C-Team: From Here To The Multiverse

To say this ship was fast would've been the understatement of the century.

Haru was gripping the front co-pilot bar like it was the last piece of safety on an extreme roller coaster — fingers clenched tight, knuckles pale.

Azrael was… Azrael.

Cool. Aloof. Unbothered.

Perched lazily on a passing panel near the controls, tail swaying as he watched the blur of stars zip past like it was nothing.

Leonidas was at the helm, steady hands on the controls, feeling the pressure of atmospheric ascent just like the rest of them.

"GONNA HAVE TO PUT HER BACK IN THE SHOP SOON, AIN'T THAT RIGHT, HARU?!" Leonidas shouted, grinning through the wind drag, trying to be heard over the storm of acceleration.

Haru didn't respond.

He had already retreated into his earbuds — blasting music, eyes wide, trying to hold onto his sanity and not fully melt from the combination of unnatural G-forces and the very natural fear of death.

Yes, he was amazed.

But it was the kind of amazement that leaned more toward panic than wonder.

They pierced through the upper atmosphere, through orbit, and out into the stars —

And that…

That was where amazement truly took hold.

The Pincer finally began to slow, shifting into a smooth, stable cruise through space.

Haru peeled off one earbud and finally allowed himself to breathe.

"…Woah."

"Yeah, kid," Leonidas said, calming his voice now that the ride had mellowed. "You never really get used to this."

"Indeed," Azrael added, stretching like he'd just woken from a nap.

"As the children of this era would say: The Origin cooked."

Haru shot him a blank stare. He chose not to respond. The moment was too big to be ruined by cat cringe.

He turned instead to the view — his perspective stretching beyond anything he'd ever known.

The Earth.

Blue, whole, breathtaking from this distance.

It didn't look real.

His heart stilled in a strange peace as something deeper clicked inside him.

His mind began to race with thought after thought.

So this is what it meant to leave your world.

So this is what infinity looked like.

The stars, the galaxies, the endless void painted in motion. It was like an impossible slideshow of celestial grandeur.

The Moon.

Jupiter.

Pluto.

And then…

The Sun.

Not a picture.

Not a rendering.

The real thing.

Radiant.

Enormous.

Alive.

"Magnificent."

That was the only word Haru could form.

It escaped from him, quiet, reverent.

Leonidas looked over.

"Anything else you wanna see, kid?"

Haru's brain was already cooked.

Jupiter's impossible size had left him speechless.

The Sun had melted his understanding of beauty.

And he knew — deep down — this was just the beginning.

There would be more.

Bigger. Stranger. Holier.

Things his mind wasn't sure it could handle yet.

"Uhhhhh… nah. I'm good."

Leonidas just laughed, grinning at the sight of his nephew stunned into awe.

Azrael yawned loudly, utterly unmoved.

As if this was all just a boring pit stop.

Leonidas glanced over at Haru again, his expression shifting to something more serious.

"Well, no more time for games," he said. "It's time you learned how to traverse from a universe into the Mivtzar of Einaim."

Haru straightened up immediately, focus locked in.

"You see the back of my right hand?" Leonidas raised it slightly.

Haru leaned in.

There it was — a number.

He'd seen it before, always figured it was just a tattoo.

But now it made sense.

955

Leonidas would never get a tattoo. Not without a good reason.

"Every Arknight has two numbers," Leonidas explained.

"One on their left hand — invisible to everyone except the individual. That one's your rank within the institution."

He tapped his right hand.

"This one, though? The visible one? That's your classification number — chosen by the Watchers. It's not based on your ranking or performance—"

"Fate," Azrael interrupted, deadpan.

Leonidas smirked. "Yeah. That's the theory, anyway."

He looked back at Haru.

"What matters is that this number is your ID. It's what lets you traverse the multiverse without being flagged as a criminal by the Watchers.

It also gives you access to their systems — missions, tools, privileges. Everything."

Haru nodded, absorbing every word. This was real now. This was happening.

And every detail mattered.

"How do you use it?"

"You say the number aloud with intention. That intention links you spiritually to the Watchers."

"A covenant?" Haru asked.

"Sort of," Leonidas replied. "More like a pseudo-covenant, if we're being technical. But yeah — close enough."

Haru gave another nod.

"Now," Leonidas said, his chill grin returning, "watch and learn, kid."

He raised his hand.

"Nine Hundred and Fifty-Five!"

In an instant, space tore open ahead of them.

A portal — half a kilometer out — formed with a rippling pulse of white, gold, and black energy.

It shimmered like liquid light and ancient magic combined, bending reality in waves.

Leonidas gripped the ship's clutch and pulled back.

"Hold on," he muttered.

Haru braced himself as The Pincer surged forward — slicing through the rift like a blade through silk.

They passed through the portal —

— and entered a brand new world.

At this point, Haru was officially tired of having his mind blown.

But it seemed he didn't have a choice.

They had arrived at the Mivtzar of Einaim. There was no sun in the sky, and yet the light was perfect — soft, brilliant, almost divine.

The heavens stretched in a vast expanse of blue and white, like a sunny day on Earth but brighter, purer.

Freeing.

"This… this is…" Haru's words caught in his throat.

"This is absolutely amazing."

Leonidas watched him with a smile. That same awestruck wonder had once filled his own eyes too.

"Kid."

"Yeah?"

"Welcome to the Mivtzar of Einaim!"

Even Azrael cracked a rare smile, the thrill of the moment too much for even his indifference.

City? Domain? Realm?

Whatever it was — it was absurdly, spectacularly unreal.

Anything and everything Haru could imagine was here.

Ships soared through the endless sky — pirate ships, futuristic vessels, sleek cruisers that looked like they were crafted by different cultures across different galaxies. Some flew through the air. Others glided effortlessly across the rivers and sprawling lakes below.

The architecture was mostly white and silver, with soft gold accents — but the designs varied wildly. Retro. Modern. Cyberpunk. Neo-ancient. Some buildings stretched impossibly tall. Others floated in the air.

And then —

A massive, upside-down, alien-looking silver pyramid that reflected the atmosphere, hovered mid-sky with ships flying in and out of it like bees around a hive.

"What's that?" Haru asked.

"The Aviary," Leonidas said. "Where we lock up criminals."

"…Huh."

They swooped lower, gliding just above the streets.

And once again, Haru's mind was shattered.

Leonidas and Azrael noticed the dazed expression on his face. He looked like a kid who'd seen three miracles too many.

He needed a break.

Below them, the city bustled with life.

People — or beings — of every kind moved through the streets.

Some looked human. Others… absolutely not.

There were tall, glimmering figures with translucent skin. Small, bulky creatures with four arms.

Superheroes. Warriors. Merchants.

Aliens that defied earthly vocabulary.

Some were shopping. Others chatting, eating, sparring, or simply existing — side by side.

And through the chaos moved order.

Patrolling the skies and streets were the Enforcers — the elite peacekeepers of the Watchers.

They wore sleek, advanced techno-samurai armor — mostly white and slightly black with subtle gold trim. Their helmets were robotic, with glowing electro-blue visors.

Jet packs on their backs and jets built into their boots emitted streams of cool blue flame as they zipped across the sky, leaving elegant trails of light behind them.

On their hips were plasma weapons — blades that resembled katanas in hilt design, but whose energy edges shifted in size and shape with each movement.

"Amazing," Haru whispered.

"Yep," Leonidas replied casually.

"Sooo… are those guys the police or something?"

"Yep. Special Forces of the Watchers.

They're called Enforcers — a private military force that keeps the Mivtzar in order.

They've got their own ships — even a massive megaship that would blow your mind.

The Pincer was actually designed with some of their tech in mind."

Leonidas continued, "They're raised from childhood, trained to be sharp, loyal, fast.

They don't have Manna sensitivity — but they're incredibly capable and crazy tough."

Haru nodded slowly, still trying to process everything.

"And all these businesses…?"

"As you might've guessed," Leonidas said, "not every Arknight is here to go on missions.

A lot of them are recruited for their talents — scientists, engineers, support units, strategists, cultural experts.

They're here to keep the machine running behind the scenes."

"Ohhh, that's interesting…"

"Indeed," Azrael added, casually licking the back of his paw.

A soft beat played in Haru's left ear — the music from his forgotten earbud. He reached for his phone to pause it—

—and froze.

His battery was at 100%.

"What the…? Leonidas, how did my phone charge?"

Leonidas grinned.

"The Mivtzar is filled with potent, ever-moving Manna — almost endless.

Your stuff'll always stay charged here, and you'll always have signal somehow.

Don't ask me how it works. I'm no scientist — but it's insanely useful."

"You'll also feel more energized," he added. "Your health'll improve. You'll need less sleep.

It's one of the perks of being surrounded by such potent energy."

"Huh…"

Haru sat back, letting that sink in.

He understood the basics. He'd been trained since young to understand what Manna was.

The core energy of existence — the byproduct between physical and spiritual reality.

A metaphysical, unquantifiable, invisible force.

It couldn't be fully understood, and it couldn't be fully measured.

But it was powerful. Beyond reason.

Many of the multiverse's greatest mysteries made more sense through the lens of Manna.

Haru knew that people had different sensitivities to it.

Those who could manipulate it — like himself — did so through a mix of will, spirit, training, and other unknown factors.

All power stemmed from Manna — whether consciously tapped into or not.

It flowed through all beings.

Alive. Eternal. Gifted.

Its full nature was still a mystery to him.

But one thing he knew for sure was that it was a gift from the Triasm to mankind and so that meant it was sacred.

And so after what felt like a beautiful eternity of wonder, they finally reached the heart of the citadel.