After pondering for a long time, Aglaea cautiously gave an answer:
"You are, of course, a god, the mightiest Origin God among the five Divine Eras!"
Luo En shook his head with a smile, "But I always remember, I am the son of man, born from my mother’s womb, that is my essence."
"But you have gone through trial after trial, long since transcended the mortal body!" Aglaea retorted.
Luo En neither affirmed nor denied, continuing to ask:
"Then the second question, Aglaea, what do you think ’is a deity’?"
Aglaea was slightly taken aback, a trace of bewilderment appeared on her face, not knowing how to respond.
She was a natural deity, never having doubted her identity, nor had she ever contemplated the definition of deities.
"Is it because of powerful authority, an undying life, and an immortal soul?" Luo En asked.
Aglaea nodded subconsciously, agreeing with this answer.
"But these, top-tier divine monsters can achieve, pinnacle magical creatures can achieve, and after long development, perhaps humans could achieve as well; it seems there is no fundamental difference." Luo En shook his head with a smile.
Aglaea opened her mouth, wanting to argue, yet found herself at a loss for words.
But the ingrained beliefs in her bones made it impossible for her to accept the idea of equating gods with humans.
Seemingly hearing Aglaea’s inner voice, Luo En said with a smile:
"Of course, in certain ways, there are still some differences between the ’deities’ and ’humans’ in this world."
"What?" Aglaea asked eagerly.
"We are born powerful, our dominion is bestowed by the heavens, we are ageless and immortal, therefore..."
Luo En paused, then slowly spoke:
"We are greedier than humans! More covetous! More arrogant!"
Aglaea was deeply shocked, her face a mix of astonishment and realization.
It seemed somehow wrong, yet oddly reasonable.
Deities are such forms of life.
Born stronger than mortals, they also possess much stronger desires.
Whether in Greece, Nordic, Rome, Celtic, or Babylon of the five Divine Eras, or Persia, Canaan, India, Egypt, and West Africa of the five major adversaries.
Lust, slaughter, arrogance, sloth... All the vices humans possess also exist in various deities and are even magnified a thousandfold.
Furthermore, due to weaker power and smaller potential, the destruction caused by human misconduct to the world is conversely lesser.
Then, what sacredness do gods bear? What humility do humans hold?
Are they truly unequal?
Aglaea fell into turmoil, unable to resist asking the most powerful god before her the questions in her heart.
Luo En smiled slightly and said:
"That would be the third question—’What is divinity’?"
Aglaea pondered deeply for a long time, ultimately shaking her head in confusion.
This time, she still reached no conclusion.
Luo En seemed not to expect Aglaea to respond, slowly began to speak, providing his own answer:
"Life begins with the gods!"
"Desire begins with the gods!"
"Tyranny begins with the gods!"
"Power begins with the gods!"
Luo En paused, his voice solemn and majestic:
"Sacrifice must also begin with the gods!"
Aglaea’s body trembled, her mind swirling with thoughts, scenes of the past belonging to the ’gods’ appeared in her mind.
She remembered the Goddess of Justice in the Temple of Fate, excavating her divine core, placing herself on the scales, paving the way forward for life;
She recalled the King of Knights in the Ideal Land, gathering the will of the masses into a fortress, wielding starlight as a sword, leading the Celtic revival;
She remembered the Mother of Origin in the Garden of Eden, giving up divine duties and homeland, just to let her ’beloved child’ escape the prison of apocalypse;
She remembered the Lord of Gods over the Sea of Chaos, soaring to the skies, driving away darkness and guarding light, engraving the salvation inscription with her own body!
From the perspective of life, irrespective of the strength, longevity, or soul capacity, deities are not essentially different from humans.
The so-called Pantheon of Gods are merely another kind of ’human’ in a sense, more intense in desires and more outstanding in abilities compared to humans!
Therefore, ’God is human’, this conclusion from Socrates is not unfounded.
But if the two are crudely equated, that would also be an absurdity.
The gods created the world, dominate the world, ravage the world.
At the same time, they also sustain the world, guard the world, continue the world!
— The authority of gods is granted by fate, the duty of gods is ever-present!
Once an idea arises, all becomes clear.
Aglaea swept away the confusion and doubt on her face, proudly straightened her body, and, as a ’deity’, accepted the scrutiny of the ’son of man’ before her:
"My lord, I understand! Regardless of being a deity or a human, we are life of the same origin, there is no difference in the honor or disgrace of bloodline, and no distinction in highness or lowliness, but only divinity is above humanity!"
"Then can humans become deities?" Luo En asked with a smile.
"Of course, as long as they possess ’divinity’ and a heart towards the light!"
Aglaea replied with a smile, her tone exceptionally firm.
Luo En lifted the corner of his mouth, asking the last question:
"So how should this blasphemer Socrates be punished?"
"Considering the gods are so high above, thinking we do not understand worldly suffering, thinking that all the mediocre mortals can be on par with us gods shedding blood to save the world, this is no less than a kind of human ’bias’ and ’arrogance’. For such a foolish vulgar, killing his body with a wine of hemlock is too light a punishment. He should be exiled to the front lines, made to labor for the gods, to guard the soil of Greece. Only when he understands what ’divinity’ is, will this execution be considered complete!"