Manaka stood Outside of time, it was the time when he erased himself and started consuming the concept of Salem which was him, at that time he was named Salem, The infinite Yachiron. At the beginning of his ever so long mission, he almost went insane due to the infinite darkness that existed beyond nothingness so he messed with his labyrinth using Name and word magic to change it's entire structure and created a bubble world after 300 combinations and failed attempts.
He named it the Imaginary Labyrinth or Labyrinth of Dreams.
He then got bored once more and created the burning spell that purifies witches and let's them be reborn into the world creating a reincarnation system for Magical girls, he did that in a spam of 50Million years which distracted him a bit. He felt someone remember him and glanced to find it was Sayaka and Kyoko, they looked depressed which made him sad a bit.
After observing them for a while, he suddenly found himself in a land filled with silver sand that glowed slightly and then a blank sky that stretched endlessly, he instinctually realized it was the space known as The sea of stars.
He spent about 150Million years wandering around and he was close to consuming his self in another 300, there he found a very enigmatic being known as The infinite eyed knowledge seeker.
It was a cute white haired girl that called herself Yog which gave him...Magic books for him to read because she said she did not need them and are out of date...but he price for it was to see how he would consume himself, then he heard her talk about some Akashic record or something, he was curious if she was from another universe and she did not answer him.
The only thing she told him was there was a nearby universe which had a world named Tensura with an entity named Will of the world maintaining it and said it was an interesting place, the two then became friends in the those 300Million years, Yog finally left with a goodbye to Salem and gave him a way to contact her anytime. and thus Manaka was now in his bubble world off to another universe for a vacation with some girls.
"Aha found him?! let's beat him up Kyoko" And thus he found himself in this situation after leaving his twin sister Madoka and her Lover Homura behind at the beach. Kyoko and Sakura were enraged and also strangely relieved he is not erased.
Manaka chuckled. "I miss you girls too, though I am sorry for making you spectators"
Kyoko snorted as she twirled her spear and aimed it at him. "Hah, aren't you going to call us your little wives or something"
Manaka blinked, why did she say that confidently. "You do realize it was a joke...right?, at that time I just wanted to cheer you guys up a bit."
Sayaka rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "Oh sure, just a joke. You vanish for eons, leave us wondering if you even exist anymore, and now you show up like nothing happened?"
Kyoko huffed, tapping her spear against her shoulder. "You know, Sayaka, maybe he needs a reminder of what happens when you make girls wait that long."
Manaka sighed dramatically, placing a hand on his chest. "Ah, so this is how it is. I come back with gifts, knowledge of new worlds, and maybe even a few cool tricks... and instead of hugs, I get threats."
"Shut up and take your punishment!" Kyoko lunged at him, but before her attack could land, the space around them shimmered, and she suddenly found herself sinking into what felt like marshmallow clouds.
"...Eh?" Kyoko blinked, looking around. Sayaka, too, found herself sitting in a comfortable chair, surrounded by an endless sky of twinkling stars. The air smelled of something sweet, like freshly baked bread.
Manaka stood in front of them, arms crossed, grinning. "Welcome to my Imaginary Labyrinth. I call this section the Dream Lounge—a little pocket dimension where I can control everything. Figured I'd show off a bit."
Sayaka frowned. "So you're just flexing now?"
"Absolutely." Manaka nodded.
Kyoko groaned, flopping onto one of the cloud-like cushions. "Fine, fine, you win this round. But you still owe us for disappearing."
Manaka smirked. "I mean, The devil aka Homura agreed and also Godoka for us to go on an indefinite Vacation in another world, I even brought Mami and Bebe along with us and i even solved the witch problem back at our original universe"
Sayaka's eyes widened. "Wait, wait, wait—what?! You got both of them to agree?! Homura agreed to this? The same overprotective devil who'd probably erase a universe just to keep Madoka happy?"
Kyoko whistled. "Damn. You really are a miracle worker."
Manaka shrugged, looking smug. "What can I say? I'm persuasive. Homura was hesitant, but when I explained that Madoka would be able to visit anytime and that the world was stable now, she let it go. Plus, she said she needed a break from babysitting the balance of existence."
Sayaka sighed, rubbing her temples. "I swear, the things you pull… But fine, whatever. You can deal with her if she changes her mind and decides to hunt us down later."
Kyoko waved her hand dismissively. "Who cares? What matters is—did you really bring Mami and Bebe?"
As if on cue, a soft golden light shimmered beside them, and a familiar figure stepped forward—Mami Tomoe, elegant as ever, with Bebe perched on her shoulder.
"It seems we're all gathered, then," Mami said with a warm smile. "I must admit, I was surprised by Manaka's offer at first, but a vacation in another world sounds quite… refreshing."
Bebe—now in her cute, smaller form—happily chirped, "Cheese!"
Kyoko grinned. "Now this is what I call a party."
Manaka clapped his hands together. "Alright, travelling universes will take us a long time but I sped of the bubble world so we should be arriving there in 2 years so that should give us enough time to Make some bonds, Also do you guys forgive Homura?, I mean she has suffered a lot more and hating her seems very unreasonable".
Sayaka leaned back into the cloud-like cushion, arms crossed. "Tch. I guess if even you can let it go, I don't have much of a choice, huh?" She sighed, glancing up at the starry sky of the Imaginary Labyrinth. "Honestly… it's not like I really hated her. I just… hated how powerless I felt. Like we were just side characters in her story."
Mami smiled gently. "I understand that feeling. But I think, in the end, Homura just wanted to keep what was precious to her safe. We were all just caught in her way of doing it."
Kyoko huffed. "Still, she's gotta learn that locking people in a fake paradise isn't how you show love. That's just—"
"Possessive?" Manaka finished with a knowing smirk.
Kyoko clicked her tongue. "Yeah, exactly."
Sayaka rolled her eyes. "You're one to talk, Manaka. You basically made an entire universe just to keep yourself from going insane."
Manaka chuckled. "Fair point. But I did invite you all this time. No forced captivity, just a voluntary trip to another world."
Kyoko smirked. "And a two-year all-expense-paid vacation in this fancy dream world before we even get there? Not bad."
Bebe happily chirped, "Cheese!" as she snuggled into Mami's arms.
Mami sighed, her golden curls bouncing as she shook her head. "Well, I suppose if we're all moving forward, then I can accept Homura as she is. After all, we all have our burdens, don't we?"
Sayaka stretched her arms, finally relenting. "Fine, fine. She gets a pass. For now." Then she shot Manaka a look. "But that doesn't mean you get a pass, oh mighty time-erasing, universe-hopping idiot."
Manaka raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What did I do this time?"
"You said you loved me and Kyoko yet you seem indifferent to that, i mean you kinda messed with our feelings a bit there," Sayaka muttered, a slight pink dusting her cheeks. "You can't just drop something like that and then vanish for millions of years. It's—ugh!—frustrating!"
Kyoko crossed her arms, looking equally annoyed. "Yeah! I mean, sure, we figured you were just messing around, but then you disappeared. We waited, y'know? And now you come back all smug and acting like nothing happened."
Manaka blinked, rubbing the back of his head. "Oh... You two actually took that seriously?"
Sayaka threw a cushion at his face. "Of course, we did, you dumbass!"
Kyoko groaned, flopping back onto the cloud couch. "Unbelievable. This guy literally bends reality and he still doesn't understand emotions."
Mami giggled softly, sipping a cup of tea that had materialized in her hands. "Manaka, you should know that words carry weight—especially ones like that. Even if you said them as a joke, they mattered to them."
Manaka sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. He had spent so long drifting between infinity and nothingness, his sense of personal connections had dulled. He had observed, he had created, but he had never really stopped to think about what his absence had meant to the people who cared about him.
Opening his eyes, he looked at Sayaka and Kyoko, both of whom were stubbornly avoiding his gaze. With a small, fond smile, he stepped forward and gently placed a hand on both their heads.
"I'm sorry," he said, voice softer than before. "For disappearing, for not realizing what I meant to you. I thought I was just keeping you safe by staying away. But I see now... I was an idiot for leaving you behind."
Sayaka glanced at him, her expression conflicted, but her anger seemed to wane. Kyoko clicked her tongue, shoving his hand off. "Damn right, you were."
Then, after a moment, she grinned. "But at least you're back now. Just don't pull that stunt again."
Manaka chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. I'll make it up to you, I promise."
Sayaka huffed, but a small smile tugged at her lips. "You better."
Manaka smirked. "Well, I still didn't get the hug from you two though"
Sayaka rolled her eyes. "If you behave...you can lap kyoko"
Kyoko suddenly turned her head towards Sayaka. "I NEVER agreed to that?!"
Manaka chuckled, he stood up from where he was and sat near Kyoko. "Don't worry, I won't do that to you but you and Sayaka can lean on my shoulder if you feel a bit tired at the moment"
Sayaka smiled, she got off her chair and walked towards Manaka's other side and sat there. "You are way more better than Kyosuke and I think I would rather have a crush on you now"
Manaka smiled. "You're adorable but I think you shouldn't just fall for me like that."
"Manaka, you seemed lonely when we met back again, I think you just forgot to expose your emotions more. I am not falling for you just like that, I actually do love you too, me and kyoko do because, you are the one who saved us when we were at our lowest. You gave us hope when we thought there was none left."
Kyoko huffed, looking away but not moving from her spot. "Tch. Don't get all sentimental on me, Sayaka. But yeah... you were always there for us, even if you were a dumbass about it."
Manaka felt something warm stir in his chest, a feeling he'd long since buried under layers of infinite time and solitude. For all his power, for all his knowledge, this simple moment—sitting between two people who genuinely cared about him—felt more meaningful than all the worlds he had created or observed.
He let out a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. "I guess... I really did forget how important you all were to me. I won't make that mistake again."
Sayaka leaned against his shoulder, letting out a small hum of contentment. "Good. Just don't disappear for another million years, okay?"
Kyoko sighed, finally relenting as she leaned on his other shoulder. "Yeah. We'll beat you up if you try."
Manaka chuckled softly, the sound carrying through the dreamlike air of the Imaginary Labyrinth. "Fair enough."
As the stars shimmered above them, and the soft, endless clouds surrounded them in warmth, the group sat in quiet companionship, knowing that, for now, they were together.