On a small blue marble, third from the sun, in a museum somewhere in Boston, Massachusetts. Sits a historian going over his notes trying to get everything coalesced into a theory. The historian has been researching for years on old stories and myths of emperors, and kings of the ancient world. After sifting through hundreds of historical records. The man. Began to find an unexpected pattern.

A pattern of a boy or girl living a normal life then one day disappearing, only to reappear some time later. This was a massive simplification of the entire story, the man had unearthed from, hundreds of different historical accounts, records, myths, and legends of prominent figures throughout history.

The man had stumbled onto a strange account one day going through historical accounts. He didn’t think much of it until he found another, again he didn’t think much. The level of technology was different back then, even communication was underdeveloped, it was not hard to believe people would simply disappear one day. In fact, the historian came across more records of people just vanishing one day, admittedly in odd circumstances, then people coming back. It was when he noticed that those that would return tended to be larger historical figures.

Even that could be explained away as people misremembering or documents being exaggerated, but it was the similarities spread throughout eras that stuck out to the historian. Once he began to search he began to see this phenomenon everywhere, in stories, myths, legends, and even well-documented nobility.

The historian searched for years to come up with a hypothesis about these shared stories. He pulled together as much evidence as possible eventually presenting his findings to the scientific community. Titling his paper 'The Shared Dream of Greatness'. The man had hypothesized that the sudden changes in these people were no signs of other entities, or gods interfering in people's lives, but of the people finally dreaming greater than their own position believing they have seen another world. Spurring them to change their own.

The paper was thoroughly reviewed and questions were asked. The man had provided plenty of evidence, all the way up to the beginning of the 19th century. And when asked why there was nothing recent. His response,

"I believe it is due to the world has become interconnected. The people are familiar with most ideas and because of that sudden... revelations..or ideas, come in completely different formats."

“So because we have seen everything, we can no longer dream and become inspired?” The interviewer followed up.

“No, no. What I'm saying is…think of it like this. You are a peasant. Your world is nothing but working in a field. You don't think of doing anything new because you never thought of it. Then suddenly you have a dream where you are important, strong, and a hero. When you wake up suddenly working a field feels wrong, and the feeling builds until they decide to do something. Now we look at modern times. If you had such a dream you wake up and think that was a good dream. You've seen this all on television you don’t think much of it."

“So you're saying we are still having this dream?”

“I believe most people have a dream like this, it's just a small percentage of people to act on it.”

This was his most famous interview, and many more questions were asked and the research was not considered groundbreaking, but news stations made the article's popularity grow. The man became a minor celebrity as people slowly declared it the Isekai theory. Some even began to believe it was proof of other world travel was real, but only the most die-hard theorists truly believed it.

——

A historian sits at a table looking for his next project when a man asks a question. “Why didn't you mention the man in the paper?”

“What man?” The historian looks up at the man confused, wondering how someone had entered his office, "And who are you?"

“The man they all mentioned before the dream.” The man smiled.

“That?” In each, and every interview no one had ever asked about the man, having been there at the beginning. The man was not always mentioned, and even when he had found any record of him being mentioned it was always an afterthought. It was to the point the historian believed this was just a random person they knew. The historian didn't even mention him in the paper itself. The historian was both impressed and weary of this man suddenly in the office but decided to answer him, “There wasn't enough evidence of the man. Besides, it was dream could have been anyone they happen to see in passing.”

The man seemed to be taking in the answer, “That makes sense to me. It would have been weird to mention an unexplainable man through the centuries.”

The historian realized the man never answered who he was and demanded, “Who are you and how did you get in here?”

The man ignored his demand, “You know you got it wrong though.”

That made the historian blink, “Are you here to just make fun of my research, one of the new grad students looking to stir up trouble, I assure you my hypothesis has enough evidence to back it up.” The man vehemently defended his work.

“Yes, but it is derived from a faulty premise.”

“And that is?” The man didn’t believe he made a mistake, but he was curious to hear this man’s conclusion. ‘Maybe I did miss something.’

“Magic isn't real.” The man said completely serious.

Any respect for this man suddenly went out the window, “Your saying they were all whisked away to a magical realm by a random man then brought back changed.”

The man touched his nose.

“Get out. I don't know how you got in my office but.”

Suddenly the historian was alone. He had been staring directly at the man as he had vanished into nothing. He got up and examine the area before concluding "I have got to stop reading those fan fantasy books. They got me seeing things."

——

A man and woman stand unseen looking towards a historian trying to figure out if the man was ever there. Eventually deciding he needs to get some rest.

“I don't understand why you did that.” The woman said confused.

“It's fun to give hints.” The man said playfully.

“He probably thinks your a hallucination.”

“Yup! But could you imagine if he decides it was real? Takes a minute to look at the camera to see I was real?” The man said with a glint in his eye.

“I don't think anyone would believe him.” The woman began speaking her thoughts. “They would chalk it up to a camera malfunction or something.”

“But he would know.”

Surprised she asked, “Do you think he will?”

“Probably not, he'll most likely forget by morning.” The man said deflated.

“Then why?” She wanted to understand.

“Why not?”

“You do this a lot don’t you.”

“Every so often.” The man admitted.

“Has anyone ever figured it out?”

“No. But a lot of writers have taken it and run.”

The woman's eyes widened realizing, “Is there are so many isekai, and world jumping stories exist?”

The man shrugged.

“Would explain why so many are from Japan.”

The man laughed.