It's safe enough where you can throw it out mid screen and people aren't going to check you on reaction.
1,1,4 > Soul Spark seems to be -8 on block so far, I've only gotten punished by Reptile and Kung Lao reversals (blocked Sub Zero's slide safely every time)... so mid match you can get away with it versus a lot of the cast. You can also train someone to let you get away with it if you switch it in after you've hit them from trying to interrupt you after 1,1,4 > air throw. Good news is you get the bonus whether you're hit or not because it happens on frame 1
At full screen, using Soul Spark will give you enough time to parry an incoming projectile if they're reacting to the spark.
The big deal about it though is it quickly gives us access to Soul Scorch for more meter, or at least 8% healing. It's going to take some getting used to, but it's already helped my meter/health management in my matches tonight.
Ex. I hit someone with level 1 SGC, then max ranged d+4 > Soul Spark when they woke up, then ticked into another SGC or another d+4 > Soul Spark (I switched these up based on how footsies were going). Now my block string is ready to reward me 3/4 of a bar anytime just from 1,1,4 > Soul Scorch. Or even better 18% during a block string where I can still press advantage after the heal! I was surprised how often I was back at level 3 just by using it mid screen whenever my opponent and I were jocking for position. After a while, I stopped using it because people would try to anticipate and preemptively jump-in or use an unsafe special... so my punishment game was much easier from it too. It easily levels up Qwark's block string so you can get an extra rotation or two in no problem. The extra damage on the Sun God Choke is always wonderful, but now we can use Soul Scorch multiple times per round if you want so it is definitely worth considering.
Oh, and for the projectile battle. On of my opponents fed me 5 fireballs which I parried before I threw an EX Sunstone which looked like it hit for 30%. It was hilarious. They also stopped throwing fireballs for the rest of the match too.
