Pestilence: Rise Of The Pure Undead

An incomparable calm, a never-ending, never-ceasing, infinite, eternal, undying lull, peace of mind, peace of soul, peace of body.

Restless hearts grow serene, bated breaths are released, made free again, wide eyes grow heavy, inviting slumber upon the terrified.

Danger was incomparably far, safety was wrapping its tender arms around you, life was allowed to go on, the oblivion looming in the future stepping back, yes, under the shade of immense branches and leaves, pain and end of existence meant nothing.

Simply allow for the ambient greenery to embrace you, there is nothing to lose, nothing to gain, no pressure, nothing.

Laze around unafraid, stay for as long as you desire, a day, days, months, decades, forever…

Enjoy the soft lullaby of eternity, free of decay, free of hate, free of everything that could trouble you.

The gods are silenced, muffled.

This is the true heaven, life never ends, never gets stale here, never will you be bored as you sink deeper and deeper into sleep.

Rest now, your mission is over-

"No!" with a sudden motion, Quideos Audit leaped to his feet, drenched in water, his robes dirtied, his body battered.

His legs wanted to give out but he did not allow for flesh to fail, pushing his wet hair out of his face, he looked up at the grandiose being, his eyelids wished to shut once more, physically keeping them open, repeatedly slapping himself, when it was not enough, he bit into his own hand, the pain reminded him of why he was here.

Like a madman, he was jumped into the ocean and swam straight down until he ended up here, guided by nothing but instincts, having forsaken his visions, the rotten wraith was too powerful now to trust in any of them, the zombie had grown too overwhelming to even believe that reality was what it appeared.

Quideos Audit persevered nevertheless, if his fate was to go mad and die where no one would ever find him, then so be it, naught would make him halt his attempts to save life, if he had to crawl and eat dirt to do it, then so be it! Your journey continues on empire

He was alive, and that was the sole reason he would not mind sacrificing himself.

"Please! You are a paragon of life, death is spreading on the continent, and it will spread to the others, you must fight back!" the prophet pleaded with a tree of impossible size, growing at the very center of a bustling ecosystem, hidden from sight under the treacherous ocean.

A dome carved into the heart of an underwater mountain, highest branches holding up a filament of stars, an artificial sun wedged into the ceiling.

Quideos was speaking with a tree, and yet, it responded to him, only then did the man notice that a rough, elderly face was protruding right down the middle of the trunk, it was wholly unfamiliar.

Creaking, so loud that it almost knocked the seer right onto his back.

"Child, why should I listen to your pleading? The time is not yet right" his request was denied without any consideration.

"The undeads are unstoppable! Their king is a monster leading horrors, all life will surely be extinguished! Only by forming a strong opposition can we hope to preserve a portion of us, if nothing is done, you will die as well! Do you not care for your own survival?" Quideos did not let up, this tree was the closest thing he had been able of finding that had a slight advantage against the undeads.

Its life force was so great, that it had nurtured entire plains and forests, brought animal life to this depths, so great that Quideos Audit's deplorable state had been completely washed away.

"History is drenched with blood, slaughter of life against life, even when granted the gift of comprehension, even when presented with arch-enemies, the livings stayed apart, drawing imaginary lines and splitting themselves up based on the most minute of differences, forming meaningless rivalries, all seeking to be better than their neighbours…"

"They were shown the way, but instead, life assumed a fleeting form!" its irritation was crushing.

"But the undeads, one king, unifying all of the dead together, the only divergence found within being a corruption done by life, how do you want to root for the living? They have failed to evolve, they have stagnated, begun to regress"

"I hold no love for them, they will once again unite temporarily and go back to depravity immediately after, I was already swayed once, tricked and made into a glorified container, my seeds corrupted by his life-"

Quideos remained standing.

"Agilulf Wanneck, king of Tamaris, he is doing it, he is unifying all life together, and it had begun even before the undeads rose! Life may be fickle and divided, but this is simply part of us, beings of both chaos and order, illogical but capable of everything, even breaking our own nature! Please, give us a chance…"

The tree seemed about to rebuke with the same ferocity as before, but settled down, meeting the living man's determined gaze.

"You… What is your name?"

"Quideos Audit?" the prophet responded, not certain where this was going.

"Quideos Audit, you hold a certain spark in your eyes, I had almost forgotten… I am sorry, but I can not act, I am powerless to change anything, I am but a vessel, the tremendous life I hold is not mine to wield, I also apologise, none but him were supposed to reach this place, a portion of life was allowed to slip out, a mere vestige but it could not have gone past its notice, brace" the tree seemed to glance upward, the prophet followed the gaze, just in time to bear witness to the descent of a most horrid angel, crashing down, black wings sweating with black blood.

The inner death force held within exploded outward, switching its energy to an external flow without a bother, shielding from the strong life hanging in the air.

A deep purple glow coming from within a barred visor, a war scythe manifested within the right hand, banner fluttering sinisterly.

Quideos recognised this undead as the one he had briefly encountered before, and he now had his confirmation, last time, this corpse had not actually been trying to kill him, the blade failed to reach the man solely, because ancient roots sprouted from the ground, protecting him from a most gruesome death.

Instantaneously, the blade turned a pale blue, infused with unliving mana, slicing right through the roots with little difficulty.

"Here it is, The Messenger Of The Apocalypse, death latest scion" the ancient tree grabbed Quideos Audit, pulling him as far away as possible.

Leaves bristled softly, life within this hollow mountain surged, bringing the undead to a halt.

Immobilised, the undead was struck by countless roots, sent from whence it had come.

"Fear not, it is not yet strong enough"