What you see might not always be the truth so you should always delve deeper

Midnight—or maybe even dawn, I can’t tell.

I’m currently held in a magical prison where my soul is bound. I need to break free. I have to restore what’s left of the human race before we are wiped out completely.

We’ve been defeated once before, and though we survived, humanity isn’t what it used to be. Now, our enemy is determined to finish the job and take over Earth. I can see it in my visions—the dome protecting us is about to shatter. It’s been standing since 2030, the year of THE DOOM and I’m afraid it will fall soon.

The Opposition, who ought to help me find other humans like me, has decided I’m more dangerous than the monsters from the otherworldly realm all because their arrival coincided with the manifestation of my powers. Last I heard, people like me were either dead or missing.

Now, I’m the only human I know with the power to stop this.

Ah yes my powers. They’ve been ripped from me for ten years while I’ve been held prisoner, watching as the world is ravaged.

In school, they always told us that one day machines artificial intelligence would take over the world. But if only we knew… it wasn’t machines that would bring about our downfall, but something far greater than we could ever imagine. And now, we’re paying dearly for our ignorance. The signs had been there all along.

Now, I just need to break free, find the monsters, and rescue what’s left of the human race. The only problem? I have no idea how to rescue myself first and time keeps slipping away.

All of a sudden, sirens blare loudly throughout the Opposition headquarters. Then I see a woman launch forward, leaping so high she crashes through the glass near where they’re keeping me or my soul, rather. With a swing of her hand, the spell holding me shatters, and I feel my soul shift.

I’m out. And utter chaos has descended.

Strange people I’ve never seen before are fighting off the Opposition soldiers.

The woman who broke in turns to me urgently. “How much time before you dissipate?” she asks.

“I’m sorry—what?” I reply, stunned.

“You’re going to lose your soul if we don’t find your body soon or bind you back to your magical prison.”

It’s all happening too fast. I can’t comprehend it. “So I’m just going to die if not?” I ask again.

“Yes. Now where are they keeping your body along with your powers?”

“I don’t know,” I tell her.

“Well, let’s find it. We’ve got just forty-five minutes before we get caught. If we get you out, all this will be worth it.”

With that, I follow her as we race through the facility, searching desperately for my body. Twenty-five minutes pass and still nothing.

“Hey, come on, think harder!” she urges. “Where would they put your body somewhere not easily accessible?”

I look around wildly. The Opposition wouldn’t make my connection to my body easy to find. It has to be far enough to weaken me, yet close enough to keep me alive but hidden, because of my visions.

And then I see it or rather, sense it. Right above us, among the portraits of previous Opposition commanders, hangs a picture of me as a baby. It’s framed in gold with white edges. But that’s not what shocks me. Right beside it is a frame showing a faintly moving hallway so subtle you’d barely notice.

I know instantly it’s a portal.

Without hesitation, I move toward it and step through.

On the other side, I find my body and seven others too. The pull to my body is strong, irresistible. I welcome it. My soul merges with my body, the spell breaks, and my powers surge through me once again.

Finally I’m free.

All this time, my body had been so close. I’d seen that frame countless times and never realized that for ten years, the key to my freedom was hidden within it. I guess we humans haven’t lost our touch just yet.

Now, it’s time to fight back with the people who rescued me. Together, we’ll save the world and the human race.