Then something did.
A point a few feet away began to shimmer. Frowning, I stared at the patch of nothingness. It continued to waver like heat in the desert. Then out of nowhere a blue ball of energy formed. It started out the size of a marble and grew until it was roughly the size of a tennis ball. Then it hung motionless, releasing an electric blue glow.
A small moan of wonder escaped my throat as I gazed at the orb. I had never witnessed anything so glorious in all my life. It was better than the beach, better than the view of Earth from space. Better than everything. Tears spilled down my cheeks. I wiped with the back of my hand, unable to stop staring at the divine orb. When I managed to locate my voice and use it, the words were soft and dreamlike. “It’s…so…beautiful. What…is…it?” I whispered. “This is a human soul Alexander. “Soul,” I repeated slowly, mouthing the words.
I reached out to touch the shining orb but was dismayed when my fingers glided right through as if it were a mirage. The soul shimmered for a second, then solidified again and drifted away from me. I cried out and tried to snatch at it, but Faru placed a hand on my shoulder and shook his head. I dropped my eyes to my fingers in disappointment, and drew in a sharp breath; the tips were glowing blue like oversized matchsticks.
I breathed a sigh of awe and looked back up. All around, more souls appeared, unfurling and growing in the emptiness of the non-world. Soon there were hundreds, gliding around us like atoms under a microscope. They seemed to radiate peace and happiness. I felt calmer than I could ever remember being in my life. It seemed that nothing else mattered, just these precious little souls.
Faru glided around so that he was facing me. “Souls are the life force of all species,” he said. “A miraculous, eternal energy which cannot be destroyed. In humans, a soul unites with a new-born child and stays with them until death, before moving on to another.”
He scooped a hand through the air and caught a soul, much to my jealousy. It lay sheltered in his cupped palms, shining rays of neon light from the cracks between his fingers. Faru widened the space between his two thumbs and gestured for me to look. I discovered that I could move forward without actually walking — a sort of glide. Once in front of the Seelian, I peered into his cupped hands. Inside, amongst the glowing blue, I could see flashes of cycling images, like short videos on a slideshow. A young boy clothed in rags running from a bakers — a loaf of bread clutched in his grubby hands; a middle aged man with curly hair driving a red American convertible, holding hands with a smiling brunette sat next to him; an elderly lady lying in a hospital bed, surrounded by family. A young woman standing by a Faru dropped his hands away and I pulled back my head. Then he gently released the soul and it floated off to re-join the others.
“Snapshots of past lives,” he answered before I could ask. “The existence of souls is nothing short of a miracle and impossible to explain. Because they cannot be seen by the human eye, it has often been debated that they do not really exist. But I can assure you they do and if you could see them, they would look like these here.”
“Wait, you can see them?” I asked.
“I can. Although I am blind by normal standards, my unique style of vision allows me to see things that do not exist on the relative plane. I can also manipulate them.”
“So you could touch a real soul?”
“I could yes, not that I could think of a reason to. But I digress.”
He raised a long index finger and tapped it once in the air. “Now, to explain how all this fits together. As I already explained, the Veil had broken down and with this, its repelling effects diminished. As the ageless war raged on, countless died on both sides. Many grew weary of the battle, of the constant fear. They wanted to escape the bloodshed. They hid anywhere they could to avoid fighting, in caves, underground, and those that could, underwater. Desperate to escape and presented with a greater threat to life than the diminishing Veil could present, it was only a matter of time before someone stumbled into your world. Before long, word had spread of a solace away from the war, a safe haven where one could seek refuge.”
“That doesn’t seem too bad,” I mused, wiping a bead of sweat from my neck. “A kind of inter-dimensional asylum seeker.”
Faru gave a chuckle. “Yes, I like that. And indeed that would have been fine had all those coming through been peaceful. Alas this was not the case. As I said the sentient creatures of my world are subject to character flaws, just like humans. Not every visitor to Earth was friendly.”
“Oh.”
“Oh indeed my dear boy. Many realised they could exploit the weaker life forms of this world, namely humans. Your kind went from being the dominant species to a low link in the food chain for some very dark and powerful creatures.” He furrowed his brow over his white eyes. “As much as I am dismayed to admit, it was not only Umbra who did this. Luminar were just as much to blame.” His unhappy face brightened and he clasped his hands together. “However, this unbalancing of the equilibrium was not without its consequences. The act of Pandemonians coming through triggered a truly miraculous reaction in certain human souls. A process referred to as The Awakening.”
Faru turned and gestured to the sea of souls. Many of them started to vibrate. They shook so hard they became a blur. I watched as the light they emitted grew brighter until it became difficult to even look at them. When they settled, their mass had expanded by at least a quarter. Small tendrils formed in their centres and stretched out like little feelers, searching the air. More and more appeared. I tried to count them, but there were too many. I guessed around fifty or so. As their appendages snaked around, the tips crackled with bursts of electric energy.
Faru attempted to pick up one of the newly transformed souls. It darted away and snapped it’s tendrils at him like little whips. He snatched his hand back and grinned.
“As a kind of natural defence against these strange intruders, some souls evolved to a higher state.”
I leaned forward, hanging off every word.
“Now because the soul controls the mind, which in turn controls the body, this evolution allowed the people who possessed these souls to become in effect…superhuman. These chosen humans are Earth’s natural defence against the darker creatures from my world. You see, the Chosen possess abilities that no other human could hope for. They have superhuman strength and speed, they can withstand attacks which would crush a normal man and heal faster than is naturally possible.” He waved his hand, “plus extra abilities which vary from individual to individual. To all intents and purposes, they are a biological weapon.”
He stopped speaking and stared at me.
The words sank in and all the pieces fell into place. My heart did a backflip. I shook my head from side to side. “No… you don’t mean? It can’t…I can’t!”
Faru glided towards me and gripped my shoulders. “Yes Alexander that is why you are here.”
His next words seemed to slip out in slow motion, each one hitting me with the force of a cannonball.
“You are a Chosen.”
13
No, you’ve got it wrong,” I insisted. “I can’t be a Chosen. I’m not special. God, I’m not even average!”
But I knew that the words spilling from my mouth carried no weight. After all, Faru had simply put a label on all the things I could already do.
“Alexander, you know what I am telling you is the truth. You are capable of feats that most humans can only dream of; and that is at this early stage — as you grow in confidence, so too will your abilities. You have been chosen by natural selection to be the defence against those who seek to do your species harm.”
I ran my hands through my hair, no longer feeling at peace with the souls which floated around me. My heart raced and I felt dizzy. “But I don’t even like people most of the time!” I said. “And they definitely don’t like me! Most of the people in my school only started speaking to me a few days ago!”
Faru steepled his fingers together. “Alexander, the reason you have always struggled to connect with humans is because you are not like them. You never really were.”
I let the Seelian’s words sink in. Is this why I could never make friends? Why everything I tried made people dislike me more? Because I’m different? “But what if I don’t want to be one of these…Chosen?” I asked.
