Unwritten Destinies

Prologue: The End of One Story, the Beginning of Another

The rain was relentless, hammering the cracked pavement beneath Kai Lee’s feet as he trudged home after another mind-numbing day at the office. The glow of streetlights shimmered on the puddles, casting distorted reflections of the neon signs that lined the narrow alley. It was an ordinary evening, just like any other. But for Kai, it felt like the end of something far more significant.

Earlier that night, he had finished The Crimson Lotus Ascends, a Murim novel he had followed obsessively for months. It wasn’t just a story; it was an escape—a world of powerful martial artists, legendary sects, and ancient techniques that fascinated him. He had lived and breathed that world, imagining himself among the warriors and grandmasters who defied the heavens and rewrote their fates. But now, the journey was over.

"Can’t believe they killed off Li Tian like that," Kai muttered to himself, still stewing over the ending. The villain, Li Tian, had met a brutal death at the hands of the protagonist, Zhao Yun, just as everyone had expected. Yet, there was something about Li Tian’s downfall that gnawed at him. Kai had always found the villain far more compelling than the hero—a man who had clawed his way to power from nothing, only to be undone by his own ambition. In the end, he wondered, could things have turned out differently?

Kai sighed and adjusted the strap of his messenger bag. "Doesn’t matter now. It’s over."

He glanced up at the dark sky, watching the rain pour down in sheets. The familiar sounds of the city—honking cars, distant chatter, the hum of life—faded into the background as his thoughts wandered. What if he had been part of that world? What if he could have changed the story? The thought was ridiculous, of course. Fiction was fiction. Reality was—

A blinding light. A deafening screech of tires.

Kai barely had time to register the truck barreling toward him. His body froze, his legs refusing to move, as the massive vehicle skidded out of control. The impact was instant. Pain exploded through his chest, but it was fleeting—there was no time to process it before everything went dark.

When Kai opened his eyes again, the first thing he noticed was the sound. Not the familiar hum of the city, but the soft rustling of trees, the chirping of birds, and the distant sound of rushing water. His head throbbed, and his vision swam as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. He was lying on his back, staring up at a clear blue sky framed by towering pine trees.

"What the hell…?"

He groaned and pushed himself up on his elbows, feeling the cool grass beneath his fingers. This wasn’t the city. This wasn’t anywhere he recognized. He was in a forest, surrounded by nature that seemed too vivid, too alive to be real.

Kai blinked and rubbed his eyes, trying to shake off the lingering fog in his mind. His memories were a jumble—the rain, the truck, the pain—and yet, here he was, perfectly fine. Confused, but unharmed.

"Am I… dead?" he wondered aloud. But this didn’t feel like death. It felt too real.

As he stood, a wave of nausea washed over him, and he staggered toward the nearest tree for support. His clothes were strange—soft silk robes in black and red, not the office suit he’d been wearing. His body felt different too, lighter and more agile. He glanced down at his hands, noting that they were no longer the hands of a tired, overworked office worker. They were younger, stronger.

A rustle behind him snapped his attention, and before he could react, a sharp voice called out.

"Young Master Li Feng! There you are!"

Kai turned, his heart skipping a beat. A tall, muscular man dressed in black armor approached him, bowing slightly but with an air of authority. His face was stern, his eyes sharp. Kai stared at him, the name echoing in his mind.

"Li… Feng?"

"Yes, Young Master," the man replied, confused by Kai’s blank expression. "The sect leader has been looking for you. Your brother is about to begin the ceremony."

The words sent a shock through Kai’s system. Li Feng. Sect leader. Brother. Ceremony.

It hit him like a punch to the gut. He wasn’t just in any world—he was in The Crimson Lotus Ascends. And if this man was addressing him as "Young Master Li Feng," then that meant only one thing.

He was in the body of the main antagonist's younger brother, a character who didn’t even exist in the story. A character whose presence had never been written or hinted at.

Kai swallowed hard, his mind racing. He had read every word of the novel, knew every twist and turn, and Li Feng had never been a part of it.

"What… what is happening?" he whispered, his voice barely audible.

The man frowned. "Young Master, are you feeling unwell? You mustn’t delay any longer. The Black Cloud Sect awaits you."

Kai stood frozen, his mind a chaotic swirl of disbelief and panic. This couldn’t be real. It shouldn’t be real. And yet, the weight of the situation settled over him like a suffocating blanket.

He was in the Murim world. And his brother—Li Tian, the villain destined to fall—was waiting for him.

Kai’s heart pounded in his chest as a single, terrifying thought took root.

If he was Li Feng, then everything he knew about the story, about the future, was now uncertain. And if he wasn’t careful, he might not even live long enough to see the ending.

The world of Murim was dangerous, and he had just been thrown into the middle of it.