「Broken Compass」Chameleon’s Veil

Chapter 5

Hoku idly stood in dumbfounded silence. 

He flinched when a sudden pressure was asserted below on his knee.

Cheshire had sprawled out his limbs, leaning his weight onto Hoku's knee as he stretched. 

The boy felt fascinated by the creature's long fangs, keenly protruding from the top of its mouth.

The natural light accentuated various of his qualities, especially the whiskers that were bunched into a bouquet of silver threads around his glistening black nose. 

"So, you're my guide…?"

This sort of scenario is one with so many random elements, that it would understandably be impossible to reach anywhere without a guide. 

If Hoku were alone, he would simply stay put and pray for anything familiar with the instructions of reaching the outer universe would cross his path.

In his current predicament, he wishes for a guide human enough to form words.

Why would he leave me with a cat!? And why am I just now realizing that he only left me a cat??

Hoku huffed, reaching an arm toward his neck to rub the swelling vein.

Without a warning, Cheshire begins to scurry slowly in a direction beyond the sandy path that splits the field of tulips.

Am I supposed to follow?

Hoku pondered for a few seconds before concluding that the only path that could be set apart as a meticulous route was the one Cheshire paved.

Thus, he caught up to the dark-spirited creature, who hadn't bothered to ensure he was following.

It had occurred to Hoku amidst their continuous journey through the field that nothing around them had changed. 

Physically and visibly, everything remained the same. 

Despite how he conceived they had been walking for a 'while' he felt that his energy capacity was consistent with the amount of stamina he harbored while waiting for Polaris in the manor. 

His feet didn't ache and he hadn't broken into a sweat. 

Although the heat emitting from the rays of sun was detectable, neither Hoku nor the cat were reacting to the prolonged exposure.

He had planned on removing some of his clothing layers once his fatigue picked up, though after another 'half-an-hour' approached Hoku removed his brown coat and secured it in the crease of his arm.

The abiding scenery and unwavering overtones of silence amplified the strangely isolated atmosphere.

A separate wavelength of uneasiness projected above the placid nature of the garden as more time passed.

Eventually, Hoku stopped walking.

Cheshire's ears twitched realizing the absence of movement through the grass.

He raised his head toward the sky curiously sniffing the air.

Upon sensing that the boy was still in close range, Cheshire stalled as well, facing in the direction of Hoku who stood quietly displaying an expression the cat couldn't understand.

"Why am I not tired… what is this place?"

Cheshire swiftly turned around, continuing in the same direction.

A cat cannot speak, nor is it capable of understanding the words that humans make, but it can signal direct, and record expressions. 

It wasn't long before Hoku went stationary again. Only this time it was due to an encounter that nearly shook him into a state of vanquish.

Cheshire and Hoku stood before a rusted gate. The same landscape settled beyond it, except there wasn't a road, and the manor bore the initial appearance of the time Hoku had arrived by himself.

Hoku ran his fingers through his hair glancing down in a distressing pose.

You gotta be f—

He was interrupted by what caught his eye along the base of metal wedged beneath layers of green and dirt.

Not everything is the same. 

Originally, Hoku noted that the white tulips did not grow past the metal posts guarding the estate.

Though it was presently, as he laid eyes upon the stems within closest proximity of the gate that he encountered the withering of those particular flowers.

Various tulips were half rotting, with petals wilting from the base of the hollow flora.

A few unfortunate tulips had their stems intertwined at the bottom of the gate, and because the roots were budding from behind it, those flowers looked most unsightly. 

For a moment Hoku no longer felt supported by his guide, but suddenly he remembered…

The regency epoch would be acquitted beyond this frail barrier of dead tulips. 

"Frail barrier of dead tulips"

An infinite path exists between every parallel time period, the first of which he encounters is described as a frail barrier of dead tulips.

This proclaimed barrier is a space of interconnected past and present. Without a future, the present can only exist as the same 'sequence' over and over again. What is left of the past will gradually evolve into the development of the timelines cavity. 

Humans will fall into the earlier epochs of evolution until they reach the beginning—which becomes the end of the original world.

I've gathered that the 'timestream' is a sequel to that ending. It is the future that was revoked from the order of succession.

Whoever tampered with the future for the sake of altering their past is ultimately at fault for the destruction of mankind.

I believe it begins in the Manor built in 1812. A researcher who had no means of getting close to the sequel of our universe was robbed. 

The outcome led to a much greater threat that a mysterious transmigrator has yet to discover who is responsible for. 

His companions have left behind various poorly printed letters deeming him the beholder [perhaps the term indicating a 'transmigrator' with infinite sequences]

Many were involved, but there is one person who began the creation of a method for extracting the future. 

They've managed to procure the past… but at what costs?

…

The first of Polaris' timestream synopsis read in that order.

It was the cover message that was placed atop the stack of papers on the bureau. Despite being sloppy, from a glance it also retained the neatest handwriting. 

This must be the 'infinite path.'

A path bearing no end without the assistance of a guide.

But then why have we returned here? Shouldn't there be some sort of newer setting, or did I do something wrong inside the manor, so now I have to do everything over again…?

A lengthy high-pitched whine transpires from a further distance.

Hoku's eyes widened, and his hand fell from his hair.

Cheshire had squeezed through the space to perch on the crumbling porch of the manor.

"How?"

How long have I been standing here?

Undeterred by his initial perplexity, Hoku curls his fingers around the gate, tugging it toward himself with a strong grip.

Roots were ripped from the soil, and any tulips that were in the vicinity of the gate entrance were crushed by its sweeping impact.

"Don't run off so suddenly-" 

Hoku's breath hitches upon accidentally stumbling over a vanished object.

His knees are planted into the grass, as his eyes droop with the abrupt and indescribable debility.

After rushing past the dead tulips, it was as if the exhaustion his mind was quieting, ensued at once. 

Soon after stumbling onto his knees, his upper body descended too. 

He caught himself with both of his hands, burrowing dents into the soil with his palms.

His lips parted into a narrow oval, but his throat felt so intensely dry not even a groan would register normally.

His vision only bled deeper into darkness as he attempted to crawl toward the stagnant cat.

Hoku's ears rang, and his heart started to pound with fear and overexertion.

Following the few seconds he was straggling, Hoku raised his head to see how far he had gotten, but before he could see above the grass, his face planted into the verdant ground.

The last time Hoku fell unconscious was before he awoke in a room that held a migraine-inducing fragrance.

Both the cause of the amnesia and knowledge of who he was, dwelt as mysteries to even himself.

He was capable of recalling moments before he awakened in the presence of several strangers, predominantly nurses, as well as one man who claimed to be his relative.

However, what he remembers while in the essence of that lethargic state wasn't consistent with the current atmosphere.

In truth, nothing felt real:

Hoku's mind became shrouded with psychedelic colors as illusive fragments formed in the darkness of his vision.

"Stars?"

The voice in his mind was immensely clear.

 He was in control of his thoughts, but the way they were practically being read aloud with his own voice made him tremble inside his transcendent dream.

What unsettled Hoku the most was how his subconscious seemed to be interfering with his conscience. 

The stars and colors behind his sealed eyes were blurry which could only mean he was resisting the unconsciousness.

Despite trying to wake up, his perception of daylight was being submerged into a much deeper part of his conscience.

He wasn't even certain that the millions of 'stars' that had begun encompassing his lucent form were stars or just peculiar orbs of light.

"Neither one would make sense anyway."

His voice sounded like it had been sheathed under a cloth. 

Hoku realized it was not only his mind that was acquiring the sensation of submersion. 

His body, specifically his torso stirred a feeling of further intensity.

As though he were being internally constricted by cold pressure that laid a tight density over his chest.

His voice wasn't being muffled. It was his hearing falling away from the surface.

He was drowning, and his body was trying to wake itself up before he sank past the brink of death.

The Memoir Chapter 4

Objective 3

The barrier has infinite forms. Each time you interact without caution, the barrier will try to kill you. Follow your guide to the manor from the only sequel, and do not reveal your doubt in him. Otherwise, he won't bother saving you. That green-eyed monster is especially smug.