"Before we begin, if you have any major questions, now is the time." The being says.

You have to admit, this situation is so unique that you can't help but be curious so you do decide to ask questions. (As well and somehow holding out the futile hope that you might find an advantage)

"Are you a god?" you ask.
"I suppose I am, but in the scheme of things I am more of a collector and caretaker. Gods typically get to do fun irresponsible things like torment mortals and encouraging holy wars. Strange though, this world wasn't really high on any deity influences, the only record I can find of major divine influence here is a powerful yet non-divine being masquerading as a so called god of shadows and going by the name Dendrin and that thing left this world when you eradicated the shadows long ago." It answers.
"Isn't killing the world considered tormenting mortals?" you ask.
"To you and most others I suppose it would be, but this is really more of a necessary service. A reminder that death can't be cheated. In reality, the divine don't really want immortal types running about since it tends to threaten the status quo. If someone achieves immortality on a world then potentially someone else can do it too. Before you know it, you've got a whole new set of beings achieving godhood and believe me; we've got more than enough of them now. Too many really."
"How the hell is that fair? I mean as you said these gods haven't even been paying attention to this world and yet now they do?"
"Well as I said, you're a potential threat. And of course you're right. It isn't fair, but there are strict laws on this matter. Certain conditions have to apply, has to be an opening, and a bunch of boring diety debating. I didn't make them up either, they were long in place before I got this job so don't blame me. Really though your world was marked a long time ago when the Mortos necromancers attempted the same thing several centuries ago. I was so busy though with other things at the time that wasn't paying attention to just how close they were at closing the gate back up. Needless to say nobody was pleased about it and I got bitched at, but considering there wasn't any danger of someone becoming truly immortal anymore on your world I just had it marked and kept a closer eye on it."

You helplessly listen to the death god's words as the life continues to ebb from your body.

"Knew it wouldn't be long before someone here tried it again and then I'd get this world. Figured it would be one of those Mortos necromancers, but I have to admit I didn't see someone like you doing the deed. Then again given your background maybe I shouldn't be too surprised. For a mortal you're somewhat interesting and I don't say that lightly."
"Thanks…I guess. Is that why you wanted to speak to me?" you ask starting to feel very frail and tired.

"For the most part yes, but more than that. You see despite my assigned duty, I genuinely respect mortals who have a desire to endure at all costs. I always have had an admiration for those that have a strong survival instinct and you Eternal, definitely have one of the strongest. So…I am going to make a few offers to you. Unique offers that I have never given any living being before. And trust me, I've been through this process quite a few times."

You struggle to keep standing and use your sword as a crutch to prop yourself up.

"Wha…what…are…my choices…" you weakly ask.
"Well, your first choice is obvious. You pathetically continue to oppose me. You'll inevitably lose of course. I highly recommend that you do not take this option. While I may respect a strong survival instinct, I do not respect foolishness and if you continue to fight me, that's what you'll be, a complete and utter fool. I do not think you are, but then again you just might prove me wrong. Besides dying in a fairly inglorious way your assigned afterlife will not be a pleasant one."
"I…I…suppose I haven't really been a good guy." You say.

"That's a severe understatement. In fact you alone have contributed to the deaths of so many either directly or indirectly on this world that I almost wondered if I even needed to bother showing up. But honestly your brutal politics and such aside, that isn't really what got you into trouble. Indeed there are many deities that admire and reward such behavior. Your complete and total obliteration of gnome souls however was severely frowned upon by certain deities. Those gnomes were supposed to go to a happy friendly afterlife, not get completely annihilated. Personally I don't really give a shit since I know at the time you were just following your own orders, but I like to keep the rest of the deities off my back so if you continue to piss me off by opposing me, well I'll be throwing you into that very dark painful place of which there is no hope, myself."

The death god pauses before announcing your next choice.

"Your second choice is a very simple one, but probably not as obvious to the likes of you. Your second choice is to simply die. Lay your burdens down and rest. I realize that something like this would be hard for a warrior such as yourself, but I can assure you that if you do, I will guarantee you a place with your long lost love Alison."

You feel a slight surge of energy within you when you hear that name.

"Al…Alison?" you utter.
"Yes, Alison. Granted, you probably don't belong where she currently is, but fortunately for you I can pull a few strings to get you there. You and her will re-united at last. You will get to exist for the rest of eternity with her in perfect happiness."

The chance to be reunited with Alison does sound like a good deal, but you can't help but wonder if it's a lie or maybe there's a catch just to lay down and die without struggle. Is this a trick? And if it is a trick, does that mean the death god believes you're more powerful than he's letting on and you could potentially defeat it?

In any case you still haven't heard your third choice, which the death god begins speaking on.

"But perhaps your long lost love isn't the true love that died. Perhaps your true love has always been with you in your heart. Perhaps you could potentially wish for that love affair to continue forever."
"I…certainly hope you…aren't talking about…a certain svelk…" you remark.

Surprisingly this causes a dark chortle from the death god.

"Oh no…not that one, Eternal. I am referring to a mistress of a more abstract nature. Your love of battle, war and bloodshed in general. That has always been a constant for you. As I have already mentioned your actions alone have either directly or indirectly caused multitudes of souls pour into my realm. I can also admire and respect a mortal that dedicated to death whether they realize it or not. Such a being could be of great use to me."
"Use?"
"Yes. As you may have somewhat gathered from our pleasant chat here I am an incredibly busy deity. Mortals die all the time and I have a duty to collect souls, assign them and even completely obliterate a few sometimes. This is in addition to the periods where I have a whole world to purge and when the appointed time comes, I have to personally oversee its harvest. It breaks up the monotony to be sure, but it also takes time especially when I've got stubborn little mortals like yourself opposing me to the bitter end. Also people on other worlds don't stop dying just because I'm purging another one. Souls stack up and then I get complaints from other deities saying they're missing this and that soul. The complaints don't really matter of course in the grand scheme of things, but it's not something I need to hear when I'm already doing the thankless job that nobody else wants."

You never realized being a deity was so bureaucratic. You still don't quite grasp how this is your problem though. Your only problem right now is struggling to live.

"Tell me Eternal, how would you like to be truly eternal?"
"What…do you mean?"
"You have a gift. A gift that I wouldn't mind putting to good use and this is your third choice. Beg me to make you my avatar on these world purging assignments."
"What?!"
"I said beg me to make you my herald of death. Instead of me having to slog through a marked world, I'd send you in my place. Naturally I'd give you a little of my power to help you along, but I trust command over literally legions of the dead is more than enough for you to get the job done. Just think, you'd get to enjoy what you truly love over and over again. Battle, war, death, and everything else that goes along with it. Best of all, you never have to worry about silly things like troop morale or morality in general, because the goal will always be the same and you will never run out of willing soldiers."

Now this offer sounds really too good to be true. You can't even believe that the death god is practically offering you a place by his side.

"So, wait…you're saying I can join…"
"No. I didn't say join…I said beg. There's a difference." The death god interrupts.
"I… don't understand." You answer.
"It's a test. A simple one really, but a test nevertheless. You are a proud being. Even when you served your Emperor with utter devotion, you were still a proud being. Again I can respect your pride. However, I can't have you believing that you're equal to me, because you aren't. Not by a long shot. I also can't have you thinking that somehow you're going to try to turn this opportunity into a way to destroy me and take over, because you can't. If this association is going to happen, I need you to humble yourself before me. Only then can I fully trust you because an oath will have been made. Such things are impossible to break when the gods are watching."
"But…if I don't stand a chance anyway then why do I need to…humble myself?"
"Let's just say it's a formality and the principle of it. Plus I'm suspicious by nature especially with a resourceful one such as yourself. Still, it is entirely up to you. I won't force you to do something you may find repulsive to your nature. But I don't think pride is in your nature. I believe war and battle is. And I believe the desire for those is a lot stronger than any pride you may have. Again though, you may prove me wrong."

And there you have it, you've been given your three choices, such as they are.

You've been through a lot in your life and you never could've imagined it would end like this. You're going to die no matter what you do that fact is certain.

And yet this death god respects you enough to give you choices. Choices that you could've never dreamed of, but at the same time are somewhat familiar.

You remember the very first time you had to make this choice…

You beg

It takes you a few seconds, but you soon yield to the truth.

The death god is right. War is in your nature. It always has been. Whether it was bred into you or you grew into it is irreverent. It's yours now and you're going to embrace it.

You fall to your knees and bow before the death god. Humbling yourself and disregarding whatever foolish pride you may have had.

"I beg you oh great god of death, make me your herald of destruction. Let me be the bringer of doom to a thousand worlds. Let me unleash the endless war on the heavens." You say with all your remaining strength.
"Take it easy there, we aren't going to be doing all that. Just the worlds appointed for death. However, I do appreciate the enthusiasm." The death god remarks.

The death god hovers before you and a skeletal hand reaches out towards your head.

"Hold still, this may hurt…a lot."

The death god clutches your head with its fingers and suddenly your body experiences unimaginable pain. Whatever injuries or tortures you may have experienced pale in comparison to this. You are experiencing death, but not just your own. You are experiencing the death of everyone you ever killed all at the same time.

The image of every single death fills your mind and you can't shut out the physical, emotional or spiritual anguish you're experiencing. You can't even cry out. For a brief moment you think you've made a horrible mistake before you go utterly insane as your mind is completely destroyed by the dreadful experience.

And then you feel nothing at all and everything goes black.

You don't know how long time passes, but suddenly you are awakened by the death god's voice:

"Arise, harbinger. Your glorious work and new purpose begins now on this very world."

You stand up and notice that you are no longer breathing. You do not feel the essence of life flowing through your system. You walk outside the city gates and before you stand legions of undead awaiting your command to purge the rest of this world of life. You stare at them and they stare at you with the same dead eyes.

And something about it is beautiful to you. You didn't know that the dead could experience anything like feelings, but you can feel a thrill of anticipation of the death and destruction you're going unleash on this world. Nothing in your old mortal life can compare to this moment.

"And to think, I hesitated." You whisper.