The Covenant Of Timeless Mysteries

Cold pellets of rain sparkled in the sky, briefly illuminated by the lighthouse.

A hand folded around Hoku's palm, pulling him out before the mud could reach above his heels.

He consistently turned his head to see how much the distance had closed between people in white lab coats and the other children. They were fortunate enough to have not caught the immediate attention of any, because they had fled the farthest.

Peering at the earth below partially bare feet, their traces looked like quaint symbols in the mud.

"Keep moving straight."

Hoku was listening intently to the noises that surrounded him, yet somehow the voice of a youthful stranger still startled him.

"Are you okay?" the stranger asked.

His legs, especially his knees, began to ache and burn, and his focus drifted.

"I… need a—break," he said, but his tone was so frail, he imagined the rain managing to break it in half.

"No." The response was blunt, but Hoku accepted it given the circumstances. Their breathing was gradual, stifling the wind that was flapping the tail of the coat and stinging his cheeks.

The heat from previous daylight created a humidity that aroused a light after-rain fragrance.

"There's no ground ahead!" Hoku said, pushing it aside as he approached the cliff, not daring to hesitate yet.

From a distance, he could hear the turbulence coming from the vicious waves of water that were cascading onto the chaos that lay below.

His heart raced with every second that they drew closer to the edge of the cliff that overlooked churning waters.

In the current moment, heavy breathing and remote shouting overpowered the wrath of two currents, but in the next, everything went still, like the ominous rest in a classical piece.

The voices were strident, as the rain's ferocity dissipated with urgency.

"Where is the girl?" Hoku asked, noting that they had initially left the interior premises with three people.

"She fell back, don't worry about it, I need to get you out of here."

"How do you intend to do that? There's nowhere for us to go!" Hoku responded, doubtfully tugging at his wrist.

"There's water below us, I heard it."

"Y-you want me to jump off the cliff!?" His chest tightened with dread upon hearing the initiative.

"There's nothing else we can do—" The stranger turned to look in Hoku's direction, but facing ahead, he saw a light encompassing two dramatically long shadows in the mud.

"Step away from each other!"

The sharp command sliced through the air, and they both faltered, coming to a sudden stop as it echoed in their ears.

The stranger's tone seemed to descend into rage, as though even the slightest movement from them was a personal affront.

"You in the coat, drop the access key on the ground!"

Without turning his head, Hoku glanced at the kid, who, with a look of puzzlement, lifted his arms, gently fanning the space between them as he shifted in the opposite direction.

The hustled beats of Hoku's heart threatened to cease upon witnessing the kid surrender with no effort.

Seeing no other choice, Hoku followed suit, spreading his palms open as he raised his arms to ear level and cautiously turned his back toward the direction they were fleeing.

Though the man's voice sounded surprisingly youthful, it was far less intimidating than the large gun he was holding.

In truth, Hoku couldn't tell if the mechanism the man held was a gun or something that functioned like one, because the light on it glared so brightly it practically set the entire cliff ablaze.

"I-I'm a researcher from the RedQuadrant! My patient, A…5-1-5-7, he—I was given orders to escort them to BlueQuadrant and seal him in the cleanroom."

"The RedQuadrant was never finalized—" The feeling in Hoku's fingers went cold. He turned to the kid beside him, pleading for a new plan.

'Damn it!'

"Find shore," the kid whispered. He let go of Hoku's hand, raising both of his hands into the air as he placed a foot in front of him.

It was like simulating movement without actually moving from his place.

"He can't shoot me. Run straight and I will cover you from behind."

The kid pulled his other foot in front of him. One step ahead of Hoku.

"That's it..." The young man rested the gun under his arm, cautious not to train the barrel away from Hoku.

He turned his head at an angle and pressed a button on what he presumed was a communication device.

"A5175 has been apprehended–"

"Jump into the water!" The kid barreled his weight into Hoku's torso, and he scraped the mud as he turned around and threw himself forward.

The kid's movements were so swift, Hoku knew he had anticipated his slip.

The proximity of where the ground ended only became apparent when Hoku's foot slipped off the bedrock.

The young kid caught Hoku's hand before he could bash his head on the rock.

"I need something before you go." His breathing was heavy.

He grunted as he struggled to pull Hoku closer toward a sleek boulder sticking out from the edge.

He jolted before swiftly dropping his head after a loud bang followed by a bullet ricocheting off the ground next to him.

"Wait! You almost—!"

The kid reached down and yanked a card from Hoku's lanyard.

"Let's hope you make it out alive. Come back for us if you do, alright?"

Suddenly, the kid let go of Hoku's arm, and the air was instantly expelled from Hoku's lungs as his fingers curled into a fist of nothing.

Hoku flailed his arms forward as the remaining portion of his body slipped off the edge.

He tried to grab onto the kid's sleeve, but the kid pulled it back before he could close his fingers around the fabric.

"No!"

Hoku did not think the kid intended to betray him.

Though they had only just met, Hoku worried for the other people in that place.

It was strange.

Hoku couldn't remember why he came here.

'Why was I here in the first place?'

'What is... here?'

'Who am I?'

'Why is it so cold?'

Had their world always emitted such a melancholy and devoid sensation?

'I feel... lighter.'

That kid... he had said something before telling Hoku to run.

Something about finding shore, but Hoku was under a cliff.

The shore presently stood a hundred feet above him.

For a while, Hoku had forgotten himself.

Maybe he had gone into shock after his body was submerged under freezing water.

Nearly as briskly as it had died out, the answer was resuscitated as Hoku's first memory.

"Hoku.

Your name shall be Hoku."

Prelude To The Memoir

Rule 0

All living species will undergo death. Immortality is only achievable if the living defies the memoir.

The other method is if the living find their way into the stream. But the living must die first.