The chaos at the library entrance had spiraled into a mess of fluttering pages and panicked screams. Books with sharpened spines dove at students, while others wrapped their pages around legs like ropes. Lin Chen watched as a Sequence 8: Plot Weaver tried to rewrite the attack into a "training exercise"—but the books just laughed, their pages rustling with mockery.
"They're immune to regular Narrative manipulation," Yu Qing said, ducking as a book zoomed past her head. "The Scenario Master made them that way. We can't fight them with what we know."
Lin Chen pulled out the blank book—somehow, it had reformed in his hand after he'd used one page. He flipped through it: still empty, save for the faint outline of the symbol he'd seen earlier. His Unwritten Sequence didn't follow the rules of the others. That meant… maybe the books weren't immune to it.
He stepped forward, holding the book up. "Everyone back."
The students stared, but something in his voice made them hesitate. The red-haired boy—his name was Gao Yang—crossed his arms. "Why should we listen to you? You're just—"
"Someone who just saved your friend," Lin Chen cut him off, nodding at the younger student who was now hiding behind Gao Yang.
Gao Yang fell silent. Lin Chen turned to the nearest attacking book—a thick volume glowing with red light, marked Chronicle of the Blood Weave. He opened his blank book and placed his hand on the first page.
Instead of erasing it, he wrote. Not with a pen, but with his mind. A single line appeared on the blank page:
This book is tired of fighting. It wants to rest.
The red-glowing book froze mid-dive. Its pages relaxed, the sharp edges softening. It floated down to the floor with a gentle thud and lay still.
Yu Qing's eyes went wide. "You didn't erase it—you rewrote it. But how? No Sequence can change the Scenario's creations that easily."
Lin Chen looked at the blank page. The line he'd written was already fading, leaving nothing behind. "Because I didn't use a written Sequence. I used what's not there. The blank has room for anything—even things the Scenario didn't plan for."
More students gathered around him now, their fear replaced with awe. Gao Yang stepped forward, his pride set aside. "Okay. What do we do next?"
Lin Chen scanned the room. The remaining books were still attacking, but they'd slowed, drawn by the commotion around him. He saw the thread of fate here: if they kept fighting, three students would die, and the rest would fail the test. But if they worked together—using the blank space between their own stories—they could end it.
"Everyone," he said, raising his voice. "Find an empty spot on the floor. Sit down. And think of something unwritten—a memory you wish you had, a place you wish you'd gone, a thing you wish you'd said."
Some looked confused, but Yu Qing sat down first, closing her eyes. Gao Yang followed, then the others. Lin Chen sat in the center, holding the blank book above his head.
As the students focused, faint white lights began to rise from them—each one a spark of unwritten potential. The lights drifted toward the blank book, weaving together into a single beam of white energy that shot up to the library ceiling.
The attacking books stopped. Their glowing covers faded, their pages going soft. One by one, they floated back to their shelves, settling into place as if nothing had happened.
The Scenario Master's voice boomed through the room, but this time, it carried a note of surprise:
SCENARIO COMPLETE
Objective: Fulfilled. You have found the Meaning of the Blank—not in a single thing, but in the space between all things.
Reward: All participants advance to Sequence 8. For the Unwritten One: A second ability.
A wave of light washed over the students. Gao Yang's badge glowed, shifting to Sequence 8: Storyteller. Yu Qing's became Sequence 8: Archivist. Lin Chen looked at his status:
[STATUS: LIN CHEN]
[SEQUENCE: ??? - THE UNWRITTEN]
[ABILITY 1: NARRATIVE ERASURE - Wipe a single event. Cost: 1 blank page.]
[ABILITY 2: POTENTIAL WEAVING - Bind unwritten sparks from others into a single effect. Cost: 3 blank pages.]
As the students cheered, Lin Chen stood up and walked toward the exit. Yu Qing followed, catching up to him at the door.
"Everyone's talking about you," she said. "They're calling you the 'Blank Prodigy.' They want you to lead them in the next Scenario."
Lin Chen looked back at the library, where the empty shelf still stood. "I don't want to lead them. I just want to find my own meaning."
"Then let me come with you," Yu Qing said, her voice steady. "I've spent a year reading other people's stories. I want to help write yours."
Lin Chen paused. The thread of fate around them twisted, weaving together into something new—something he hadn't seen before. He could say no. He could walk alone, keep his blank page empty of others. But… maybe the meaning of zero wasn't just about what he could write for himself. Maybe it was about what he could write with others.
"Okay," he said, a small smile touching his lips. "Let's go see what's next."
As they walked out into the academy courtyard, Lin Chen noticed something different. The world around him still had lines of code and ink—but now, some of those lines were blank. Waiting.
The story was still being written. And this time, he wasn't just the author. He was a character in it too.