"Of course I'd love to hang out, but… are you sure you should be coming with us for this?"
"Mama Maria's not home, and I can't reach her. That means we don't have any other options."
"No one was talking to you!"
Argenta, clutching Blue's hand, snapped as Cosmo answered in her place.
The crew had just stepped into a vast hall stretched beneath a vaulted ceiling, every surface washed in violet glow.
Portals stood in perfect formation along the walls, their frames humming with a steady brilliance that bent the air around them. More gates awaited at the far end, aligned with luminous sigils carved into the floor, all lines converging toward a single radiance.
Panels of light overhead pulsed in rhythm, reflections spilling like liquid across the polished ground. The place felt without end, a corridor of thresholds, each doorway a promise to somewhere else.
And they weren't alone. Officers milled throughout, some idling in low conversation, others slipping in and out through portals.
"I thought you weren't talking to me anymore?" Cosmo teased.
"I'm telling you that I'm not talking to you! That doesn't count!"
He laughed, rubbing her head until she shoved him off with a scowl. Strolling ahead, he said, "You all stay here. I'll have to reserve a portal."
Red observed the portals, watching each one as officers left and arrived.
It played tricks on his sight. It could be compared to seeing a blotch of empty pixels on a screen. Pitch black, it seemed that no tint of color existed in the line of sight.
This all cast an illusion that everyone who stepped through only spawned out of thin air in that moment.
"How-"
"How were they developed?"
Red flinched as an arm fell around his shoulder.
Oliver, carrying a comically oversized pack that drew everyone's notice, read Red's state of mind at a glance.
"I can tell some of those returning are recruits," Red could only nod before replying. "Yet none show the slightest unease at this kind of displacement. Even if they'd gone in once before, I'd expect at least one to betray discomfort."
Oliver's eyes widened with a faint amazement. "You're one of the few who paused to wonder before heading in."
"Then do you know?" Red asked.
Oliver released his arm with obvious delight and launched into a comprehensive explanation. How much he truly understood was one thing; putting it into words was another. As soon as it clicked, he began to whisper.
"Do you understand how multiplayer online games function?"
"Of course. Multiple players connect to a central server that relays information, updating the world's data based on inputs from each player's device."
Oliver forms a circle with his fingers.
"When you create a hole, an exceptionally sharp hole, into nothing, you tear into the void, which represents the absence of what we can confirm 'exists.'"
"Exists?"
"What we can observe and identify as true in our reality."
He pretends to hold an object with those same fingers.
"Those holes can represent the players, or their devices, if you will."
"How do these tears connect?"
"Players don't just spawn randomly in maps or lobbies, do they?" he continues.
"No, they're connected based on common rules, like skill, region, or latency."
"If you can pinpoint and adjust details from both points in space, you ensure that the portals not only connect but exist as a singular object in multiple locations simultaneously."
"If that's the case, wouldn't the holes have to lead somewhere else, requiring both architects of information to synchronize and interact?" Red identifies another connection using the example. "The server?"
"Clever." Oliver snaps his fingers. "That's the most crucial aspect of this. I call it Imaginary Space."
"Imaginary Space?"
"It has an official and perhaps better name, but since these are just my theories, I can't know for sure. Only a select few have full knowledge." Oliver admitted. "But true study is restricted. Active research is forbidden, which makes even this knowledge quasi-taboo."
Red is eager to press him for more on that last point, but senses that fully grasping their conversation could have negative implications.
"This Imaginary Space, is it the place between the portals? Like the server where players interact?"
"It's more accurate to say it isn't a physical place. It's information itself. Just as a server isn't a tangible location but another set of data. If you examine an avatar's relationship with the game more closely, you'll find there isn't a true 'where' in the interface. The player's input updates the game world in a manner allowed by design. You don't actually enter the game. Similarly, when you enter the hole, you influence the Imaginary Space and become information, data copied from one location in space and conveyed to another instantly."
Red's eyes widened at this revelation. He looks again at the holes, observing officers appearing from thin air while still in their initial motion, now with newfound context.
"There's no way that's true, it can't be. If it were, what would that make the 'you' on the other side? Would that even be 'you'? To transform your body, mind, and soul into data and emerge the same defies logic. The one who entered could logically be considered dead."
"Not necessarily. I'd argue that since the space in between doesn't exist, it makes it even more plausible. Everywhere is nowhere, and nowhere is somewhere. Whatever wasn't inputted can't be outputted, not even death or any phenomenon. That's why stepping through feels the same as just moving around out here. Since an 'existing' object can't observe the Imaginary Space, nothing happens from your perspective. All you did was take another step forward. That's another part I've confirmed and it is easily evident."
"That's… incredible." Red processes the information before a detail he can't ignore clicks. "Does that imply you've confirmed other aspects? I thought active research on this was forbidden—"
"Shhh—" Oliver puts a finger to his lips, grinning mischievously, then walks off in the same direction Cosmo had gone.
"Did you find out what you needed to know?"
Another voice called from behind Red.
"Yeah! Isn't it insane?!" He turned excitedly toward the voice, only to see his sister looking far from well. "Sis?!"
Her face was flushed scarlet, and he could swear steam was rising from the top of her head.
"Good, because I couldn't follow a single thing." She sighed, pressing her palm to her forehead.
"Don't feel bad, Big Sis, I didn't get a single thing either." The child clinging to her hand tried to comfort her, though the words themselves offered far less than the thought behind them.
"Hey, since when did she become your Big Sis?" Red whined playfully. "Actually, since when did you two get this close?"
Argenta only taunted him by tugging her eyelids and flashing her tongue.
"You little—"
"I had high expectations for whoever would be assigned to the Nebula Branch," a new voice cut in, laced with disdain. "Only to be met by the babysitting club."
A squad of uniformed officers approached, their leader stepping to the front. He was a young man with short, spiked black hair and narrow red eyes, sharp, confident, and edged with intimidation.
"Can we help you?" Tyson intercepted his advance toward Blue and Argenta.
"You can start by adopting more professional attire." His eyes scanned each of their faces. "Some of us arrive here dressed as if our lives are truly on the line."
One could hardly deny he had a point. His squad was clad in dark-violet tactical vests reinforced with segmented armor. Black fatigues tucked into heavy boots lent them a grounded, martial weight.
Reinforced sleeves and high collars sharpened their silhouettes, insignias gleaming on their chests. By contrast, not a single member of the Nebula Branch had changed attire since their arrival.
"I get how it looks, man, but it's not like that. Ours aren't ready yet, at least that's what our Captain said." Heaving a loud sigh, Yon tried to explain their situation.
"That's not likely."
"I'm sorry, what?" Yon blinked, confused at the blunt response.
"I refuse to believe that excuse."
"What the hell's that supposed to mean?"
Blue gently pulled Argenta closer until the girl's back rested against her lap, then carefully covered the little one's ears. "Yon, try not to escalate the situation."
"I'm trying to figure out what this dude's even on about." Yon jabbed his thumb toward the man blatantly dismissing his words. "How are you telling me I'm wrong when I'm the victim here?"
"Simple. I find your excuse unlikely, so I don't believe a word of it."
Yon's fists tightened, his whole frame itching to lunge at the aggravator, an impulse Tyson anticipated, stepping in to grip his shoulder.
"I think this guy's trying to pick a fight!"
"I get how you feel, but we can't cause any more trouble before we've even gone on our first mission." Tyson kept his voice calm, firm, hoping to hold Yon steady before things erupted.
"Not like you had any shot in the first place." A cheeky girl beside the black-haired one laughed. "Word of advice, only say what you can actually back up."
"What was that?"
"You've been talking nonstop, yet I've felt no weight of authority in your words."
"So that's enough to write us off? Tell me that doesn't sound immature." Red mocked her notion.
It was true.
An Eminent's authority could determine how difficult it was to disregard their words. But wielding that as a measure of worth was never wise.
"He's right, you know?" Cosmo returned with Oliver at his side, supporting Red's point. "Cut my rookies some slack, Sauer. If they're unprepared, that's on me."
The black-haired one, Sauer, had regarded them with disdain for their carefree tone.
With their even more carefree Captain now back, they wondered how things would unfold.
"I fully understand, sir!" His demeanor shifted completely. He raised a sharp, deliberate salute, measured, steady, almost reverent. "It was my own short-sightedness. I should have been more understanding."
"That's alright. Just remember, no matter how your fellow officers appear, we're all risking our lives just the same, alright?"
"Yes, sir! Your wisdom is beyond words!"
The sudden reversal was infuriating to watch. His fawning bordered on unhealthy admiration, explaining his unreasonable judgment of them after barely meeting.
"Ah, so it was just jealousy? What a douche," Yon whispered to Red.
Red nodded. "The sudden brown-nosing is annoying to watch."
"I think it's kind of adorable," Blue countered.
Cosmo wrapped up his exchange with Sauer, waving him and his squad off before strolling back to his team.
"You done?" Yon spoke first. "Who was that prick, anyway?"
"Don't be so harsh, he's your senior. Sure, he can sound rude, but he's just a kid with good intentions."
"I'm gonna take that as you projecting again."
"Actually, I only secured the rank of Captain after saving him in another boundary on my return trip." Cosmo added smoothly, brushing past Tyson's remark.
"Figures," Yon scoffed. "He's been idolizing you ever since, huh? I almost pity the guy. But seriously, what's with you calling people your age 'kids'?"
"Do I really do that a lot?" Cosmo tilted his head innocently. "Guess my void age is messing with me."
"What's that even supposed to mean?"
"You'll find out soon enough. Now, let's get started."
He led them toward a portal mounted in the distant wall. Nearing it, he paused, turning his head back toward the group.
"Are you ready to make history?"