The news never stops.
Every day, there are new monsters.
New danger zones.
New missing people.
New rumors.
I read them anyway.
Not because I enjoy bad news.
Because information keeps people alive.
After a while, I stop reading.
My eyes move to the map again.
It has been sitting on my desk all morning.
Quiet.
Almost ordinary.
"...Let's look at you again."
I pick it up carefully.
The map feels different from normal paper.
It isn't soft.
It isn't hard either.
It feels old.
Very old.
The surface is rough.
Like something that has existed for hundreds of years.
I slowly run my fingers across it.
The edges catch my attention.
"Hm..."
I move closer to the window.
Sunlight falls onto the paper.
Only then do I notice something strange.
The edges are dark brown.
Not dirt.
Not ink.
Burn marks.
It looks as if the paper had once been surrounded by fire.
The color changes from light brown in the center...
to dark brown near the edges.
I flip it over.
The back is the same.
"...Weird."
I continue looking.
Very carefully this time.
The map itself is complete.
Nothing is torn.
Nothing is broken.
But...
one corner feels strange.
Not damaged.
Not folded.
Missing.
The shape suddenly changes there.
Like one small piece should exist...
but doesn't.
I tilt my head.
"...Was it cut off?"
No.
The edge is perfectly smooth.
Almost too smooth.
It doesn't look broken.
It looks...
designed that way.
I stare at it for another minute.
Then shrug.
"Maybe that's just the design."
Old maps often have strange shapes.
Maybe whoever made this one simply liked making it look unusual.
I put it back on the desk.
Not thinking much about it.
Still...
something about that missing corner stays in my mind.
I decide to test something else.
I grab another blank sheet of paper.
Then I draw the map by hand.
Every line.
Every road.
Every mountain.
Every symbol.
Halfway through...
I notice something.
The map is easier to remember than it should be.
I only need to look once.
Then I remember almost everything.
"...That's useful."
Or maybe...
that's suspicious.
I compare my drawing with the original.
Almost identical.
Except...
one line.
A very thin black line.
It wasn't there before.
I immediately look back at the original map.
Nothing.
I look at my drawing.
The line is still there.
"...Did I imagine it?"
I erase it.
Then I look at the original again.
Slowly.
Carefully.
For one second...
I think I see it again.
Then it disappears.
"...Okay."
"I'm either tired..."
"...or this map is playing games with me."
Neither answer makes me happy.
That night...
I dream.
Darkness.
Silence.
Then...
glass.
Rows and rows of glass.
Standing in endless darkness.
I know this place.
The Storage Zone.
My footsteps echo across the floor.
Everything is exactly as I remember.
Except...
something feels different.
I stop.
Looking at one glass chamber.
Mei.
She is still there.
Frozen.
Exactly as before.
"..."
I don't say anything.
Dreams don't usually answer.
I stand there quietly.
Then...
for just a moment...
I think I see it.
Her eyes.
They move.
Only slightly.
A tiny movement.
So small that I almost believe I imagined it.
I take one step forward.
The glass suddenly fills with black cracks.
The entire room shakes.
Then—
I wake up.
My breathing is fast.
The room is dark.
"...Just a dream."
I rub my face.
Look toward the desk.
The map is lying there.
Exactly where I left it.
The moonlight shines across its surface.
For a split second...
I could swear...
the missing corner looks a little darker than before.
I blink.
Normal again.
"...Definitely not enough sleep."
I lie back down.
Trying to convince myself that everything is normal.
Outside...
the night is silent.
Inside the room...
the ancient map waits quietly.
As if it has all the time in the world.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2VsKK9u60b
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