Shuzo
As he listened to Li answer his question, Shuzo had put down his chopsticks and picked up a spoon instead, taking a quiet sip of the broth. Similar to the former Chief's contented reaction, his eyes had lit up ever so slightly at the liquid that had blessed his tongue, and he took a few more sips before Li had concluded her response. A low hum of agreement barely escaped Shuzo's lips as the vigilante recently known as Hush explained the reasoning behind her alias, a detail she had swiftly pointed out upon noticing his brief look of amusement just seconds ago.
"People like us never decide our names; 'Sparkblade' has to be the corniest alias I've ever heard, but I never cared enough to do anything about it once it stuck."
Li had then requested the details on Skade, late Herald of Whitefrost, whom Shuzo had dispatched in the events of the Reaping ten years ago. The former Paragon turned to raise an eyebrow, as Li had pressed on, expressing her doubt that he had really been the one to do away with the alien threat in Siberia.
"Well, that's harsh; maybe you just haven't seen me in action enough. A good portion of it feels hazy; I was trying to strike fast and precise, while she just shouldered through everything with brute strength. It came down to a battle of attrition in the end, and I managed to gather the last few bits of steam I had left to run a blade through her heart. I remember waking up on a stretcher, carried away to a medical facility pretty shortly after."
Shuzo had omitted the details of a certain peculiar exchange he'd shared with the Herald, her words having haunted him for the past decade, but he soon ended his explanation of the fight and took a few more bites of ramen. No words were shared shortly after as both had begun digging into their food, but this time Shuzo was the one to break the silence, washing his food down with a sip of water before speaking.
"I also don't agree that the world needed Sparkblade as much as you think it did. In the end, nearly all of what I did, since taking out criminals and arms deals, tracking down Massi, joining the Paragons... it didn't solve a damn thing. Even if I killed Skade, the Void Father came. Even when Patriot killed him, Earth lost its greatest protector--albeit douchebag--and got a psychopath pretending to be a benevolent world leader in his place. What else could I have done? Clean up another gang on the streets? Try to kill Warren again?"
His sudden argument against Li's explanation for her waiting for him was unnecessary, and it was full of crap; his recollection of the fight with Skade might have been, too. And Shuzo knew that. But as long as it kept her safe from the real truth that was much more foreboding.... he'd deal with the repercussions as needed.
- - -
It had been a fierce battle; swords and blades of ice had clashed with unmatched ferocity as two figures stood in the tempest of swirling frost and frigid wind. A storm on incomprehensible scales that.... almost seemed alive.
Sparkblade, the recently inducted Paragon sent to Siberia to confront the Herald of Whitefrost, Skade, had been locked in intense combat with the alien deity for what seemed like grueling hours, bloodied and bruised. Skade, however, only seemed beyond thrilled to take part in such an exhilarating showdown, smiling with sinister glee. Then, the two suddenly made eye contact, and for a brief moment.... the storm faltered. Skade's eyes flashed with a glint of familiarity, and she smirked, pointing an accusatory finger laced with frost toward him.
"So.... it's you?"
Shuzo froze (figuratively), his battle stance breaking form ever so slightly before he narrowed his eyes and responded, crimson lightning dancing around him.
"The last human you'll see? That's right. What about it?"
"No no no, not that; besides, I doubt you'd even get close to killing me," Skade quickly dismissed, her smirk remaining. "What I mean is.... it's you."
The Herald's smirk widened, slowly turning into a delighted chuckle before she continued.
"So, Father really did have another plan for his 'most prized possession'. All that time, Raikos played along, acting as if he had the same duties as us. And behind our backs, he raised descendant after descendant to keep his precious spark alive."
The mention of descendancy struck an uncomfortable chord of familiarity with Shuzo, who quickly recalled the words of Charles Warren, who had delivered a haunting message about his heritage shortly before he killed himself. His continued ignorance of what Skade was talking about soon became anger, and the bolts of red electricity circling his body grew fiercer.
"What do you mean by 'descendants'? Who are you talking about?"
Skade remained unfazed by Shuzo's increasing irritation, and she turned to gaze into the Paragon's eyes.
"You, 'Sparkblade'. I've seen enough of your ancestors throughout all these millennia to recognize his spawn when I see them. You are a direct descendant of Raikos, the Herald of the Silverbolt, chosen to carry out the charge given to him directly by our Father. A recipient of his inheritance as the son of a Herald."
Shuzo stopped in his tracks, letting his blades fall to the ground as his eyes went blank. It couldn't be....
'Don't you know about your heritage?'
This wasn't happening. Him, a descendant of someone from the same race as the aliens currently tearing down the planet?
'Don't you know the Silverbolt?'
What happened next felt like a blur, even to Shuzo's enhanced reflexes. His mind felt hollow, his eyes dark and dull. His movements didn't feel like his own, nor were they of his own will. But in his moment of emptiness, the lightning arcing around him, crackling to new life, had never felt stronger. In the midst of howling winds and swirling ice, the only thing Shuzo heard was the name he'd feared since first hearing it, echoing as a repeated whisper in his head.
Shuzo's eyes were filled with a lustrous silver light, and before he knew it, he was now several meters forward from where he'd originally stood, the figure of Skade standing right before him. However, as he finally came to and looked up, the silver light fading from his eyes, the Paragon noticed that the Herald of Whitefrost no longer carried a smug grin as she stood. The sensation of paracord tightly gripped in his hands alerted him to the blade he now carried, and his gaze followed the edge of his daito....
...finding it embedded in Skade's heart.
Skade finally moved, writhing in pain as the sword, still lodged through her body, was wrested from Shuzo's grasp, and the Paragon could only watch in silence. The Herald let out a guttural scream, and the blizzard surging around her seemed to almost seep back into her, roaring with the same ferocity as her as the frost and winds began to absorb into her body. Skade's eyes glowed as she continued to shriek, the display of desperate fury shaking the ground and disrupting Shuzo's footing.
Finally, several seconds passed, and all that remained was the much gentler cold of Siberia's normal climate, Skade's screams beginning to subside, the light in her eyes fading. When the two made eye contact for the last time, the Herald smiled, seeming to be in a peculiar state of serenity, and as she spoke her last words, Shuzo could barely make out cracks, slowly branching out one-by-one throughout Skade's face and body.
"Should we fail on this planet, I leave the rest to you....
....brother."
Then, with a final yell, Skade's body arched back, white light once again seeping from the cracks in her body with newfound intensity. And as a piercing sound akin to that of shattered ice echoed throughout the continent of Asia, and white light filled the sky.....
Shuzo's world went black.
