Phoenix The Knight Without an Armor

On a cold winter night, a chilly breeze blew across a barren land littered with hundreds of corpses, wearing red colourd uniform. There were even a few who were wearing what seemed like once shining black heavy armour but, which looked dented, broken, muddy and bloody now.

The Ravens and eagles were circling above, preparing themselves for a feast!

Amidst these corpses, a man, who might have been in his early twenties was sitting, breathing raggedly. His back leaning heavily against a fallen enemy General, his facial features unrecognisable, his left eye popped out of it's socket, hanging on his chin by the nerves. His whole body covered in cuts and blood trickling down slowly. Half a dozen broken arrow shaft jutting out from his torso. If someone would have been there, they could definitely hear him talking to himself. Afraid that, if he stopped talking, he would never see the sunrise that he so desperately wanted to see.

"I hate dying in the darkness. I want to see the sunrise, I want the death to embrace me while the warm sunshine falls on my face. I want to die happily. Not to die in this cold, godforsaken place. And I will not allow even the death to take me away till I see the sunrise."

The Ravens and the eagles started to descend from the sky, circling, crowing and screeching, eager to have a chunk of flesh. Fresh, juicey and a rare meal to find in these barren lands. Now they can all have as much as they want. Even hundreds of them can't eat all the fresh food at once.

These scavenger bird's starts to tore open the flesh of the fallen soldiers and started to gobble it down, as if they hadn't had a meal in several weeks. Which they actually did not.

The man saw it with his blood filled blurry right eye. Even though he was not in a position to raise his hand to fend himself from these scavenger birds, his determination to stay alive till the sunrise, made him to slightly shake himself whenever a raven or an eagle sat on his body.

After a few hours, which felt like an year or may be a decade, he somewhat saw a huge shadow decent from the sky. By this time, his vision was almost gone. His life energy almost spent and his mouth completly dry.

Earth beneath him slightly trembled as a huge figure landed a few meters away from him. He tried to focus his hazy and now almost non existent sight on the huge figure. But, failed.

The figure was infront of him with just a couple of steps and was starting at his disfigured face. It's own face inches away from this dying man.

What would a dying man be scared of? When he was certain about meeting his maker for such a long time and whose body wasn't even in his own control.

But out of shere willpower, he tried to blink and look in the eyes of the creature which is about to land the killing blow and rob him of his final wish to see the sunlight befor he would close his eyes forever in this god forsaken land.

Suddenly the vision in his right eye started to return and he was able to see with slight blurriness.

The huge face, which he could not put a name or compare it to, in his current condition was looking at his curiously. After blinking for a few more times he was able to focus and see a huge shining pitch black eye infront of him.

It was as if, he was looking into an abyss. A place with no return once you enter.

"Ah, so this is how the god of death looks!? Oh well, I knew I was dying but I didn't knew that he would come personally to take the dying soul away! How many times would he be coming to pick the souls of the dead people up? I myself had killed hundreds today. Did he visited each and everytime when someone died!? Don't he have his minons or assistants to help him? Or is he working alone for all these millennia's? Such a tedious work. It's such a pitty to do all these dirty work, repeatedly, day after day, year after year. Millennia after Millennia's." The man felt sorry for the god of death.

The god of death, listened to the man's thoughts and had an amusing smile on his face.

"Why are you still hanging on to your life?" The voice reverberated inside his mind, shaking his whole being, even his soul. It took the man a few moments to piece together his thoughts and come to a conclusion that the immortal being infront of him had aske him a question.

He tried to open his mouth to speak but, nothing came out.... infact, he wasn't even able to open his mouth. " I am waiting for the sunrise. I hate dying in this no-man's land. As I can't do anything in my current situation, I want to die atleast watching the sun rise as this life falls."

"Curious, very curious. You defied the death itself to watch the sunrise !? You made me come over all the way here for you. What if I kill you now? Then how would you watch the sunrise?" The voice inside the dying man's head asked with malicious laughter.

Instead of feeling helpless or fear, the man felt insulted and enraged. "You can kill me, but not my will nor my soul. Kill me now and lets see if my soul leave this place before the sun rises in the sky." He challenged definitely.

A loud, booming and hearty laughter rang in his mind. It went on for a long time. When he started to feel his mind going numb because of this loud, heavenly voice, it died down to a chuckle.

"Very well human. I am impressed by your willpower and defiance. I will give you, your life back. But it will not be on this world, or even this galaxy. You will be reborn. And don't worry, the bravery, courage, strength, willpower and the defiant nature you possesed in this life will be nothing compared to what you will have in your next life in the new place. The air itself is filled with magic and unimaginable power and that world even contains poweful being those are unimaginable in this world. Now, as per your wish, lets wait for the sunrise. " The huge shape infront of his face vanished after sating it.

With a sigh, the man simply looked at the sky, which to his surprise was getting brighter. "Ah..... sunrise at last." The man had a peaceful look after watching the sun rise in the horizon after an hour. Steeling himself for his inevitable demise, he started to speak to himself again. And this time he was sure that the god of death would be able to here him. "As promised, I am ready now. Thank you for letting me see the sun and feel the warmth. Now take me with you. I don't have any more requests or regrets."

The huge black shape re-appeared infront of him with an appreciative look and a small smile at the corner of its mouth. " Lets go..." The shadowy figure, put forth its right index finger and was about to touch the dying man's heart but, stopped a few centimeters short."

"What is your name, Human?"

"I am Phoenix. The knight without an Armor. And it was a pleasure meeting you, the god of the death." He sounded content and at peace.

The god of death, whose finger was howering centimeters away from the dying man's chest, touched it. And with that, the Hero of Ansul Kingdom. Slayer of hundreds of blood hound soldiers and their generals. Saviour of thousands upon thousands of innocent people, left this world forever to start a new and existing journey.