"After the ritual is complete? I will naturally return to mythology!" Verethragna immediately answered Su Mo's question.
"What do you mean, 'return to mythology'?" Su Mo repeated, as if he hadn't understood.
"Of course, I will—wait!"
At first, Verethragna thought Su Mo simply hadn't heard him clearly, but he quickly realized Su Mo's true meaning.
After his official defeat, his divine power had already dissipated into the world, and his divinity was about to be transferred to Su Mo through Pandora's Dark Rite.
In conventional understanding, the fundamentals of the god had all been left behind in this world.
So, the question was, what was the existence that would "return to mythology"?
And who, exactly, was "I"?
Noticing Verethragna's silence, Su Mo deduced that he must have thought of this point and continued to speak.
"Consciousness cannot exist independently. Even without a physical structure to support it, it must at least have a spiritual structure. Do you remember the question I asked you?"
"Are you talking about 'what makes a god, a god'?" Verethragna reacted instantly.
"Correct." Su Mo nodded.
"Based on current observations, in the present world, a Heretic God is an energy-based life form founded on True Aether. A Heretic God who loses all their divine power will be unable to manifest in the world. A Heretic God who loses their divinity will return to mythology."
"If we say that the way divine power operates is determined by divinity, then what determines the structure of divinity itself?"
"Are you suggesting that this unknown core structure is the true core of a god?" Verethragna kept up with Su Mo's line of thought.
If Su Mo's theory was correct, then the complete structure of a god was like an onion, with several layers.
The outermost layer, divine power, was the material and energy basis, determining whether a god could exist in the world.
The middle layer, divinity, was the conceptual basis, determining the nature of the god and the way their divine power operated.
And the innermost core, some unknown structure, was the key that determined the concept of divinity and carried the consciousness.
If so, the process of a Heretic God's descent was like a set of Russian nesting dolls. First, the core structure puts on the divinity, then the divinity descends to absorb divine power, and only then does it truly manifest in the form of a Heretic God.
The mechanism for a Heretic God's return was the exact reverse.
"Correct." Su Mo nodded.
"If one could master this core structure, one could mass-produce divinity. Compared to the so-called Authorities, this core structure is the true source of power!"
Every time a Heretic God descended, they would re-acquire their divinity. This phenomenon itself showed that so-called divinity was something that could be mass-produced.
It was just that ordinary people had never noticed this obvious point.
"If it's truly as you say, then this core structure must be related to mythology," Verethragna said after two seconds of contemplation.
Both divinity and divine power were things added on after descending. Only the unknown core structure came from mythology and returned to mythology.
Thinking of this, Verethragna's tone paused slightly, and then he said with a smile, "If you want to study it, why not come to the god's domain for a visit?"
Since it came from mythology, the Immortal God's Domain was naturally the place where such a structure would be most abundant.
He had said this as a joke. But to his surprise, after hearing it, Su Mo nodded directly.
"If there's a need, I'll go have a look."
Verethragna was suddenly taken aback.
"Have you forgotten that you are about to become a God-Slayer?! As a Demon King who slays gods, an enemy of all gods, you actually want to enter the Immortal God's Domain where all the gods gather?"
Isn't that just asking for death?
"A little heads-up: not all gods are as easygoing as I am. I know you're strong, but you're not planning to take on an entire pantheon by yourself, are you?"
Faced with the Zoroastrian war god's warning, Su Mo simply raised his head placidly.
"Why not?"
There was no boasting, no intention of backing down. Su Mo, completely confident in his own growth rate, spoke with casual ease.
"If I can't take on ten thousand, what kind of Demon King would I be!"
As soon as he said this, the entire white space fell silent.
A few seconds later...
"Hahaha! Hahahaha!"
The war god let out a series of heroic, wild laughs.
"As expected of the powerhouse who defeated me head-on and snatched victory from my grasp! That's right, you need this kind of spirit to have the air of a Demon King!"
"As expected of my child, so ambitious!"
Pandora, standing to the side, also had shining eyes, her hands clasped in front of her chest like a fangirl. If Su Mo hadn't rejected her earlier, with her personality, she probably would have hugged him on the spot.
Hearing Pandora's voice, Verethragna immediately spoke to her.
"Witch! Quickly, activate Pandora's Dark Rite! I never thought the opponent in my first defeat would make me concede so completely. Since that's the case, as the war god of Zoroastrianism, I cannot be stingy!"
"As the loser, I will entrust my true power to the victor as the spoils of war!"
"Quickly, activate the Grand Rite!"
After saying this, Verethragna delivered his final message to Su Mo in a tone full of admiration.
"Take my power and ascend to the peak you wish to reach, O hero from another world! I will be waiting for you in the god's domain. I look forward to the day you grow strong enough to stand against an entire pantheon alone. I really want to see the looks on the faces of the gods then, hahahaha!"
After his great laugh, Verethragna's voice completely faded away.
Su Mo wanted to ask what he meant by "true power," but it was too late. Though, seeing how he was, he probably wouldn't have gotten an answer even if he had asked.
Riddle-speakers are truly a major obstacle to the circulation of knowledge.