CHAPTER 145: PARAGON

"Excuse me. Is it not time for my interview yet?"

The audience collectively turned. The stage lights swept across the newcomer, and the energy in the studio shifted.

He was radiant in every sense of the word. Blond hair tumbled to his shoulders, glowing under the lights like it had been kissed by the sun itself. His eyes were piercing blue, so bright they almost seemed unreal. His skin bore a permanent sun-tan, and his body was built lean and precise, like an athlete carved out of light.

He wore only a white cape that rippled in the air, gold gloves that shimmered, and a white Greek-style loincloth that managed to look regal instead of absurd.

A symbol was etched into his chest: a blazing sun with a golden compass rose at its heart.

And he was not standing. He was floating, cape drifting lazily behind him, as though the earth was beneath him but not for him.

His feet never touched the stage.

Charlotte nearly sparkled. "Ah, and here comes our next guest! Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone in between, please welcome the blazing beacon himself... Paragon!"

The crowd erupted. Cheers, whistles, stomping applause.

Hermes’ stomach sank.

Charlotte rose to greet him like an old friend. "What a treat for our viewers. A surprise double interview. Copy Cat, meet Paragon."

Paragon’s smile seemed to light the room brighter than the stage rig.

He floated gracefully into the empty chair beside Hermes, settling as though he has done this many times before..

Hermes stared, and he couldn’t help but feel this stranger looked familiar. That face carried Aphrodite’s ethereal beauty. That golden hair was Somner’s shade exactly. And those piercing blue eyes... Ymir’s eyes.

It was like staring at a patchwork made from the people closest to him.

But Hermes had never heard of him before. And he had always watched the hero news and stayed updated with the goings-on in the industry.

Charlotte clapped her hands once. "Now, Paragon is what we call a natural wonder. An independent hero, not yet claimed by any guild, but already the subject of global chatter."

The screens behind them lit up with images.

Paragon soared over a city skyline, cape stretched like wings.

Paragon caught a collapsing bridge on his shoulders, veins lit with gold.

Paragon blurred across a battlefield, dismantling weapons before anyone registered he had moved.

Paragon stood in fire, smoke curling harmlessly around him.

The audience gasped and cheered with each picture.

"And..." Charlotte said, her grin widening, "we cannot forget the most radiant power in his arsenal."

The screen flickered. Paragon’s eyes burned bright, and searing beams tore through a monstrous mech, cleaving it in half with molten precision.

The crowd roared.

But Hermes had a much different reaction. He knew those beams.

The giant Void chicken that fell from the sky, a hole in its neck. The one who stole his team’s kill.... was him.

Paragon was the rogue hero.

Charlotte leaned forward, delighted. "Tell us, Paragon. How does it feel to have laser vision?"

Paragon’s voice was as smooth as polished marble. "Not quite lasers. They are concentrated sunlight. Heat and light channeled from the sun itself. All my powers stem from that source."

Charlotte gasped dramatically, pen scratching. "So the sun itself blesses you. Flying, strength, speed, healing... invulnerability. You are like a sun god."

She gave Hermes a side-eye as she added: "While mere mortals can only hope to emulate your magnificence."

Hermes couldn’t hold it in. "So what happens at night? Do you lose your powers then?"

The audience leaned forward in their seats, hungry for tension.

But Paragon only smiled, utterly unshaken. "Not completely. The moon reflects sunlight, so I never lose everything. I am simply stronger under the day. Night only slows me down."

Charlotte’s pen twirled in her fingers, her grin sharpening. "So, Copy Cat challenges the sun, and the sun still shines. But it was brave of you to ask what others were thinking."

The tone stung. Hermes’ jaw clenched.

Charlotte didn’t let him breathe. "Now, since we have both of our bright young stars, why don’t we compare them side by side?"

The crowd howled in approval.

Hermes’ stomach knotted.

Charlotte gestured with her pen. "Copy Cat, your ability is clever. You consume, and then you... copy. But isn’t it true that your strength is always borrowed? You are, by name and nature, a replica."

The audience murmured with laughter. Hermes steadied his voice. "I don’t borrow. I adapt. I train until the power becomes my own."

"Adaptation is admirable." Charlotte’s smile was sharp enough to cut. "But Paragon’s gifts come from within.

Hermes snapped back, "There have been other heroes with powers like his. Flying, beams, strength, healing. He’s not the first."

Charlotte pivoted, her tone honeyed but cutting. "True, but never all at once. Never in a single body. And certainly not without depending on someone else’s scraps."

The screen split in two. Hermes freezing a swarm, Paragon soaring above a battlefield. Hermes igniting tunnels, Paragon walking untouched through fire. Hermes caught awkward in photographs, Paragon smiling like an icon.

The comparison was merciless.

Charlotte closed with her trademark flourish. "Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes Hero Hour. Let us thank our brilliant guests: the ever-resourceful Copy Cat, and the shining Paragon!"

The crowd rose to their feet, cheering. Paragon floated higher, waving, glowing like a deity. Hermes stayed seated, his smile forced, his chest burning with a mix of humiliation and rage.

***

Backstage, the sound dulled to a distant roar. Hermes dropped onto a bench, his fists trembling on his knees.

Somner was there first. "Are you ok, Master? You.... Uh, got burned badly back there."

Aphrodite sat gently at Hermes’ side. His soft voice was balm against the sting. "They wanted to make a spectacle. It was never about the truth."

Ymir crossed his arms, his gaze steady. "The press does this to everyone. You just happened to be sitting next to a golden boy. That Paragon guy will be old news soon enough."

Magni clapped Hermes’ shoulder with enough force to nearly topple him. "Cheer up, Brother Modi. You fought primordials and went to the deepest pits of the Void. A woman with a sharp tongue and a pen shouldn’t scare you."

Hermes managed a breath. "Thanks guys... Yeah, I should get used to this kind of thing as a hero. I’ll do better next time."

Then...

Paragon appeared, gliding down the hallway like he had no weight at all.

"Copy Cat." He said warmly, as if the word wasn’t an insult at all. "You did well tonight. First interviews are always the hardest."

Hermes looked up sharply. "...That was your first interview too?"

Paragon chuckled. "Yes. And I was nervous. Terrified, even."

Hermes laughed bitterly. "You didn’t seem like it at all."

"The sun must keep shining even amidst the rainclouds." Paragon said lightly. His smile didn’t waver.

He extended his hand, golden glove gleaming. "I look forward to working with you soon."

Hermes blinked "Working with.... me?"

"Of course. I had many offers from guilds. Too many to choose from." Paragon’s voice was bright, sincere. "But after meeting you..."

Paragon gave him a blinding smile.

"I’ve decided. I want to work with you. I want to work in the Golden Apple."