「The Eternal Library」 Prolouge: Passing Stanger

It didn't require much effort for Hoku to decipher that the numbers on the page were coordinates.

He spared the time to visit his uncle's study. Jiang Hao's room led to a smaller room, lit by a single lamp.

 The yellow lampshade tinted the walls a flaxen yellow, making the room feel smaller and incredibly lifeless. 

Despite the large house giving the impression of wealth, the only other valuable item besides a drawer of century-old currency was the computer in his uncle's office. 

A machine was rarely used by either of them since Hoku preferred paper books, and Jiang Hao spent most of his time in a classroom. 

On occasions like now, however, the computer would be used to retrieve information. 

Hoku pulled the chair to the edge of his uncle's desk. He held down the power button and the screen flashed dark blue. A colorful icon froze on the screen momentarily, before a browser appeared, replacing the initial blue screen.

His fingers glided across the keyboard, awkwardly pressing on the keys with one hand.

After entering a line of numbers into the search bar, an image of a map with a highlighted route popped up in the search browser. 

Hoku clicked on the blue link under the map and the screen turned white before bringing him to a page with the same map. 

Bold text above the map read, 

Small Community in America Rattled by The Recent Disaster That Was Inflicted Onto A 223-Year-Old Manor.

There were sidebar images along the page displaying a single image of a manor with an unusually old structure, and about five other pictures following it of utter wreckage.

 The outside was mostly the same, though some of the pictures that were taken from a closer angle revealed the collapsed porch and a door with wood splintering off the front. 

 Hoku drew himself closer to the screen, resting his chin atop his knuckles. 

He reached for the mouse and continued to scroll through a collage of images, the inside of the home was in far worse condition. 

Pillars from the ceiling were cluttered on top of black furniture, pieces of glass reflected the light from the camera, and an entire chandelier lay damaged and coated in the soot from an obvious fire. 

Hoku's finger stopped above the wheel on the mouse when he scrolled to the last image. 

He moved his hand from his face to the other side of the desk where he placed the coordinates on top of the book. 

'Page 23… page 23… page 23 

The unblemished painting in the last photo on the screen was the same as in the book. 

The whole bookcase was surrounded by ruin from the fire, but there wasn't any indicator that a flame had even touched the wall where the bookcase sat. 

Even the candle lamps were still screwed into the wooden frames on both sides of the shelves. 

There was a small detail on the actual painting that caught his eye... a black scribble in the bottom right corner that aligned perfectly with the 90-degree angle of the frame corner. 

The black and white illustration did not have a signature on the painting, and the picture was taken too far from the art piece for Hoku to make out the artist's name. 

Not that it matters, but maybe it would give me context to whatever this note means. For instance, why is it in a book with sketches of a manor from the 1800s? 

The numbers on the paper were muddled together like 'cursive' script, but the letters were printed neatly, appearing strangely comparable to his own handwriting. 

Hoku clicked out of the article on the computer, copying the numbers from the search bar, and pasting them into a new tab. 

This time typing directions after the last letter in the coordinate. 

The first link on the screen was a GPS, which gave him an option between two routes.

The driving distance for the quickest route was four minutes. 

It's extremely close! Too bad I don't even know how to start an ignition.

Fortunately, walking would take around twenty-eight minutes since he wasn't equipped for a six-minute bike ride. 

Damn—I should save up for a bike instead of buying ridiculous books.

Jiang Hao came home late on predominantly all days of the week which meant for two years Hoku was left to wander around the same room. 

His uncle would occasionally take him out on the weekends, to drive into town and buy medieval home decor, but even on his days off, Jiang Hao still had papers to grade. 

His uncle recommended taking walks outside of the garden, because "not getting enough sun can affect a human both internally and externally." 

Just that morning Jiang Hao glanced into his room with a troubled expression and told him that his complexion was beginning to lose color.

'I suppose a thirty-minute walk wouldn't be too formidable.' 

. . .

It was greatly formidable. 

Hoku was hunched over at the gate of the remarkably vast estate.

He reached for one of the metal bars and pulled himself up. 

The wind's chill had clung to the metal, inducing a dull stinging sensation on the top part of his palm.

He squeezed a flip phone in his other hand, stuffing it into a coat pocket before letting his hand fall to his side. 

Jiang Hao gave it to him in case he required assistance with appliances around the house. 

He used the phone as a passage to get to his destination, though the picture he captured of the map was of such bad quality he mistakenly walked the longest path. 

Through the thick bars of the gate, there was a single tree stump. 

White clovers and bindweed covered the yard, denoting that the fire had occurred at least a few months ago, otherwise, the front yard would have been severely mangled as well. 

Hoku rubbed his hands together to acquire a bit of heat from the friction, then proceeded to grasp the both of them around separate bards of the gate.

As he secured a good grip, he wagered the chances of being struck down by the heavy metal if it were to suddenly swing open, ultimately pausing to draw a farther distance between himself and the entrance.

Unfortunately, it had appeared that he encountered an opposing effect as he groaned upon struggling to pry even the slimmest gap. 

He continued to tug on the bars for at least three minutes, sliding his foot further from himself as he leaned backward. 

'...Am I out of shape!?'

Frustration began to seep into his demeanor, and his foot slipped forward kicking a small rock that was stuck between the ground and the metal. 

The large gate door swung open causing Hoku to lose his footing, and fall onto his back.

 He lifted his head to look at the open entrance before slumping it back onto the ground. 

He carefully brought a hand to his face sweeping bangs off of his forehead as he wiped droplets of sweat.

He sat upright on the grass and pushed strands of black hair out of his face. 

His fingers reached for his ponytail where something felt amiss. 

A rush of wind blew through his unfettered hair, imparting a devastating discovery. 

Hoku ran his fingers through the grass behind him, and when nothing came up he crashed back onto the ground, carelessly allowing the wind to whip his hair into a mess.

 "You gotta be fucking kidding me," he groaned.

Hoku smacked both hands on his forehead, scrunching hair between the palm of his hand and fingers, before proceeding to dramatically throw his arms forward and steady his balance on the grass. 

Upon closer inspection, Hoku discovers that the porch is wrapped around the entire manor.

There was even a balcony that resembled the structure on the ground, though only the front of the porch was destroyed. 

The two largest pillars that supported the awning above the front door were two different lengths, comprising many minor blemishes, like cracks, peeling paint, and an entire missing half. 

He ran his hand down one of the damaged columns, the texture felt like small craters under his skin. 

Yellow caution tape was tied to what remained of the entrance, evidently old tape because the letters in 'caution' were starting to appear dingy and blue. 

Hoku lifted the tape, ducking under it and making his way to the door.

A metal ring hung from a thick holder masked in soot. 

He lifted the metal allowing it to leisurely slip from his index finger and make contact with the door. 

'Kind of reminds me of the house from that one movie when the kid gets left alone at home on Christmas, but classier.'

Hoku grabbed the handle and twisted it. He had to kick the bottom a few times before it fully opened, in which the entire top of the door frame began to crumble apart. 

Pieces of wood trickled into his hair and the hood of his jacket, but he had already managed to become so enthralled by the entrance, that he disregarded it.

Candle holders were mounted along both walls in the vast hallway. 

The ground below creaked achingly when his foot pressed on the floorboards, but he only glanced down briefly before crossing the threshold under the door.

Upon entering what Hoku presumed was the parlor of the manor, he found that most of the furniture inside was in despair due to years of neglect.

Based on the discoloration of the ceiling above certain parts of the floor, it was obvious that the roof was also damaged to such an extent that rain would inevitably leak through the ceiling. 

He smeared a boot over the small light patch at the entrance to the parlor at the end of the hall.

A few rusted bells with black semi-circular mechanisms attached to the tops lay in a small pile near the corner of another door frame. 

The first thing that drew Hoku's attention in the next room was the unusual curved staircase with a spiraling rail that stood along the right wall of the room.

Placing merely a hand on one of the steps could cause the entire thing to collapse.

He hoped that the room he was searching for wasn't upstairs, because then finding the painting would have been nearly impossible.

Streaks of black tainted the small area below the railing that rose above the stairs. 

Taking a closer look, Hoku caught sight of a rectangular outline beneath the soot. 

His hand brushed the inside of the outline, and he became certain of what it was.

'A door––coated in more residue from the flames.'

This door didn't have a handle, but there was some sort of melted plaster that dried after seeping through the old hinges.

Hoku pushed on the door with the same hand. 

The wood between the door snapped in intervals each time he leaned forward to assert more pressure on his wrist. 

"There must be something behind—" Hoku clenched his teeth and turned his body so that his shoulder was facing the door. 

He took a few steps back, bumping his boot into something on the ground.

He rushed forward bracing himself to clash either into the door or onto the ground, but abruptly stopped at the sound of a far door slamming shut. 

Pieces of gravel from the stone fireplace that was overlooked fell onto the floor behind him.

Hoku wasn't sure whether he should ask if someone stumbled in or hid. 

However, the manor was deathly still, if someone had come inside the floorboards would have announced their presence.

Without lifting his feet, Hoku leisurely shifted backward enough so that he could see into the next room.

Before he could recognize the source of the noise, his eyes were suddenly veiled by the darkness and he stumbled, ultimately falling onto his side on the ground.

Beyond his motionless body, approached a distant memory sharing the equivalent nature of a stranger whom he had once passed without regard. 

. . .

A loud rushing noise filled the room, like air or a fire being set ablaze

This sound echoed in the distance, perhaps even in the hallway at the entrance

Dong Dong Dong

The bells were no longer in the corner near the frame. It smelled of smoke and gasoline

What a wretched nightmare it was

I wanted to leave

None of this makes sense, why can't I leave? 

No matter how many times I kick and pull at the door there will always be some sort of lock on the other side.

I must wait for the manor to come to life before I can awake in this new era

"What a strange poem bàba!"

"Thank you, Fe▄ ▄ ▄ , Jiang was never fond of my poetry. He always said they were too allusive." 

"Where are you going now, my son?"

"What do you mean?" he asks, tilting his head.

"You breathed in too many fumes from the fire. If you continue to lay on the ground like this you might be burned."

'What fire?' 

"When you awake, find the key in the painting and burn every paper you find."

'Why can't I suddenly speak?'

"Don't let the snake in the garden fool you."

'Please tell me what is going on!'

"I'm afraid it has already begun. I'm glad… this is what you remember."

Your first objective should be to seek your patrons. Without them, you cannot get across certain stars."

'Why?...'

"Most importantly, don't let yourself stand out. You are different from the abundant creator. He seeks to remove you from his past."

…

"T a k e w h a t t h e w a t c h m a k e r o f f e r s y o u." 

W a k e u p n o w."

Rule 5

If you've made it to the fifth rule, then according to the order, I can presume you are currently in the year 1819. Do not be alarmed once you escape the first paradox you will be transported back into a different version of the present. I have scribbled out the original rule to leave this note for you. You must read each of the rules as a whole if you wish to survive, and possibly save this universe from its demise. 

 -End of the memoir's prelude-