As Cho sunk to the ground, he saw the warrior ahead rush towards him, sword and shield both on the ground. Kolskegg broke some sort of magic stones which burst into ash shortly after. Consciousness slowly fading, he could barely hear the Viking speak as he packed the ashes into his side before he blacked out.

Then his last breath spiralled out into the sky and he died.
[hr]
          [sub][sub][sub][i]he's not worthy[/i][/sub][/sub][/sub]
                                     [sub][sub][sub][i]his heart is [/i][/sub][/sub][/sub][b]black[/b]
                        [sub][sub][sub][i]he desires [/i][/sub][/sub][/sub][b]vengeance[/b]
                                             [sub][sub][i]then we shall[/i] [/sub][/sub][b]provide[/b]
                           [sub][sub][i]the flesh is [/i][/sub][/sub][b]weak [/b][sub][sub][i]and[/i][/sub][/sub][b] useless[/b]
                 [sub][sub][i]wreathe in[/i] [/sub][/sub][b]shadow[/b]
       [sub][sub][i]cloak in[/i][/sub][/sub] [b]darkness[/b]
                                       [sub][sub][i]fill his heart with[/i][/sub][/sub][b] vegeance[/b]
                            [sub][sub][i]fill his[/i][/sub][/sub][b] blood[/b] [sub][sub][i]with it[/i][/sub][/sub]
                     [sub][sub][i]a[/i][/sub][/sub] [b]man[/b] [sub][sub][i]he is no more[/i][/sub][/sub]
            [sub][sub][i]no[/i][/sub][/sub]
[center][sub][sub][i]now he is a [/i][/sub][/sub][b]Reaper[/b][/center]
[hr]
Cho awoke with a start. He was in the middle of a forest, body laid across stones to what he could only assume were ruins. He strained to lift his head and caught sight of a fallen man across from him. 

[i]Where am I?[/i]

Gradually his senses returned to him; sight, sound, touch, smell, taste. All were numb, muted, as if he were behind some sort of screen that he had to fight through, like he were underwater. He fought the feeling as he struggled to sit up. 

The man in front of him was passed out, face down in the dirt. A sword and shield lay on either side of him; the shield had two holes in it, like some projectile had punched straight through it.

[i]Who is this?[/i]

He shook his head. His memories were faint, distant. Slowly they were returning. 

[i]My...my name is Cho Sun-Jin. I am 29 years old, born in Seoul. I am Korean special forces, and...I am in ParaCom.[/i]

Strength began to return to him, as did his feelings and senses. Faintly he remembered, just before he'd blacked out, the words of a warrior, spoken in desperation almost. 
                [sub][i]“Wake my friend. This is not the day you die. Today you shall be counted among the living, the great hall of Odin shall have to wait before you grace it.”[/i][/sub]

[i]Was this the same man? What was I doing here?[/i]

Memories recent but distant gradually returned to him. He remembered the mission. His team. How the man on the floor had slaughtered them all. 

Anger rose from within. His fists clenched of their own accord. He grabbed a gun from the ground and held it to the fallen man's head. 

Then, he remembered. Kolskegg was his name. He had been sent to hunt this Viking. The two had met and the two clashed strengths. It had cost him his team, but the warrior had saved him in the end. 

He lowered his [s]Vector[/s]. This man didn't deserve his vengeance. 

Cho stepped backward a few and sat on a stone. He stared at his hands, which were ashen grey, devoid of most color. 

He had died, back there. Kolskegg had saved him. 

But what was different?

He remembered his GPS. The thing would still be on. The gadget was still attached to his wrist, and he lifted it to his face to judge himself. What he saw shocked him to the core. 

His eyes, firstly, were black as night, all of it, and they leaked an oily black smoke that roiled and turned within his eye sockets and seeped gently from them. His whole face resembled a cadaver, gaunt cheeks and sunken lips, pale skin and stretched flesh. But he was alive. 

Secondly, as he turned to introspection, he realised he felt powerful. Immensely so. Not like, after you've had a good night's sleep, no. This was...magic. An unexplainable power coursed through his veins and pumped into his very heart. 

Speaking of which, his attention drew to the wound on his side. It had healed, as had his armour and shirt over it. Peculiar, but he attributed it to this new body of his.

He vowed to learn more of the changes later. Now, he needed to figure out how to save the fallen Viking. 

He remembered that he had some scant, simple first aid supplies on his person, but as he fumbled for them his eyes fell on the mound of ashes on the ground. The same that had healed him. 

He fell to his knees and scooped what remained into his hands. Then, he searched for a wound of a sort on the body of the Viking, and found it on his shoulder. The same place he had shot at. He packed the powdery ash into the wound and stood back. 

"C'mon...work."

There was something missing here. As his hands fell, they brushed against soft leather. A bag. The Viking's belt. It was around his waist. 

In a panic he took off the belt and returned it to its rightful place around the waist of the fallen man. He hoped whatever gods or powers that the Viking worshipped were still here. 

"Whatever gods you prayed to, you dumbass, better pray to them more. It's not your time either."