The Cartographers Paradox

1912, Berlin.  In the hushed depths of a state library archive, historian Dr. Lila Gerhardt stumbles upon a collection of impossible maps. Drawn by the enigmatic Albrecht von Heiden, they depict Europe twisted into configurations that defy recorded history—a dominant Iberian republic, a fractured Austro-Hungarian Empire. These are not the maps of our world, but glimpses into realities that never were… or perhaps, worlds that existed briefly, then vanished.
Captivated, Lila embarks on a quest to unravel Heiden’s cartographic paradox. His meticulously kept journals, cryptic letters, and fragmented family lore paint a portrait of a brilliant, obsessive mind, a man haunted by visions of shifting geographies.  She meets Heiden’s descendants, each holding a piece of the puzzle: hushed tales of ancient texts and the malleability of reality, fantastical sketches mirroring the maps' anomalies. 
As Lila delves deeper, she uncovers historical echoes corresponding to Heiden’s impossible timelines—vanished archives, conflicting narratives, brief periods of unexplained social upheaval.  A radical theory emerges: Heiden’s maps are not fantasies, but records of parallel realities, flickering into existence before collapsing back into the dominant timeline.
Her investigation leads her to Heiden’s exploration of nascent quantum mechanics and the power of collective belief to reshape the very fabric of existence. But a chilling prophecy emerges — an impending reality shift on the eve of World War I, depicted in Heiden’s most disturbing map yet: a unified European empire ruled by the shadowy “Silent Regent.”
Lila’s role transforms from historian to reluctant protector of reality. Aided by a skeptical physicist drawn into the enigma, she races against time and a shadowy society—the Chronomasters—who seek to exploit Heiden’s work to usher in the Regent’s reign.  Their pursuit takes them through a labyrinth of hidden archives, forgotten libraries, and secret societies, where they uncover not only the mechanics of reality shifts, but also a hidden failsafe, a counter-ritual designed to stabilize the timeline.
As the world teeters on the brink of war, Lila and her ally must decipher Heiden’s cartographic language, outwit the Chronomasters, and confront the unsettling truth of the Cartographer's Paradox. The fate of reality hangs in the balance, a battle fought not with weapons, but with the power of human consciousness, where the line between history and fiction blurs, and the very