The Sky That Wove
The sky above the Loomheart Sect shimmered like a living tapestry.
Thousands of glowing threads stretched from the heavens to the earth, each one pulsing with light—some golden and taut, others frayed and dim. They danced in the wind like divine silk, connecting every living being to the Loom of Heaven.
To be born in this world was to be born with a thread.
To be without one… was to be cursed.
Li Xuanji stood beneath that sky, his hands clenched at his sides. The other disciples stood in neat rows, their threads glowing faintly above their heads. His space was empty. Always empty.
He looked up.
Still nothing.
The Boy Without a Thread
They never said it to his face.
But he heard them.
"Threadless freak."
"He shouldn't be here."
"He's not even part of the Loom."
He trained harder than anyone. Bled more. Endured more. Not because he wanted to prove them wrong—but because he had nothing else.
No prophecy. No divine guidance. No future.
Only will.
The Girl with the Snow Name
"Xuanji!"
He turned.
Lian Xue ran toward him, her white robes fluttering like snow in the wind. Her smile was soft, her eyes bright. She held out a small bundle wrapped in cloth.
"You forgot breakfast again."
He blinked. "I didn't forget."
"You always forget," she said, placing the bundle in his hands. "Eat. You'll faint during the ritual."
He unwrapped it. A warm bun. Simple. Familiar.
He looked at her. "Thank you."
She smiled, but her eyes flickered—just for a moment.
"Today's the day," she said.
He nodded. "The Fate Awakening."
"Are you ready?"
He looked away. "I was born without a thread. I've never been ready."
The Fate Awakening
The courtyard was silent.
Elders stood in a circle, their robes embroidered with golden thread. The Grand Loom pulsed at the center—an altar of divine silk, humming with power.
One by one, disciples stepped forward.
Threads descended from the sky, binding to their souls.
Cheers. Applause. Tears.
Then it was his turn.
Li Xuanji stepped into the circle.
The air grew cold.
The threads above him… paused.
He closed his eyes.
Maybe this time…
Maybe the Loom would see him.
Maybe he wasn't a mistake.
He waited.
Nothing came.
Then—
Pain.
The Betrayal
It wasn't the pain of rejection.
It was the pain of a blade.
He gasped.
Looked down.
A dagger was buried in his chest.
He looked up.
Lian Xue stood before him.
Her hand trembled.
Her eyes were wet.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "They said if I didn't… they'd kill my brother."
He staggered back.
The elders began chanting.
Threads wrapped around his limbs—binding him, dragging him toward the altar.
His best friend, Jian, looked away.
His master raised a hand.
"Let the Threadless be cast into the Abyss. Let the flaw be erased."
The ground cracked.
Light swallowed him.
And Li Xuanji fell.
The Abyss of Severed Threads
There was no light.
Only drifting echoes.
Broken threads. Shattered destinies. Screams that never ended.
He floated in the void, his body torn, his soul unraveling.
He should have died.
But something stirred.
A voice.
Cold. Mechanical. Ancient.
_"System initializing…
Thread status: nonexistent.
Protocol: Loombreaker.
Objective: Sever the Loom. Rewrite the world."_
His eyes opened.
They glowed with silver fire.
The Serpent Beneath the World
He walked.
He didn't know how long.
Time didn't move here.
Then he saw it.
A temple—half-buried in the void, wrapped in glowing chains. At its center, a massive obsidian serpent lay coiled, unmoving.
Its eyes opened.
"So… the Threadless has come."
The Pact of Flame
The serpent's voice echoed in his bones.
_"I am Zhao Lianyin.
Once a guardian of the Loom.
Now its prisoner."_
He stepped forward. "Why are you bound?"
_"Because I protected a Threadless child.
Because I chose love over law."_
His breath caught.
"Break my chains," she said, _"and I will bind myself to you.
Not as a servant.
But as your flame."_
He placed his hand on her snout.
The chains shattered.
Light exploded.
And when it faded, a woman stood before him.
Tall. Barefoot. Eyes like twin serpents.
She smiled.
_"You've freed me, Li Xuanji.
Now I will never leave your side."_
The First Blade
She raised her hand.
A broken thread floated toward him.
_"This belonged to a warrior who died before his vengeance.
Forge it.
Make it yours."_
He reached out.
The thread wrapped around his arm, burning into his skin.
Pain.
Memory.
Power.
When it ended, he held a blade.
Black. Jagged. Alive.
"What will you name it?" she asked.
He whispered:
"Redemption."
The Return
He stood at the edge of the Abyss.
The blade in his hand.
Zhao Lianyin at his side.
He looked up.
The Loom still shimmered above.
But not for long.
"They cast me down," he said. _"Now I'll rise.
Not to reclaim my place.
But to burn theirs."_
She smiled.
"Then let us begin, my Threadless King."
_"He fell not as a boy, but as a question.
He rose not as a man, but as an answer."
Chapter 1 ends.