"So, this is death," said the man whilst nodding, "not what I expected, honestly." He looked examined the room for a bit; though, being honest with himself, he really didn't have to. He practically lived in this room after all. It was the room in which he had slept in every day since the night he was conceived by his mother. Well... not every night, there were a few days he had stayed in a nursery or had snuck out to spend his time with friends or had decided to sleep over someone's house or...  But anyway, to make a very long list(story?) short, he was intimately familiar with this room. And yet, here he was, examining the room as if it was this was his first time entering the room. 

Yep, death can really mess with someone's mind he thought as he was examining some reports he had decided not to get to until the morning. They were the normal reports that he would get almost every morning, new laws, petitions for creation or abolishment of certain taxes, problems with infrastructure, monthly and yearly expenses, another ancient dungeon disappearing, and the list goes on. He smiled a little as he realized that he didn't have to do them today. He hated bureaucracy, but by the gods did he love it. Many had joked that he needed bureaucracy as much as a man needs food or drink.  He chuckled realizing that in his time of strife, he was thinking about a lame joke that several of his close friends made. 

"It never is." acknowledged a deep melodic voice behind the man. 

"Gah! You surprised me." exclaimed the man floating up a few extra feet. Caught up in his thoughts he was startled by the man standing about a dozen or more feet from him. No... that was no man, it was a skeleton, mist wafted from its bones only to condense into a thick black robe. While many would associate the dark wispy robe, overly large hood and grinning maw with Death; what struck the man was Death's eyes. Each was akin to a blue nebula trapped within a smooth glass bead. Of course, this was only after the king noticed the scythe. 

Stolen story; please report.

"Aren't kings supposed to get, you know," the man question quickly, "the sword? I was told by all my priests that you would have a magnificent greatsword that you use to cleave the soul in two, to you know, allow it to travel to the afterlife. "

"Normally," Death stated matter of factly, "but you are being sponsored."

Squinting as if the small his eyes became the more the truth would reveal itself, he finally asked the question death was waiting for, "Sponsored? What do you mean by sponsored?" 

"I mean exactly what I say, you are to be given a chance to become a dungeon in a new wave of sponsorships. "

"Well, what does a dungeon entail? I understand that many are being killed at a prodigious rate. By becoming a dungeon will this thing that has been slaughtering dungeons attack me?"

Death's eyes twinkled for a few seconds. It was terrifying yet beautiful as if two supernovas went off in deaths eyes. Was this laughter or something else entirely. the king idly wondered. 

"Depending on your choices, it may happen in a few years or even a few centuries. Do not worry, you will be given someone experianced. Now would you like to meet your sponsor?"

The king coughed a little, not that he needed to, it was a nervous tick he had picked up in his teenage years and was something he thought he had banished long ago.

"Yes, I do wish to meet my sponsor." The kind said with the strongest voice he could muster. 

It had been a long day and yet he hadn't even made it to breakfast. He was tired, annoyed and scared shirtless. He knew that he shouldn't be. He had been a great king conquering any who stood in his way; giving to his people, lands, wealth, titles, tales of battle and glory hard-fought and hard-won. Yes, he had done great things, terrible things maybe, but still great. He had conquered kingdoms, slaughtered empires and toppled dynasties. He was one of the only to have fought against the primordials and lived. And yet, faced with a benefactor from beyond the grave, he felt, no, acted like a child. He rubbed his eyes, have himself a light slap and told himself to grow up, he was given a second chance, and there was no way in hell he was going to screw this up.