FALLEN ORACLE

**Chapter 5: The Ruins (3)**

"Chen Yi? What are you doing here?"A strange voice from behind startled him badly. He spun around.Behind him stood a man in a golden robe. Tall, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, he looked heroic and refined, yet still retained a distinct scholarly air.Chen Yi judged that this man must also be a mage.But that aside—who was this man? How had he appeared out of nowhere in such a deep cave? And most importantly, how did he know Chen Yi's name?Chen Yi was baffled.The newcomer asked, "Are you trying to take this ring?"Chen Yi's face flushed, as if caught in the act of doing something wrong.At the same time, he noticed that the man also wore a set of rings on his left hand—with the same cross pattern as the skeleton's ring.So his guess had been right. This man was indeed a mage.But Chen Yi couldn't sense any defensive spells on the man at all. He grew wary: if this man could appear without warning, his strength must be unfathomable."Is this skeleton a friend of yours?" Chen Yi asked, trying to stay calm. Since the rings matched, it was reasonable to assume they knew each other."A friend?" The golden-robed man looked confused for a moment, then seemed to realize something important. He let out a mad, bitter laugh. "So that's how it is! So that's how it is! This is fate!"Seeing the man's manic state, Chen Yi replied coldly, "You haven't answered my question. And how do you know my name?"His words were like cold water thrown on the man's head. The man instantly calmed down and said with feigned composure, nodding:"Yes, this skeleton was a friend of mine. As for you—Chen Yi—I've heard of you. Tiya guided you here, didn't she?""Tiya? Who is Tiya?" Chen Yi felt the man was speaking nonsense. Then it hit him, and he grew excited. "You mean the goddess on the cross is named Tiya? You know her?""What can I say? I do know her. She's one of the few women I'd admit is more charming than my sister. Oh, sorry—I forgot to introduce myself. Call me Huck.""You! You! You!" Chen Yi stammered in excitement. "What else do you know about Tiya?"He was like a drowning man grasping at a straw called "truth."But the man calling himself Huck shook his head. "All I can say is that Tiya is remarkable. As for more than that... I don't know much either. Enough about her. Let's talk about you. Do you want this ring?"Heaven knew Chen Yi had no interest in the ring now. All he wanted was to get more information about the goddess."You really don't know?"Ignoring Chen Yi's question, Huck slowly walked to the skeleton and sighed. "Ah... this is the only one left."He removed the ring from the skeleton's finger, turned to Chen Yi, and asked again: "Do you want this ring?"Chen Yi knew his strength was far inferior to this man's. Huck held all the cards in both information and conversation.The man had been cryptic the whole time, and Chen Yi couldn't extract any more useful information. It seemed his only option was to go along with whatever Huck said."Yes," Chen Yi nodded. "But I thought it didn't belong to anyone. Since it's your friend's keepsake, you should take it back."Huck shook his head and handed the ring over. "It's fine. I have no use for it. Besides, my friend committed unforgivable crimes against you and your people. Consider this ring a small compensation."Chen Yi frowned. Huck spoke in riddles—it was impossible to tell truth from lies. But taking the ring the goddess had asked for couldn't be wrong."Then thank you." Chen Yi took the ring."You said your friend committed unforgivable crimes against me and my people?"Huck nodded."I saw a skeleton outside. Before he died, he carved a line saying the person inside was the Dark Matter Demon King. So your friend is this Dark Matter Demon King?""They call us 'dark matter lifeforms.' So yes, my friend would be a 'Dark Matter Demon King,'" Huck replied.Chen Yi pressed on. "I understand what a 'demon king' means. But what is 'dark matter'? And who are 'they'?"Huck spread his hands helplessly. "I don't fully understand what dark matter is either. Enough of that. Put the ring on and try it."Clearly, Huck had only answered half the question. Chen Yi couldn't press further. He did as told and put the ring on his finger."This!" The moment the ring was on, Chen Yi was utterly shocked. He could clearly feel that all the mana in the entire White Sand Rainforest was within his control.Headmaster Morin had once told him that his own controllable mana range covered roughly the whole Rongqi Academy.But Morin was a master mage with decades of experience, using a magic ring passed down through his family.Chen Yi was just an intermediate trainee. Though blessed by the goddess with two high-level spells, his mana control couldn't compare to the headmaster's.And the White Sand Rainforest was a hundred times larger than the academy.Chen Yi couldn't imagine what kind of ring could achieve something so terrifying."What *is* this ring?" Chen Yi couldn't believe he had encountered such a powerful ring, much less that a complete stranger named Huck would so easily give it away.Seeing the shock on Chen Yi's face, Huck seemed satisfied. He answered slowly, "This ring set is called 'Destiny.' Unfortunately, only the Elemental ring remains. Look closely at the pattern on it.""I see it. It's a cross.""Yes. The vertical bar of the cross is 'space.' The horizontal bar is 'time.' Our destinies are imprisoned upon it."Chen Yi sensed hidden meaning in Huck's words, but with his current knowledge, he couldn't fully understand. He nodded half-comprehendingly."Oh, right." Huck pulled off a ring from his own pinky and handed it to Chen Yi. "This is my storage ring. Take it too. There's nothing useful inside—just a villa.""A... a villa?" Chen Yi was again stunned speechless. The space in a typical storage ring could barely hold a few books or a staff. What kind of storage ring could hold an entire villa?"I've already taken your friend's Elemental ring. Taking your storage ring too... I'm not sure that's...""It's fine. I don't need it anymore." Huck stuffed the storage ring into Chen Yi's hand. "Well then... goodbye.""Hey, wait!" Chen Yi tried to stop him, but there was no stopping him.The moment he finished speaking, Huck vanished into thin air before Chen Yi's eyes, leaving him alone in confusion.Chen Yi had countless questions left for Huck, but the man had come and gone in a flash, leaving no chance.He sorted through his thoughts. The gains from this cave expedition could be summarized as follows:Following the goddess's guidance, he had acquired: a strange staff suspected to be a technological construct; an incredibly powerful Elemental ring; and a storage ring containing an entire villa.He had learned that the goddess's name was likely "Tiya." And he had met a mysterious, powerful mage named Huck who appeared and disappeared at will.And—a belly full of questions.