Oblivion

Pat, pat, pat goes the rain as the boy runs through the eerie forest under a clouded moon..."No idea...no idea at all....who am I? Why am I here?” CRACK! lightning strikes the tree in front of him setting it ablaze. The light of the fire revealing a gnarled face in the tree's old bark. The startled boy leaps back in surprise."Why does everything seem so miserable?..." He gets back up and starts to run. The storm intensifies and forks of lightning stab at the ground. Stumbling along the tortuous road, trees and bushes tear at his feet, trying to drag him back but he pushes on. He does not know why but like a magnet he is being drawn....somewhere...

After running for what seemed like several hours, the boy bumps into something...a metal gate.
The clouds covering the moon part, illuminating a sinister mansion towering above him. The gates mysteriously open for him as he watches, followed by the door; all unlocked by invisible hands. As he half consciously steps into the house he wonders, “What's a house doing in the middle of nowhere?”

Candles all around him flicker to life as he walks down the long hallway of the mansion. Despite the warmth all the candles generate, the boy still shivers. He wanders cluelessly along the hallway before reaching an open room. Inside the room sits an extremely old crone rocking slowly on an ancient chair. "Come in Jacob," She croaks. "Take a seat."
"Jacob...I know that name....is it my name!?"
The old woman’s cold eyes follow Jacob as he sits on the floor and he notices something...inhuman about them. "I've been waiting. Been expecting you." She adds. "I've a long story to tell you." With this she points to an old photograph. A young man, woman and child smile out of the photograph at him. But it is not a warm smile. "Listen now...". Despite the heavy rain spitting at the tiles of the roof and the booming sound of lightning outside; he hears every word she says...

"You were never born, you have no family or past life which is why you can't remember anything. You are merely a...... reincarnation."
Jacob’s heart skips a beat at these words.
She makes a gesture at the photo and by magic it floats towards a trembling Jacob. "You know why the parents are 'unhappy'? she asks.
“No.”
With an evil glint in her eyes she says "Their child was to be sacrificed to a horde of demons..."
"Why?"
"A few decades ago, those parents summoned demons to help them in their hour of need. The demons demanded the parents child in return. After the ritual was complete the parents betrayed the demons.They loved their child too dearly so they hid away and lived in secrecy. The angered demons who could not find the child then placed a terrible curse on this place. They plunged the whole world into darkness and despair which is why it is so miserable outside.”
"But how is any of that related to me?"
"Now then, the parents had to figure out a way to save the land and their child." The old women continued. “They planted a seed in the forest, and when it sprouted, it would be an exact duplicate of the child which they would give to the demons.” she finished, smiling ‘hungrily’at Jacob.

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