3][i]"She is one of the most feared knights of Tamura,"[/i][/color] the spirit continued as Nello stepped out of the alley he had so desperately sought in an attempt to claim solace.

Only those bereft of sight would neglect the frost coating streets and windows alike, though an unforgiving cold would be quick to remind any who were present of the shift in climate. However, the sight of Midnight's sudden appearance would further warrant the gathering of a crowd, piquing its interest with curiosity taking center stage. [color=#D3D3D3][i]"She was my mentor.., before I kind of betrayed her and our order of knights, leaving them for dead and selling them out."[/i][/color] The shade explained, awkwardness coating every word as it mingled with the fear still present. [color=#D3D3D3][i]"Bitch must have been looking for a while, considering how I was put in that fucking trinket. Scenarios not related."[/i][/color] Nocturne finished with a sigh breezing its way through Nello's mind. [color=#D3D3D3][i]"Bottom line? We're fucked."[/i][/color]

Though a short pause was afforded the pair, Nello eventually managed a frustrated groan. [color=#D3D3D3][b]"Idiot..,"[/b][/color] the boy returned, his focus maintained on those falling petals of beautiful terror. It was curious, indeed, their shape reminiscent of layers on a rose, rather than snowflakes. This was a distraction which only added to the following entrance, however. A woman appearing through the hazy mist as if a ghost stepping through the veil separating life from death.

One should, however, be weary of an ungraceful word such as ghost, the term an insult to the beauty making herself known to gathering spectators. A nymph, yes, a fairy of the arctic north. This woman maintained a presence of enchanting beauty and unparalleled grace. However, what struck Nello as quite the oddity, was the oriental appearance of this creature's clothes, reminding onlookers of a kimono ever so tenderly embracing her slender frame. Long, black and flowing hair moved in tune with the winter winds, brushing past this most perfect creature of Tamura's wastes. When Nocturne described this woman and claimed her a knight, Nello would speak a lie if he didn't admit to the image of glimmering armor beneath those frozen petals. No, this entity maintained a presence of oriental blossoms, with a floral pattern stretching along the length of her ice blue kimono. 

Nello could scarcely withstand the creature's enchanting presence, terror replaced by awe if only for a split second. The world of Tamura was a curious one, indeed, displaying sights thought naught but folklore. 

Severing this theme of blossoming grace, the woman wore upon her face a skull mask, that morbid sight brought to a level of fascinating satisfaction by virtue of its misplaced presence. A skull, a mask resembling death, truly a reminder of what hid beneath that incomprehensible magnificence. A statement which both allured and struck fear in the heart of those who would dare oppose The Frozen Knight, The Winter Maiden. "Nocturne," came a spectral voice echoing from beneath her skeletal mask. "How you have eluded me," she continued, an inhuman tune to her words. With a slender hand swiping its way across the frigid air, between her fingers a sword manifested itself, frozen blossoms scattering. One would be forgiven for mistaking her weapon for a glass blade, the shape reflecting its wielder in presence and elegance. As if a sheet of ice brought form, dark energies emanated from the woman's sword, powerful and intimidating. "Has my hunt concluded?" Crystallia, the frozen warrior asked, her expression obfuscated by a skeletal glare.

Though none had been able to note Nocturne's presence in the past, Crystallia saw none other. Indeed, it was not Nello who stood before her, but rather an enemy she had sought for countless years. "Yeah," Nocturne offered, his voice, though disembodied, clearly heard by his adversary. "This is it," though the shade would have desired a quick escape, he was aware of their position. There was no escape, and barely any hope of leaving this fight alive. Least of all in one piece. Even so, Nello and his closest friend could agree on the outcome. Nello's mother had died at the hands of an illness, the same plague which would have claimed the boy himself. His father had perished to his very own incompetence, leaving Nello with a brand of guilt for transgressions the child had not committed. The poor boy stood against a tide caused by dice of life, unfair and cruel, a life which had been stacked against him. Yes, they could very well agree on the following decision. Nello was not going to kneel in the face of his demise. He was not going down without a fight, as one said, a notion made clear as Moonshadow appeared in his hand. 

"Then," Crystallia returned, "you shall pay for your sins, Nocturne. You shall pay, in blood," the knight finished. Time for talk had reached its conclusion. That of which remained was the language of blades, a conversation Crystallia was eager to begin. 

The Winter Maiden swung her transparent sword in a swift motion, the slender blade traveling through the air before a wave of devastating ice followed the cut and clashed with Nello's blade as if an impact of heavy metal. A clang echoing from the impact drowned out a tune of shattering crystal, as The Frozen Knight vanished in a burst of icy petals. Mere moments later, she appeared a few, meager feet from her enemy. Another slash flowed into the movement, her sword striking at Nello's own in a masterful exchange. 

However, a single motion of Crystallia's hand, she conjured forth a slew of devastating spikes errupting from the ground in an explosion of ice. Though Nello managed to quickly manouver to the side, gracefully twirling his body before the boy raised his sword to retaliate, he noted how Crystallia had made her way up the frozen spikes. Leaping from their height with a powerful overhead swing, The Frozen Knight overpowered her smaller foe, sending him stumbling back as the boy's blade rose to block the incoming strike. "You shall repent." There was no anger in Crystallia's voice, despite a hunt which had lasted for nearly a millenia. Rather, there was a steadfast determination dripping from every action, and every word. She possessed an eerie calm, truly, a woman of zealous intent. 

Taking the opportunity to land a vicious blow on her enemy, Crystallia prepared her sword for another strike, leaving a devestating crack along Nello's breastplate. The boy could hardly believe this swordswoman's power. Her speed was unmatched, movements as if vanishing from sight for a brief moment before reappearing in a cloud of frozen petals.

[color=#D3D3D3][i]"You have to anticipate her moves!"[/i][/color] Nocturne's voice echoed with a shout.

"I'll extend the mercy of a quick death," Crystallia returned, exhanging blows with Nello's sword. Where the dark knight was growing angrier by the second, his opponent appeared almost emotionless, her mask surely displaying nothing else. 

"I won't die, here!" Nello exclaimed, catching Crystallia's blade in his armored hand, blood dripping from the appendage. It was a desperate attempt, indeed, though proved fruitless. In her opposing hand, Crystallia manifested an icy reflection of her sword, blocking Midnight's attempted strike. 

"Excellent effort," she praised, before vanishing in a scattering mist of frozen petals. Appearing further away, the swordswoman sent several ice shards at her opponent who swung his blade, clashing against their bullet like path. "But this ends now," Crystallia charged forth. Vanishing and appearing sporadically around the boy in a haze of countless strikes clashing with both Nello's sword and armor. Two swords in hand, The Frozen Knight slashed their lengths across the boy's protective plate, before she conjured forth an explosive burst of frigid mist which then coated Nello's armor in a layer of ice. "I lay you bare," she uttered, the woman's haunting voice echoing with every word before she, with a powerful slash of both swords, completely shattered her opponent's plate, like glass. 

[color=#D3D3D3][i]"NELLO!"[/i][/color] Nocturne screamed, the immimnent moment of the boy's demise bringing forth a tearful shout. 

"Nello..," Crystallia repeated quietly as the boy fell to his back, her sword halting only inches from his face as a set of large, wide eyes gazed upon her with terror in their depth. It trembled, the sword which was close enough to pierce the young hero's skull, confusion seeping into the child to intermix with the fear of his closing doom. "N-no..," Crystallia's voice cracked, that blade frozen in place. Staring into the boy's eyes only cemented the truth. "Ibne..?" She continued, the Arabic term of one's utmost endearment, the Arabic word for son, before Crystallia dropped her sword. As it connected with the ground, the woman stumbled back, her frame shivering as those otherwise lifeless, black sockets upon her skeletal mask maintained a fixed gaze on the boy, following the scattering of her body in a passing breeze of frozen petals. 

[color=#D3D3D3][b]"..."[/b][/color] Stunned, Nello tried to move, his body sore and mind shattered from the fight. [color=#D3D3D3][b]"..mom..?"[/b][/color] A weak, fragile word escaped his lips as the frigid air began to dissipate.