Unknown - 5

It was to the morning that the sun rose through the sky, the previous nights barriers down and the people roaming through the streets with shaky yet purposeful steps.

All the while blood ran through the streets in erratic patterns. Drying and flaking enough that most, even some of the more observant people, found nothing out of the ordinary.

It was there that Gabriel found his purpose, striding across the pavement against the flow of the crowd, with some and against another, his eyes straying to the sun even as the commoner's found their gaze drawn to the long gashes around his body. His wings spread freely across the land, shining with a holy light that drew even further the attention of the people.

Yet Gabriel did not note them down at all, ignoring their gazes as the previous night played heavily over his mind.

Undead after undead, all joined together into one cohesive unit. One that with precise mastery of the bow and sword had managed to wound the angel.

But for every wound given more had died below his hands. Only to resurrect soon after, a mage in their midsts.

It was useless to think of killing them when the mage was at large. Yes there was the option to turn and fight them once more and make sure that the mage either died or ran out of mana.

But the unending waves of undead drove him into the thrall of violence, thrashing them with every ounce of ability, against the unending waves.

Yet that was the night before, a sleepless one if the bags under Gabriel's eyes were anything to go by.

A bell rang and startled the angel slightly, even if it rang at his own will. The lazy receptionist that had barely uttered a greeting gestured to the top floor.

Gabriel strode through the various coverings and into the same private room he had found himself in the previous day.

But this was different, there was not a sight or smell of food in range, only Howard, the merchant and that sly smile of his.

No matter how respectful, nor how polite he was, there was still that glint in his eye. Even if Gabriel had only noticed it now, under the calm of a thousand deaths.

"Welcome back, I assume you have found something for you to come here so soon after our… little talk."

Gabriel nodded before taking the half crumpled flower from his pocket. By now it had turned completely white. Even if there was some black still remaining it wasn't visible to the naked eye.

Yet there was surprise in the man's expression as if some part of the flower had completely mystified the man.

"That flower…"

"Yes, what about it? Actually for that matter, what is its name, or does it even have one?" Gabriel asked, his expression turning from the usual impassive that he wore to one of more seriousness.

An expression that told of the importance that this conversation held.

"Yes, I- I know of the flower. But I've only read the flowers, never seen them in person, I swear on my life."

It was suspicious that he had to swear on his life, it compounded with the panic and surprise he had shown at the flower.

"Supposedly it is called the Ubisquis, a flower rumored to possess death itself."

"Rumored?"

"Yes rumored, it was only documented that those that held onto it found their flower turning from the white they found it to be, to black, where then a plague, or war, or even an invasion would happen."

His face turned grim, "But it was never documented why this was, it could be some superstition as inane as it growing near dead bodies, or it could be true. Wondrous is this world."

He rolled his eyes before ultimately settling on the completely white petals that the flower I held showed.

"Then why is this white, and for what matter does this have to do with the undead, they were drawn after this. Like a shark to blood they were."

He stuttered for a moment, his brain hurriedly going through situation after situation before he ultimately settled on a sigh. Reaching over to the side of the table and tapping it with purpose.

Soon a servant came and quietly took his orders.

What it was, Gabriel could guess, most likely either evidence or the book itself. But before that even arrived Gabriel wanted to know what the man had to say about it.

And so Gabriel glared harder, willing him to talk.

"I-" He began before cutting himself off to take a sip of his water, "I can not say for certain but the flower, while rumored to possess death itself, might be the opposite. Two sides of the same coin as you will."

"How so?" An idea was forming in Gabriel's mind of what it could be, but before he could voice his thoughts he wanted to hear what Howard had to say.

"Two sides of the same coin, what if they were thinking of it wrong, the flower absorbed life, drawing forth the undead. As you and others have undoubtedly found, the undead possess an unnatural desire for this flower. But what if that is not because of their desire for death but for life."

A book slammed down on the table, dust rifling through the air before settling down below them.

"Thank you" Howard muttered to the servant before waving him off to other duties.

"Here, take a look at this." 

Howard opened the pages of the book and stuck to one in particular.

It was a passage about a war, one in which the flowers had bloomed with disturbingly high frequency.

But it was one observation that stuck out the most. When the soldier who wrote the passage had come across a dead body, it had neither a stab wound, nor any sign of magic upon the body.

Yet it was still dead, almost as if it had died from old age. He went to investigate and wrote this.

A memoir of his experiences, summarized into a single passage among hundreds of others, all about this single flower, this Ubisquis.