"What happened… For how long did I end up sleeping?"

I woke up when a sudden chill ran down my spine, I glance at my watch and the time displayed is 10:30 AM. It has only been an hour. I stretch my arms and lift up my body only to realize that something isn"t right.

The chirping of birds has ceased. The soft and gentle cold breeze that was grazing my skin just a while ago has changed into something totally different, it feels kind of frightening, what remains of the once perfect napping spot is a cold, unnerving and pressurizing location. There are no people around. Not even an animal can be perceived as far as my eyes can see.

What does catch my eye is the aura around the river.

Wait… Aura!!??

What in the world is happening!!?? I can sense the aura emanating from the river.

I manage to calm myself down and a.s.sess the situation with a clear mind. So, I fell asleep around an hour ago, when the surroundings were completely normal, and now, the situation around me gives me the chills. All my instincts are screaming at me. This is undeniably a very dangerous situation. My surroundings make me feel like I am in a graveyard on a cold night with nothing but my bag. As I attempt to a.n.a.lyze the situation, the water of the river suddenly starts to warp.

"What in the h.e.l.l is happening here!?"

I howl loudly, knowing that my voice will reach no one, but my throat isn"t in my control anymore. I start to panic, but I gradually calm down. Instead of running away, I start walking towards the river with my school bag in tow.

As I close the distance between the river and myself, the river extends something akin to purple jelly-like substance towards me, while I try to desperately escape its range, it mercilessly devours me.

I don"t feel any kind of pain or anxiety, on the contrary, it can be said to be quite relaxing.

Currently, I am flowing through what can be described as a "jelly slide". It has been more than 5 minutes, and I am still sliding.

This is really terrifying but I have to admit, this can be an amazing amus.e.m.e.nt park attraction.

What am I even thinking at this time!?

The slide ends, I fall off and land on something soft.

"This soft sensation, is this, a human?"

I look below me, what lies there is a hooded figure with a black gown covering all of its body. Looking around me, there is… nothing?

Wait, What!? What the h.e.l.l!?

There is literally nothing around me except darkness, the surroundings are completely black, but even in this darkness, I can somehow make out the hooded figure easily.

I can"t even describe this phenomenon. Normally, we are able to see a certain object when light is reflected off of it, which when reaches our eyes, makes that object "visible" to us. But in this situation, there is no source of light, it"s just pure darkness, but even so, I can make out my own clothes, hands, and the hooded figure easily.

I get up slowly and gain some distance between me and the hooded figure. I am standing on… nothing. There is nothing below me but it still feels hard like a floor. This isn"t s.p.a.ce because I can"t make out any stars or other celestial bodies, I am not even sure that this location which I am in right now... even exists.

Is this heaven? Am I dead?

The hooded figure starts to get up but fails to do so and falls down on the nothingness again. And starts to whine.

"UGH!!! This hurts like h.e.l.l"

The hooded being sounds like a woman, but her voice… I feel like she could be a major pop star. It is sweet, gentle, and even while spounting such harsh words, her voice fails to make me uncomfortable, rather, it provides a sense of reliable security.

As I decide the hooded lady"s career in the entertainment industry. She calls out to me.

"Hey, you there!! Help a lady up, will you?"

Oh. I was having these unnecessary thoughts, and I completely forgot about the hooded lady. I move closer and extend my left hand towards her. She stands up and straightens her posture. She now has an air of dignity about her. She clears her throat and while bowing her head in front of me, starts to speak.

"Please allow me to apologize. I know that I made a grave error. I will provide you with any information you so desire as an apology."

Grave error, Apology, Information… huh.

I used to watch anime, and read light novels and mangas because I had a lot of free time during the holidays. My father forbade me from working in the day… he said "this is your youth, go have some fun", but because of my rich friends going on tours and trips, I was left all alone, with a lot of free time. Let"s put some of that "time killing" knowledge to use. But first, I have to determine the intentions of the person in front of me. From her voice she sounds like some kind of idol. I ask her in a polite way.

"I will be asking you some questions and I expect honest answers. Would that be okay?"

She lifts up he head which is covered with black cloth on each side. In fact, looking closely, she doesn"t have any exposed skin. Her hands and feet are also covered with the black cloth. I"ll ask her about that too. But for now, the interrogation begins.

"Who are you?"

"I am known as "The Gatekeeper""

"The Gatekeeper". Huh.

"Hmm… does this s.p.a.ce, which we currently occupy, really "exist"?"

I ask this question and Gatekeeper-san seems to be shocked. She replies after a momentary delay.

"No, this s.p.a.ce doesn"t actually "exist". This is what we call the "epicentre of realities"."

These are some heavy facts, but I think I can keep up. So... rather than "parallel worlds" there exists "parallel realities". I somewhat get the picture of what"s happening here. I calmly ask her.

"I a.s.sume that we have a lot of time… I want a complete explanation of this mechanism called "reality", and how I ended up here."

I can"t see her face, but I can tell that she is smiling behind the cloth.

"You really are an interesting one. Very well, I will indulge you. It has been thousands of years since I had a real conversation."

I put up a smiling face as Gatekeeper-san starts her explanation.

Umm Hmm.

It has been around 2 hours since Gatekeeper-san started her explanation, she didn"t stop, not even for a second, and as if barely keeping up with her, I listened to every word she uttered with the utmost concentration. After the explanation was over, Gatekeeper-san looked observantly at me as I processed the information provided to me. I stared blankly into the nothingness for more than 10 minutes, but she didn"t make a single move. She just stared earnestly at my face the whole time.

Umm… So I have the general picture in my head.

To put it in layman"s terms, Gatekeepers are the "manager" of realities, they prevent anyone from crossing their own reality and causing destruction in another. Apparently, all the realities exist simultaneously, unaware of the happenings in others. At any given second, more than 100 realities are created. If the impact of it on the timeline is significant enough, a single choice by even an extremely insignificant individual like a toddler or an old man can result in the creation of a new reality. There are an infinite number of realities with infinite possibilities. In trillions of realities, humans as a race doesn"t exist. In many more, the earth is uninhabitable because of human actions. I am appreciative of the fact that I was part of a good enough reality. There are realities with magic, there are those with science that can be said to be 5000 years ahead of my own. I myself, as a person, existed in many realities, making all of us "dopplegangers".

And Gatekeeper-san here is the current manager of realities. According to her, there have been billions of gatekeepers before her. As for how and why I arrived here. As put into words by a completely embarra.s.sed Gatekeeper-san, she lost focus for a split-second, accidentally causing a reality drift in a limited number of realities, incidentally, in all of those realities, there was only one intelligent life form caught by the reality drift and was sucked in. Yes, that would be me. I inquired about the possibility of me returning back to my own reality, and it would appear that going to one"s original reality is impossible.

She explained the complicated reasoning for that to me, and what I understood from it was that I was removed from my reality, but the reality continued to exist, and the timeline was set. But the anomaly was, it continued without me. And it would seem that there were no such circ.u.mstances in which I decided to run away instead of coming close to the river and getting devoured by the reality drift. Gatekeeper-san mentioned that she had put my reality on a time-loop in order to observe my actions. She said the she watched it over a million times, and each time, I was an idiot, succ.u.mbed to my curiosity, who came close to the reality drift instead of running away. An event which is stationary no matter how many times it is observed is known as an "unshaken event". What that means is that me getting devoured by the reality drift was a certainty, no matter what actions I took before that.

Returning me to my original reality would cause a "Reality Rupture". Yes, it is what it sounds like. The whole reality, as in the whole universe from my reality, will be destroyed. That universe will cease to exist and would be restarted by an event called "Big Bang".

Now then, this is the extent of the information that I was provided with. So... I was yoinked from my reality because of a certain "someone"s" laziness.

"So then, I can"t return to my "own" reality… but you never said that I can"t return at all, right?"

After listening to my question, she halts her staring and answers with a calm but bewitching tone.

"Yes, you can return to any reality of your choosing. Of course, excluding the ones which resemble your original reality by seventy-percent or more. But I would much rather have you spend your time here with me. You are quite the looker you know?"

"Can I have a catalogue of realities?"

I answer in a cold tone, to which she seems to be pouting.

"You sure are heartless. A gatekeeper is offering herself to you here."

She doesn"t seem to back down.

"Catalogue of realities, please?"

I said with the exact same tone as before.

"Ugh… Fine, but at least let me do this"

As soon as she says this, she lifts up her hood, which has been covering her face for as long as I"ve been here.

An extremely beautiful face of a lady of about 25 appears. She has brown hair with long eyebrows and pure black eyes. Her eyes, similar to a void which could suck anything in its path, invites me inside. Her skin, pure white, enhancing her beauty to the utmost perfection. I don"t want to compare, but Haruki, you"ve got a rival.

"Now then…"

In an instant, she closes the distance between us, and despite being gifted with superior reflexes, I couldn"t save my lips from being s.n.a.t.c.hed away by Gatekeeper-san. Our lips overlapped, her tongue invaded my mouth, it was a deep kiss!! By the time I got a hold of the situation, she had already created significant distance between us. It wasn"t my first kiss or anything, but still… that was way too sudden.

"Now then, reality catalogue huh?"

She said as she winked at me with her index finger caressing her lips. I wanted to retort but I stopped before I did.

There was a little something I want to ask her and observing how she is in a good mood, I calm the chaotic state of my mind after the kiss, and ask away.

"Umm… Gatekeeper-san… what about my "existence"?"

"Your body will never be found. Everybody you interacted with would still retain their memories of you. Most probably, you would be presumed dead in a few days and will be forgotten over time…"

"Is that so…"

A single teardrop rolls down my right cheek, I stand there, reminiscing about the life which I used to live… My parents… My friends… Haru… They"ll never know what happened to me…

Gatekeeper-san looks at me with pity in her eyes, she says nothing further. She waits for me to snap out of it.

I come to after about five minutes of total silence and wipe my eyes with my sleeve. I regain my usual smile and ask Gatekeeper-san just so that I could change the topic.

"So, tell me Gatekeeper-san, can you enter a reality by your own free will?"

As if understanding the intentions behind my question, she answers in an overly jolly tone.

"Oh no!! If I leave this place even for a second, the thing that happened to you will happen to countless other beings..."

Okay, I understand. Now then, a world to go, huh.

"I would personally prefer a world with magic or something similar."

I request such, to which she grins and then she raises her finger and small smartphone-screen like objects appear all around us, filling the once nothingness with vibrant colours. She points to one screen in particular, and all the others fade away.

As if advertising a product to a customer, she starts her explanation with a serious look on her face.

"This is a world with the use of magic based on pure magic manipulation, mana, and knowledge. Here, if one has sufficient amount of mana and magic manipulation capabilities, the laws of s.p.a.ce-time can be transcended. I will transfer everything that is to know about this world directly to your hippocampus. It will be like receiving a file full of data directly into your brain."

So if I take her statements into account, she seems to have knowledge about every reality in existence. Which includes my original reality. I ask her just out of concern.

"So, what kind of abilities will you be giving me before sending me to this world?"

I expected an answer like "abilities?", "don"t joke around", "you ain"t getting no cheats" or something. But her serious expression changed into that of a s.a.d.i.s.tic one. With an indifferent air around her, she speaks something totally absurd.

"All your current physical and mental capabilities increased by 100 times. You will have "infinite mana supply", and you will also have a superior talent for magic manipulation, in addition to that, you will have a direct telepathic connection to me, which will be similar in function to a cell phone. You can contact me anytime you want, call me everyday, okay?"

So, the world which I am being sent to, is based around the concept of magic. Right now, I know nothing else. But as Gatekeeper-san said, an individual can wield any kind of magic if he/she possesses the necessary mana and the basic understanding for the magic. On top of that, my physical and mental abilities would be increased by 100 times, which I a.s.sume would include things like: strength, stamina, regeneration, processing speed, decisiveness, reflexes, flexibility, mental resistance, calmness, memory, dexterity, endurance, adaptability etc. Which seems overpowered on its own. Considering my superior physical abilities, I would be undefeatable. But let"s not get c.o.c.ky, I still don"t know what the beings of this new world are capable of. Worst case scenario; Gatekeeper-san made me an average teenager according to the standards of this new world.

"Okay fine… this sounds interesting. I will gladly accept your kindness."

I give my consent and she smiles brightly and asks again.

"You will call me right!?"

"You will be my only companion in this new world so, yeah. I wouldn"t mind."

I answer honestly.

My body starts melting, I panic and ask Gatekeeper-san about what is happening. She smiles and answers me.

"Your body is being reconstructed all the way from the fundamental level, and will undergo all the promised changes. It should not take more than a few hours."

After her response, I start to lose consciousness.

I wake up and check my body, it has the same physical structure as before, however, I can feel the change, my physical prowess and my mental abilities have both exploded.

I can feel a river of energy flowing inside… that must be "mana". It is of a light-blue colour, and it emanates incomprehensible power. I try to retrace the river to find it"s origin but it is nowhere to be found, guess that is what she meant by "endless supply of mana". I can consciously control my mana. Currently, mana is leaking out of me, covering my whole body in a warm blue light. I consciously suck the mana inside my body, erasing any signs of it from my surroundings.

I certainly feel like I can do anything, but I"d rather not get hot-headed. After I a.n.a.lyze my bodily changes and mana flow, I return to reality (if you can call it that), and I can tell that not even 1 second has pa.s.sed. My sense of time has improved significantly. That must also be the result of my processing speed being increased. I slowly start to get grasp of my abilities. Interrupting my self-a.n.a.lysis and walking towards me is the super beautiful Gatekeeper-san.

"You ready to go? I have transferred all the information you would need. Just think about what you want to know and the information will appear. And yeah, about the telepathic call mechanism, you just have to imagine my appearance while having a desire to contact… the telepathic communication will automatically connect our subconscious and we can communicate by our thoughts alone."

She is pushing this calling thing way too much. She is literally standing on top of me, and her beauty doesn"t allow defiance. I answer calmly while my mind a.n.a.lyzes the other necessary things.

"Okay fine. Send me close to a capital or something. And what about my possessions?"

She thinks for a bit and responds in a seductive tone.

"Your possessions can"t be taken, so they will have to remain with me. I will provide you with basic clothing, and nothing else. Providing you with anything more could cause an anomaly in the reality. I"ll have fun with your clothes until you come back here."

She really is a scary woman. Wait what? "Until you come back"?

"Umm, Gatekeeper-san, what do you mean by "until you come back"?"

I ask her to confirm my speculation.

She responds with the same seductive tone.

"You heard right. We have a complicated connection, you can return to this s.p.a.ce anytime you want, I will always be here. You just have to invoke teleportation magic and visualize this place. You can come and go as you please. But you won"t be able to take anything that already "exists" here; for example: your clothes and bag. However, if you decide to store anything here, it can be retrieved quite easily."

I received all the things I will require, all that"s left now is going to the world, where I will start my new life as a "teenager". When I mention this to her, Gatekeeper-san"s expression turns to that of a girl watching her doll being taken away. I console her by saying that I would visit her often. Her mood lifts up a bit and then, she starts to concentrate her energy on me. Our bodies are connected with some kind of "thread of fate". After a few minutes, the light completely engulfs me, I am thrown out of the epicenter of realities.