Rain tapped softly against the window of the art clubroom as Miyako sat alone at her desk, her pencil poised above an empty page. The world outside was gray, but inside her mind, colors bloomed — fragments of castles, silver crowns, and nameless faces fading into mist.
For days, she had been trying to find the story for her next manga. She had the title, The Eternal Queen of Althra, but no story yet — only a feeling. A quiet ache inside her chest that told her the Queen's tale was one of loneliness.
Across the room, Ethan painted with his headphones on, the soft sound of his brush strokes mixing with the rain. Occasionally, he glanced over at Miyako, watching her stare at her blank page with the same intense focus she always had before a breakthrough.
"You've been thinking about her nonstop, huh?" he said finally, removing one earphone.
Miyako looked up. "The Queen?"
"Yeah," he said, smiling. "You've been sketching her every day this week. I think you've drawn, like, ten different versions of her crown already."
She smiled faintly. "I can't stop. Every time I close my eyes, I see her — standing alone in a hall of light. She looks powerful… but sad. Like she's been waiting for something for a long time."
Ethan leaned back in his chair. "So what's her story, then? What's she waiting for?"
Miyako exhaled softly, looking back at her paper. "That's what I'm trying to find out."
---
Dreams of Althra
That night, Miyako couldn't sleep. She sat by her desk lamp, flipping through her sketches — drawings of the Queen, of temples and palaces, of winged statues and ancient symbols.
She opened a blank notebook and began to write words instead of drawing. Her pencil moved slowly, shaping thoughts into fragments:
> "Immortal Queen."
"Gods once walked among mortals."
"Summoned hero from another world."
She paused, tapping her pencil against her lip. The idea of a summoned hero fascinated her — someone ordinary thrown into a divine conflict. But what mattered most wasn't the battle or the power. It was the relationship between the mortal and the eternal.
She remembered something she once said to Ethan, months ago: Art isn't just what you see — it's what's beneath the skin.
Maybe this story, too, wasn't about the surface — not just magic and war, but what lies beneath eternity itself.
She looked at the first sketch of the Queen she'd ever drawn — the one where the crown looked too heavy for her. The sadness in her eyes almost felt alive now, as if the Queen wanted to speak.
Miyako whispered, "Who are you?"
And in her mind, the Queen's voice answered softly, like an echo:
I am the one who remembers.
Miyako's pencil began to move.
---
Building the World
The next morning, she came early to the clubroom before class, a small notebook in her hands.
Ethan arrived a few minutes later, carrying coffee for both of them. He grinned when he saw her already writing. "You didn't sleep again, did you?"
She laughed softly. "Maybe a little."
"So… what's Althra like?" he asked, sitting beside her. "You've been lost in that world lately."
Miyako opened her notebook and showed him pages filled with rough sketches — maps, ancient symbols, designs for cities built around massive clocktowers and floating spires.
"It's a world once blessed by gods," she explained, her voice steady but full of quiet excitement. "But the gods vanished thousands of years ago. Now, only their ruins remain. The Queen — the Eternal Queen — was once a High Priestess. The gods gave her immortality so she could protect their legacy. She's been ruling for six thousand years."
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Six thousand years? That's… a lot of birthdays."
Miyako chuckled. "Yes, but imagine it — watching centuries pass, empires rise and fall, people you love fading away while you stay the same." Her tone grew softer. "She carries that loneliness."
He nodded thoughtfully. "And the hero she summons?"
Miyako's eyes brightened a little. "He's from another world. Maybe someone from Earth. The Queen performs a ritual every time darkness returns — she summons a hero to fight it. But this time, something is different. When the new hero arrives, the balance of fate changes."
"So it's not just about saving the world," Ethan said. "It's about what it means to live forever."
"Exactly."
She smiled. "You understand it better than I do."
---
The Final Spark
After school, Miyako stayed late again, typing on her laptop in the quiet corner of the art room. Rain had started falling outside once more, steady and rhythmic. Each keystroke felt like a heartbeat — the rhythm of creation itself.
For hours she worked, revising, rethinking, reshaping.
When she finally leaned back, her fingers trembling slightly, she realized she had written the first complete synopsis of The Eternal Queen of Althra.
She read it aloud softly, as if telling a secret to the empty room:
> In a realm where gods once walked beside mortals, a timeless Queen rules over an empire untouched by age. Six thousand years have passed since the last King's death—an era of peace and prophecy guided by the woman once known as the High Priestess. Her wisdom is eternal, her magic divine, and her purpose unending.
Every century, when darkness rises and a new Demon King threatens the world, the Queen performs the ancient ritual to summon a hero from another realm. Countless champions have fought and fallen across the ages, yet the cycle of light and shadow endures.
When a young man from a distant world is summoned to her kingdom, the balance of fate begins to shift. As ancient forces stir and forgotten truths resurface, the bond between the immortal Queen and the mortal hero may decide not only the fate of their worlds—but the meaning of eternity itself.
A tale of destiny, mystery, and the price of immortality begins beneath the ever-turning clock of time.
Miyako sat in silence for a long moment, her heart racing. Then, with trembling hands, she sent the synopsis to Claire.
---
The Reply
The next afternoon, her phone buzzed with an email notification.
> From: Claire – Horizon Press
Subject: The Eternal Queen of Althra
Miyako opened it nervously.
> Miyako, this is breathtaking. The concept, the tone, the emotion — it's powerful. You've built a world that feels ancient and alive. I absolutely love it. Let's meet soon to discuss how to move forward.
She covered her mouth, smiling in disbelief.
Ethan, sitting nearby, noticed her expression. "Good news?"
Miyako nodded, tears glimmering in her eyes. "She loves it."
He grinned. "I told you the Queen would find her story."
Miyako looked down at her notebook — at the first drawing of the Queen who had haunted her imagination for weeks.
"She finally spoke," Miyako whispered. "And now… her story begins."