Guardian(Part IV): Revelation

Prologue

I woke up, seeing that I was floating in a rectangular canister of water. I raised my fist to hit the glass, and a crack appeared in it. It widened with another punch, and the glass completely shattered with a third. I climbed out of the canister, and ripped the breathing mask off of my face. I stepped on shards of glass with my bare feet, but I wasn't worried about losing blood. My heartbeat was slower than a normal person's, so I didn't lose blood as fast if I ever got cut, and my body was more resilient to injuries and physical trauma. My mutations kept me from dying so easily, but I still wouldn't risk my life recklessly, especially with the darkness I sensed around me. I was in a small room, with dead Chardanish soldiers at my feet. What the hell happened here? I couldn't find out now. I had to focus on getting myself out of this facility. I assumed that it was the headquarters of the Chardanish Special Forces. Specifically, the ICU recovery wing. I wouldn't get out of this place until I fought through what was probably an army of Turned if they had already managed to take control of the base. As I began to walk towards the door of the recovery room, though, I heard a quiet "beep" behind me. I turned around, and saw a drawer opening from the shattered glass canister I was stored in. My clothes, a specialized long-sleeved shirt made from fabric that could withstand intense friction that was a crimson color, black pants made from the same thing, and gloves and boots that had crystals of radiant malakyte in them that generated an aura shield. I took as little time as I could putting my clothes on, and I even found my APID, and inserted it into my ear so it could connect to my cybernetic enhancements. Once I took everything out of the drawer, it closed, only for another drawer under it to open. This one didn't have clothes inside of it. It had my sword, sheathed in its scabbard. It was a ninjato, a blade similar to a katana, but shorter and straighter, and used by Shinobi instead of Samurai. I used my sword for the same reason that they used theirs. As a tool of justice, only drawn in the service of others. A means of saving lives, not shedding blood. Master Avanka made me swear that code, but told me that what it meant was up to me, not her. I could interpret it in my own way, and I did. Now, though, it was left here for me as a choice. It was a weapon of light, enchanted with a radiant crystal, and enhanced with a strange, white metal that could easily cut through metals weaker than itself, including weak black blades. It was meant to strike against the Abyss and its servants. It was meant to be used only if needed. It was meant to be used to defend the innocent. I had no doubt that Avanka left it here for me as a choice, not a necessity. She would never force anyone to fight if they didn't want to. Even if I left the Special Forces, she would gladly wish me well. I did have a choice, but how would I live with myself if I abandoned what I had fought for? I did have a choice, and I made it. I strapped the sheath to my waist and drew the sword. I examined the blade as closely as I could, to see if it really was mine. Above the guard, I saw a sigil. The same sigil etched into my forehead. A fox, which is the name that Master Avanka gave me. I was "the Fox", an animal that was supposedly cunning, sly, and swift. That was the reasoning behind Avanka giving me that name. I didn't know if I really was cunning, and sly, and swift, but all of the Special Forces were trained to be as stealthy as possible when they had to remain hidden, and as deadly as possible when in open combat.

"Names have power," Master Avanka told me.

She was right. I was the Fox, and it was my time to fight again.