No no no no no! This wasn’t supposed to happen!

A portal tore open in space-time as a traveler crawled out of it, landing in a barren, empty world. The skies were as gray and dull as the lands below it. 

Sitting on his knees and staring at the ground, he felt his guilt tearing him apart from the inside and out. He slowly stood up onto his feet and kicked over a pile of rocks out of frustration. “I just wanted to help!” He shouted at the top of his lungs into the world’s emptiness. “How could I have known that I’d cause a singularity?!” He vented. “We were supposed to use that power to make something great for everyone!” He dropped to his knees and wept. “I had so much hope…” Then it dawned on him. He glanced around quickly then down at his belt. I didn’t bring myself here. How—

“You are in the Void, a place that used to belong to the Eldritch until something wiped them out.” A distorted voice said as a similar portal opened up before him and several individuals in tactical gear stepped out of it.

“Who—“

“—Are we?” An armed individual interrupted. “We are the protectors of the multiverse and their timelines and you, Mizukiba Kaito variant 8694, are under arrest for the creation of a singularity.” They opened a pair of advanced handcuffs. 

Kaito looked down and knew he was guilty. Without another word, he held up his hands in silence, accepting the arrest. The armed individuals forced his hands behind his back, cuffing him by his wrists as the handcuffs began to pulse with an aquamarine glow with a faint hum similar to an old fluorescent light. They forced him up onto his feet and pushed him through the portal. The bright light on the other side blinded the traveler for a couple seconds, but as soon as his eyes adjusted, a technological marvel came into view.

In a place beyond time and space, a scientifically advanced society stood resolute. Escorted by his guards, Kaito saw hundreds, possibly thousands of his other variants in this miraculous bubble: a man with the features of a fish, a fish with the disturbing features of a human, and even seeing a pet goldfish with a similar eyepatch in a fishbowl did not stun him. He then looked down at the floor below, only to see his own reflection staring back at him. 

The group stopped by a checkpoint as other armed officers scanned Kaito with a handheld device unlike anything he has ever seen before. 

“Log variant 8694,” said one of the checkpoint security guards as another began to type on their console. “This variant appears human, but he had been spliced with shark DNA, most notably” —the officer held up a flashlight and forced Kaito to open his mouth, checking his teeth— “A thresher shark.” He backed off then scanned Kaito’s belt. “Log the belt as this variant’s time travel device.”

“Affirmative.”

Kaito thought back to all the other variants, each one had some kind of similar device on them. He wondered how different all the others were to his, but the thought quickly slipped his mind when he was shoved to continue walking once again.

“Proceed,” said the checkpoint officer.

The captive was led into a wide, dark chamber and forced to kneel. The second the doors slammed shut behind him, rows upon rows of lights turned on one after the other. Before him were twelve silhouettes hidden behind a white sheet. 

“Mizukiba Kaito Variant 8694,” one of the voices behind the sheet told him. “You are here for your reckless actions throughout the multiverse.” 

“You have gone from one universe to the next over and over, bringing alien items to various timelines where they should not belong,” another silhouette addressed.

An additional voice spoke out. “We have the abilities, nay,  the powers to travel through time and space; to travel to any universe we wish to.” The figure spread their arms. “We have the responsibility to preserve each and every universe; to keep them on the very same path they are destined to be!” Even from behind a white sheet, the feeling of being glared daggers at could still pierce through Kaito’s very being. 

Kaito lowered his head, thinking back to all the worlds he visited; all the different universes he brought gifts to with every person he grew close to. His expression sank with his eyes becoming glazed over as his fears grew to only assume the worst. His adventures in many worlds, gathering various treasures and creatures; bringing them to other universes where they did not belong. Everywhere he has ever gone and everything he has ever obtained as proof that he was there.

“Tampering with the natural balance of every universe…” —one of the twelve crossed their arms— “is a severe crime that leads to the deaths of trillions.”

“No, not just death,” another figure pointed out. “It goes beyond death, it’s similar to the technique of a destruction god but on a universal scale.”

“Erasure.” 

“The total destruction of the mind, body, and spirit down to their very atoms. Their history, their relationships, their very existence, everything wiped out from existence itself.” 

One of the two silhouettes in the center then announced, “The King’s Council will now pass judgment to variant 8694.”

The white sheet parted in the center, making way for a figure in full view to make her way toward Kaito. Her footsteps echoed throughout the chamber as her piercing scarlet gaze looked down upon the traveler in the center. 

“Throughout your time spent traveling across the multiverse and various timelines,” her deep, sultry voice was filled with total disgust toward him. “One, taking items from several universes.” She slowly got closer and closer. “Two, moving alien items from one universe to another. Three, taking in an entity to keep as a pet, and lastly,” she stopped before him, crossing her arms as she glared him down. “Creating a singularity and wiping out a timeline off the face of the map.” 

Their eyes met. One felt the weight of his actions crashing down around him, while the other’s scarlet gaze was filled with merciless, murderous intent to all she judged.

“Any final words, 8694?”

“I—” Kaito felt a lump in the back of his throat, as though the severity of the punishment to come has stolen away his ability to speak. 

The leader of the King’s Council raised her hand. “Then by my decree, you are to return home—”

The lights of the council chamber abruptly switched to red as an alarm blared throughout the complex. An emergency has taken hold, forcing every interdimensional traveler into panic mode. An envoy ran up to the leader, whispering into her ear and showing her the contents on a tablet before running away. 

She eyed the prisoner then sighed, “It’s your lucky day, 8694.” She snapped her fingers, silently ordering the guards to remove the cuffs which binded him. “Instead of sending you home to wallow in your misery…” She made a hologram of a multiversal map appear before them and a blip appeared on it. “You’ve been here before.”

Kaito gulped. “I have, but—”

“Then there should be no issue,” she swiped it away before he could finish speaking. “As the prime beholder of all time and space, I, Raikou, declare to send you to Multiverse #31216.”

“What exactly would you have me do then?” he asked, clenching his fists out of fear.

Raikou answered with an unwavering expression. “As punishment for your crimes and by my authority, you must prevent this set multiverse from collapsing due to a singularity.”

Kaito let out a deep sigh. “Then I’ll need time to—”

“I do not recall giving you a choice in the matter,” Raikou said sternly. “You will enter this multiverse. You will find the source of the singularity and prevent it from collapsing. You are to either resolve it without traveling to other worlds or you die with it.” She crossed her arms. “Am I clear?” 

With no room for argument, Kaito felt small against Raikou. His ever-growing guilt has started to feel like invisible chains, shackling him to a multiverse on the brink of collapse. Resigned to his predicament, Kaito nodded.