Wizards had begun studying deity power far earlier than most people thought-far, far earlier.
One could even say that the application and study of deity power might have preceded wizarding power.
Of the four great birthplaces of magic, the East was naturally recognized as the earliest and the one with the most complete surviving tradition. But because of its reclusive ways, it had little contact with the outside world.
As for the other three-Egypt, Mexico, and Greece-it was difficult to say which had come first.
The prevailing view was that Egypt's origins were somewhat earlier.
And Egyptian ancient sorcery had studied deity power from its very beginnings. In fact, many Egyptian wizards still used and studied the power of deities.
This was an extremely rare situation in the world as a whole.
Yet although wizards in countries other than Egypt no longer did much research into deity power, quite a few things left behind by deities still circulated in the wizarding world.
Some extremely unusual spells, for instance.
Most of these spells were ancient sorcery, while a small number were ancient magic.
There were almost none in new generation magic.
And now, as Harry looked at the protection bestowed upon the demon serpent before him, it reminded him of an ancient sorcery spell connected to deities.
Burning Spirit Body.
This spell manifested as the ability to withstand almost any magic, provided its magical power did not exceed a certain threshold.
But although this spell offered powerful defenses, its price was enormous.
Life.
The "Burning Spirit" in Burning Spirit Body referred to the soul of the body.
Burning the soul in exchange for protection capable of withstanding powerful magic could be considered to share an origin with the passive protection Harry had received from his mother.
But under normal circumstances, once