[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-ring-of-fate":3,"chapter-the-ring-of-fate-the-ring-of-fate-chapter-815":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Ring of Fate",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2298784,4496,"Chapter 815: The Abnormalities of the","the-ring-of-fate-chapter-815",815,"\u003Cp>Francca walked up to the full-length mirror and fastened the silver-white “Lies” earring to her left ear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her facial skin instantly turned semi-translucent, as if tiny growths were sprouting beneath it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moments later, these growths wriggled and reformed, clustering together once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within twenty to thirty seconds, Francca had transformed into the Aurora that Lumian had impersonated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After adjusting repeatedly, she smoothed her cascading golden hair and gazed at her reflection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Aurora really is beautiful… ‘Lies’ is incredible—it can achieve this level.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You never used ‘Lies’ before?” asked Jianna, standing beside her, puzzled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She remembered Francca using it more than once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Francca chuckled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I haven’t used it in so long, I just felt nostalgic. Besides, after becoming the ‘Pleasure Witch’ and trying to subtly adjust my own face with ‘Lies,’ I dared not do it again—I feared falling in love with myself, drowning in my own beauty.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now I’ve only made minor tweaks to Aurora’s face, yet I still feel she’s stunning. A woman born this beautiful, walking the ‘Witch’ path—how exquisite would she become? ‘Lies’ and ‘Witch’—perfect match. But it’s too easy to get lost. You’d rather live in lies than face the truth.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Francca could still mock herself and joke, Jianna exhaled softly and nodded with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“For us ‘Witches,’ ‘Lies’ is the most delicious poison.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Francca hummed in agreement, turned back to the mirror, and adjusted her height.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just before leaving, she looked at Jianna and asked thoughtfully:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You still need two or three more good performances before your ‘Witch’ potion is fully digested, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. If you rely only on performances similar to past ones, it takes time and repetition,” Jianna replied, instantly knowing what Francca was about to say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As she often said, she was about to impart some life—no, digestion—experience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Francca, wearing Aurora’s enhanced face, smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I think you’ve always overlooked the black magic of the ‘Witch’ in your performances. Think about it—isn’t black magic a vital part of every witch legend? And a large portion of those legends were likely left behind by real ‘Witches.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Try finding a villain, someone who deserves hanging. Collect his hair and flesh, announce your arrival as a witch in advance, and torment him daily with black magic until he dies.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jianna pondered for a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I could try.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, I hope your becoming the ‘Pleasure Witch’ brings a turning point… Francca sighed inwardly, yet kept smiling, pulled up her hood, stepped out the door, and vanished into the hallway’s shadows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scheduled offline gathering was at 6 Bellafo Street, in the Grove Avenue District—a four-story villa with a garden, a luxury residence even among the wealthy, rented annually for 15,000 Faeljin, once occupied by foreign dukes, bankers, and diplomats.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, it had no long-term tenant; the organizing “Professor” had rented it temporarily for a week.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Passing through the garden lit by gas lamps, circling the fountain with its statue, Francca briskly reached the villa’s entrance and saw a table with a sign-in book.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the simplest form of identity verification, to keep out oddball Trillian intruders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Francca quickly recalled Aurora’s handwriting, mimicked its style, deliberately slanted it as if to conceal it, and signed “Muggle.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if from thin air, a gaze descended, lingering on the sign-in book for two seconds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without sound or motion, the villa’s front door opened, and Francca stepped inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a few steps, she slowed her pace, carefully recalling how genuine and fake “Muggles” walked at past “Curly Baboon Research Society” gatherings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With her professional dedication to performance, Francca had already excavated those buried memories through dream divination and other methods; now, she grasped Aurora’s gait in moments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She shortened her stride and lightened her waist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The villa’s parlor was arranged with a homely atmosphere; red and yellow accents radiated an indescribable warmth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The seven or eight members of the \"Curly Baboon Research Society\" attending the gathering wore the same disguises they used during \"Night Kingdom\" events to confirm their identities—some sat on sofas drinking and chatting, while others gathered in corners playing darts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The “Professor,” wearing a black butterfly mask, set down her mixed orange-yellow cocktail and rose from the sofa to greet Francca.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her pale lips curved into a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s chat first, exchange recent updates, then drink, play board games, sing, and card games—how’s that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perfect! If offline gatherings were only about trading items and exchanging occult knowledge without any entertainment, what was the point? One reason Francca agreed to attend this real-world gathering was that she hadn’t played with her “fellow countrymen” in ages—some things she wanted to teach Lumian and Jianna, to make them truly understand, were simply too troublesome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pulling over a high stool, Francca sat gracefully beside the “Professor,” her gaze shifting to familiar faces like “Periodic Table” and “Isotope,” wondering if any among them concealed a “Morse Ascetic” member.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Muggle, have you settled in Trillian?” asked the “Academy” member whose face was painted with the periodic table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Francca restrained her usual liveliness, revealing only a hint to match a “Muggle’s” ordinary demeanor, and smiled in reply:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“For now, yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But given Trillian’s situation, I don’t intend to stay long—I’ll probably move away soon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was subtly warning her “fellow countrymen” that Trillian, a great metropolis, teemed with danger—like a city built atop an active volcano, ready to erupt at any moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why say that?” The “Professor,” sharp as ever, asked the very question Francca wanted them to pose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Francca let her lips form a smiling curve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She pointed to the floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I encountered something underground in Trillian. I feel great dangers are brewing beneath us—unknown when they’ll erupt.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Like the ‘Mirror People’?” the “Professor” mused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Francca nodded lightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She said no more—partly because it was classified, partly because even if she spoke, without proof, others wouldn’t believe her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The “Professor,” “Isotope,” and others fell silent, lost in thought. The “Associate Professor” and others playing darts returned to the sofa, shifting the topic elsewhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the exchange, Francca was far more active than Lumian had ever been—she understood many coded phrases and knew many secrets, unafraid of missteps or missing jokes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The “Professor” glanced at her, pleasantly surprised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I sense you’ve moved past being victimized by ‘April Fools.’ You’ve returned to your old self—no longer as silent as before, no longer just an observer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Uh… Francca suddenly felt she’d messed things up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not because her “Muggle” disguise was poor—quite the opposite. It was too good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later, when she switched back to Lumian, the “Academy” members would wonder: why was she back in trauma-induced silence?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She couldn’t say she’d suffered another injury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Francca’s mind raced, swiftly finding an excuse:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I haven’t fully recovered. Some wounds may never heal—just now, everyone’s cheerful conversation made me feel like I’d returned to the past.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The “Professor” nodded in understanding. She was about to say more when her face—uncovered by the black butterfly mask—twisted violently, her eyeballs bulging as if enduring unbearable pain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She slowly bent her back, raised her hands, and clutched her head tightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Francca froze, scanning the others—“Associate Professor,” “Isotope,” and “Periodic Table” showed similar symptoms; only the two non-“Witch” attendees remained unaltered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right—I’m a “Witch” too… Francca mimicked the “Professor’s” posture, recalling the agony of her advancement ritual, and made herself appear as if her head would split.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After two or three minutes, the “Professor” straightened, exhaled slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The non-“Witch” member codenamed “Griffin” asked, puzzled:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What happened to you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No sooner had he spoken than he suddenly realized:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is the ‘Hidden Sage’ again broadcasting knowledge?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The “Associate Professor,” wrapped in a brown paper bag, chuckled bitterly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s broadcast-style? I always thought it was one-on-one,” the “Griffin” marveled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Both happen,” the “Professor” rubbed her head, addressing Francca and “Periodic Table.” “Have you noticed that since the terrifying rainstorm, the frequency of the ‘Hidden Sage’s’ knowledge broadcasts and direct transmissions has sharply increased?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes,” replied “Periodic Table,” his tone grave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing all the “Witches” in the room accepted the “Professor’s” claim, Francca nodded along.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She mused:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could this anomaly be tied to the “Celestial Master”?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the seal of Fourth Era Trillian was opened, some forces leaked out, driving the already insane “Hidden Sage” even further into madness?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Francca knew the “Professor” meant the “Hostel” plan’s brief opening of the Fourth Era Trillian seal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>PS: Recommend a book, *Dragon’s Archive*, about an industrial revolution in an Eastern fantasy world, by author Yan Yu Jiang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mentioning him always makes me reflect—*Grand Divination Art* once shook me profoundly and greatly influenced my later writing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1422,"2026-06-20T06:22:37.987Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","cb92c6daf025e612901d74f2abdf0fb0c8e5b60eda05288e758462ec77a848ae","the-ring-of-fate-chapter-816","the-ring-of-fate-chapter-814",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-ring-of-fate-cover.jpg"]