Death's Door

Due to angels being energy based species, Morphus had no need to eat, he thought his energy was sufficient for his vessel.

But perhaps the vessel needed far more than the constant intake of his angelic energy.

"Come to think of it, Dark Lord did say that it is odd that I don"t eat anything, I wonder if that"s why my vessels get worn out so fast. Even if my energy makes the body parts move, in order to keep the body in good condition, food might be necessary. I see; it is like oiling the metal tools to make them work better! Food for a vessel is same as oil for tools!"

Morphus drew a rather obvious solution to his dilemma.

Though, to him, as an angel who lacked a sense of hunger, at least in this world, it truly was a monumental discovery.

"By the way, where am I?"

While in deep thought, Morphus ended up walking rather far away from the inn.

"Oh no, I lost my ring! Dark Lord will butcher me and Luka will make fun of me again!"

Now he found himself in a rather s.p.a.cious plain area.

Looking around, there were only enormous green plants covered with countless spikes.

"I wonder if they are edible."

Using a wing, he proceeded to slice a single cactus horizontally in half.

Now with a piece of cactus in his hands, he bravely proceeded to take a bite.

What followed was a symphony of pain, humiliation, and loud screams.

By the end of it, Morphus was rolling on the ground in agony.

Even if he was just occupying the vessel, he could still feel pain.

And now he had a mouth full of cactus needles.

"Oooh, how do humans eat this stuff? Are they crazy?"

Morphus a.s.sumed that humans were omnivores, so he presumed that they were able to eat raw cactus.

He didn"t even notice a presence behind him.

"What are you doing?"

"Failing at eating, apparently"

Morphus replied to the voice.

Then, realizing that he was not alone, he turned his attention to the source of the voice.

A woman with dark grey hair and grey wings, she stood taller than Morphus, who was at the time occupying the body of a child.

"You…Are you by any chance an angel as well?" Morphus hesitantly asked.

"Yes. Though unlike you, I am not a free angel. I serve a Primordial G.o.d…."

"Hooray! I finally found another angel!"

Morphus proceeded to pounce on the angel, holding on to her leg and waist. He definitely caught her by surprise.

"What are you doing?! Let go of me!"

"Sorry, it has been so long since I have seen another angel! My name is Morphus. I am kind of new to this realm, though I have been here for several years; I have been in human body only for a few months. How long have you been in this world?"

"Around half a century by now. Now, if you don"t mind, I need to be going now. This is a very busy time for us, Angels of Death. So many deaths happen that we are constantly busy. I have many souls to reap."

"Wait! Please tell me, why are you doing this? On whose orders? Is someone forcing you?"

"I act upon the orders of the Primordial G.o.d of Death, to whom the Angels of Death are bound to serve. As per the agreement made by our deity and King of G.o.ds, we, the Shinigami, are charged with making sure that the souls move on after death."

"But why?" Morphus could not understand why an angel was bound to serve a deity.

"To prevent defiance of fate. A soul that has lost its spark of life is no longer bound to fate, for it is no longer whole. But if that soul ends up possessing a living body, then the soul would be technically restored back to life and will no longer be bound by fate. It can cause big problems down the line. As such, it is our duty to prevent that from happening"

"Why must everything be bound by fate?"

"Because the G.o.ds are control freaks and everything needs to go exactly as planned. Look, little one. As much as I would like to stay and chat, I have another three hundred sixty seven souls to reap before reaching my daily quota. So if you would excuse me…"

It was obvious that she was not exactly comfortable with the tiny angel clinging on to her as though she was some sort of a tree.

She even considered the thought of flying up and shaking the little angel off of her.

But then, she sensed a presence.

"This feeling…There is no mistaking it…"

As she focused her gaze, she saw the mortal who was looking at them.

Now he was approaching them.

"Master Olim?" she hesitantly asked.

The aura she was sensing, it was definitely that of Olim, the last Primordial Deity.

"No…It can"t be…You are not Master Olim. Yet…."

As she caught sight of what the mortal was wearing, her eyes opened wide.

It was the black ring that belonged to Olim.

So that"s why he was radiating the Aura of G.o.d of Death, the aura only a few could sense.

As Angel of Death, she knew that aura rather well.

"Why do you have that? Where did you get it?! Who gave that to you?! Answer me, mortal! I can tell that you can see and hear me just fine!"

It was obvious from the way he acted that she was not hidden from his view.

Usually Angels of Death are invisible to everyone except those who have the ability to see G.o.ds or have acquired the true sight.

"Who gave it to me? Who do you think, Shinigami?"

The mortal was about the same height as her, with coal black hair.

It was strange, but she could not see his future or his past, she could only see him in the present.

"Aside from the Primary G.o.ds, none is powerful enough to steal anything from G.o.d of Death and emerge unscathed. So the only plausible explanation would be that Master Olim himself gave me this ring"

"Why should I believe you?"

"In that case, if I were a thief, do you really think I would still be alive? I am pretty sure Master Olim would have killed me by now"

It seems like his last statement managed to convince her.

Now instead of being on her guard, she proceeded to walk towards the mortal and kneel before him.

"If what you are saying is true, then that means, as a wielder of Ring of Death, you are my superior. My deepest apologies, sire, I was not aware of Master Olim having chosen a champion"

"A champion? What are you talking about?"

"G.o.ds can chose champions by giving a portion of their power to the mortals, most G.o.ds do so by giving blessings, but Master Olim chose to do something different, and instead granted you his ring. Therefore, that makes you his chosen champion, the Knight of Death"

"Ok" it was obvious the mortal was a little confused.

The name Knight of Death sounded a little weird as well.

"My liege, I am afraid, I have a task I must attend to at the moment. However, as your subordinate, please allow me to a.s.sist in your future time of need, if I am capable."

She took the hand that he had a ring on and lightly touched the black stone.

"From now on, if you tap the ring thrice, I shall appear where you are. Apologies for the rush, but I must get going"

"That is fine. Please take care, Desolai"

"Thank you, I shall do so"

The grey winged Angel of Death now vanished from the sight of the mortal as she teleported away.

"Come to think of it, I never told him my name, so how did he know it?"

She couldn"t help but wonder.

* * *

"Well, not exactly a reunion I was expecting, but I can"t say I am unhappy about it"

Without a shred of doubt, it was her. The angel he fell in love with nine hundred years in the future, Desolai.

But this was the past version of her, long before he first met her.

She was a completely different angel from what he remembered, but Dark Lord knew Desolai well enough to recognize her right away.

He could never mistake another angel for her. Dark Lord saw her again, at last. But even if it was a happy occasion, it left a rather bittersweet feeling within him.

On the bright side, she was Desolai, but on the downside, she was not the same Desolai he knew. Not his Desolai, at the very least. But for some reason, he felt relieved. Seeing her again gave him a sense of comfort.

"Master, are you ok? You are crying"

"Pay it no heed, Morphie. Pay it no heed"