The Beginning of Death

I waited for him in the hall. An uninvited guest, as I am all the time; disliked by everyone on the earth though it is very likely that they all will meet me at the end. Of course, I do not come in person for everyone. I have my minions at my disposal that would have their fun doing the work for me. And I make my presence only for those who are "worthy" enough to stay alive but still have to go. As "fate" calls it, it was God’s will. They get cheated by "fate" all the time. Yet they believe it. What an irony! Especially, this person here, Mark as he is rightly called is my Mark. I marked him. He is not like others. He is a special person and it is time for him to move on to his next destiny even though his destiny in this life will go unfulfilled. Destiny like time will not wait for anyone; though unlike time it can be chased on. But his chase is over now and he soon will lose. As I told before, his time is up and he have to go. Even Duke has to go. But not me.
I am getting tired of this. It has been an earthly hour and he is still away planning for something that is never going to happen. When they find out of him tomorrow morning, things will change. There will be war. And I will reap the harvest. No. Wait. I will send my minions instead. After another hour of restlessness, I sensed him walking towards his room unaware of who awaits his appearance. I walked to the door to greet him with my scythe. Raised above my head, I waited for him to come and face "Death". The knob turned with a click as he entered and I swung my Scythe.
And then it happened. Before, I could tear the soul out of his flesh, a sword clashed my blade producing a spark that lighted the whole place and pushed me back inside. I was moved few feet behind and I held guard for the first time waiting to see my challenger. Still shining in bright light, my rival stood there holding a long sword that I very well recognized as the Solarbringer forged in the molten iron river of the primitive earth. It is believed to be forged by the Gods and yielded by the Guardians of Existence during the Earliest of the wars to defeat the Undefeatable. And here it is in the hands of my adversary who is challenging he does not understand. I am impressed at myself. The work of God is needed to meet me face to face. Still sharp with his eyes, he jumped on me with the Sword raised above his head. The blades again met and a lightning crashed on the ground. I pushed him back and swung my scythe as he dodged with ease and dived back and took guard. I smirked and ran towards him revolving myself into a spin with the blade ready to cut anything that comes in contact. He dived again avoiding his end again. As I rested my spin, he yielded the Solarbringer and started bashing as much as he could while I deflected every attack while still happy about watching a worthy Guardian after a long time.
Every living creature has a bond between soul and the body that keeps them together against harm from casual dangers and deadly minions, that is me. Depends upon the will to sustain life and the Karma he have lived for, the bond generates energy that makes life stronger and difficult for me to finish my job. For most creatures, the bond generates passive shield that can withstand only weak forces of darkness and easily get succumbed soon. But for creatures with high Karma and grace, the bond produces an active spirit called "The Guardian". The Guardian is destined to protect the bond till it lasts. But as "fate" terms it, everything that has a beginning, has an end. So the Guardian protects the bond till it end comes and there by brings the end to the life it guards too. And it happens mostly in my generals’ hands or in special case like Mark, has to be mine.
The guardian raised the Solarbringer that looked majestic with its 40 inches blade and extra ordinary 10 inch hilt that forces one to hold the sword with two hands and yet confuse the opponent for a double edged sword that can strike even on the handle side. He swung the blade and it clashed again with mine. The blade remaining against each other, he pushed it hard trying to push it over me. "Do you know what you are fighting for, Guardian?" I laughed at him. "I am death! I cannot be defeated, you blind man" I growled and pushed his sword away. He remained silent and moved in circle waiting for his moment to watch me lost stance. I have seen these pathetic Guardians doing the same again and again as they are told. Their entire life has been written as a Haiku with only words meaning "Fight till Death conquers you". As I lowered my arms a bit, he moved in and struck with his sword towards my left. It met the Scythe and he backed again. I must admit that this is a worthy fight that I have been waiting for so long that I forgot how long it has been since I have to watch the rival’s eyes to determine when his next attack is going to be. The eyes speak before your own arms get the message for action. His eyes spoke swift and hard that it made an impact inside me with every action. Could he be the one to bring the change? Is it time for Duke to go? Is this the beginning of a new era?
The fight continued on as the clashes produced more destruction and thunder as it deafened everything around. With fight aggravating for heavenly hours with both of the players incapable of giving up, the clash moved across seas and oceans and on to the deep forests and finally to the Almighty’s feet at the edge of the river of Void. Fighting harder and harder I wished for the first time, that this should get over soon and found his eyes blinking for a second and before I could interpret its meaning, the sword came to my left and hit the handle taking it away from my grasp. The next bash almost sliced my arm as I dived away to leave the blade untouched. I grabbed the weapon from the ground and moved with a spin on him as he went on moving behind deflecting each attack with the Solarbringer. And with the final attack, I struck hard the blade over his head but he moved away in the final split second.
As the scythe hit the ground, he kicked it taking it away from my grasp once again. And this time, he was lucky enough to wound my arm with his blade and I fell on my back rolling away from the sharp edges reaching out to my weapon. Like a true soldier, he stood there waiting from me to gain ground. "You have no idea what you are doing?" I shouted at him. He really has no idea. "Why do you not understand that death can never be conquered?" There is no win in this fight. "You arrogant slayers never try to realize the simple truth" I was aloud trying to make him understand the inevitable. He never spoke. His eyes were blind yet fixed on me. "Fools!" I laughed. "Victory is not your destiny. You can never stop fighting. I am just trying to offer my help to end this torture." Like drumming on the deaf ears, he stood still with guard. "Okay! If you want it that way, so be it." I decided it is time for the ultimate test. It is time to leave the destiny in the hands of the "fate". I raised my weapon for one final clash. The storm rose high and the clouds gathered together breaking the silence with thunder. It started to rain. He held his hands tight on the sword and raised his arms ready for the strike. The final blow will tell us who would succeed. Whatever the end is, you will not survive. "The Gods play the dice. Let us play with Strength." I ran towards the Guardian with the scythe in front, he too followed unaware of what lay ahead. As the thunders roared as we came close to each other, we swung the blades finishing the fight as we crossed our path slowing down the run at the other end. He turned around still holding the Solarbringer firm in his hands but lowered towards the ground. He knew his opponent could not hold the weapon after the blade has sliced across the torso. I dropped the scythe. My hands would not obey my will. And my legs failed too. I let down myself on the ground. "Well done, Guardian. Well done. You have finally done what most of your kind is not even worth to think of". I let out a loud laugh. Like the only keeper of the secret, I laughed at his ignorance. "Your will to succeed have made you lose your destiny. " I looked at his proud yet confused eyes with full of questions. Of all the questions that haunted him, it is not ‘what next?’ that troubled him but the question why no one told the end of his destiny that frightened him. "You still do not understand. Do you?" I laughed for one last time under Duke’s skin. "It is time for Duke to go and you to embrace death".
And as the last word echoed, I revealed him the truth. "When you conquer death, you become ‘Death’. And I remain forever." As he moved behind realizing his stupidity, the Solarbringer disappeared and the scythe replaced its place in his hands. As the remains of Duke were blown by the winds, his face grew darker and the cloak covered the body that was once protected by Golden armor. The destiny rewritten, the Guardian of the light reincarnated as the Reaper of souls bidden to the commands of the Gods. And the Gods have spoken his first task in his new destiny. "The soul of Mark".