Chapter 2
I see your owner enjoys classics like my uncle…" There is a thin gold disk with the word Cheshire engraved across the center. It dangled from twisted pieces of red yarn worn around the cat's neck.
"He yours?" I swiftly glance above the creature's pointy ears.
Polaris is leaning against the backrest of a chair with his arms smugly crossed.
"The cat? No… I thought it was yours."
He raises an eyebrow, faintly tilting his head as his gaze lowers on Cheshire.
"I have no clue where this creature came from, he just appeared."
Dimples formed at the corners of Polaris' mouth, and his expression gradually dulled into puzzlement.
"...He appeared in the same spot near the hearth."
"Hearth?"
I walked up the last three steps, and the cat jolted out of the doorway, whisking around the stair railing on the second floor to scurry up the stairs.
I looked back at Polaris, the tips of his fingers were a stark white, with a spot of pink in the center.
He is holding a brown box with scratches along the edges of the lid. No, these were gashes, too wide to have been left by a fingernail.
'Someone was clearly hassling to open it. Is he truly ignorant enough to use a blunt knife of all things? Or was he rushing?'
"What's that?" I ask, tentatively acknowledging the box.
"The watch!" He modestly answered.
"Watch? What for?" I approach him, stuffing my hands into the pockets of my coat.
The belt had become untied, and it draped above the hem that ended just below my knees.
"I haven't told you much have I?" I pause, leaving a greater distance between us than I intended.
"You claimed to not know much," I say.
Polaris stares at me with a mused glint in his eyes.
"I've repaired this pocket watch for you. Though… with the adjustments, it has become more of a compass," He deftly removes the lid.
"Polaris, thank you for the hospitality, I'm sorry for intruding— however, I think I should get going." Unease begins to weep into the atmosphere. I can inevitably sense that I am not the only one growing anxious.
"Just a moment, won't you merely spare a glimpse at the compass? I polished the frame and hand-hammered the main spring. Unfortunately, I could not entirely patch the glass that protects the dial."
His grasp fell short of his weakened hands and the lid hurtled to the ground.
"Ah." He stared at it.
"Goodbye, sir." I pulled my hands from my pockets and tugged both sides of the belt, turning in the direction of the door as I tempered with my coat.
I hear a sound of subtle movement from behind me.
Discreetly, I peered through the shorter strands of hair dressing the side of my visage.
"Wait–"
Bafflement nearly anchors me to stop dead in my tracks.
Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
'His accent was fake.'
"Hoku! Wait!"
I sprinted through the rooms, fleeing out of the parlor and back into the dimly lit hallway.
Thankfully, I cannot shape much of his other words as his voice continues from somewhere extensively further.
The door fills a greater portion of my perspective upon my approach.
'Please be unlocked, please be unlocked, please be—'
I extend my arm, leaning forward little by little.
My hand reaches the door before the rest of my body collides with the surface.
The knob twists loose and the hinges grind closer to the frame as the door swings open.
An odor, defying description, intrudes my nostrils.
'Manure??'
I crack my nose with the palm of my hand, "What the hell is this stench?"
"Oi! Pick up your horse shit! Damned mackerel." A deep gritty voice bellows, startling me.
A cacophony of hooves maul at the gravel beyond the fixed gate.
The sky resembled late evening, exhibiting that the early morning was far gone.
'Wha-'
A man with rife elderly qualities stood next to a pair of horses pulling the reins to a carriage with immensely large wheels.
The scene was so strenuous that I nearabout lost my footing once again.
I stumbled further into the house, gasping for a breath that would allow me to register a recurring sound.
Amidst my bewildered response to the scenery, Polaris had managed to quietly sneak into the hall entrance.
He sauntered down the lengthy hallway, looming closer until I finally wavered the direction I was geared toward.
My eyes tersely found his. The initial hues in Polaris' eyes darkened into thunderclouds.
"I can explain, I just didn't want you to panic straight away," he said.
'Even his speech is different.'
"You've had an 'abundance' of time to mull over your impressions, haven't you?"
He doubtfully purses his lips, relaxing the rest of his idle bit by bit.
"I've grown accustomed to it after so long. This isn't the first time we've had this conversation, and I am constantly worried that it will never end," Polaris says.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
A small vein swelled in his jaw, sequentially vanishing when he deeply inhaled.
"It means the retraction of our future has finally reached 'Hoku's' universe. Your world has come to an end."
The Memoir Chapter 1
Timesteam 'basics'
Objective 1
Find your guide. The black cat with emerald eyes. He will show you how to escape the first paradox. Be in no doubt that you have acquired 'THE END OF TIME.' Otherwise, your sequence may end within the first few battles, absent of your highest-tier patrons.
Rule 6
Killing yourself will not appoint you a domain in the stream.
-Redquadrent was extracted upon the various outcomes of futile attempts. Few made it, fewer were capable of constructing a shelter with their dreams beyond the central universe.-
[Personal letter to The Beholder Of The Abundant Creator,
Subject A5157 has been acquired by Phanes. The companies have divided, and we've lost substantial support. You must dispose of the patients you remanded, our silent war will break out if the kid is found.
I will keep an eye out for emergency admittance in those medical facilities. If nothing comes up in three weeks we will presume his death.
Get back to me ASAP,
Weather Ann Mare]
Log Of RedQuadrant:
Patient A5404 | Failure to adapt
Patient A5483 | Failure to adapt
Patient A5484 | Failure to adapt
Patient A5157 | Disposed
Patient A5156 | Disposed
Patient A5149 | Failure to adapt
Patient B0000 [Pending]
NOTICE: This branch will be adjourned for two weeks, and all results will depict the dismantling/continuation of this research.....|
Rule 7
Lie to the beholder. Conceal an identity that differs from your original traits. The fourth wall will be activated upon the death of an anomaly if you've failed to hide your identity from the magicians… your existence will be cleared from infinite universes.
The Memoir Chapter 1 end