No. 5 reached for his pocket and took out his walkie. "I didn't ask for that No 4." He said.
"Get over here No. 5, the job is done." No. 4 replied Calmly.
"We had an honorable fight, you wouldn't understand you always take out your targets in one hit it's not the same." No. 5 Snapped back.
"WINTER!" A voice echoed through his mind.
The assassin's body lay motionless on the ground, blood pooling beneath him. No. 5 stood silently, his expression a mix of disappointment and respect.
"You're not done yet..." the voice persisted. "Remember our pact."
Winter's consciousness flickered. The voice was familiar—Strider.
"The darkness you absorbed... Use it."
As No. 5 turned to leave, frost began creeping across the grass around Winter's body. The temperature plummeted, causing No. 4 to shiver even from her distant perch.
"What's happening?" she radioed, her scope trained on Winter's seemingly lifeless form.
No. 5 spun around, his eyes widening as he witnessed Winter's body slowly rising—not standing, but floating inches above the ground. Ice crystals formed in the air around him, suspended like frozen stars.
"Im-impossible..." No. 5 muttered.
Winter's eyes snapped open, now gleaming with an otherworldly blue light. The bullet wound in his chest began to seal itself with dark ice, crackling as it spread across his body like armor.
"You wanted to see the Winter Assassin right?" Winter's voice carried an ethereal echo. "Let me re-introduce you to him."
He raised his hand, and the very moisture in the air began to crystallize. No. 5 barely had time to brace himself before a wave of razor-sharp ice shards erupted from the ground, forcing him to leap backward.
"No. 4, TAKE THE SHOT!" he commanded into his walkie.
The crack of a rifle split the air—but this time, the bullet shattered against Winter's ice armor. He turned his gaze toward the distant hill, a cold smile playing across his face.
"My turn."