The Church fell silent.
At that moment, only Primrose’s group, along with Mila and Aurelite, remained inside.
Mila stood awkwardly to one side, rubbing her hands together as she waited for the Goddess to speak.
Aurelite, however, kept her eyes fixed on Primrose.
Ever since entering the Church, she had been observing this legendary deity.
She had discovered that the Goddess was not only as beautiful as a celestial fairy, with an extraordinary aura, but also surprisingly approachable.
Earlier, when Mila and the others had knelt to worship her, Aurelite had noticed a fleeting expression of helplessness and embarrassment in Primrose’s eyes.
It was fascinating.
How could a lofty deity feel embarrassed when her own believers knelt before her in worship?
This was completely different from the awe-inspiring, untouchable deity described in the scriptures of the Church Nation.
Aurelite was a scholar-type mage whose pursuit of magical truth surpassed everything else.
Now, a living deity stood right before her, and the thirst for knowledge in her heart immediately grew like weeds, spreading wildly and uncontrollably.
She wanted to know what a deity truly was.
A thousand years ago, how exactly had this Goddess broken through the limits of humanity and reached that unfathomable realm?
Aurelite took a deep breath and stepped forward.
“Goddess.”
Her voice was calm, yet it carried an unmistakable thirst for knowledge.
“What is it? Is something the matter?”
Primrose turned her head to look at the adventurer with long, deep-sea-blue hair.
“I would like to ask you a question. I hope you won’t take offense.”
Aurelite spoke with the utmost respect.
“A thousand years ago, how did you become a god? Was it by cultivating magic to its absolute limit?”
The moment she asked this question, the entire Church fell silent.
Mila was startled. She hurriedly grabbed Aurelite’s sleeve and whispered, “Aurelite, have you gone mad? How can you ask such a question so casually? Prying into a deity’s private affairs is a grave act of disrespect!”
Primrose, meanwhile, was completely stumped by Aurelite’s question.
‘How did I become a god?’
‘How am I supposed to know how I became a god?’
‘I can hardly tell her that several deities from the Unified Divine Realm kidnapped me, forced me to undergo surgery, and turned me into a god, can I?’
‘And I certainly can’t tell her that this world is actually a game, and that I spent every day completing quests, fighting monsters, and farming materials until the servers shut down, at which point I finally ascended to godhood.’
‘How am I supposed to answer that?!’
Primrose was still trying to figure out how to dodge the question when Cecilia could no longer hold herself back.
As the Goddess’s most devoted believer, how could she tolerate someone asking such a disrespectful question?
In a single stride, she stepped in front of Primrose, blocking Aurelite’s view.
“Miss Adventurer, mind your words!”
Cecilia’s expression was stern, and her tone was severe.
Aurelite looked at Cecilia without saying anything. However, there was not the slightest hint of retreat in her eyes.
“The method of becoming a god is the Goddess’s most private affair. Asking about it so directly is extremely disrespectful! To put it more seriously, your question could even be considered blasphemy!”
Cecilia spoke righteously, her voice ringing through the Church.
“Saint, please calm down! Aurelite is probably just curious and doesn’t mean any harm! Please, both you and the Goddess, don’t blame her…”
Mila was sweating profusely as she tried to smooth things over, offering one explanation after another.
Seeing that the atmosphere was about to freeze over completely, Primrose knew she had to intervene.
She reached out and gently patted Cecilia on the shoulder.
“It’s all right, Cecilia.”
Primrose’s voice was gentle.
Under that gentle pat, Cecilia’s imposing aura instantly dissipated.
She turned to look at Primrose, her cheeks faintly flushed.
“But… Goddess, she really was being rude.”
Cecilia protested in a small voice.
“Thirst for knowledge is a good thing. There’s no need to be so harsh. Besides, you might as well hear what I have to say about the mystery of becoming a god.”
Primrose gently reassured her before drawing Cecilia behind herself.
“I… may listen too?”
Cecilia murmured blankly, then obediently stepped aside.
Primrose turned back to Aurelite, having already concocted a set of explanations in her mind.
Since this world had constructed such an elaborate chain of logic to explain her existence, she could simply make up something that fit into it.
Meeting Aurelite’s knowledge-hungry gaze, Primrose cleared her throat.
“Miss Adventurer.”
She spoke slowly, her tone carrying an air of unfathomable mystery.
Aurelite listened with rapt attention.
“You asked whether cultivating magic to its absolute limit is a prerequisite for becoming a god.”
Primrose met her gaze and continued calmly, “I can tell you that it is indeed one of the requirements.”
Aurelite nodded.
This aligned with her own speculation. The ultimate destination of magic was the divine realm.
“However…”
Primrose deliberately paused, changing the subject just enough to leave Aurelite hanging.
“Possessing the ultimate magical power alone is far from enough.”
She gazed at Aurelite and continued, “To become a god, you need something even more important than ultimate power.”
Aurelite’s eyes widened slightly.
“Something even more important?”
The entire Church fell silent once again.
“A pure heart, filled with the utmost goodness.”
The moment these words left Primrose’s mouth, the Church became utterly silent.
Aurelite was stunned.
She had always believed that as long as she unraveled the ultimate mysteries of magic, she would eventually reach the realm of the deities.
Now, it seemed she had been terribly mistaken.
Power was merely the foundation. The state of one’s heart was the key.
Without a pure and benevolent heart, even someone who mastered ever-greater power would remain nothing more than a powerful mage.
Worse still, if wicked thoughts continued to dwell in one’s heart, one might even descend into becoming a witch, drifting further and further away from the divine realm.
She understood now.
Becoming a Sage was the first step.
A Sage needed a wise and noble heart, possessing both virtue and talent, before they could reach the realm of demigods.
It was just as it had been a thousand years ago, when the nations of every continent and the races of every region had unanimously acclaimed the Goddess as the Strongest Human Sage, setting aside all their prejudices!
Aurelite silently nodded, her expression solemn.
When she looked at Primrose again, her eyes held not only respect but also a profound sense of awe.
“Thank you for your guidance, Goddess. I’ve learned a great deal.”
Aurelite bowed deeply.
Primrose smiled.
“Mm-hmm. I’m glad it was helpful.”
Of course, everything she had just said was completely made up.
Still, it wasn’t entirely without basis. Primrose felt that, as a Goddess, she needed to have a few lofty and impressive principles associated with her.
All she had to do was throw around grand-sounding phrases like a pure heart and saving all living beings. As long as she used them to fool these otherworldly natives, they would undoubtedly be left stunned and bewildered.