Sakura did not sleep particularly well.
Partly because she was inside the Grand Archives.
Partly because she had spent the evening speaking with the most mysterious woman in Asterra.
But mostly because of the final thing the Archivist had said.
> Tomorrow, you will meet someone.
That was the sort of sentence that sounded important.
And annoying.
Mostly annoying.
The Archivist clearly knew more than she was saying.
Unfortunately, that seemed to be a requirement for becoming an archivist.
Or a scholar.
Or both.
Sakura eventually fell asleep wondering what kind of person she was supposed to meet.
The answer arrived the following morning.
And it was not what she expected.
"WHERE IS IT?!"
The shout echoed through the hallway.
Sakura nearly dropped the cup of tea she had just been handed.
A second shout followed.
"LITERALLY WHO MOVED IT?!"
A third.
"IF ANYONE SAYS THEY DIDN'T TOUCH IT, I WILL ASSUME THEY TOUCHED IT!"
The entire corridor fell silent.
Several scholars immediately walked away.
One visibly changed direction.
Another hid behind a bookshelf.
Sakura watched all of this happen.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Then looked toward the employee beside her.
"...should I be concerned?"
The employee sighed.
"He's awake."
That was not an answer.
Unfortunately, it seemed to be the only one available.
A few moments later, a young man burst around the corner carrying a stack of rolled maps.
He couldn't have been much older than Sakura.
Messy brown hair.
Ink stains on his sleeves.
Several pencils tucked behind one ear.
And enough energy to power an entire city.
He stopped abruptly after noticing her.
Sakura noticed him.
The employee looked relieved.
As though she had survived something.
The young man pointed.
"You're the new girl."
Sakura immediately disliked the confidence with which he said that.
"I'm Sakura."
"Good."
The man nodded.
Then pointed at himself.
"I'm Rowan."
A pause.
"The best cartographer in Aurelis."
Another pause.
"Third best."
A third pause.
"...possibly fifth."
He thought about it.
"Depends who you ask."
Sakura stared.
The employee quietly left.
Abandoning her.
Traitor.
Rowan shoved a rolled map beneath one arm.
"Come on."
"Come on where?"
"The Archivist wants me to show you something."
That immediately got her attention.
"What?"
"No idea."
"You don't know?"
"Nope."
"Then why are you showing me?"
"Because she told me to."
Fair enough.
Hard to argue with that logic.
Rowan began walking.
Sakura followed.
Mostly because she had no better plan.
The Grand Archives looked different during daylight.
Scholars rushed between rooms carrying stacks of books.
Messengers moved through corridors.
Researchers argued over records.
The entire building felt alive.
Rowan navigated through the chaos effortlessly.
Clearly used to it.
"You've been here long?" Sakura asked.
"Ten years."
"You don't look that old."
"I started young."
That explained absolutely nothing.
Rowan pushed open a large set of double doors.
Sakura stepped inside.
And stopped.
The room was enormous.
Maps covered every wall.
Not dozens.
Hundreds.
Some detailed entire kingdoms.
Others focused on single cities.
Several were so large they occupied entire sections of wall by themselves.
"Welcome."
Rowan spread his arms dramatically.
"To civilization."
Sakura looked around.
"You mean maps."
"Exactly."
Apparently those were the same thing.
Rowan hurried toward one of the walls.
Removing a large map.
He spread it across a nearby table.
Asterra.
The entire continent.
For the first time, Sakura saw it in full detail.
The Northern Expanse.
The Eastern Wildlands.
The Southern Coast.
The Central Heartlands.
And at the center—
Aurelis.
The heart of it all.
Rowan tapped the map proudly.
"Beautiful."
"It's a map."
"It's an excellent map."
That was apparently different.
The cartographer studied the continent for several moments.
Then his expression changed.
Only slightly.
But enough for Sakura to notice.
The excitement faded.
Concern replaced it.
"Actually."
He tapped a section near the eastern coast.
"That's why you're here."
Sakura looked closer.
At first, she saw nothing unusual.
Then she realized.
A blank space.
Small.
Easy to miss.
But undeniably there.
Roads curved around it.
Trade routes avoided it.
Several notes surrounded it.
Yet the space itself remained empty.
As though something should have been there.
And wasn't.
Sakura felt a strange chill.
"What's missing?"
Rowan was quiet.
Longer than expected.
Then he answered.
"That's the problem."
His finger rested against the blank section.
His voice became softer.
More serious.
"I don't know."
The room fell silent.
For the first time since meeting him, Rowan wasn't joking.
Wasn't talking rapidly.
Wasn't smiling.
He simply stared at the empty space.
Like a puzzle he couldn't solve.
Or a memory he couldn't reach.
Then he looked toward Sakura.
And asked a question she wasn't expecting.
"Have you ever forgotten something important?"
Sakura immediately thought of Haruto.
Then of the stories the Archivist had told her.
Then of the unfinished journal.
Her expression must have changed because Rowan nodded.
"Yeah."
He looked back at the map.
"That's exactly what I'm afraid of."
And suddenly, the blank space on the map felt far more dangerous than it looked.