Chapter 7
The burning in his chest was nothing compared to the fact that he had no control over his movements.
Otherwise defenseless, Hoku focused on slowing his breathing.
'Did I fall through the ground?'
Even in danger, his mind wandered.
Thinking was something he couldn't stop.
Most panic-stricken people would wonder if they'd survive. His mind, however, searched for logic.
'I'm such a damn fool…'
At that moment, Hoku forced his mind into a blank space.
"Wander Fe...yu."
A strong pressure slipped into his ear. The voice was soft but blurred, as though static warped the words.
"Let your mind wander. Dream…"
"You must allow yourself to dream."
Before he could react, the substance poured down his throat. A harsh, excruciating pain struck the left side of his face.
"Not your mouth, idiot! Your eyes! You'll kill yourself if you sleep here!"
The right side of his face was slammed, and Hoku's eyes shot open as pain spread through his body.
The female voice, now clearer and more insistent, pressed into his ears.
Then, two hands abruptly grabbed the sleeves of his clothes, propping him forward.
A warmth rose in his throat, and Hoku began coughing with a frantic expression.
Eventually, he stumbled forward and threw up on the ground.
The figure behind him watched in silence.
Hoku's face was deathly pale, but as his mind cleared, the humiliation of the moment returned a flush to his cheeks.
His left cheek, however, was bruising, a violet ring forming around the reddened imprint of a hand.
The corner of his mouth twitched as the pain settled in, and he pressed his fingers against the inflamed skin.
The young woman closed her eyes, her posture apologetic yet reserved.
"A small bruise is sounder than the pain you would've endured in that dream."
"...What?"
"I'm Juno Mirai, and you?"
'She's surprisingly passive.'
"Hoku."
"I meant your surname."
Hoku glanced at the white rock hanging from a black string around her neck.
"I don't know," he answered.
"You don't know?" she squinted her eyes.
"I was in an accident, so I can't remember," Hoku explained.
"I see. I thought there stood a chance I might recognize you because I remember names better than faces," she says, subtly rocking her shoulders.
"I see, perhaps I could guess, but what's your ethnicity?"
Hoku's mother had been Japanese, while his father was a local whose parents had migrated from China.
Although she appeared taller than Juno, the maturity in her voice and the sharper cast of her features made it clear that she was likely older.
Fine black hair fell to just above her collarbone. Among the strands tucked behind her ear hung a peculiar lock of silver.
Her irises were an inky black, giving the rest of her face a colder cast.
"I was born in China." Juno adjusted something under her black mantle before stepping forward.
Hoku glanced lower, realizing what she was wearing.
"By the way, why are you dressed like that?" Hoku gestured at her clothes.
A frown pulled at her lips as she appraised him.
"We're both dressed unusually. Haven't you noticed?" Juno responded sharply.
Hoku frowned, momentarily puzzled, then glanced down and understood what she meant.
'How did I not notice the difference in these clothes? More importantly, where the hell am I?'
"Qi Li calls it the Chameleon's Veil. He, along with an early faction from his third sequence in the third 'world,' compiled a list of names for phenomena not recorded in The Memoir. Your erratic appearances disrupt the timestream, which is why The Memoir lacks any record of them. Only the navigator of the stream can perceive and transmit such anomalies."
Hoku's head throbbed.
"I can barely make sense of anything you're saying."
"Your old life ended the moment you stepped through that doorway."
Hoku's eyes widened slightly.
She looked at him and continued, "Li is my mentor, and he is yours as well. Keep that in mind. Once we return to the nucleus, we try to present a lighter image. I know you're confused, but if anyone can give you a proper answer, it will be him."
Hoku's throat felt dry as he swallowed.
There was nothing for him to return to. If he died here, that would be the end of it. If he lived, it would likely only be long enough for him to realize that this "outer universe" offered even more mysteries. From the answers he had received so far, he seemed more likely to fail at both.
Rule 9
You mustn't dream in certain mantras of the timestream. Doing so will trap your soul in a never-ending spiral towards death. Your senses will become inhibited, but your mind will remain conscious… for eternity.
-The Memoir Chapter 4 end-