---

I died...

When I opened my eyes, it was dark, but cozy.

I felt... safe?

As I looked around the empty space, I noticed to one side of me the darkness slowly gaining a very faint golden glow.

Some instinct made me push my head towards the brighter side and...

Clunk.

My beak (!) hit a hollow sounding barrier a mere finger's length away.

I hit the barrier a few times more with my beak. 

Clunk, clunk, clunk... clink...

A thin crack appeared in the barrier, and the area around me suddenly became much brighter.

Didn't help me see any details though - everything was still monotone around me, just now a golden monotone instead of darkness.

Clink, clink, clink... pa-lunk...

A big section of the barrier fell outwards, letting in the blinding rays of the sun.

Ah - I was in an egg!

Recent memories flooded back into my mind as I ruffled my feathers (!).

Oh right - I had died.

---

A chance for a new life!

Oh, an unfamiliar ceiling - is what I wanted to say, but there was no ceiling.

I - and I mean just my mind, as I had no sense of body - was floating in darkness surrounded by countless stars, each twinkling to its own rhythm.

I remember... no, actually I can't recall who I was or how I lived, nor how I died. Not even... my name?

For some reason I could recall formulas, processes, equations, methods, and knowledge of skills.

But no memories of family, friends, co-workers, locations, nor language... 

I seemed to have forgotten anything that was personal - didn't even recall my age or gender.

"Your past has been stripped from you in preparation to re-enter the cycle of re-birth. But the process did not quite complete. You still are you, no?"

Yes, I still seemed to be me... who-ever me was.

Weird, I had always thought that "self" was based on the accumulated memories of what one had lived through.

"Partially. But your past self had half way through your life lost a large portion of your earlier memories due to an almost terminal illness - and yet, even then, you stayed you."

Oh, so is it the raw experiences that make one, be oneself?

"Again, partially. Hm, so you have been kept as is because the System thinks you would be a good candidate for re-incarnation as you are now. Ah... one moment."

Re-incarnation? Like in the novels I used to read?

Wait, why do I remember those stories, but not who I lived with or even the place I resided?

"Novels and stories are counted as general knowledge - that would normally all be purged in the second process, together with all skills, languages - you would then be a clean slate, so to speak."

Sounds like a re-formatting of the soul...

"Yes, that is a good way of looking at it. And at the same time, absolutely incorrect. Anyway, we have various options available for you. What sort of second life would you envision?"

Many questions bubbled up in my free floating mind.

Where would I go? Who would I have to deal with? What were the dangers? How I would survive?

And somehow this seemed really important - could I get any "cheat skills"?

"I suppose you would call it a sword and magic reality. There are different races, elves, dragons, beast-kin, undead, not just humans. You can choose to be any race, and... yes, the System has deemed you to be eligible to start off with a bonus set of skills - say being able to use advanced magic, or being proficient in all weapons, or even receiving what you would call an item-box skill."

What... what is the longest living race?

"Ah, that would be the immortal Phoenix. But there can ever only be one Phoenix at a time... Hm... seems that as luck would have it, the previous Phoenix... departed. So the position is potentially available."

Departed? If Phoenix are immortal, where did it go?

"A few thousand years ago it gave up its life-force to save its one and only friend, a hero at the time who had saved the world from destruction with their own life."

Could... I choose that?

"Hm, let me check... Yes, yes I think you could - your personality, traits, and even the way you lived your past life is compatible with being a Phoenix. Ah... but you will receive no extra skill... and you will start essentially with the lowest stats. We have to maintain some sort of balance, after all."

Stats?

"Yes, a previous re-incarnated introduced the concept of appraisal and stats - for example it costs 1 mana to light a candle. Your starting stats would be about that of a new-born small bird."

That sounds like I would die before I could even take a step...

"The Phoenix is essentially immortal, so that would not happen. One moment... yes, I can do the following - you will get the lowest level of appraisal, so you can at least check on your own most basic stats. At least that might help you figure out how to level up and keep you motivated - I can tell you, you will not have an easy start."

I suppose that is fair - being immortal is a huge cheat, after all...

What about the skills and knowledge I know now?

"For what they are worth in a world without the same technology as you are used to - you can keep all that. And I will make it so they are as transferable as possible, but I can't promise they will be useful at all."

So, to sum it up, I would be an immortal Phoenix, my current knowledge and skills would stay with me and where possible will be transferred to local skills and knowledge, but I would start essentially as a baby bird?

"Correct. Would you like to proceed?"

Yes please - oh - is there anything I should do, once I am re-incarnated?

"Nothing in particular. You have been chosen based on you being you, so continue to do that."

I don't quite get it, but sure... well, thank you for everything!

"We shall meet again. Until then, good luck."

---

Well, I'm a Phoenix now...

And that is how I ended up cracking myself out of an egg.

And now I just realized I had not even questioned the voice who or what they were.

Oh well, they did say I'll meet them again, so I'll ask then.

The sun was rising, golden beams playing over the top of trees as far as I could see.

I looked around - I was sitting in the ruins of an egg in a small, simple nest resting on a precariously small ledge sticking out of the wall of an easterly facing sun-kissed sandstone cliff-face, high above a green forest below.

Looking out over the forest that spanned across my whole view, I spotted a few clearings, some with puffs of white smoke wafting out of them.

So at the very least, someone was cooking breakfast down there.

Where there was hot breakfast, there was a modicum of civilization, right?

Also, now that I looked closer, I could make out what looked to be either roads or rivers cutting through the forest in various directions.

And, oh, over to what I assumed to be north I now could make out the glittering of a body of water - maybe a lake?

It was very peaceful up here - a gentle breeze caressed my feathers.

So, first things first. 

"Status."

[[

Race: Immortal Phoenix

Name: NULL

Level: NULL

Experience: NULL

Mana: -100

Strength: NULL

Dexterity: NULL

Wisdom: NULL

Specials: NULL

Skills: Appraisal level NULL

]]

Ehhhh???

Everything except mana was NULL? And not zero?

And my mana was... negative???

NULL meant a value that was undeterminable, or unknown, or so small it was not worth marking down.

Talk about hard mode!

As expected from an appraisal skill at NULL level, there was no hint on how to raise any of the levels or stats, nor any usable information on anything shown.

At my level, or rather, lack of level, I could probably not even kill a slime - if those even existed here.

I might even lose to a common ant!

That would be hilarious in a twisted sort of way.

Not that I would pick on an ant - I liked ants. Very useful fellows, keeping forests running and all that.

Still safely ensconced in my broken egg, I tentatively flapped my wings.

Hm, could I fly?

Only one way to find out - there was after all no food nor water up here in the nest.

And as there was only ever one Phoenix, I could not expect any sort of parent to show up.

Carefully I made my way out of the egg-shells and up onto the rim of the nest.

I looked down.

The cliff face was steep - almost straight down. 

Here and there were ledges of various sized jutting out, similar to the one my nest was balanced on.

Well, here goes nothing - I hopped out into the void and started flapping like mad.

And a few gut wrenching moments later I hit one of the protruding ledges - hard.

Ah, I don't think my wing should be looking in that direction, should it?

Nor do I think I am that flexible that my leg should stick out at that angle...

Before I could black out from the pain, an electric shock passed through my whole body.

And my wing and leg that had obviously been broken from the fall - where fine again.

Hah! So this is what it means to be immortal! 

Instant healing!

That is certainly handy!

I pulled myself together and ruffled my feathers, checking if anything else seemed out of place.

Nope, looks like all systems are "go"!

Looking up, I saw the ledge where my now abandoned nest sat - it was about two floors above me. 

No way I'll get back up there - at least not without flying.