Archangel Gabriel was busy with all the new operations of Heaven, but he eventually had some free time and agreed to meet Griffin at the command centre; at the outer edge of the training grounds where he usually rested. When Griffin walked into the building, he found Angels sitting around tables, carefully listening to Archangel Gabriel who was standing at the far end of the room.

“Now, the Devil has agreed to allow operations to return to normal, but my trust in Lucifer’s word goes as far as my spear can strike him, so you will all remain on high alert. We will continue to shadow most of the Grim Reapers’ operations just in case. You will never reveal your presence and you will never intervene in the Grim Reapers’ work unless they are assaulted by a Demon. Archangel Michael and four more units will participate in this project and we rely on your discretion. Is that clear?”

“Yes Archangel,” all the Angels replied.

“You’re dismissed,” Archangel Gabriel said, and all the angels quickly emptied the room.

Archangel Gabriel saw Griffin standing at the other end of the room and motioned him to move closer.

“Thanks for seeing me Archangel--”

Gabriel raised his hand and cut Griffin off, “Not here. We’ll talk in my office. Follow me and don’t touch anything.”

They walked through wide corridors and staircases painted in the same colour as the waiting room at the Council of Twelve; depressing white as Griffin called it. At least these corridors were decorated with relics from the war between Heaven and Hell, which removed some of the depression and replaced it with intrigue about what was displayed; old armours, weapons and statues paying tribute to the fallen. They climbed to the top of the building and walked into a rather small office that looked nothing like the rest of the building.

This office was filled with warm and earthy colours; brown and green were the prevailing colours with a touch of red. On the wall behind the Archangel’s wooden desk, that was too big for the small office, resided an enormous and most impressive painting. It showed him and Michael, riding side by side, followed by tens of other mounted Angels and flying Cherubim, all charging forward. To Griffin it looked as if the Angels and Cherubim depicted would jump out of their frame any time now and unleash their fearsome attacks into that small office.

“You like it?” Archangel Gabriel moved next to Griffin and joined him in admiring the picture.

“Yes, very much. It’s very impressive. The artist captured the scene excellently. Each face is unique, and the resemblance is uncanny.”

“It was a gift from a human soul who lived and served during the war nearly a millennia ago. But I’m sure you didn’t ask to see me to talk about art. How can I help you?” Gabriel walked to his seat behind the desk and Griffin sat on the green armchair in front of it.

Griffin explained to Gabriel what had happened, how he was suspended from duty and then told him about his conversation with Archangel Michael.

“And you decided to come and see me in search of another solution to what is slowly eating you away. You want to find out if there’s a connection between you and the images you saw when you collected that last soul.”

“It is well known throughout Heaven and Earth that you two are exact opposites. You work for a common goal but through completely different methods, and that is what makes your union so formidable. Together you have the ability to calculate every path available and decide on a course of action that would result in success.”

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed. “Flattery won’t get you anywhere Griffin.” 

Griffin lowered his head in shame; he knew the Archangel spoke the truth. He took a deep breath before lifting his head back up, “I wanted to ask if you had any ideas on what I should do next. Perhaps a path I never thought to follow, one that will help me understand why I feel like the images I saw were my memories and not the soul’s I collected.”

Gabriel turned around in his chair and looked out the side window, calculating his next words. “What do I tell him now? This is one of the few times both me and Michael agree that we should tell him the truth, or at least help him discover it. But I cannot go against the Council’s decision. I know They didn’t decide on this course of action without taking every possibility into consideration, yet here he is, searching for the truth. Obviously, Michael’s approach didn’t work.” He turned his chair around and looked at Griffin again, “What do you think you should do?”

“I don’t know...that’s why I came to see you,” Griffin sounded confused.

“No Griffin, you came seeking my approval. You’ve already decided what to do, but you’re scared to follow that decision because of your talk with Michael.”

Griffin lowered his head once again. “I know Archangel Michael is only trying to protect me, but I do not agree with what he suggested. I want to find the source of this need I have. I want to find out why…”

“And there you have it. He will not stop. If I try to persuade him to give up on his search, like Michael did, I will only prove to him that he’s on to something. Perhaps there’s a way I can buy the Council some more time by giving Griffin a course of action to follow, something I know will not give him any answers but keep him occupied for a while longer,” Gabriel stood up and walked to the window, turning his back to Griffin.

“… and I have decided to keep searching. This is why I came to see you. Perhaps you can give me an idea on what I should do. How to go about solving this problem I have.”

“First of all, Griffin, let me tell you that I agree with what Michael said. This obsession you have must come from something that occurred in your past. But as you’ve guessed, I don’t agree with how you two planned to deal with it.”

Griffin lifted his head up and looked at Gabriel, hope flooding in his mind, “You have another idea?” he started to get up from the armchair.

“What if this obsession wasn’t caused by something that happened in one of your missions, or at least something that wasn’t recorded?”

Griffin sat back down, confused, and lost, “What do you mean?”

“How old are you Griffin? Do you know?”

“Just over four hundred years old.”

“And for how many of those have you officially been a Grim Reaper?”

“Well, it took me about one hundred years before I developed into a conscious being, a soul others were able to communicate with.”

“The slowest time ever recorded,” Gabriel added.

“Yes, I remember Haron complaining that I rejected the information package Heaven implanted in me several times. For some reason I kept shutting down or acting irrationally, so the Council was forced to reset my soul and rework the basic information package. Eventually I was given one that allowed me to become conscious of my existence as a soul.”

“So, you’ve been a Grim Reaper for about three hundred years?”

“No, it took me about one hundred years of training, which is considered normal, before I was ready to become an official Grim Reaper and work solo.”

“Two hundred years then?”

“Yes, about two hundred years.”

“And do you think that everything that has happened to you during those two hundred years, or even before that as a matter of fact, is recorded?”

“You are suggesting that my obsession originated from something that isn’t related to any of my missions,” a realization began crawling into Griffin’s thoughts. He saw a bright light at the end of a very dark and grim tunnel.

“Or at least something that wasn’t considered important enough to be recorded in your mission files. There are a few possibilities and the only way to work through them is by revisiting your past. Go back to the first day you can remember and work your way from there. What if this image of the woman you remember was part of one of your missions, but wasn’t the soul you collected? Perhaps she was someone close to one of the souls you collected. But don’t forget that she might not be the source of this obsession of yours, just an image you linked to it. Maybe this obsession was born during your training with Haron.”

“The only thing I can be sure of is that it wasn’t created from the Council’s information package,” Griffin replied as he got out of his chair and started walking up and down the small office. He held one hand out in front of him and kept waving it as he pieced together what Gabriel was telling him, making sense of it all.

“Yes, that you can be sure of. The information package comes with no emotions, and if it ever caused such a thing--”

“The Council would just reset my soul and try again. All souls, new or reborn, consciousness must be a blank slate for their new life.”

“Right, so what have you decided then?”

Griffin stopped and turned and looked at Gabriel as he verbalized his final course of action, “I should go memory diving, as far back as I can remember, and relive what I feel is important, mission or not, and maybe in doing so I can pinpoint when it all started.”

“That would be my suggestion.”

“That means I need to find a secluded location and meditate. Allow my mind to lose contact with the world around me and dig deep, bringing forth anything I can remember from my past.”

“Then it’s a good thing you’re temporarily suspended.”

“Yes, yes, it is,” Griffin replied with joy and quickly made his way to the door. He opened the door and was about to leave when he paused and leaned back in, “Thank you for everything Archangel. I really appreciate your assistance.”

“If you really want to say thank you, then make sure you come and find me or Michael with whatever you discover as you travel down memory lane.”

“Will do Archangel,” Griffin closed the door and almost flew out of the building as excitement overwhelmed him and he rushed to find an isolated area to go over all the memories he believed played an important role in his existence thus far.

The story continues in:
Kingdom of the Red Rose
(Episode 16 of 62)
Chapter Six: Recalling the Beginning
(Part 2 of 3)

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