"Ancestor, we're heading out!"
The next morning, Takeda Akira and Kanzaki Mio shouldered their backpacks and waved goodbye before leaving to meet Sakura and Tomoyo. When the door closed behind them, Rowan Mercer remained by the window, thoughtful.
There should be a Dream Card today, he mused. If that's true, the collection is nearly complete. Maybe it's time to make a cautious move toward Amagiri Rōen.
Fifty-three Clow Cards existed in total. Sakura and Akira had already secured forty-seven. Six more, and the set would be whole. Rowan had studied nearly all of them already, but understanding the deeper principles behind every card was another matter entirely. At his current pace, fully unraveling their magic would take years.
There was only one shortcut left. Amagiri Rōen.
Rōen was the strongest active magician in this world and carried part of Clow Reed's reincarnated soul, along with much of his inherited knowledge. Before leaving this world, Clow Reed had divided his essence. One part became Fujitaka Kinomoto, Sakura's father. Another became Amagiri Rōen.
Rōen wasn't Clow Reed reborn in full, but he had mastered the Clow Cards through memory and methodical study. If Rowan could speak with him directly, the remaining mysteries would fall into place far faster.
That evening, Akira and Mio returned and handed over the newly captured card, recounting their day. Just as Rowan expected, they had sealed the Dream Card at Tokyo Tower. A card that revealed fragments of the future through dreams, subtle and terrifying in its own way.
With the card in hand, Rowan vanished into his research again, resurfacing only three days later.
"What? You're playing Sleeping Beauty?"
Rowan blinked in surprise when Akira mentioned it over dinner. The school talent festival was coming up, and Akira's class had chosen a stage play. Roles were decided by lottery. Akira had drawn Sleeping Beauty. Sakura had drawn the prince.
"I should've been Sleeping Beauty," Mio muttered, stabbing at her rice with her chopsticks. "Why do I have to be the evil witch?"
Rowan watched her quietly. Mio's feelings toward Akira were obvious, but she was still young, tangled in admiration she hadn't learned to name yet. Time would sort it out better than blunt words ever could.
"Ancestor," Akira asked hesitantly, "will you come watch?"
Parents were expected to attend. His mother was overseas, leaving Rowan as the only option.
"Of course," Rowan said with a smile. "I'll cheer for all of you."
As it happened, Rowan remembered that the Light Card would appear during the festival. One of the most powerful cards in existence.
Light stood at the center of the system. The counterpart to Dark. Guardian of illumination. Through it flowed dominion over fire and earth, just as Dark governed wind and water.
If Rowan could fully analyze the Light Card, every light-based spell he knew would sharpen dramatically. And when the day came to face Morgoth again, even a small advantage mattered.
Sunday morning, Tomoeda Elementary School.
Three figures appeared on the rooftop in a blink.
"You two go get changed," Rowan said, resting a hand briefly on Akira's and Mio's heads. "I'll take a walk and meet you in the audience later."
The school was already alive with noise and color. Rowan strolled through the halls, not really interested in the performances yet. His real goal lay elsewhere.
Yukito Tsukishiro and Kinomoto Tōya passed nearby, talking quietly.
"Judgment incarnate," Rowan noted inwardly. And Sakura's brother.
He felt the power within them instantly, but chose not to interfere. Some threads didn't need pulling.
Eventually, Rowan reached the teachers' office.
"Sir, are you lost?" a woman asked kindly. She had long hair and gentle eyes, her desk half-cleared. "The performances are in the other building. There's still an hour before it starts."
Rowan smiled.
"You must be Mizuki-sensei," he said. "That moon energy around you is… unmistakable."
Mizuki Kaho froze for a fraction of a second.
She had only recently returned as a substitute teacher, guided here at Amagiri Rōen's request to assist Sakura with the final judgment. Rowan hadn't acted sooner because he already knew her role. But now, there was no reason to wait.
At last, the first thread had been touched.