FALLEN ORACLE

**Chapter 2: "The Lower Realm Entrance" (1)**

**Chapter 2: "The Lower Realm Entrance" (1)**After attending his own funeral, Chen Yi planted the villa in a secluded spot behind a barren hill outside Constown.He needed to compose himself and make preparations. Tonight was the night of his Divine Communion with Tiya.As usual, he arrived at the transparent cell. Outside, the white-robed men exclaimed, "Look—she's actually crying!""Yeah. In all these years, I've never seen that before," another agreed.Chen Yi looked up and saw two streams of tears flowing from beneath the goddess's lashes.At the same time, the discussion outside continued."Hmph. I thought she was made of stone, but it turns out she couldn't hold out after all.""Did the 'entertainment' finally break her?""Yeah. Watching her own little brother's brains being sucked dry day after day—who could stand that? The fact that she lasted over five years is already impressive."Chen Yi: "!!!"Compared to the "entertainment" carefully prepared for Tiya by the Council through the prison authorities, the physical harm of Krol's Thorn spell was ultimately easier to bear.The entertainment went like this:A silver-haired man wielding a greatsword leaped at a Zhou Armor Beast as massive as a hill. The next moment, his blade struck the beast's neck but was stopped by its hard carapace, failing to cut all the way through.Enraged by the pain, the beast crushed the man's greatsword with its pincers. The silver-haired man tried to retreat, but symbiotic insect tendrils wrapped around his ankles and hung him upside down.Then, without mercy, the beast snapped off the man's right leg and, amid his screams, inserted its mouthpart into his skull, sucking out his brains.Within seconds, the once-vigorous man was reduced to a broken husk.This silver-haired man who died a heroic death was Major Jeff—Tiya's younger brother.The 621st Composite Brigade he belonged to had been ambushed by an astonishing number of Zhou Armor Beasts while on a ruins exploration mission.It was Major Jeff who led his unit in a valiant rear-guard action, allowing the bulk of the brigade to escape the disaster.He was posthumously awarded the title of "Combat Hero." The "entertainment" prepared for Tiya was a detailed depiction of this hero's final moments.A military mage had recalled: The major had already cut down dozens of Zhou Armor Beasts. He was killed by the last giant beast nearby. If the strengthening magic on the major's greatsword had lasted even ten seconds longer, that damned beast—not the brave major—would have died.This mage's recollection was excerpted from the *Rift Era 2078 Military Tribunal Records*.The mage had attempted to use this fact to form a closed loop of logic to exonerate himself:Premise 1: Although strengthening magic was not her specialty, Tiya was still one of the most powerful mages of the era.Premise 2: Major Jeff was Tiya's brother. She would never cut corners on her own brother's sword strengthening.Conclusion: The battle was so fierce and brutal that even the strengthening magic applied by a mage as powerful as Tiya had exhausted its durability before the brigade set out. Therefore, an ordinary mage like him was powerless to change the outcome.However, the presiding judge rejected this argument, on the grounds that using magic to enhance his own movement speed to flee the battlefield was nothing short of desertion. Such behavior was a n***d betrayal of Major Jeff and his men.If any of them had provided even a shred of effective support, the major would never have fought to the point where the enhancement wore off.To this day, the Council clearly believed that Tiya, who wept uncontrollably at her brother's funeral, would be delighted to repeatedly watch the full process of her younger brother's death, caused by the failure of her own strengthening magic.Thus, they "thoughtfully" arranged this "entertainment" by using Memory Projection on Jeff's surviving comrades.This footage was forcibly and continuously projected into Tiya's consciousness—she could see it even with her eyes closed.Ironically, the original name of Memory Projection was *Tiya's Memory Projection Spell*. It was one of her psionic research achievements, originally used for memory reconstruction, case tracking, and psychological trauma treatment.But because the name "Tiya" was now on the Council's list of f*******n words, she had naturally lost the right to name her own original spell."Hey, Tiya," one of the white-robed men said. "If you've changed your mind, just say so. We can stop the procedure immediately and relay your wishes to the Council."At these words, the goddess slowly but firmly shook her head.Another white-robed man suddenly said, "Oh, by the way, something to tell you. I heard from the Lower Realm Management Office that the kid you chose, that Chen Yi, is dead.""Don't misunderstand—we didn't do it. He was just unlucky. Caught a plague in the lower realm and died.""Since he's dead, there's no point in you holding out. Just pick someone else and continue your mission."At this news, the goddess's face showed grief. But Chen Yi knew it was a complete act.Since the goddess could still sense him through the Psionic Lock and commune with him, she certainly knew Chen Yi wasn't dead.In fact, the faked death was an idea that Chen Yi and Tiya—two people who couldn't communicate normally—had arrived at purely through mutual understanding. Otherwise, she wouldn't have taught him the transmutation spell to disguise someone else as himself.Seeing no reaction from Tiya, the white-robed men said no more. As usual, they used their magic to activate the dark cyan stone.The transmission of magic began at the same moment. From the goddess's eyes, filled with fortitude and gratitude, Chen Yi understood why she had shed those tears—not for her fallen brother, but because she had read the message he had given her.During his journey to "die" in the southern Kingdom of Klem, Chen Yi had consciously arranged his route and positions so that his travel path formed two characters:**"Wait for me."**Since Tiya could sense Chen Yi's location through the Psionic Lock, if she paid close enough attention, she would inevitably discover the hidden message in his route.Her tears were not from sorrow or fear—they were from gratitude and being moved.For a long time, Tiya had been the only one sending Chen Yi information and hints.How much he had understood, and whether he actually planned to rescue her—all of this was unknown to Tiya.After all, Chen Yi could have simply "kept a low profile and gotten rich," freeloading off her magic while lying low in the lower realm for the rest of his life.He could have used these high-level spells to bury himself in his own research, instead of risking everything to investigate the truth behind the world and stand against the upper realm for her sake.But these few words—"Wait for me"—brief yet profound, dispelled all of Tiya's anxiety and doubt. They were the only gift she had received in five years of imprisonment.Of course, Chen Yi's method couldn't convey overly complex information. To make the character traces visible, he had to travel far enough across the map.In fact, the distance needed for just those two words had required him to rush back and forth for quite a while, nearly catching the plague for real.But now Chen Yi understood: Tiya was just a person, not a real god.Judging by her appearance, she seemed about his age. From another perspective, for all her apparent inner strength, she was still just a young woman.After retrieving his old spellbook, Chen Yi had come to believe that no one could endure without hope.The smile Tiya gave him at the start of each communion was simply to dispel the oppressive atmosphere of the cell and Chen Yi's own unease about the unknown.Putting himself in her place, Chen Yi thought that Tiya was simply not showing him her fear and vulnerability.So on the continent of Alpha, it was necessary to write those two words—"Wait for me"—for the goddess on that distant red planet.---After the communion ended, Chen Yi learned two key pieces of information from the white-robed men:First, the mysterious mage named Huck had been right—the goddess's name was indeed Tiya. Second, she had been imprisoned for over five years.Moreover, besides physical t*****e, Tiya had also endured horrific psychological torment."I must act quickly," Chen Yi vowed silently.Every year in July and August, Pope Rich of the High God Church led a group of clergy to the Kingdom of Klem's capital, Dagon City, and the Duchy of Haisen's capital, Taling. There, he presided over grand masses that reinforced the worship of the "gods" among the ruling classes and the general populace.On the fourth day of July, Chen Yi transformed into that nondescript middle-aged man and arrived at the Central Church in the Holy City of Catlerai.The Pope's departure had not taken order out of this vast church. It still opened its doors to worshippers at seven each morning and closed at six in the evening for prayers and hymns.But the Pope's absence did seem to diminish the aura of the "gods" in the church. The number of worshippers in the dazzling hall was noticeably fewer than usual.Chen Yi sat in a corner of a pew, staring at the blazing sacred fire before him as if trying to see what kind of will drove these self-styled victors.To anyone else, he looked like a devout believer praying to the sacred flame.But Chen Yi was doing something else—he was analyzing where the Star Gate on the Ascension Platform had been hidden.The Star Gate atop the Long Stair to Divinity on the platform was the key to ascension. From his current vantage point, it was likely a teleportation magic circle.