Chapter Text
Calliope swallowed hard as she looked up at the enormous pitch-black doors, nervous energy coursing through her body. She'd never had second thoughts before, but now that she was tasked with her first reaping it all seemed so...daunting. Especially considering how unique this soul is. Cali recalled the almost smile that flickered across Death-sensei's face as he told her what her first assignment was to be.
“A phoenix?” she repeated.
“A phoenix,” he said again.
“I was under the impression that phoenixi…phoenixee…phoenixes, whatever they’re called, were immortal.”
“Well, only as immortal as I am,” he chuckled. This only made Cali's brow furrow deeper.
“Calliope, there's nothing in the multi-verse that doesn't die, at least as far as I know. Even I will have to move on to whatever is next one day. What's important is that we Shinigami are there to guide those who have died to their rightful place in the multi-verse. The death of a phoenix is no small matter; the energy that would be released should we not perform our duties is astronomical. If a phoenix were to reincarnate improperly, it would leave the entire planet scorched beyond repair; billions of species would go extinct.” There was a pregnant pause, as if Death-sensei was impressing the magnitude of the situation directly into Cali's brain. “Imagine the paperwork. Honestly, we're still feeling the effects of the last phoenix...mismanagement,” he shook his head sombrely, “those poor dinosaurs.”
“So, what you're saying is that you're handing me one of the most important jobs a Shinigami has as my first assignment? Doesn't that seem, I don't know, irresponsible?”
“Only if I don't trust you explicitly, and since I do there's nothing to be worried about. It's not for another two years or so anyway, so we'll have plenty of time to drill the proper procedures into you,” he said, glancing down at her horrified face. “Well, that's the only appropriate reaction I suppose. We better get to it.”
Calliope blinked twice, coming back to her senses as the memory of being dragged into the library to “run drills” started to manifest. Best to not focus on the bad aspects of her training. Better to focus on the positives. She's basically a fully-fledged Shinigami now, she just has to guide this phoenix to the next world. The path is as clear-cut as can be and she must've travelled the road a dozen times already in preparation. “You've got this Mori Calliope,” she mumbled softly, “you're going to be the greatest Shinigami there ever was, it's the least you can do for Death-sensei.”
She tightened the grip on the paperwork (fireproof of course) in her hand and tapped the scythe in her other against the door, reciting the incantation that would take her to her destination. The door glowed softly, buzzed ever so slightly for a few moments and then settled down. She inhaled sharply and pushed through the doors.
What greeted Cali was a sight she never could have imagined. High in the sky two fiery bird-like figures were clashing and colliding, sending sparks raining down upon the vast wasteland in front of her. It was as if the world was ending and she alone was allowed to bear witness. Cali was transfixed as she watched the battle, feeling the nervous energy that was keeping her body upright fade into nothingness as she lay down and enjoyed the show. “Maybe it was a good idea to show up early after all,” she thought, entertainment like this was scarce in the Underworld after all.
As the battle raged on Cali was able to make out the movements better and better and this understanding only made things more confusing to her. Clearly one of the fighters was far more adept in every aspect; their movements more graceful, their feathers brighter and hotter, and their attacks more pointed, yet despite the advantage they had that phoenix seemed to be the one losing. Even so, there was never a point where this phoenix didn't exude majesty, it was as if despite the situation it found itself in, it was forcing itself to look as good as possible. It was as if it was...showing off, but there's no-one here but her, so why would it go through all that trouble?
Her train of thought was suddenly derailed as with a triumphant squawk the majestic phoenix was struck down to the ground and assaulted with a barrage of flame. The attack seemed unending; indeed, it was a full minute before the firebombing ceased and the plain held its breath as it revealed what lay beneath the thick cloud of dust that the assailant had created. What floated in place where had once been the majestic phoenix was now a small sun. With another even louder squawk of victory, the other phoenix turned around and flew off into the horizon, seemingly satisfied with its handiwork. “Guess that's my queue to start working then,” Cali thought as she rose to her feet.
Advancing towards the egg at a brisk pace Cali felt the heat start to penetrate her body, her unnaturally cool skin always seemed to keep out all sources of heat, so the feeling was somewhat discomforting and…she wanted to say new, but she knew she'd felt this sort of thing before, she just couldn't remember where. As Cali drew closer to the egg, she could actually feel herself start to sweat as the heat intensified. Stopping only a hundred metres out she took a moment to compose herself, gripped her scythe and started the prayer.
“You, whom cannot die
You, whom shall never enter Hell
I, Mori Calliope, offer you salvation
I, Mori Calliope, offer you a new life so that this realm may be spared destruction by your birth
You, whom cannot die
You, whom shall never enter Heaven
I, Mori Calliope, ask that you let go of this mortal coil
I, Mori Calliope, ask that you offer your soul to me so that I may return you to where you belong.”
When the final words left her mouth, she swung the scythe diagonally across the sun in one smooth stroke. As she did for a brief moment the heat completely disappeared, sucked in by the pressure of her swing, only to resume in full force as the two halves of the egg separated, cleanly divided by an impossible line of black. She bowed her head in reverence as the egg began to crumble, turning to ash and falling to the earth. When the last ash had fallen Cali approached the pile with trepidation. She knelt down in front of it and started her wait. She was told it could take days before the soul would rise and that it would be the highest form of disrespect if she was not attentively waiting for them. It was then she realised that she had forgotten to pack a book.
As Cali began her twelfth hour sitting there, she couldn’t help but feel her reverence waning. Sure, it could take days, but no account for the past three thousand years had reported a wait longer than two hours. She mumbled softly to herself that she deserved better than to be kept waiting like this.
“If you’re that impatient I guess I can come out a little early. Since you’ve obviously got better places to be, you don’t mind if I ditch the clothes, right?”
Before Cali could answer the ash pile started to shift as that vaguely familiar heat started to press against her skin again. It wasn’t as intense as the egg’s was, but it still made her feel uneasy.
“Wait, what do you mean about the clothes? HEY! HEY! LIST-”
If the figure that rose from the ashes did hear her question, it made no indication that it did. She seemed far most interested in making sure all the soot was removed from her body.
“Don’t you think it’s rude that all Mama Phoenix told me was “there’s an art to getting it off” and left it at that? No instructions, nothing. I don’t suppose you have some water on you?”
The girl still hadn’t turned to meet Cali’s eyes and she was grateful for that as she was having a very hard time processing everything in front of her. A tall, slender girl with long light-red hair tipped with green and outlined with a plume of similarly coloured feathers was standing there as naked as…well I guess that checks out huh.
“No water? I don’t blame you, Mama told me you Shinigami don’t have to eat or drink, is that true?” As she posed the question, the redhead turned and Cali immediately; reflexively, locked eyes with her chest and then quickly turned away blushing.
“No, we don’t have to eat or drink, no I don’t have any water, and YES I mind if you don’t have any clothes on. You know I can’t identify you if you don’t have them on.”
“Identify me? So, you don’t know who I am then? Mama was wrong…how strange.”
Suddenly all the pieces fell into place, and she had a pretty clear picture as to what was going on here. As reticent as she was to ask, she knew it had to be done.
“Please don’t tell me that this-”
“Is my first rebirth? You bet it is! Pleasure to meet you, my name is Takanashi Kiara, and I am in your care.”
The girl held her clumsy bow a bit too long and it was then that Cali felt the reality set in. She could almost hear Death-sensei laughing back home. This was going to be a long first day.