I ran my hand through tangled hair, still disoriented. Disoriented and floating three feet above the bed. I crashed down into the blankets with a shriek and a bounce. Hitting the bedding felt weird. Like my body was interacting with the physical world only because I expected it to.
"There she is," I heard from the doorway, "Our newest recruit."
I turned to see a smirking man in a leather jacket leaning by the door. Not that I was the greatest judge of male beauty, but he was definitely striking in a tall, dark, and dangerous sort of way. There was a strange glow, especially around his head. If I just concentrated a bit…
"How's the new body feel?"
I looked down in confusion. That definitely wasn't what I had looked like when I went to sleep. I looked towards the bedroom mirror to get a better look. The morning light spilling across my body made the reflection look like a classical painting. I was stunning, even with my hair askew and limbs contorted into an unflattering position in an unmade bed. My hand drifted lightly across my soft, perfectly lit curves. The hypnotic dimensions of my new, very female, form were strangely compelling. I needed to explore them, just like the impossible shapes of the diagram.
The guy rolled his eyes. "Typical. You can check out the goods later, buddy. I'm craving some greasy Earth food and I bet you are too."
"I…I'm starving," I said, with a dawning realization. "I'm not normally so hungry first thing in the morning."
"Yeah, burning away your humanity can take a lot out of guy. Let's get you dressed," he said, with a snap of his fingers and a spark of light. I halfway expected some kind of ridiculous Cinderella nonsense, or a toga or something, but I was just in a hoodie and jeans with a messy ponytail. Another snap and we were in a local diner. Students went all the time, especially after football practice, but I was too health-conscious. Now, I had an uncontrollable craving for a burger. No, three burgers. With fried eggs, thick-cut bacon, and hash browns.
"First, welcome to the ranks of cosmic beings. The lowest ranks."
"Cosmic…like gods and stuff?" That earned me another patronizing smile.
"Something like that. I won't bore you with a long lecture on spiritual nomenclature. You're an imaginal being now. You're part of the connective tissue between upper and lower realities. Right now, you're little more than a bundle of supernatural senses and a battery for cosmic energy. A battery that anyone with the right skills can tap into, so stay alert."
"And I look like this because…"
"You've passed through the Oneiros twice now. One of the imaginal realms between realities; a bit like Jung's collective unconscious. Your old body…burned up, or unraveled, for lack of a precise term that you would understand, and your new body was shaped by dreams and ideas into an idealized form. You'll be able to change it with a little practice."
"Why are you here? Why are you telling me all this?"
"I'm mainly here to remind you that you owe someone for this. Big time. A boon, for helping you trade in your humanity and budding magical talents for something better." I vividly recalled the blue fractal figure from my dream.
"What does it want from me?"
"I think you mean what do *I* want from you," he said with a devilish grin. That glow I had barely noticed earlier blazed a little brighter. "And that is a question you aren't ready to hear the answer to quite yet," he said as he poured syrup on his waffles. I hadn't even noticed the food's arrival.