FALLEN ORACLE

**Chapter 10: Light and Flame (5)**

**Chapter 10: Light and Flame (5)**Having figured all this out, Chen Yi put away the villa and trudged back to the academy.At the gate, he ran into an acquaintance who greeted him."Hey, senior. You look a bit down. Oh, you must already be missing Headmaster Morin." The cheerful voice didn't fully pull Chen Yi out of his thoughts."Oh, Connie." Chen Yi looked up woodenly and saw the junior who had eliminated him from the Magic Tournament a few months ago."Connie, you're a girl, right.""Senior? What do you mean by that?" Connie's expression was half shock, half anger.The Chen Yi she admired had always been emotionally intelligent. How could he suddenly say something like that?"Don't underestimate me. I get several love letters in my drawer every month!" she said indignantly."Then let me ask you a question. In front of whom would you be willing to appear in an undignified state?" Chen Yi seemed completely unaware of her emotional reaction, just following his own train of thought.Hearing this slightly awkward question, Connie realized Chen Yi had entered "bookworm mode." Arguing with him now was pointless."To be honest, I wouldn't want to appear undignified in front of anyone," Connie answered without hesitation. At the same time, she found it strange—this question didn't seem related to magic or academics. Was her senior in love?"Do all girls feel that way?""I can't speak for all girls, but I can tell you with certainty: yes, all girls feel that way.""Oh, I see. Thank you." Chen Yi lowered his head again and walked silently into the academy.Connie watched his retreating back and resolved to discuss with her girlfriends later: which girl had appeared in an undignified state in front of the recently honored senior Chen Yi?---Over the next few days, Chen Yi continued organizing the information he had gathered.From the current situation, one reason Tiya had been imprisoned was that she had tried to reveal the truth—that "gods are not actually gods"—to the lower realm.Except when meeting him, Tiya was most likely locked in her cell.And if Connie's answer was accurate, Tiya had no reason to commune with him while hanging on the cross, since that was her most undignified state.So the only explanation was that she had no other choice—she could only perform Divine Communion when suspended on the cross.Why not at other times?The obvious answer was that Divine Communion was a spell, not a phenomenon. The only possibility was that at other times, the conditions for casting it were not met.What was special about being on the cross? She certainly couldn't use the cross as a magic ring.Chen Yi naturally thought of the dark cyan stone hanging in front of the cross.Divine Communion was connected to that stone!In the following days, Chen Yi casually asked his dormmates about the details of their Divine Communions.As expected, during their communions, the dark cyan stone hung directly in front of them. Mendes and the others couldn't say what the stone did; they just assumed it was one of the standard props for speaking with the gods.The difference was that during others' communions, the dark cyan stone glowed *at the mortal*.But when Chen Yi communed with the goddess, the stone glowed *at her* and seemed to cause her great pain.Having identified the cyan stone as the key, Chen Yi's next step was to wait for the next communion and test his hypothesis.---A month passed quickly. Chen Yi once again arrived at the transparent cell in his dream.This time, his consciousness was clearer than ever, and his goal was more focused than ever.When the dark cyan stone began to glow, Chen Yi didn't hesitate. He used his "body" to shield the goddess from the stone's light.Sure enough, Tiya's pain seemed to lessen, while Chen Yi himself felt no particular effect from being hit by the blue light.When the goddess realized Chen Yi was blocking the light, her face showed unprecedented panic.The next moment, Tiya seemed to make a decision. A flash appeared in her eyes.Chen Yi felt his body lose control. An unknown force forcibly dragged him out of the path of the blue light.Not only that, he found himself fixed in place, unable to move freely.At the same time, Chen Yi saw Tiya's gaze fall on him—a mixture of tenderness, reproach, and gratitude.*The blue light is definitely harmful. The goddess did this to keep me from suffering in her place!*Chen Yi quickly made a judgment.He also concluded that if the caster of the Divine Communion spell was willing, they could freely manipulate the target's spirit body. The reason he had been able to move around was entirely because the goddess didn't want to restrict his freedom.In contrast, Carl had mentioned that during his Divine Communion, he couldn't move. Clearly, his spirit body had been fixed in place by the caster.Though Chen Yi's somewhat reckless attempt caused a small disruption during the communion, the white-robed men outside the cell didn't notice anything unusual.This communion ended as smoothly as always.But this time, Chen Yi didn't wake up immediately afterward. He slept until morning, only opening his eyes when Mendes called his name."Rare sight—you sleeping in," Mendes laughed from beside his bed. "Phil and the others left long ago. I'm heading to breakfast and class.""Okay," Chen Yi replied.After Mendes left with his teaching materials, Chen Yi tried to sit up but felt a sharp pain in his back.He struggled to his feet, made his way to the sink to wash up, and suddenly felt dizzy—as if he'd been hit on the head during his sleep.Washing his face helped a little. His body improved, and his consciousness cleared slightly.*Why didn't I feel like this after the previous communions?*Chen Yi asked himself.The only variable was that dark cyan stone. He had been exposed to the blue light for only about ten seconds and already felt unwell.Other people's spirit bodies were bathed in that blue light throughout their entire communion—no wonder they woke up weak.It seemed the cause of post-communion weakness wasn't "mortals can't handle the gods' overwhelming power" at all—it was that the cyan stone's light damaged the participants' bodies.That light could directly affect the spirit body.And since the spirit body couldn't feel pain or other discomfort, others never connected their groggy awakening to that stone.The goddess Tiya was completely different. Her body and spirit were both bound to the cross, so the blue light caused her excruciating pain.Was this damage necessary? Either the giver bore it, or the receiver bore it—otherwise, could Divine Communion not take place?