423 Cycle of Life and Death

"What's that shield?" Clint said, nudging his chin towards the energy construct strapped to Thanatos's forearm.

"A gift," said Thanatos, somber. "And a reminder of what I have to do."

Thanatos raised his arm into the air, the shield shining in its verdant splendor. He looked almost like Minuteman, standing stalwart with a symbol of protection high above to protect all life. But the way Thanatos was armored in bone parts and blackened metal and a cloak of wailing, stitched souls made it clear that he much more than a protector of life.

He was a dealer of death.

Both guardian and destroyer.

And this boundary, too, represented that dichotomy.

Thanatos crushed his hand into a fist. The shield separated from his arm and hovered high above his head. Its diadem structure, elongated on one side, looked almost like the hand of a clock. Here, the shield pointed upwards, towards where twelve would be if it was a timepiece.

From the shield, light exploded outwards in a blinding flash.