"Many experiments were done to acquire the gods' ability to contain [Authority] in either their souls or bodies. However, most of them failed. Even if divine blood were successfully implanted on a body, the traces of [Authority] would slowly dissipate, and finding why became the key. In hindsight, the answer was obvious," Professor Burbank stated.
"The reason this new race was called [Gods] is that the native inhabitants of their dimensions worshiped them. Most races thought this worship was inconsequential. After all, these natives would also worship them once they displayed their extraordinary powers. But then, someone discovered a unique power born from the worship of these natives: Faith."
Professor Burbank paused briefly — subtly glancing at the few religious students in the class — before continuing. "Faith became the missing part of the equation. With enough faith, those races could acquire and preserve the [Authority] taken from the Innate Gods. They could even condense their own in the form of something called the [Godhead]."
The professor reached out to change the picture to a [Godhead] when he remembered he wasn't granted the authority to show it for today's class. So, he treated his hand before continuing as if nothing had happened:
However, once the Godhead was condensed, another issue arose: regular souls were not suited to wield the power of [Divine Authority] — even for a peak 6th-tier lifeform. So, these races continued their research on the Innate Gods to create a way for 'mortals' to condense a Divine Soul.
"After that came the issue of their bodies being too weak and out of harmony with the soul. The answer to this problem was also obvious: create a Divine Body. With a Divine Soul and Divine Body, Divine energy was naturally born. With the three in harmony, it became easier for the [Authority] in the [Godhead] to resonate with the [Quintessence Tapestry] and ascend to a higher state of existence. And just like that, a brand new and perfect path to the 7th tier was born."
Professor Burbank paused before sneering, "Except, it wasn't so perfect. These New Gods — as they are often referred to — became aggressive, moody, and even insane. And the source of this personality change was the very faith they relied on. What is faith? The purest of power generated from the mind and the soul. However, its essence also contains the desires, wishes, or emotions of the worshipers, which can easily corrupt the gods' souls."
"So, the God Path is flawed?" a student asked.
"Yes, and no," Professor Burbank explained. "A solution was found. With the invention of the Divine Flame, faith can be purified before being used. However, even in the current epoch, a god cannot absorb too much faith without digesting it first — well, unless they have no qualm about becoming a Chaotic God.
"Of course, this is not the only flaw of the Divine System. Gods are more spiritual beings than material beings, and as such, they are naturally drawn to the Astral Plane. They cannot stay long in this material plane without an anchor. And that's when shamanism came into our lesson."
The hologram changed to display images of countless races performing ceremonies. "The rise of shamanism — even human shamanism — began and ended in this epoch. First, powerful shamans served as anchors to the gods, preventing them from being sent to the Astral Plane. Then the Gods created the Divine Kingdom to address this issue."
The hologram showed a wonderful world, with a being of pure golden light seated on a throne, and countless people in white kneeling and praying. Angels served as guards to the throne, with statues and wonderful works of art lining the halls. For a moment, Zane thought about how cliché this picture was, then he praised Earthlings for successfully imagining the essence of divinity. Of course, it could also just be the influence of the Dream Realm.
"The Divine Kingdom was a much better anchor, and it directly solved the issue. Although the gods were now stuck in their pocket dimension, there were many other advantages. First, it was immortality. As long as their Divine Kingdom remains intact and as long as there are believers to provide them faith, they cannot be killed. Well, to specify, they can be killed, but they will revive themselves in their kingdom."
Professor Burbank showed a look of envy.
"The second advantage was safety. In their kingdoms, a God is absolute. Even a higher-tier god cannot say with certainty that they can kill another god in their domains. And, when necessary, a god could just run away with their kingdom into the Astral Plane."
"So, angels are real? Were the Christians right?" a student stated.
"Do you really want to open that can of worms?"
"No, but —"
"Don't you dare compare the one True God to these blasphemers. Don't you —"
"Alright, settle down," Professor Burbank's powerful voice spread, instantly calming everybody down. "If you have a question or want to say something: raise your hand. Go ahead, Ms. Lily."
"Sir, I have a question. Those people in white praying — are they souls?"
"That's right," Professor Burbank nodded. "After death, a believer can ascend to the kingdom of their gods and be blessed with eternal life, but only the truly devoted believers have this privilege."
"So, you can achieve immortality just by believing in a God? What's the catch?"
"The 'catch' is that your soul belongs to your god. So, if one day your god is injured and desperately needs healing, you are the resource. Of course, most people who are allowed into a divine kingdom will not hesitate to sacrifice their souls for their deity; all of them see it as an honor."
"That sounds horrifying," someone commented.
"Indeed. The way he described these believers reminds me of brainwashing."
"Really? I thought of religious extremists."
"That too."
"If you are interested in reading books about the relationship between believers and their gods, I will post a few recommendations on our class website. You can check them out if you wish. Now, are there any other questions before I move on?"
"Sir, I'm interested in knowing why angels have a different number of wings? And even different colors?" another student asked.
"Chapters 5 and 6 of your textbook describe in detail the different species of titans, dragons, and angels. You can read about it on your own," Professor Burbank replied. "Now, where were we?"
He glanced at the hologram, and his memory was jolted. "With the birth of the Divine Kingdom, the Divine Path was completed. From now on, gods reigned above all sentient beings; they spread through countless dimensions, fighting over believers and stealing each other's [Authority].
"And during this time, shamanism began to prosper. Shaman priests were the messengers of the gods, the ones who relayed their voice — their representatives in the material world. They were the earliest Popes."
Professor Burbank changed the image to an old, muscular wizard wearing a grey robe, a pointy hat, and a sword at his waist. "The Demon & God Epoch saw both the rise and the fall of shamanism. Historians have pinpointed three events that led or contributed to its destruction.
"First, it was the division of the sect. One school of shamanism found the gods revolting, believing they should worship or live in harmony with nature or naturally born spirits, since they were pure and good — unlike the gods, who often acted violently and pursued their own desires.
"You can imagine what happened next. The nature sect was weak at first and heavily suppressed, but they grew slowly over time until they separated from Faith Shamanism, which severely weakened the entire order."
Professor Burbank pointed at the grey-robe mage, "The second event was the birth of magic. Mana has existed since the dawn of time, but magic — as we know it — is a unique understanding, a different approach, application, and utilization of mana; it was a new and revolutionary invention.
"I've mentioned the development of Incantation Magic, Wild Magic, Runic Magic, and also named a few individuals who were granted the title of [Saints] because of their contribution to magic — all those events occurred in that epoch."
"How long ago was that exactly?"
"Hmm, let me think. We are currently in the 8th Epoch, and 41,000 years have already passed. The 7th Epoch lasted 25,000 years, the 6th epoch lasted 223,000 years, and the 5th lasted roughly 57,000 years; so, roughly 346, 000 years ago."
"That long? The oldest recorded civilization of Earth is less than 10,000 years old, right?"
"Sir, why do mages have such clear and detailed records of events from so long ago?"
"Mainly due to Time Magic," Professor Burbank explained.
"…This seems so obvious after you answered it."
Professor Burbank smiled before continuing the class:
"The rise of magic dealt a significant blow to shamanism, and that's because it lowered the requirement for the extraordinary path. Ancient Shamans had strict requirements for the soul and mental energy, but anyone could learn magic as long as they had the talent. Many people with the ability to sense and manipulate extraordinary energy, but with weaker souls, began to learn magic after being rejected by shamanism. And I'm not even mentioning the Knight Path with even lower requirements.
"And, well, you can imagine the conflict that arises from these two groups clashing. Magic was almost eliminated as an extraordinary path. If not for the division of shamanism that gave them breathing room, who knows what would have happened?"
Professor Burbank sighed deeply, lamenting the ups and downs that the ancestors faced in creating such a brilliant civilization. As their descendants, mages were truly lucky.