Chapter 451
"Beings born as gods," he continued, gesturing towards the origin gods, "have their own way of living. They have their own energy and power sources to sustain them as they grow. But ascended gods do not have such luxury. Only one energy matters most to us, which is faith energy."
"Energy that comes as a result of mortal worship," he emphasized, "the growth of our realm, the sustainability of our realm, our growth in strength and power, all depend on this energy."
"Because of how important this energy is to us ascended gods," he explained, his voice gaining a sharper edge, "many newly ascended gods go out of their way to expand their religion to gather as many mortal worshippers as they can."
Maul interrupted him, his voice laced with a hint of accusation. "Just like you did in your time, spreading your faith across the continents."
Björn remained silent for a moment, his gaze fixed on the thick, red wine swirling in his cup. "That was not by my doing," he finally said, his voice low and measured. "It was done by the one on the southern continent, in hopes to control me."
He looked at Mahu, his expression softening slightly. "If not for your mother, I doubt today’s invitation would have been sent to me."
"This was another lesson I meant to impart to you as ascended gods," he continued, his voice regaining its authoritative tone. "Having your faith spread out uncontrollably will lead to a taint in your divinity, an uncontrollable change in your character. It is just like overfeeding."
"Unlike born gods, we need time to break down and fully absorb faith energy. Faith energy is filled with the thoughts and expectations of mortals, making it tainted and not pure, which is why all these need to be filtered out before absorbing."
"Too much faith energy means one has no time to filter, but instead absorbs it as it is, which causes a change in the god absorbing it. For example, in my case, the extremity of my divinity was brought out, leaving me senseless and unable to think, attacking everything in sight."