“A battle?” I asked. “I don’t think I’d be much good at that. I was always the artistic type. My sister was the sporty one…” Besides, after that one time…

You Can Refuse. Your Fate And That Of Your World’s Would Then Be In The Hands Of Others. Your Potential Is Sufficient To Participate. For Those Who Triumph, Rewards Are Many. Ether Is The Power Over All Things. With Ether All Wishes Can Be Granted.

All wishes? Everyone has wishes, and I was no exception. It isn’t like it didn’t sting a bit when my sister laughs at the fact I’ve never really had a girlfriend. It isn’t like I’m bad with women… after all, I got on really well with Eri-chan, even if she was younger, and at school and university I was hardly a loner. At the last class reunion I spent quite a while talking to some of the girls from my class without a problem…. Oh man, my thoughts are racing. Having a girlfriend isn’t the only thing on my mind. Who wouldn’t like a decent job, a nice car, big house, lots of money and so on…?

“I suppose there is great risk involved though?”

All Life Caries Risk. Should Your Astral Form Be Destroyed Your Physical Form Shall Perish Also. But Death Comes Suddenly In All Worlds. Step Outside Your Door And You May Die Any Day. Or Your Body Could Fail From Illness Or Mischance. Such Is The Way Of Things.

“Well, I can’t really argue with that. The degree of risk might be wildly different though.” To be honest I still couldn’t believe I was having such a conversation with a hollow-voiced glowing figure. Still, if I was dreaming this then it didn’t really matter, did it? Besides, who wouldn’t want such excitement in their lives? “I'm not sure, but... the rewards seem like they would be something special if I succeed, right?”

As I Have Stated, Rewards Are Plentiful For Those Who Succeed. Not Only Will You Save Your World But Powers Beyond Your Imagination Can Be Yours. I Sense Your Reluctance Though. This World Is But Freshly Opened To The Wider Planes. I Have Been Allowed To Show You A Brief Glimpse. You Must Then Decide.

“And how safe is this ‘glimpse’?” It was tempting, but as I thought earlier, I wasn’t much of a fighter. My sister does traditional Japanese archery, Kyūdō, as well as plays on her school volleyball team, so she got all the talent in our family. Father used to do kendo back in his school days and even won a couple of local tournaments, apparently, but me… I take after my mom I’m afraid, and the most energetic thing she ever did was a local fun-run. “I’d be interested if you could guarantee my safety? Seeing it might make me more interested.”

I Offer No Guarantees For There Can Be None In Life. However If You Do Nothing Truly Reckless I Can Return You To Your Material Body Before You Suffer Great Harm. Of Course, I Am Allowed To Do This But Once.

That sounded fine. I wasn’t particularly reckless. In games I was always one to grind up and over-level myself so as to crush challengers. I wasn’t one to get in over my head. Although my sister would probably say taking the safe route is why I’m stuck doing freelance work in a tiny apartment without a girlfriend… man, just thinking that irritates me. “Sure, why not? I’ll take your glimpse since it seems there is little to lose.”

Very Well. A Wise Choice, For One Who Never Gambles Can Never Exceed His Limits. There Will Be Brief Pain As I Draw Out Your Latent Gifts And Activate Your Cord, And Then…

“Hey wait a second…” I interrupted. “Pain? I’m not really good with…”

… You Shall See The Boundary With Your Own Eyes.”

It talked right over me! I was about to say more when suddenly I doubled over, tears streaming from my eyes as a burning pain formed between my legs. It was like someone had simultaneously rammed a hot poker into my guts while also kicking me in the groin. It was far from pleasant. As I crouched down, tears pouring down my cheeks, I let out a ragged breath. The pain spread, my heart and brain started to boil, combining the worst of a severe migraine and heart failure in a series of blinding waves. I tried to throw up, gagging reflexively, but just as I reached my limit the pain began to fade, luckily, as I wasn’t sure how much more I could take. Blinking tears from my eyes I looked up accusingly at the shining figure.

“That hurt! Why did…” I paused. The figure had stopped glowing, and I could now see more clearly. The figure was covered by a shapeless black robe, long sleeves hiding their arms, and a hood shrouding their face so nothing could be seen, except for a faint few strands of what looked like hair, creeping out from under the cowl. The figure was humanoid in appearance, but other than that, no details could be guessed at. Still, if they have hair and two arms and two legs, they are probably not too dissimilar to me… damn, now I’m super curious.

“Hey, your glow has gone out… and in fact, the lighting here is weird…” Now that I looked around more, something that had been bothering me a little since I looked up was clear. The light was… strange. The glow from the streetlamp outside had faded, as had the light from my computer screen. In fact the computer had vanished entirely, the only thing in my room was the futon rolled in the corner. In its place was an ambience that… well, it made no sense to me. The sky was lit, and I could see in the dark, but there was no actual light source, like a sun or a moon. The air seemed to… shimmer... was the only way I could describe it… with a pale silvery glow, occasional ripples of dark colour appearing, then just as suddenly vanishing.

“If this is a dream, then I’m not sure where this has come from. It isn’t like my usual ones at all…” As I spoke, the sound came out muted, as if the very air around me was deadening the noise. In fact I could hear very little at all, the normal ever-present drone of the Tokyo suburbs absent. It was a little disconcerting.

“This is no dream, but it is often called the world of dreams.” The cloaked figure spoke, and this time the voice was more normal, if strangely androgynous. “In fact, the pain you felt was enough to render you unconscious. Look down at your feet.”

Look down? I did so out of curiosity and let out a gasp of wonder. From between my legs, where the pain was flaring before, I could see a thin white cord, about as thick as my little finger, which stretched out into space about a metre in front of me before it faded away to nothingness. It was pale and somewhat translucent, but I could clearly see it, though when I looked away it vanished from view.

“That Cord connects to this world and your real body. It is currently weak, but should you strengthen it, it will shine silver like a mirror. It takes ether from the surroundings, and refines it into aether, which is a power you can use. The more ether, and thus aether you command, the greater your strength, both here and in the Material world that was your cradle until now. And with aether…”

The cloaked figure raised one arm, and from the voluminous sleeve that hid its hand there came a silvery glow, and suddenly the room was filled with dancing, sparkling motes of multi-coloured lights.

Wow, those are so beautiful. It reminds me of last year when I went to Roman-no Mori Kyowakokuin Chiba with some other freelancers on a big project for a software company and watched the fireflies dance into the night. But this is far more stunning…

“What creates reality here is aether, which is just ether you have refined. Therefore, you need to gather as much ether as possible, and do this by expanding your reach and defeating those who would take your ether. Battle is inevitable, for now that your world has been connected to the higher tides once again it will be coveted by many, especially those who would despoil it, so you have been invited to defend it.”

“You certainly seem more talkative here.” I couldn’t help but smile. The view was so dream-like that I was finding it hard to maintain the tension I had before. Still, why me? Everyone dreams of being special, but I know I’m not…

“You should pay attention.” The cloaked being scolded in its neutral voice. “I am very limited in what information I can provide. Knowledge is power, after all, and power bears responsibility and restrictions. Now, it is time to activate your aether conversion. Focus on the area your Cord connects to and try and feel the energy moving through you.”

Not that it makes much sense. Surely if they are trying to save the Earth, telling me as much as possible is surely the wisest plan? Though they did mention restrictions, there must be some I don't know about. Anyway, I can’t force them to talk, so to the matter at hand…

“Feel it? How?” I asked, puzzled.

“It is different for every being. Once you have started the flow your Cord will start to automatically draw in ether and convert it to aether to strengthen you, as well as to be stored to use as you see fit. You need to concentrate, and it will come.”

“All right then.” Not that I get it, but either this is a dream and it doesn’t matter, or this is real and reality is something wildly different to what I thought it was anyway…

Closing my eyes, I tried to feel the energy moving around my lower body. Time passed, and nothing was happening. I opened one eye, to see that nothing had changed around me. “Any hints you can give me?” I asked, trying a small smile.

“You must try harder. Feel the flow. Once it begins it should become easier.”

That wasn’t particularly helpful advice. Still, here goes nothing. Shutting my eyes, I concentrated and strained for what seemed like hours. It was then that I felt a little twinge spreading from my lower body to my heart and head, as though the pain I remembered was returning. Reflexively I flinched back and the feeling was gone.

“There was progress. For a moment you were almost there. If you do not succeed in this manner, your performance will suffer in future.”

“In this manner?” I asked. “So there is another way?”

“If it becomes a necessity, I can forcibly open your flow, but that way will cause your growth potential to be stunted. It is much better to allow your own talents to blossom rather than making irreversible changes to your subtle bodies, especially in your case now. That would increase the danger to you over time, and I understand you are very averse to such risks.”

“Well, you aren’t wrong. I’d like to take the safer, better path, even if it's harder to start with. But we’ve been at this for hours. If I don’t get it soon won’t this glimpse be over?”

“Time flows differently in the Boundary world. Sometimes slower, but usually faster. There is still time for you to succeed. However, the amount of aether you have is not unlimited. All intelligent life accumulates it over time, and you are currently depleting it. If you do not succeed before it runs out you will awaken back in the Material and your chance will be gone. If that looks like it will happen I will have to use the surer, yet weaker way.”

Yes, definitely more talkative. Whoever they are, they like exposition a lot. Still, I guess that’s to my benefit as well. Oh well, here we go, adventure awaits if I can grasp this… no hero would take the easy way that limits their growth before they even do anything. Besides, if I did and came up against enemies who took the harder, yet better way…

Dredging up all my willpower, I thought hard. Visualise. Visualise. I do it all the time when I’m programming or doing art for various projects. See the image I want, then feel it… it shouldn’t be impossible!

I concentrated for again what seemed like hours, gradually forming a sharper image of what I wanted. As I did so the sense of discomfort returned around my groin, growing stronger. It wasn’t exactly pain though, unlike the first time. Concentrating harder I formed the image of a silver whirlpool in my mind, drawing in everything around it towards my fragile, near-transparent white cord.

I think… I’m getting it. The sensation was growing stronger, warmth spreading up into my stomach and upper chest. The sensation of pressure was growing, and the warmth reached my throat and spread through my head, until my whole body was tingling. Nearly… there…

With one last surge I focused all of my efforts on the growing pressure spreading through my body, the sensation rising until I felt something give inside me. It was like a dam bursting, and the warmth felt like a tide of fire invading my body, hot yet comfortable. My eyes snapped open reflexively and I gasped in awe at the sight. The multi-coloured lights that my guide had conjured were rushing towards me and being sucked into my body through the white cord, which was again visible and now giving off a faint silvery glow.

“As I expected, you have succeeded.” The figure said, and I wasn’t sure whether I was imagining it or not, but I felt I could hear a small note of satisfaction, and also relief, within its voice. “With such dense ether scattered around, it is much easier to draw it in. Do not grow overconfident and expect such results when you go forth on your own.”

I see, so those lights are made from ether. I guess it makes sense for it to provide more for me to absorb than relying on what is here in nature, since I’m still learning…

As I pondered that, the remaining lights were sucked into my body, and I was tingling from head to toe with a fiery wave of energy. I felt great. “So, what next? Am I ready for this glimpse now?” It was very hard not to get excited about this. After all, if all of this was not a dream then I had just taken my first step to mystical powers. There isn't a man alive who doesn't dream of such things, and I'm no exception to that...