The blizzard was a living beast, howling through the fleet and tearing apart the fragile line between survival and despair. The Resolute, Robert’s flagship, groaned under the storm’s relentless assault. Its timbers crackled as frost clawed its way across the deck, masts splintering under the weight of accumulated snow. Ice locked the cannons in place, entombing them in jagged blocks, rendering them inert.
The Yuki Onna floated above the carnage. Her kimono fluttered in the storm, her pale skin glowing with a spectral light. Every wave she summoned and every shard of ice she hurled sent ships reeling, their hulls splitting as men screamed into the void. Yet, amidst the chaos, the Resolute stood defiant, its captain a pillar of determination.
Robert, standing at the helm, was the embodiment of fury and desperation. His telekinetic power surged outward, ripping apart waves of icy debris and sending them crashing into the spectre's defences. His pontumancy roared to life, the sea itself rising in defiance of her frost, spiralling upward into a massive column of water. With a shout that carried above the storm, he hurled the column toward her.
The water slammed into her with the force of a tidal wave, momentarily dissipating her spectral form. The blizzard faltered, and for a heartbeat, hope flickered in Robert’s chest. The Resolute righted itself, and the surviving fleet rallied behind their captain’s impossible resolve.
But the Yuki Onna reformed within the maelstrom, her laughter a sound like breaking glass. Her eyes blazed with fury and mockery as she raised her hands, the blizzard answering her call with renewed ferocity. Winds shrieked like banshees, and frost crawled faster now, consuming the Resolute.
Robert’s men screamed as shards of ice pierced their flesh, as decks split and men fell into the freezing abyss below. He could feel the frost creeping toward him, chilling his veins and dulling his senses. Yet he fought on, pulling every ounce of power he had left. His telekinesis sent chunks of shattered ice hurtling at the Yuki Onna, and his pontumancy summoned the sea itself to batter her.
She descended gracefully onto the deck of the Resolute, her levitating form untouched by the carnage around her. Frost coated every surface, freezing the blood-soaked planks beneath her bare feet. Robert faced her, his breath shallow, his body trembling from the cold that seeped into his bones. His lips were blue, but his aquamarine eyes burned with hatred.
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“For Willoughby… for Sabrina,” he growled, his voice raw and defiant. “You won’t take me!”
The Yuki Onna tilted her head, her smile serene yet cruel. “You are already mine, Robert,” she said softly.
With a motion as delicate as falling snow, she stretched out a hand, and frost erupted around him. It raced up his legs first, encasing his boots and creeping higher with agonising slowness. His muscles seized as the ice crawled toward his torso, locking him in place. He tried to break free with a desperate surge of telekinesis, shattering the ice around his feet, but the Yuki Onna’s control was absolute. The frost surged back, climbing higher.
“You will not win!” he shouted, his voice cracking as he hurled a final sphere of seawater at her.
The water struck her with a deafening crash, momentarily dimming her glow, but it was too late. She raised her arms, and the ice surged upward, encasing Robert’s torso and arms. His breath fogged the air as his movements slowed, his telekinesis faltering. The cold burrowed into his flesh, freezing his veins and nerves until he was trapped in a shell of glimmering frost.
The Yuki Onna approached, her expression one of mocking admiration. “You fought well,” she whispered, standing inches from his frozen face.
She reached out, her fingers brushing his left arm. A faint crackling sound filled the air, followed by an explosive snap as his arm shattered into a thousand shards of blood-flecked ice. The sound was deafening, like splintering glass, and Robert’s scream–raw and animalistic–cut through the storm. The stump where his arm had been was jagged, red ice glinting in the storm’s glow.
The Yuki Onna stepped back, her smile widening as she raised her hand again. “Let me complete my masterpiece.”
With a sharp, merciless motion, she clenched her fist. His other arm shattered, the shards scattering across the deck like grotesque snow. The pain was indescribable, radiating through his frozen body in sickening waves. His frozen features could not even contort in agony, his scream trapped within the ice encasing him.
The snow fell heavier now, piling onto the Resolute with crushing weight. The ship groaned beneath the strain, its hull splintering. The Yuki Onna stepped back, her work complete, and with a final flick of her wrist, the blizzard reached its crescendo.
The Resolute tilted, its deck buckling as icy water poured into its hold. Robert’s frozen form toppled, hitting the deck with a resounding crack. The ship gave one last mournful groan before it sank beneath the waves, dragging him into the cold abyss.
The storm dissipated, leaving the sea calm and silent, as if nothing had happened. The Yuki Onna hovered above the water, her figure silhouetted against the pale moonlight. She gazed at the spot where the Resolute had vanished, her smile faint but triumphant.