The Covenant Of Timeless Mysteries

(This chapter is undergoing revisions for tone adjustment and pacing)

Chapter 12

Abel moved closer to Fleur's ear and whispered loud enough for Hoku to discern what he had said.

"Do you think it's Juno?"

Fleur flipped her hair, the brown spirals at the end tumbling over her shoulder.

Abel jerked away, scrunching his nose and frowning at her hair.

His contempt quickly vanished when another boy came rushing from behind a tree with his hands spread outward as if to indicate his vigilance.

Hoku was moderately confused at this juncture, unsure why the boy's arms were raised like he was telling someone to wait.

He glanced back toward Fleur and saw the bow she was pulling from under her hair.

"Oh."

"You can calm down, Fleur. You know I mean no harm," the boy's voice sounded younger than Abel's, but with more warmth and maturity.

"Mars—you nearly scared her half to death. She froze like a prey animal," Abel teased.

'Mars?'

"I was scared? I am always prepared to act. You hadn't even realized that if anyone is prey, it's you!" Hoku responded.

Fleur tucked her bow into whatever lost space she had summoned it from, then nudged her brother as she made her way toward the boy called Mars.

"I assume I would have been the one hunted had I revealed myself a second later," Mars said, smiling despite the severity of his revelation.

"That aside, you're rather quiet—from what I've seen. That's a given, I suppose. You're probably the most scared out of anyone," Mars acknowledged Hoku, prompting two more pairs of eyes to find him.

Words felt tangled in Hoku's throat, making the stress feel more overt than his fear.

This was the first time since being in a hospital that he had interacted with more than one person in almost two years.

Unfortunately, he had been influenced by the mindset his uncle had created, where interaction was treated as an unnecessary affair that he didn't have to partake in until 'he felt ready.'

He also carried a fear of the unknown, which currently existed in plain sight.

Shortly after he finally mustered enough resolve to talk, Hoku realized he had mistakenly voiced his thoughts instead, "What is wrong with your eyes?" 

The twins appeared to have been more taken aback by the question than the person it was directed toward.

Hoku scrambled through ways of somehow correcting himself but came up empty-handed.

He grimaced, as he waited for either an offended answer.

"...Uh, I am partially blind. I assume you're referring to my left eye lacking a pupil. My right iris is my natural eye color," Mars explained, tapping a pale, slender finger on the bone beneath his right eye.

The iris looked like a yellow spark in the spectacles of light, an amber filling, poorly complemented by the dull cloud impairing his vision on the left.

"Your eyes are far more perplexing if you don't mind me returning the question... I would also like to know why they look like that."

Hoku's expression changed as he acknowledged his question.

"A family member mentioned it as a birth defect—sectoral heterochromia. Although it only affects the pigment, I naturally perceive the world through a fog from my right eye."

His own eyes could both see, but from a distance, one appeared vibrant and the other like a dull brume.

"Is that why your more appealing eye resembles a combination of silver and hazel?" Fleur asked.

'She thinks it's appealing?' 

"My natural eye color is brown."

"Yes, I can see that," she spoke sincerely.

"Your perception should be considered a skill," Hoku awkwardly chuckled.

Mars laughed as well and turned in the direction that led further into the forest.

"So is my own of course. That's why art is my primary occupation," he continued, striding a little further ahead of Hoku and the twins.

"Where are you going?" Hoku asked, nearly pursuing out of instinct.

"I knew those two would cause something to delay your arrival. So one of my colleagues requested a favor from me in case."

Hoku knew instantly what he meant. However, he reluctantly admitted that he enjoyed their display of family values.

"Does that mean we are in a safe space?"

"We certainly are—Welcome to the nucleus, Hoku. Juno will return soon as well, so we won't need to wait for her. I suggest letting us guide you until you can eventually figure things out for yourself."

"I'm glad. She said there were others, but not how many…" Hoku began walking again, after just running like a madman through the woods.

It took him a few wide steps before he moved behind Mars and beside Fleur.

Abel was the last to join them, trailing behind from afar.

Hoku got the impression that this was planned, but he neglected the thought as they approached a bare patch of ground in the shape of a large circle, gradually peeking through the trunks of trees, filling the path more and more.

How did they know they were even inside the nucleus? There were no visible signs or barriers. Was it perhaps just a feeling?

Hoku pondered inquiring aloud but changed his mind when he recalled the most recent conversation after having done so.

He didn't necessarily see it as a consequence, but talking about personal insecurities felt unnecessary in any circumstance.

As they sauntered further in, Hoku's eyes caught hold of a person kneeling with his back turned toward where they had come from.

A rather tall man stood over him, motioning his hand at something on the ground.

"Who—"

"Li! Yu-ze! We're back with the kid!" Abel interrupted, yelling with a chuffed cheer as he set forth past everyone.

He has a knack for being loud.

The man standing turned halfway, appearing pleasantly gratified. The person on the ground, however, remained nested near the outline of trees.

"Not all at once, Li. We have a visitor—you know the protocol," Mars said.

Hoku's gaze wandered as they drew near the strangers. There was sunlight and grass. He hadn't noticed it before, but the forest gradually flourished with verdant life.

Especially now, without shade and the overbearing whispers of feet shuffling through detritus, he could see a landscape filled with rich brown hues and the vibrancy of leaves that clung few to a branch.

When Hoku first awoke, the forest had been draped in a dreary state, with freshly fallen snow.

Upon departing the manor, he had been in an extensive garden of white flowers—like spring.

Now… the forest favored the traits of late autumn.

"Are the seasons changing before my eyes?" Hoku mumbled, not realizing that a certain person's attention had been on him after all.

"The seasons in this universe have no concept of time, so they are irregular."

Hoku's eyes returned to their initial place.

The person's head was half-turned, and as he got much closer, Hoku managed to also see the small black cat in front of him.

Why do I get the sense I've seen that cat somewhere?

"Are you Li?"

Everyone's chatter suddenly halted, and Hoku peered about in confusion, spotting their keen acknowledgment of whoever's name he had recited.

The man's hand reached down and caressed behind the creature's ear, which seemed to revel in it before Li extracted his arm and placed it on his knee.

He pushed himself up before rubbing his palms together, making his profile more uniform to Hoku's own.

"Qi Li, and you?"

"...H-Hoku." Hoku hadn't expected him to stand, nor had he envisioned the apathy in his drawn-out eyes.

His aura is making me feel nervous.

Li didn't say anything for a moment, looking behind Hoku and then nodding slowly.

"I take it someone else has mentioned me then. Apart from just now."

"Juno—your name is the only other name she mentioned that I would." Li raised his eyebrow, and Hoku noted that he was touching something at his hip.

Glancing down, Hoku impulsively retreated, increasing the distance by barely a margin.

"Do swords scare you?" Li asked, tilting his head. His thumb rubbed the shaved end of the hilt.

Hoku opened his mouth, prepared to answer no, but Li swiftly precluded his answer.

"If so, get over it—you'll be acquiring one of your own whenever Juno returns."

"I beg your pardon...?"

Without warning him, Li unsheathed his sword, and a thick substance was instantly flicked from the blade into a line, coating the grass in a dark red color.

A pungent odor wafted toward Hoku, causing his spine to shiver as he inhaled.

'Is that blood??'

The Memoir Chapter 8

Rule 13

Pure energy is required to dismantle any non-human life form that resides in the stream. Be vigilant of what you utilize, and leave behind in the mantras, as ordinary possessions from the separate worlds can damage or even inhibit the course of time in the sequel.

Objective 6

Find raw materials to invent an elixir. There are copious regions of design, however, each mantra will have only a single place to acquire the core agent.

Your impending journey subsists in the Recess Of Life.

-The Memoir Chapter 8 End-