Chapter 17
Hoku's mind had fallen into a hyper-alert state, which allowed him to capture some of the subtle changes around him.
His body had even begun quivering, as his stirred senses hinged on the carcass that trembled in the dirt.
Hoku nested in a crawling position, with three of his limbs propping face away from the mess below him.
His right arm indolently embraced Cheshire.
Juno hoisted him up by the back of his collar, gently brushing the grains of leaves that exchanged from her palm onto his clothing.
"You seem quite satisfied with the sight," Juno noted— referring to how engrossed Hoku appeared when the creature had collapsed.
"..." He remained reserved, burying his face into Cheshire's scuff.
Thankfully, no one could surveil his demeanor long enough to recognize that the placid staring and quiet was choicely, but rendered from distress.
He was panicking without indicating detectable signals.
Despite the previous notion that their occupation was inevitably dispersed, Li paused, keeping a narrow gap between Hoku's back and his shoulder.
He didn't assure him, nor did he make it apparent that he understood Hoku's condition.
Rather, he spoke a few words in a flatter tone before leaving him and Juno by themselves.
"We're all helping you—so don't die, and focus on Mirai's fan for my signals that will indicate when to fall back."
Hoku still couldn't evoke audible speech, but he was able to respond with a head nod while his lips sealed tighter.
I suppose I will just observe them to prepare myself for clearly worse…
He considered, briefly diverging his plan from thought to glance at Juno.
She gazed at the lit sky, ever-vigilant of the atmosphere.
Hoku flinched when the thin glint of light reflected in her black pupil faded in tandem with the luster pouring in through branches.
He regretted peering away to acknowledge the familiar cloak of darkness, emitting an unusual shadow.
The horde of Polyphemus moths resembled a horridly gaunt monster, arching its back in immense agony as they dove downward.
"They are among the early stages of synthesis. If Fleur shoots four perfect vines, we won't have to fret about it promptly reaching us."
"S-synthesis!?" Hoku repeated, unwarily glaring at Juno.
"I'll explain later, just focus on the signal," Juno says.
Hoku peers ahead, scanning the side of the forest Fleur is maintaining.
It took him a moment to retrieve her vicinity because she had climbed much higher than where she was situated prior.
So she was watching over Fleur…
Hoku recalled Li's instructions for a sparing instant.
As his eyes approached the fan, a timely fortune matched his inherent retention of the young white-haired man.
A scarlet glow, identical to the one that flickered in his edge of sight before he was shoved to the ground, emanated from the leaf without infusing the blossom branches.
Juno's hand flinched, but Hoku had guessed ahead of her reaction to the signal.
The loose fabric flowing below his waist grazed the ground as he caught himself with his knees, settling into a shrunken stature.
His arms ached from holding the cat, but he was resolute in distancing him from the approaching danger.
Juno's arm froze before she promptly drew it in the opposite direction to handle the elixir with an additional grip.
Hoku placed the base of Cheshire's back on his knee, allowing his other arm some relief.
He skimmed the atmosphere for the source of Li's cue.
Nothing immediate came into perspective, it was only what he had caught a glimpse of minutes ago.
Looming in nearly the exact place.
Was the signal just a fluke? He considered after an extended period of idleness.
Hoku brooded between Li's intentions of passing an incentive scheme or checking that he was alert.
Suddenly, he could hear his voice through the vast distance.
He bellowed an indecipherable phrase, that he and Juno simultaneously acknowledged.
"Hoku, get behind me."
Hoku remained at a proximate position to the dirt, proceeding near the rear of Juno.
She extended their remoteness from the other, walking backward, and Hoku aligned himself with the back of her figure, scooting away.
"Pfft"
"...?" Hoku tilted his head and narrowed his eyelashes.
He was doubtful of whether he was to be overtaken with bewilderment or discomfort because she mistakenly let a tempered giggle slip.
"What was that for…?" He hesitantly questioned.
"I was going to catch you before you incorrectly judged my signal. How have you not noticed that you're the only one reacting?"
Hoku's face reddened, and his ears suddenly felt warmer as he jolted up from the dirt, leaving Cheshire to hang from his forearm.
"H-how was I supposed to know!? I was urged to avert my interest toward your fan, I assumed that glow was the signal…"
Juno didn't refrain from enunciating her laughter.
"It was…ha… but, he was telling you to get behind me because I will need to use my elixir soon."
She rubbed her right eye with a curled finger.
"Though I suppose it is my fault, I didn't tell you after the first."
Hoku didn't retort. He scratched the back of his scalp then exhaled with his teeth pressed together.
"Mind counting me off? I need a close estimate of time." Her request, which surfaced out of the blue, pressured Hoku even more.
"What do you mean?"
"Down from twelve," her response was stark, likely due to her need to swiftly study the creature's movement.
She squinted her eyes despite the shade veiling directly beneath the light that was kindled overhead.
She was attempting to compile the traits of the creature's velocity and movement patterns to ascertain the precise location where she could activate her fan.
Hoku gazed attentively toward the approaching mass that was shaping into something with feathers rather than scales.
"12…11…10…9…8…"
Juno adjusted her footing, pushing a boot closer to Hoku and grinding it into the ground for support.
"...5…4…"
She extended her arm in a linear line. She slid her finger along the smooth stick to ensure a quarter of the leaf would stay folded as she revealed the remainder.
"...2…1!"
Another signal had been transferred to the elixir, displaying within a half-second before the fervent streams suffused from its captivating structure.
However, Hoku's awe was quickly aroused by a frail blue glimmer in the distance.
Fleur's arms remained positioned upon triggering her bow to release four peculiar arrows.
Each soared in a conformed unison, as a nearly transparent trail of delicate blue cast a shimmering arch in the air.
The arrows leading the trail glowed with a subtle, icy luminescence, capturing the dim pores of light on the translucent sheen of the tips.
Hoku's eye twitched seeing three of the arrows miss the creature, only one managing to strike the surface of it.
"Damn!" Juno cursed.
Hoku hadn't realized the intricate web that was gradually consuming the space across four trees, clinging on two from each side of them.
However, as the luminance shrouded his vision he briskly surmised she was constructing a protective block.
"Is this to shield us from impact?" Hoku asked, discreetly shifting backward.
"That is part of its purpose, though the barricade is very flexible." Juno's tone sounded contrived, expanding further doubt about their safety.
"It may be useless now—"
Hoku barely had a chance to process her remark, when a reverberating synchrony of shrieks nearly pierced the sound barrier.
Juno covered her ears with her palms, and Hoku hoisted Cheshire onto his shoulder, raising his shoulder to cover his ear before shifting his hand over Cheshire's flatly angled ears.
He frightfully glanced in the direction of the creature.
Hoku realized he made a misconception about her mistake.
He intently observed as the trail from three of the arrows was thrown over the body of the monster.
While the arrow that had penetrated the forming wing of it no longer exposed an Alice blue stroke.
It lodged into the creature, materializing like a thorn stuck on a withering rose.
'She was merely off by one–! I think…they meant to contain it rather than injure it.'
Hoku finally understood why Juno was relying on her execution.
Although the creature was being lowered by the reins dropped behind by two of Fleur's arrows, agony had fomented lament resistance from the moths.
Hoku's heart wavered for a beat when he felt something tug down on his arm.
Though as he glanced over and realized it had been Juno, Hoku shifted closer, carefully lifting a few fingers to partially uncover his right ear.
He was not able to resist scrunching his eyes as the blood-curdling shrieks rang through the tiny aperture of his ear.
Juno's head dulled the volume by a margin as she too tilted near Hoku, and spoke into the back of his hand.
"I must… release stronger constraints to provide enough time for her brother! I can't do it over the barricade… but, if I dismantle it–there's a chance it will grow more agile and hurl toward the sight of you."
Hoku's pupils dilated, and he stumbled backward.
'Have I become a hindrance? She's making it seem like I am that things target-'
Juno had to act decisively, she couldn't afford to hesitate and scale alternatives.
Everyone was stationed too far away, it was discernibly impossible to reach them in time.
Being the only other person capable of initiating long-range attacks, her options were scarce.
A narrow variation between retracting their barricade, or allowing the creature to entirely develop into a beastly shape deriving from thousands of others.
Juno swallowed, insufflating air into her cheeks before releasing it from her mouth.
Hoku nimbly sensed her concern, then he too inadvertently swallowed.
She glanced over making eye contact with the troubled young boy.
She spoke calmly, but without the earnestness one would hope for when hearing such a phrase in the middle of a battle.
"Sorry, kid. If anything happens, you should know that you will return—because only you stand unaware of your defiance against entropy."
Hoku's jaw dropped, but nothing was spewed as the barricade instantly reformed into a barrage of wilting petals.
The Second Quota
I have heard of false rumors brewing amongst the subjects. I thought you had intended to tell them the truth. Knowing your habits you will argue you have not personally interacted with them, but I've already discerned who left those trails at the manor. Why hide things if you want to offer them better lives?
This universe was never in your hands, it is merely a story you plagiarized and then altered.
You cannot change the past with a solar system devised for fiction. You've even confessed that all things are temporary.
Consider this my letter of resignation,
Why should I persist in abiding if you've abandoned the objective?
Consider it generosity that I've opposed publicizing such 'patrons' as accompanied subjects to your lies.
Signed, R104
-The Memoir Chapter 12 End-
The Memoir Chapter 13
Objective 7
Sacrifice the navigator, before entering the recess.
If not—a sacrifice ordained by the creator will be bound to your companion's life, preceding their departure.
Rule 18
Synthesis is the artificial adaptation of certain elements, usually chemicals, and a common practice amongst sages of combining ideas to refine wisdom. The term bore a cohesive concept with what was initially described as cross-conjoining. Organisms have utilized the ability they now call Synthesizing to distort their bodily proportion into deadlier weapons. To put it simply, in this Sequel, all life can fuse into one, lacking the exception of being a different species.
Your chances of adapting amongst the laws of these threads have depleted eminently. DO NOT SYNTHESIZE AS A FINAL RESORT, Your human body following the next sequences will never be recovered.
-The Memoir Chapter 13 End-