Before the concealed figures could reveal themselves, Winter swiftly hurled the ice shard he had been sharpening—a formidable projectile. The spear-like shard was deftly avoided by the two figures before they confidently stepped into Winter's line of sight.
"Hello #31537, long time no see..." greeted the cloaked man on his right.
"Now, why are you out here in the cold?" inquired the cloaked woman to his left.
"I'm not going back..." Winter declared as he proceeded to sharpen another piece of ice.
"You belonged to the company #31537. If you don't come back alive, that would be rather...unfortunate," snickered the cloaked man.
"Yes, now be a good weapon and follow orders! You and me both know you can't make your own decisions. Isn't that right, Winter Assassin?" the woman chuckled.
Winter halted the sharpening of the ice in his hand and glared at the cloaked woman.
"So, you wanted to see the 'Winter Assassin,' huh?" Winter said, a smile growing on his face.
"I can show you the Winter Assassin," he continued, pulling out a dagger. Winter wore the expression of a madman.
"Looks like the beast finally showed his teeth," the cloaked man grinned, his body filled with excitement.
The mysterious man produced a whip with spikes on its ends. The woman extracted multiple kunai from within her cloak; the kunai had a red tint on their ends, and Winter knew exactly what that meant.
"So, you really are trying to kill me, huh?" Winter said with an eerie smile.
The two cloaked individuals remained silent, staring him down, ready to strike at any moment.
"Good, because now I won't have a shred of guilt slitting your throats," Winter continued as he charged ahead at the man first.
The man spun his whip in defense. But that didn't stop Winter. He seized the thorned whip and pulled it towards himself, bringing the man closer.
"Are you a fool? Or did you already forget the spikes are coated in venom! You'll pass out in mere minutes!" The man exclaimed.
Winter said nothing; he used the man's own weapon as an opportunity to execute an attack, and that he did. Once close enough, he slashed the man's chin, narrowly missing the throat. Winter attempted to retreat after his failed strike but was impaled by the cloaked woman's kunai. Panic set in.
"It's over, you're finished!" she said, laughing behind him.
The man wrapped his whip around Winter's leg shortly after. The venom in his body was so potent that it slowed down his own reaction time. Things looked grim. With one last surge of energy, he untangled his arm with the dagger and cut through a portion of the whip just before blacking out.
In Winter's mind, only memories of when he was part of the company lingered. Thoughts of his numerous assassinations replayed, and the image of his only friend's death haunted him once more. Gradually, those memories began to fade. He knew he was out of time.
"You...." A faint voice murmured in the back of his mind.
"You are weak." The voice grew louder.
"You do not deserve that body." The voice was behind him.
Winter turned around but saw no one other than himself.
"Let me consume you." The duplicate figure continued.
"You have already died." The figure said before it grabbed onto him.
Winter, sweating, and unsure of how to handle the situation, decided not to resist and let nature take its course. If it was his fate to be consumed, he would accept it willingly.
And so, the 'duplicate' Winter took over.