Rex focused on his hands.

He was startled to see that he could… see… them.

“I have hands!” he exclaimed at the other, but as he thought he watched them blur and slide back into the æther.

Before you can return to the mortal realm, the voice explained, you must master your physical form.

“How?” asked Rex.

Impose your will on the universe.

In the silence, Rex concentrated. He imagined he saw his fingertips, saw sworls of prints. He watched fingernails form, knuckles, and scars from a thousand battles. His hands grew in front of him and he flexed them slightly and felt their strength, their permanence.

You are learning quickly, came the voice after a hundred years of silence.

Rex started.

“Huh?” he grunted as he watched his hands explode into nothingness once more.