Three Years Ago
A girl stood before a massive gate.
She observed it with a mix of curiosity and unease. This gate was unusual. Not only was it bigger than other gates - appearing absolutely massive, towering over the landscape - it was also completely red unlike the other blue gates.
She felt she shouldn’t be here.
But she also felt tempted to go in.
The moment she stepped through, she found herself in what appeared to be a library.
It was a round building with shelves filled with books. The shelves stretched upward... infinitely. No ceiling in sight. Just endless rows of books disappearing into a void above.
She wondered what kind of place this was. It didn’t look like a safe zone.
At that moment, she noticed some movement.
There was something in here with her.
She whirled around.
No, scratch that. Some things .
They flew too fast for her to make out - just blurs zipping between the shelves. Then suddenly, they stopped.
Two beings appeared before her.
They were two... girls?
They were relatively short and cute, they also looked exactly the same, as if one was a mirror of the other.
They both had delicate features and an ethereal glow about them. They looked kind of like fairies.
"Hello! I’m Fu Yue," the first one said cheerfully. "Yue as in the character for joy. I’m the president of the School of Talismans."
"And I’m Zhen Yue," the second one said. "Yue as in the character meaning to surpass. I am the president of the School of Formations."
They floated closer, spreading their arms wide in perfect synchronization.
"And together we are..." they said in unison, gesturing grandly at the library around them, "...the Keepers of the Cultivation Library!"
Amélie just stared at them, thoroughly confused.
The twins exchanged a glance, then flew down to hover on either side of her. Their expressions shifted into something that could only be described as... salesmanlike.
"We’ve been watching you," Fu Yue said, her voice dropping to a mysterious tone.
"And we’ve seen something special," Zhen Yue added, nodding sagely.
"Talent," they said together. "In you."
Amélie blinked. "Talent? In me?"
The twins looked at each other. Knowing smirks spread across their faces. They had someone hooked.
They nodded at each other and began rapid-firing.
"You’ve been through hardship," Fu Yue said.
"Great hardship," Zhen Yue emphasized.
"People don’t understand you."
"They never have."
"You feel alone, even in crowds."
"Like something is missing."
"You’ve loved and lost."
"Or perhaps never loved at all."
"There’s a void in your heart."
"A longing for something more."
Amélie’s eyes widened with each statement. How did they know all this?
The twins swooped in closer, their expressions shifting to exaggerated sympathy.
"You poor thing," Fu Yue cooed.
"Such suffering," Zhen Yue added, shaking her head.
"But fear not!"
"We know just the solution to your problem!"
Fu Yue zipped away, flying up along the infinite shelves before returning moments later with a dark book in her hands. The cover was a little weathered with what appeared to be dried blood staining its surface.
She presented it with a flourish.
"This," she announced, "is ’The Art of Love’ by Sect Master Li."
Amélie stared at the ominous-looking tome. "The Art of... Love?"
"Indeed!" Zhen Yue said. "You see, this book was written by the Sect Master who had fallen deeply in love with the Grand Elder."
"Their love was taboo," Fu Yue continued dramatically. "Forbidden!"
"And it didn’t help that the Grand Elder was obsessed with power and didn’t return her feelings."
"But the Sect Master refused to give up!"
"She basically rewrote reality itself for them to end up together!"
The twins leaned in close, their eyes gleaming.
"What we’re trying to say is," Fu Yue whispered, "this book can rewrite reality."
"It can do basically anything you can possibly think of," Zhen Yue added.
The twins then floated away slightly, huddling together and whispering - though not quietly enough.
"By the way, is it okay to lie about the Grand Elder like that?" Fu Yue asked. "Won’t those cultists from the Grand Elder Church come to cause trouble with us? That Liu Feng guy?"
Zhen Yue scoffed. "That bastard Liu Feng. He stole so much from our Cultivation Library. Almost all works by the Grand Elder have been taken by him."
She then sighed. "Well, we don’t have to worry about him for now. I hear his cult has been having battles for territory with Ye Chen’s Cult of the Goddess."
"Oh? The one that worships that Xiang Li guy?"
"That’s the one."
"Umm," Amélie spoke up, trying to get their attention.
The twins whipped back around instantly, bright smiles plastered on their faces.
"Right, right! As I was saying!" Fu Yue exclaimed.
"You should definitely take this book!" Zhen Yue added.
"It would be your greatest loss not to!"
Before Amélie could respond, they smacked the book into her hands.
"Wait..." she shouted.
But she was already being thrown backward, an invisible force launching her through the gate.
She found herself outside, sprawled on the ground. The massive red gate behind her shimmered once, then collapsed in on itself, disappearing entirely.
She looked at the book in her hands.
For some reason, she felt she must... she must ...
She extended her hand and slowly flipped open the cover.
"Amélie opened the book" was the first line she read.
"This is..." She was shocked.
The book... it recorded her life.
She flipped through the pages rapidly. Her entire life was inscribed in detail. Every moment. And not just the past, but the future too.
Wait... I had a boyfriend? Marcus? Who is this?
She became engrossed in the book, flipping page after page.
Every detail of her existence laid bare before her. Every...
"God, will you shut the fuck up already? NO ONE wants to hear about your backstory lil bro."
Maya’s voice cut through her thoughts.
Amélie snapped back to the present.
Maya stood opposite her, arms crossed, looking thoroughly annoyed.
"Now hand over the fragment," Maya said, extending her hand.
Amélie met her gaze.
She closed her eyes.
When she opened them, her form had transformed. A third eye - golden and radiant - had appeared on her forehead. A swirling aura of red and dark mist surrounded her body, crackling every few seconds.
"I’ve seen it," she began. "You’ll die here today. It’s all written. It’s all set. It’s all in the book."
She began giggling.
Maya scratched her head.
"Girl, you’re even crazier than me. When was the last time you took your meds?"
Amélie’s eyes widened.
She spun around...
Maya’s foot connected with her face.
Amélie flipped through the air and landed in a crouch, skidding backward. Her eyes darted rapidly through the text in the book, pages flipping on their own as she searched desperately.
She looked up at Maya.
Maya cracked her neck, rolling her shoulders.
"Since you’re not so agreeable," she said, "I suppose I have to make you."