But this loss and sadness didn't last long; she quickly adjusted her mood and regained her soft, detached demeanor.
She looked at Karl, her gaze unable to hide its surprise, and continued: "I have to say, you are the fastest-growing being I have ever seen in my long life."
"For tens of thousands of years, it has not been rare for mortals to obtain fragments of gods left behind by fallen deities."
"But the vast majority of them, throughout their entire lives, can only establish initial contact and wield the power of faith."
"They didn't even have their first ray of divine power before turning to dust."
Her words were filled with emotion, recalling the past: "Many of them even received my guidance and help."
"But in this world, deeply infected and shaken by Chaos magic, wanting to condense the first ray of pure divine power from scratch,"
"even with my help, it would be expected to take over three thousand years."
"For divine power to reach a level where it can act independently and slowly condense on its own, it would take over ten thousand years..."
"Some weaker gods who are not proto-beings and whose status is not high have that very number for their entire lives."
Karl listened quietly and did not interrupt.
The native ancient deity was taking the initiative to reveal these secrets about the nature of the world, the fall and inheritance of gods.
This was incomparably valuable and rare knowledge, and every sentence contained important information.
Seeing that Karl was just listening intently without saying a word, Melitele couldn't help but smile, and that smile made the entire divine realm seem a little brighter.
She smiled with a slight apology: "I'm sorry, it's been too long since I've met anyone who can and is qualified to listen to these past events."
"So I couldn't help but be a bit verbose and recall some past events."
She sighed softly, and this sigh was full of the vicissitudes of time.
"Alas, Verdanthi, Lephiya... one became a paranoid madman, the other was seriously injured and fell into a deep sleep."
"And then there's the rooster, sleeping in some corner, unable to wake up... There are fewer and fewer old friends to talk to."
She restrained her thoughts of memories and refocused her gaze on Karl: "Alright, let the past be the past."
"You came to me this time; you must have many questions in your heart."
"Say what you don't understand; just ask, and I will give you an answer to everything I know."
After listening to Melitele's account of the long path to becoming a god, Karl was shocked and understood several key points.
He thought for a moment and asked one of his main concerns: "You said that I am currently... considered a 'demigod'?"
"What exactly is needed to go from a demigod to a true god? Or more precisely, what conditions must be met?"
Melitele seemed to have anticipated this question. She thought for a moment, choosing wording Karl could understand, and explained: "The title of demigod is quite a broad, general term."
Her slender fingers touched a strange flower that was emitting a flicker next to her.
"It covers various situations, such as the mixed-race offspring of proto-beings and mortals, born with a portion of divinity, or, like you, not a proto-being,"
"but somehow acquiring divinity, condensing divine power within their bodies, and officially beginning the journey of ascending the 'ladder to godhood.'"
"All such beings can be called demigods."
She paused and emphasized: "But even if they are still called demigods, the difference in strength is enormous."
"The weakest demigods can be killed by mortal conspiracies, traps, and human wave tactics, while the most powerful demigods..."
"They can even contend with true gods who already have authority." A flicker of memory and awe passed through her eyes.
"and in rare cases, with wisdom, time, and special means, a true god is defeated."
"In my long memory, there will be no more than three individuals who possessed this ability and defeated true gods in the body of a demigod."
After explaining the category of demigods, Melitele returned to Karl's question about "becoming a god."
"As for how to transition from a demigod to a true god... It consists of two points: condensing the divine core and seizing authority."
"The divine core is the core formed by the condensation of your divinity, divine power, soul, etc., as well as your understanding of the world, and is the foundation of you as a god."
"There is no fixed limit to its form; it can be any shape. I have seen a god with a scepter as its divine core, and a strange being with a pair of boots as its divine core."
"But in any case, over time, it will acquire a stable, fixed shape that carries everything about you."
"And authority is a part of the world, the realm and power of the gods."
"Such as life, death, war, wisdom, love, the sun... and so on."
"Only with authority can one truly exercise power in this world, as an embodiment of the world."
Speaking of this, she looked at Karl and gave advice based on the current situation: "Look at the current state of the world, where Chaos is infused with magic."
"The most practical and fastest path for you is to use the power of faith, to which you have access, to forge your divine core."
"The power of faith comes from all living beings, and although it is complex, it has the potential to shape existence."
"Using it to condense a divine core can bypass many steps that would require long-term perception and accumulation, saving thousands of years of time. It is the wisest choice under the current circumstances."
When she mentioned authority, her tone became noticeably low and uncertain: "But as for authority... Karl, I advise you not to hope too much."
She raised her head, her gaze piercing through the divine realm, looking into the silent, star-studded void.
"It... has been silent for too long, and since then, authorities have barely responded."
"In this era, it is unimaginably difficult to retrieve authority..."
"Use the power of faith to gather the divine core?" Karl's face was calm, but his mind was racing.
This aimed to tie one's own foundation to the believers and create hidden dangers for oneself.
However, he believed that Melitele had no ill intentions; she was simply combining the harsh reality of the world and giving the most "cost-effective" advice.
At that moment, Melitele seemed a bit disheartened by the silence of the authority.
After a while, she lowered her head and forced herself out of this depressed mood.
She smiled softly again, looked at Karl, who was still thinking, and said: "Alright, Karl, enough about these things concerning authority."