Da'at Academy, as prestigious and magnificent as ever. Several centuries had passed since its construction.
To be more precise, it had been 500 years. At the exact moment when all of humanity witnessed the heavens opening, and those magnificent and divine figures descended in beams of light into the mortal world.
The Gods.
Once in the human world, they declared that they had grown bored of their immortal lives and would now renounce them, mingling among their children and revealing all their divine secrets so that humanity could advance to greater eras.
This academy was built to please the gods; now, they could experience common student lives in all their reincarnations, just as they wished.
Through the halls of this academy, the mighty Zeus had walked, casually conversing with Odin, Jesus Christ, the infernal Demiurge, the tireless Wukong, and the beautiful and wise Athena.
Indeed, only divine beings could enter this academy. Yet today, at the doors of the peculiar student council, stood someone who stuck out like a sore thumb.
A young man with light brown hair, blue eyes, and delicate features typical of some mortals. Arthur gazed nervously, almost fearfully, at the imposing building of varied architecture.
For some unknown reason, the academy's director had sent him an invitation letter—him, a simple, mundane mortal.
The letter read:
"Today, the threads of fate weave anew. The reincarnations of our companions return to their youthful days, the cedar and cherry trees shine in all their splendor, and the gates of Da'at call upon the gods once more.
I wish to inform you, Arthur, that fate's threads are calling you within the gates of our institution.
We sincerely ask you to join us and attend our academy as one of us, just another student among many.
Sincerely, God."
Now, Arthur held the letter he had read weeks ago in his hands, still nervous.
"I need to calm down," he thought, taking a deep breath.
Determined to continue, he stepped forward and began walking toward the school entrance. Yet deep inside, he still harbored some tension.
However, he didn't mind taking the risk and walking among divine beings—because there was something he wanted to fight for, something worth the risk.
Normally, Arthur wouldn't put himself in such a compromising situation. But according to rumors, any human who graduated from Da'at alongside the gods would also be deified, becoming a divine being themselves.
That was Arthur's ultimate goal.
Never in his life had he dreamt of anything grand, much less walking within the grounds of Da'at's campus.
Arthur considered himself quite lazy and saw himself as an average person. But he wasn't foolish, and now that such an opportunity had fallen into his hands, he wouldn't let it slip away.
Walking along the marble-tiled path leading to the academy entrance, Arthur passed through a large crowd of divine beings.
Many stared at him, whispering casual questions among themselves.
"Who is he?"
"What is a mortal doing here?"
Though this made Arthur slightly nervous, it didn't affect him much. He kept walking until he finally reached the grand academy building—constructed of marble with exquisite Greco-Roman architecture.
Arthur stepped through the massive chiseled stone doors, and once inside, his eyes sparkled at the grandeur of the place.
The school's lobby was enormous. It consisted of two floors. On the first, there was a fountain and a grand reception area where several secretaries attended to the students. At the back, and along the right and left walls, there were many hallways stretching far and wide like vast roads.
The marble floor tiles gleamed with an almost silver hue—the cleanliness of the place was impeccable. The walls were adorned with paintings, artworks, and hieroglyphs.
In the fountain, grand sculptures of angels, cupids, wolves, and sphinxes towered above the water, releasing streams through small openings in their mouths.
The reception desk was decorated with a carved artwork—David's star at the front, wrapped by a Chinese dragon on its left side, while on the right was Jörmungandr.
Arthur walked toward the counter, where he stood before a young woman dressed in formal attire. As expected, she looked at him in confusion.
"Excuse me, sir, what do you need?"
"I've come to enroll here."
The receptionist's face twisted into surprise.
"I'm sorry, sir… There must be a mistake. Mortals cannot enroll in our institution..."
Arthur knew there was no need for much talk or debate on the matter—he had the director's invitation letter in his pocket.
He showed it to the young woman, who fell into deep shock, almost as if she had a brief convulsion.
"The director sent me this. Maybe you could guide me to their office?"
"Oh! Please forgive my audacity!"
Arthur was slightly startled by the sudden shift in the woman's demeanor.
"Don't worry," he said. "I'm just as confused as you are. So please, calm down. You haven't done anything wrong."
The panic on the young woman's face faded slightly. After wiping the sweat off with a cloth she pulled from the pocket of her formal vest, she smiled at Arthur once more.
"Well," she said, stepping out from behind the desk and gesturing toward one of the hallways at the back. "Please follow me this way."
The receptionist led Arthur through a series of long corridors lined with countless rooms. They walked straight ahead, turned left, then right, and then continued forward again until they reached a staircase.
As they climbed, Arthur broke the silence.
"These hallways are enormous. In fact, this whole school is gigantic. Is there a reason for that?"
Katarina gave him a polite smile while continuing upward.
"Yes, of course. As you know, there are thousands of religions in the world, and with them, thousands of gods. This academy was built to ensure that all divine beings could study here, without exception. That's why it is much larger than any human school."
Arthur nodded, thoughtful. "To undertake such a monumental project, they must have precisely calculated the number of gods, right? How many are there exactly?"
"We still don't know for certain. Our theologians and researchers are still working to determine the exact figure," the receptionist explained, pausing briefly to clear her throat. "Furthermore, now that divine technology is in our hands, any human has the possibility of becoming a god if they so desire."
Arthur frowned slightly. "But they can't because the government restricts them."
Katarina looked at him, surprised by his response.
"Exactly. Even though the technology exists, not everyone can attain divinity. Only those considered worthy or those chosen by the gods have that opportunity. But ordinary people cannot. You do know why, don't you?"
Arthur didn't answer immediately. He lowered his gaze, fixing his eyes on the steps beneath his feet, a faint shadow of sadness reflecting in his expression.
He knew the reasons.
The first was obvious: granting power to common humans was a mistake the gods were unwilling to make. Humanity had a dangerous tendency toward arrogance and chaos when given absolute power.
The second reason was less apparent but widely known: although the gods had renounced their immortality, they had not renounced their souls. Whenever one died by "natural" causes, their essence reincarnated into a new body, retaining all their memories and abilities.
There were other reasons, but these were the most fundamental.
When they reached the second floor, Katarina observed Arthur for a moment, as if she wanted to say something more. In the end, she simply let out a deep sigh.
"We've arrived." She pointed to a door at the end of the hallway to the left. "That over there is the director's office. Good luck."
"Thank you, miss." Arthur hesitated for a moment before asking, "May I know your name?"
Katarina looked at him curiously.
"My name is Katarina. Why do you ask?"
Arthur smiled warmly. "I just wanted to thank you for guiding me here, Katarina."
She remained silent for a moment before a slight smile curved her lips.
"So he only asked my name to thank me," she thought.
Arthur waved a quick farewell and made his way toward the director's office.
From a distance, the doors looked normal. But as he approached, they grew larger and larger until they nearly reached the ceiling.
Standing before him was a monumental door, nearly three meters high, distinct from all the others in the corridor. A golden plaque read:
"Office of Our God, Creator, and Father. Please knock before entering."
Arthur stared at the sign, dumbfounded. It was strange for the supreme god to refer to himself in such a way, but he wasn't here to question it. He merely followed the instructions and knocked twice with his fist.
After a brief silence, a deep but smooth voice sounded from inside.
"Enter."
Arthur pushed open the solid black wooden door with some effort. It was heavy, but not impossible to move.
Using a bit of his body weight and the strength of his hands and legs, he managed to enter at last.
Looking up, he saw someone seated at the desk, their face mostly obscured by the sunlight streaming in behind them.
Only their mouth and a long beard were visible. Arthur narrowed his gaze, eager to see the supreme god's face—but the most he could make out was...
"A cloud?" he murmured in astonishment.
A mist covered half of God's face. Arthur immediately understood that whoever this ultimate deity was, they did not wish to reveal their identity.
"Welcome, young Arthur. Please, come in."
Arthur stepped into God's office, taking in his surroundings. There was nothing extravagant or divine—just a simple space with a desk and three chairs arranged around it. God occupied one, but in another…
Arthur stopped in his tracks upon noticing a girl sitting across from the deity.
She slowly turned her chair to face him, and her dazzling beauty left him speechless.
Her golden eyes shone like the sun itself, her bronzed skin bore delicate traces of its former fair complexion, subtly visible at her chest and along the hem of her Egyptian-style attire, and her hair, the color of desert sands, cascaded in waves over her shoulders.
Arthur froze, hypnotized—captivated by her striking presence.
But she didn't look at him the same way. Her expression twisted into disdain and arrogance.
"Tch," she hissed. "A filthy human."
God seemed to ignore her rudeness, but Arthur sensed that the deity briefly glanced at her, as if gauging her reaction.
Her expression softened slightly, her brows lowering just a fraction—but the hostility in her gaze remained.
"You've arrived at the perfect moment, young man—I wanted to introduce you both." God's voice carried a hint of amusement. "This is Cleopatra. From now on, she will be your roommate."