The Archivist of Forgotten Realms

Chapter 10

Mikasa felt the familiar pull of gravity as the light from Lumi faded, her surroundings gradually coming into focus. She blinked once, twice, and found herself standing in front of the same bookshelf where her journey had begun, the rows of dusty books looking exactly as they had before. The same dim lighting bathed the small bookstore, the scent of old paper and wood filling her senses. For a moment, she stood still, unsure if what she had just experienced was real.

The Grand Archive. Azura. Lumi. Yuki. Kenneth.

She looked down at her hands, half-expecting to still see the radiant glow of the magic she had wielded, but they were just her hands—normal, unremarkable. Everything in the bookstore looked untouched, unchanged. Time, it seemed, hadn’t moved much at all.

“How is that possible?” she muttered under her breath, glancing at the clock on the wall. Only minutes had passed since she’d first picked up Lumi, yet it felt like she had been gone for weeks.

Her heart raced as she tried to make sense of it all. Was it a dream? Did she imagine everything? But no—Lumi was still with her, tucked safely under her arm, a soft glow emanating from its pages. She ran her fingers over its cover, feeling the warmth of the book’s magic. This was real. All of it.

“Mikasa?” a familiar voice called out, pulling her from her thoughts.

Mikasa spun around to see Mr. Fujimoto, the elderly owner of the bookstore, standing behind the counter with a look of surprise on his face. He adjusted his glasses, blinking at her as if she had just appeared out of thin air. “I didn’t see you come in,” he added, his voice laced with confusion.

“It’s been a week since I last saw you here. Are you alright?”

Mikasa’s stomach dropped. A week? Her mind raced. She had been gone for a week in her world, too? She hadn’t realized it had been that long. Quickly, she scrambled to cover up her absence.

“Uh, yeah! I’m fine, Mr. Fujimoto,” she said, forcing a casual smile. “I, um, just had to take a sudden trip out of town. That’s all. Needed to clear my head.”

Mr. Fujimoto raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. “A sudden trip, you say? Well, it must have been quite the journey. I don’t remember you entering the store, though. One moment you weren’t here, and the next… well, there you were.”

Mikasa’s smile faltered. She could feel her pulse quickening, the weight of her dual life pressing down on her. She couldn’t tell Mr. Fujimoto the truth—that she had been whisked away to another world, tasked with saving or erasing forgotten realms. He’d think she was crazy.

“Yeah, you know how it is… just, uh, lost track of time,” she mumbled, awkwardly backing toward the door. “Anyway, I should probably get going. Lots to catch up on.”

Without waiting for his reply, Mikasa darted out of the bookstore, her mind racing. She needed to figure out how to blend back into her normal life—if that was even possible now.

Once outside, Mikasa immediately dug through her bag, searching for her phone. She hadn’t taken it with her to the Grand Archive, and she hoped it was still there. Her fingers finally closed around it, and she pulled it out, the screen lighting up with an overwhelming number of missed calls, messages, and notifications.

Her eyes widened in horror. “Oh no…”

The missed calls alone made her stomach churn—her mom, her professors, her best friend Emi, and even notifications for university group projects. It was as if her entire world had been put on hold while she was gone, and now it was crashing down on her all at once.

Her heart raced, and her palms grew sweaty as she scrolled through the texts. There were countless messages from Emi, who had been freaking out over her sudden disappearance.

"Where are you?"

"Mikasa, answer me!"

"Are you okay?!"

Each one was more frantic than the last.

Mikasa groaned, feeling a wave of nausea rise. “I can’t believe I missed a whole week,” she muttered, her thoughts spiraling. What if everyone thought she had gone missing? What if they called the police? Or worse, what if they thought something terrible had happened to her?

She had to fix this, fast.

The first message she replied to was Emi’s. “Sorry, I went on a surprise vacation,” she typed quickly, her fingers shaking.

“I didn’t have my phone with me, and I should have told you. I’ll explain when I get back to the dorm.”

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Almost immediately, Emi responded in bold, angry letters: "A VACATION?! YOU COULD HAVE TOLD ME FIRST!!"

Mikasa winced at the text, her guilt deepening. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise,” she texted back, trying to ease the tension.

“Let’s hang out later today. I’ll explain everything.”

Next, she messaged her mom, offering a similar excuse about being caught up with university work and classes. She typed as fast as she could, her fingers flying over the screen.

“I’m sorry for worrying you, Mom. I’ve been really busy, but I’m okay. I’ll call you later.”

As she sent the messages, she rushed back to her dorm, her heart pounding. She had so much to catch up on—emails to her professors, group projects she had missed, and countless other responsibilities. She couldn’t afford to fall behind, especially not with her dual life hanging over her head.

By the time Mikasa reached her dorm room, her nerves were frayed, her mind still reeling from the weight of everything she had to manage. But as soon as she opened the door, she froze. Emi was already there, standing in the middle of the room with her arms crossed, a deep frown etched onto her face.

Mikasa swallowed hard. “Emi… hey. I was just about to text you.”

Emi raised an eyebrow, her gaze sharp. “You disappeared for a whole week, Mikasa. A WEEK. Do you have any idea how worried I was? I called you like a million times!!”

Mikasa flinched, guilt washing over her in waves. “I know, I know, and I’m really sorry. It’s just… it all happened so fast, and I didn’t have my phone. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

Emi didn’t seem convinced. She uncrossed her arms and stepped closer, her eyes narrowing. “So, a surprise vacation, huh? Where’d you go?”

Mikasa’s mind raced for an answer. She couldn’t exactly tell her best friend the truth—that she had been transported to another world to act as the Archivist of the Grand Archive. Emi would never believe her. So instead, she stammered, “Uh… a remote spot. You know, somewhere without cell service. Just needed to get away for a bit.”

Emi stared at her, suspicion growing in her eyes. “A remote spot? With no cell service? For a week? And you didn’t think to tell anyone where you were going?”

Mikasa forced a laugh, though it came out more nervous than she intended. “Yeah, I know. It sounds bad. But it was last-minute, and I just… I needed the break. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

Emi’s frown deepened, but she wasn’t letting it go. “So, you didn’t bring your phone. Okay. What about stories? Souvenirs? Surely you brought something back from this magical, mysterious place.”

Mikasa’s heart skipped a beat. She hadn’t thought about that. “Uh, well…” she stammered, struggling for a response. “It was more of a… quiet retreat. No souvenirs or anything. Just relaxing. Really off-the-grid.”

Emi’s eyes narrowed even further, her voice laced with disbelief. “Uh-huh. And where exactly did you go, again?”

Mikasa’s mind went blank. She scrambled for an answer, but every excuse sounded more ridiculous than the last. “It’s… hard to explain,” she muttered.

“You know, one of those hidden spots that’s hard to find on a map.”

Emi sighed, shaking her head. “Mikasa, this is the worst cover story I’ve ever heard.”

Mikasa winced, feeling Emi’s frustration radiating off her. She could tell her friend wasn’t buying any of it, and the more she tried to dodge the questions, the deeper she was digging herself into a hole.

Desperate to salvage the situation, she forced a smile and said, “Look, I promise I’ll make it up to you. Let’s hang out later today, okay? We can go grab something to eat, and I’ll tell you… well, as much as I can.”

Emi raised an eyebrow. “As much as you can, huh? Fine. But you better not dodge my questions again. I want the truth.”

Mikasa nodded quickly, relieved to have at least bought herself some time. “I promise.”

Emi eyed her for a moment longer, clearly still suspicious, but she finally relented. “Alright. But if you keep acting all secretive, I’ll know something’s up.”

With that, Emi turned and headed for the door. “I’ll see you later, Mikasa. And don’t forget—pictures next time, or at least something to prove you didn’t just vanish into thin air.”

Mikasa exhaled a shaky breath as the door closed behind her. She collapsed onto her bed, exhausted even though it was still only 10 in the morning. As she stared at the ceiling, she couldn’t help but reflect on the immense pressure of balancing her life as the Archivist with her normal existence.

For a moment, the thought crossed her mind: maybe she should focus solely on her role as the Archivist. After all, her power was immense, and her responsibilities in the Forgotten Realms were far more significant than anything here on Earth. But she quickly scolded herself for even thinking that.

“No,” she muttered, shaking her head. “I can’t just abandon my life here. I’m still me. I can’t run from this.”

Pushing herself out of bed, she decided to deal with the chaos that awaited her at university. She quickly fired off emails to her professors, explaining her absences and asking for help with catching up. Then she dove into the group chats, apologizing to her project teams and asking for updates. The guilt gnawed at her, but there was no going back now. She would just have to work twice as hard to fix it.

After clearing her inbox and dealing with the flood of messages, Mikasa groaned as she realized how grimy she felt. It had been two weeks since she last took a shower, and the thought alone was enough to make her skin crawl.

“How did I not notice?” she muttered, shaking her head in disgust. She immediately headed to the bathroom, peeling off her clothes and stepping into the shower.

The water felt like heaven, washing away the grime and tension of the last two weeks. As she scrubbed her skin and washed her hair, she found herself reflecting on how drastically her life had changed. One moment she had been an ordinary university student, and the next, she had been thrust into an impossible role as the Archivist of the Grand Archive.

She couldn’t afford to ignore either life.

After drying off, she spent some time brushing her hair and choosing clothes for her hangout with Emi. Mikasa wasn’t the most fashionable person, but she wanted to at least make an effort. She picked out a casual outfit—comfortable jeans, a soft sweater, and some simple accessories. Light makeup followed, just enough to make her feel put together.

As she was about to leave her dorm, she glanced at Lumi, which rested quietly on her desk. “You stay here,” she whispered, deciding to leave the magical book behind. But just as she turned to go, Lumi began to glow, the mark on its cover—the same one that had transported her between worlds—lighting up softly.

Mikasa froze, staring at the book in surprise. “What… does that mean?” she wondered aloud, her hand hovering over Lumi. She felt the pull of her responsibilities in the Grand Archive calling her once again, but she shook her head, pushing those thoughts aside.

Not yet. She wasn’t ready to dive back into that world.

For now, she had to focus on her life here.