A week after the tournament, the three of them set out for the Starfall Archive—one of the five academies, said to hold the oldest records of the world's narrative. Lin Chen had a feeling the faint line in his book, the flickering star, and whatever was coming at chapter 15 were all tied to something hidden there.
The road to the archive wound through mountains covered in pine trees, and Blank the cat spent most of the time perched on Lin Chen's shoulder, watching the birds. Gao Yang had brought a bag of Old Ma's steamed buns, and he kept pulling them out at every rest stop.
"Hey, look," Yu Qing said, pointing at a signpost. "'Starfall Archive: 2 days' walk. Warning: The path ahead is not what it seems.'"
"Not what it seems?" Gao Yang said, taking a bite of a bun. "That's the most generic warning I've ever seen. Could they be any less specific?"
But as they climbed higher, the world around them began to shift. The trees started to look like they were made of ink, their branches twisting into letters and words. The sky turned purple, and stars began to appear even though it was still midday.
"This is the 'Faded Star Path,'" Yu Qing said, flipping through her notebook. "The archive is hidden in a pocket of unwritten space. Only those who can read the language of the stars can find their way."
Lin Chen closed his eyes and focused. He could feel the threads of fate here—they were tangled, like a book with its pages mixed up. Among them, he sensed something else: a presence that was both old and new, watching them.
They walked for hours until they reached a clearing where a single stone tower stood, its top lost in the purple sky. A woman in a blue robe stood at the entrance—her hair was white as snow, but her eyes were bright as stars.
"Lin Chen, the Unwritten," she said, her voice like wind through leaves. "I've been waiting for you. I'm Master Lian, keeper of the archive."
She led them inside, and Lin Chen's jaw dropped. The tower was filled with shelves that stretched into infinity, holding books that glowed with the light of dead stars. Each book was a record of a star that had faded—its story written, then ended.
"Every star is a life," Master Lian said, running her hand along a shelf. "When it fades, its story is stored here. But there's one star whose story is missing—one that's supposed to fade in five chapters' time, but no one knows why."
Lin Chen's heart skipped a beat. Five chapters from now… that would be chapter 15.
"Can we see it?" Yu Qing asked.
Master Lian led them to a single empty shelf in the center of the room. "It's not here yet," she said. "But it will be. And when it is, something will shift—something no one has foreseen. The world's narrative has a way of surprising even those who can read it."
Gao Yang leaned against the shelf. "So what's the big secret? Is it a powerful warrior? A god? A really good bowl of noodles?"
Master Lian smiled, but it was a sad smile. "It's someone you know. Someone whose story you've already woven into your own."
Lin Chen felt the stone in his pocket—with its curved black line—grow warm. He thought of the faint line in his book, the flickering star in the sky. The pieces were starting to come together, but they still didn't make sense.
"Wait," he said, looking at Master Lian. "You said 'supposed to fade in five chapters' time. But chapters are just how we tell the story. Do you mean… in five days? Five weeks?"
Master Lian shook her head. "Time here is different. Chapters are moments—turning points that shape everything. Chapter 15 will be a turning point unlike any other. Something that will shock even you, Unwritten One. Something that stays true to every thread you've woven so far… but in a way no one will see coming."
She handed Lin Chen a small, glowing crystal. "This will help you when the time comes. But remember: some stories have to end so that new ones can begin. The question is… will you be ready to write the next page when it does?"
They left the archive as the sun was setting, the crystal warm in Lin Chen's hand. The path back looked different now—less tangled, but more dangerous. Gao Yang was still making jokes about noodles, but Yu Qing was quiet, her eyes on the crystal.
Lin Chen looked up at the sky. The flickering star was a little brighter now, but it still looked like it was about to go out. He thought of Master Lian's words: someone you know. Chapter 15. A shock that stays true.
He pushed the thought away, but it lingered—like a word on the tip of his tongue, or a line on a page that's almost readable. The future was coming, and it was going to be unpredictable. But he was the Unwritten One. He'd face it the only way he knew how: by writing his own way through it.
As they walked, Blank the cat meowed and rubbed against his hand. Lin Chen smiled, scratching behind his ears. Whatever chapter 15 held, he had his friends with him—for now, at least. And that was enough.