Chapter 3: The Girl Without a Script
A week passed.
Li Tianyu's rise was quiet, almost surgical. He hadn't flaunted his gains, but the changes were impossible to ignore. His movements were sharper. His Qi presence, once non-existent, now rippled subtly, like the calm surface of a deep lake. Even the instructors, who once overlooked him during daily training, now paused when he passed.
He had already rewritten two minor fate threads and stolen one opportunity from a senior disciple. The Life Script Panel had grown more responsive — as if it was evolving alongside him. Now, it occasionally offered suggestions, subtle highlights in gold when someone near him was at a crucial crossroad.
And that was why Tianyu noticed her.
She arrived during the morning courtyard rotation — a new face standing quietly at the edge of the sect square. Her robe was silver, not standard Cloudveil blue. Her hair was tied in a loose braid, and her eyes… they were strange. Not cold, not warm — but piercing. Like someone who had seen something far beyond her age.
No one knew her name. The elders didn't announce her. She simply appeared, and no one questioned it.
Tianyu watched her from a distance. As always, the moment someone caught his interest, his panel activated on its own.
He blinked in surprise.
[Life Script: Unknown Target]
The panel flickered.
Then it failed to load.
> Error: Script access denied. Identity unverified.
That had never happened before.
He frowned and focused, forcing the panel to stabilize. The golden scroll shimmered, half-opened, showing only two words:
"Heaven's Ink."
Then it slammed shut.
His breath hitched.
Not from fear, but from the strange pulse of recognition. Like two divine scripts touching each other. For a split second, his soul had trembled.
Then she looked at him.
Not toward him — directly at him. Her eyes locked onto his like she had been waiting.
And she smiled.
It wasn't warm. It wasn't cruel.
It was knowing.
Like she saw his panel, and perhaps… even more.
Later that day, he found her again near the old bamboo grove, sitting alone on a rock. Tianyu approached, carefully.
"You're not from Cloudveil Sect," he said.
She didn't answer directly.
"I saw you steal a thread," she said softly.
He froze.
His hand twitched toward the panel, but it didn't respond.
"You're wondering why your script doesn't work on me," she continued. "It won't."
Tianyu narrowed his eyes. "Why?"
She stood and turned to him. Her voice dropped to a whisper that struck like thunder.
"Because I don't have one."
A gust of wind passed between them, but neither moved.
"No fate. No destiny. Not even the heavens have written my story," she said. "That's why I was sent to find you."
Tianyu's throat felt dry. "…Who sent you?"
She smiled again.
"The same force that gave you that toy panel… but I'm the original draft."
Before he could respond, she stepped closer. Her finger tapped his chest lightly.
"Be careful, Script Writer. Every story has a price."
Then she vanished.
Literally — in a blink of light, like a flame snuffed out.
Tianyu stood alone.
And the panel, still trembling faintly, displayed a new alert:
> Warning: External Editor Detected. Script security compromised. Recommend initiating Soul Lock Protocol.
> > Proceed? [Yes] [No]
He didn't press anything.
His fingers clenched at his sides.
> Someone without a script can't be read… but can they still be written?
He didn't know.
But now, he needed to find out.
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✅ Word count: ~620 words