PROLOGUE- OBLIVION

Imagine, a room. It’s a grand place, marble flooring, wooden banisters, distinguished paintings of made up faces. Beautiful faces. I take a seat by the fire, and get confortable. But I don’t get it quite right, you see. The embers burn at a thought yet it just doesn’t look right, I can’t feel the heat. It’s cold, the fire is cold and for a moment it bothers me. I look out of the window: I look out into the blackness.

The illusion faults and I’m back again. Back in oblivion.

But I refuse, I persist and rebuild by room, brick by brick, I repaint the pictures and change the walls, a deep dark red. But the darkness sweeps in. So I try for something more exciting, a battle field, the ground is painted yellow, made porous and fine. I stretch the ceiling out to the ends of the horizon and I place a bright dot at its’ centre.

Then men rise up, from the sand, flesh and blood is born, wrapped in armour, handed weapons, swords, shields. In a moment, the two armies are ready, and then they charge. A million pairs of feet strike at the ground as one side rushes into the other, metal clashes against metal, blood is spilled, death cries uttered. I watched, in my head I gave them all names, families, lives. So that I would feel something when they died, feel something when they succeeded. But the void kept creeping in.

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The image faded and I was stuck again in the darkness. Oh how I hated the darkness, no, I wish I hated it, I don’t have the luxury of hate. Oh why can’t you talk back, I’m so bored, you don’t even need to say much, just something. Don’t leave me in this silence.

That’s when the chorus broke the silence. “Welcome, Oh immortal one,” it sang. Its’ voice rang, as it name implies, the way a thousand voices ring when they all speak in unison, it was a childlike tone, but with it came a tremendous weight. If there is a God, I would believe this to be his voice. “As per our arrangement, we will bring you to the world again.” The statement was more of a courtesy call after all.

Someone took their goddamn time! was my initial response. You must understand, the company of the voice brought so many memories back, any with them came so many treats, like anger- rage.

My new life started much like any other. A sudden panicked frenzy as I find myself suddenly assaulted by the light that touched my delicate new eyes, and the raw air that rushed into my new fresh lungs. I cried out. It was nice, I could feel my throat vibrate as the sound drummed up from my chest and up, through my mouth, out into the air. Tears rolled down my cheeks; my heart pumped it’s first beats as boiling blood rushed through my veins.