The air in the room was heavy now, thick enough to shear with a knife...
Gregory stared at the glowing geometric cluster floating above Richard's hand in silent awe.
It rotated slowly, revolving about its Nexus in all its magical glory. The symbols and runes shifted in and out of place like gears in a watch. It wasn't bright, but it cast enough light to paint the dark walls with delicate patterns.
Richard didn't look at him. His eyes were fixed on the magic circle.
"A magic circle is the point of manifestation. The interlude before your spells manifests in the physical world. Think of it as the raw source code. Like a canvas, but for mana..."
Gregory said nothing.
"This here is the magic circle responsible for 'Nox et Dispellia'. The resulting spell's main functionality is centered around shadows and illusions. But not on yourself or on an observer, but rather on the world itself..."
Richard's eyes gleamed as he spoke. Softly and carefully,
"It is a spell that tricks the world into believing you are, in fact, a shadow. And so, you can move just as quickly as a shadow. Remember, spells are only a manifestation of your will, so this much is quite simple, actually. Well, at least in theory."
He closed his fingers, and the magic circle collapsed with a soft shimmer.
There was no fanfare. The magic circle was gone like it never existed...
Gregory blinked, then looked at his own hands.
"That is... Incredible."
"Maybe. But then again, I can't really say."
He paused. Then he snapped his fingers.
The lights in the room flickered on softly as Richard stood.
"Most sorcerers and denizens of the underworld in the modern era believe spellcraft to be just formulas. Build the structure, speak the words, shape the intent. For thousands of years, spellcraft and magic has evolved to this stage, almost becoming a science even."
"And to be fair, all of that is indeed correct. But..."
He turned to Gregory.
"But if that's all it is to you, you'll never get past imitation."
Gregory frowned.
"I'm not trying to be some genius sorcerer," he said quietly.
"I know my limits. I know that I probably am not very gifted. But I do study well. I am knowledgeable on magic theory. Saying all I have studied until now accounts only for imitation is—"
Richard snickered.
Then he studied him for a moment.
"But you know I am right, don't you? That's the same reason you are struggling now, right?"
Gregory didn't answer. His gaze shifted to the tome on the table—his own notes.
"I've spent the last two years rewriting the same array twenty-three different ways," he muttered.
"Everything always folds back into itself. The same failure over and over again. The Nexus collapses and the mana decays before the spell can take structure. It doesn't work. At least, it didn't work. I wasn't making progress, until I saw what you did with Nox et Dispellia."
He looked up at Richard, the flames of curiosity burning in his soul,
"I can admit that you might be right."
Richard exhaled through his nose. He walked past the coffee table and picked up the tome.
'This is exciting...'
He didn't think he would be having so much fun, simply discussing about the intricacies of magic.
He paused,
'Could this be the infamous 'hanging out' of legends? It's nice.'
"Your notes are clean," he said. "A bit rigid, but clean."
Gregory didn't speak. He just watched as Richard flipped through the pages again.
"I see. So the spell keeps failing at the channeling. Have your checked for any interference?"
Gregory nodded.
"Hmm. There aren't any. I am yet to figure out why it keeps failing though."
Richard clicked his tongue,
"Still, I can't help but commend your bravery. From what I can deduce, this spell is likely divination magic. Although I do not dabble in divination all that much, I can see it's complexity."
Gregory blushed a bit,
"The outline of the spell is similar to 'Cacotys Vibrandi et Morialos' or the 'Blasphemer's Wicked Eye'. The original spell is magic that allows one to detect traces of magic even after a long time has passed. More complex applications can even allow one to detect the nature of the spell ised and possibly even the individual or entity responsible. However, it is quite a dangerous spell as trying to peek at most beings of the abyss can have rather disastrous consequences."
Richard closed the tome.
'This kid knows his stuff...'
"Alright. I think I might have a way to help you out."
Gregory blinked, then straightened up in his seat.
Richard took a sip of water then cleared his throat,
"First, I believe Divination is magic that is involved with, can influence, or changes the outcome of fate. Arcane arts that involve dabbling in the past and future. It is somewhat taboo as most of the time, it can lead to terrible repercussions. There are just some things humans are not meant to gaze upon."
Gregory nodded,
"Often times, the reason for things going south is the inability to narrow down the search and not being able to distinguish dangerous knowledge from safe information. Mana is strange in that way."
Richard nodded,
"In that case, wouldn't it be better to predefined the nature and limits of the spell before using it."
Gregory frowned, then shook his head,
"Attempting to put limitations on a Divination spell like that would render it useless. Divination is meant to be random and reckless. The past is one thing, but the future is in a constant state of change. It isn't set in stone. Not only that, but mana tracing, especially abyssal creatures will always be dangerous. I don't think there is a way to eliminate the danger completely."
Richard grinned,
"Then how about this; instead of setting the limit yourself, why not let the spell set its own limit?"
Gregory frowned,
"This... I don't think spells can set limits themselves. They aren't sentient after all."
Richard waved his hand and snorted,
"See? You are limiting your mind. So what if a spell isn't sentient? In that case, you just have to make it so, no?"
Gregory's jaw went slack.
He was silent for a moment then exhaled,
"Isn't that too..."
"Unreasonable?" Richard finished his sentence.
Gregory nodded with a grimace.
"Yeah."
Richard chuckled,
"Gregory, my friend. There is no reason in sorcery. Trying to find reason where there is none is quite unreasonable, don't you think?"
Gregory dropped his head and fell silent.
"I see. Maybe it might be possible. Just maybe..."
"Exactly," Richard snapped his finger, "That's how I want you to think. There is no impossible. Magic itself is based upon being unreasonable."
Seeing Gregory still silent. Richard knew he had won.
'Now, I just have to ease him into the idea.'
"It might be dangerous, but I think you can do it. You certainly have the talent. I think."
Gregory looked up,
"You think I do?"
Richard shrugged,
"Don't sell yourself short. You are already better than a decent chunk of sorcerers out there. Most of them are just prideful, stuck up assholes and mad men with a penchant for murder sometimes..."
Richard trailed off.
Noticing Gregory's strange gaze, he cleared his throat.
"In any case, that's the gist of it. Granted, I don't know too much about Divination magic. But I believe what we've discussed should be of help."
Gregory blinked,
"By the way, what magic do you primarily use? You didn't use a lot of spells last night so I couldn't tell..."
Richard went silent.
Then he chuckled,
"I am more of a jack-of-all-trades. I can use practically every time of spell. In theory, at least."
Gregory's eyes sparkled,
"A-amazing!"
Richard worse a smug grin. Then he cleared his throat again,
"Alright. That should be all. Any other questions?"
Gregory shook his head. Then he hesitated for a moment before asking,
"Just to be sure, do you have a foolproof way of making sure I don't get my heas blown to bits or get possessed by some terrifying demon god when testing out this magic?"
Richard blinked,
"Of course I don't. Would magic even be fun if the risk of all that happening didn't exist?"
Gregory glanced at him, then gave a tired smile.
"…Fair enough."
The silence that followed was more comfortable this time.
Gregory seemed to be silently musing over all he had just learned.
After some time, he looked up and smiled. Richard was a bit surprised. The smile seems genuine.
Although Gregory did seem bleak and without confidence most of the time, today, he was more vibrant and straightforward.
Like a proper magician.
'Perhaps it might be interesting to see where he will end up. Maybe.'
Gregory stood up and gave Richard a small bow,
"Thank you, Richard—No, Teach—"
"Stop, stop, stop right there! Not another word from you!" Richard exclaimed with a desperately grim look on his eyes.
Gregory chuckled. Richard clicked his tongue,
"Alright then. You can see yourself out. I want to get back to work."
Gregory nodded,
"Perhaps I can come visit some other time."
Richard's expression changed a bit. Just as he was about to refuse, he stopped.
Then he sighed,
"Yeah. Maybe some other time."
Gregory's face lit up,
"Then I'll be on my way!"
Watching the excited Gregory leave, Richard couldn't help but wonder when he had gone soft.
Silence stretched through the empty house. The shadows seemed lighter for some reason.
"Perhaps it's the water..."