Suginosuke

The Sword without a Story, they call them in the fortress labs. Suginosuke carries an adventurer’s blade, but has never been on an adventure. The sword was a gift from their mentor, a famed explorer who walked into The Crystal Highlands of Armaria and simply vanished among the humming monoliths. They left the sword behind with a note: 'For the journey, not the destination.' Suginosuke pores over their mentor's maps, not to find them, but to understand the path they must one day walk. The unreadable expression is a careful mask; beneath it, they are terrified of failing the steel on their back. Each day, they polish the blade, feeling the weight of a story that has not yet begun.