A Nascent Kaleidoscope. Chapter 364 - 330

"I have a question before we begin." I asked as we enjoyed so basic tea. I didn't have many anities available, but I don't think he would hold it against considering the circumstances.

"Please." He gestured for to continue.

"If you're going to be my teacher, even for a brief mont, would everything we speak about fall under student-teacher confidentiality?"

Or to put it into simple terms, are you going to blab about everything you find out about ? Just because I didn't have any stakes in this world, it didn't an I wanted to just make my personal stuff known.

He furrowed his brow, obviously getting the gist of what I was implying. "I will not speak about anything unless it may be a danger."

How open ended and vague. Oh well, I suppose that's more than I really need considering my lack of actual ties here.

And he didn't really strike as soone who could be coy or skirt around any verbal agreent but adhere to the spirit of it.

I could be wrong, but it was what my gut was telling .

"You said you were the forr Captain of the Kido Corps back in Soul Society, can I ask you more about that or is it sothing you don't want to talk about? I know Yoruichi was hesitant to say anything about his ti in Soul Society, only that he was banished so ti ago. I don't want to poke any sore spots by accident."

"Yes, Yoruichi did ntion that." He pushed up his glasses. "It is not sothing we generally ntion to....outsiders."

"As I told him before, it wasn't hard to put two and two together with the amount of information he told ."

"A valid point, Wilhelm-dono." He nodded still using that very polite honorific with . "There are thirteen divisions among Soul Society, and there is a division specialized for those who pursue Kidō above all else. I led that division until an incident occurred and myself and Yoruichi along with so others were banished due to our cris."

"Thank you for sharing. I assu you don't want this kind of thing spread around?"

"Yes, thank you for understanding, Wilhelm-dono." He replied.

I waived it off. Not really hard to do, and I'm not really one for sharing other's secrets, especially when they don't really cause any issues. If he and Yoruichi are living openly, I'm sure there isn't any large concern and it's just for personal privacy and what-not.

"I assu you want to ask so stuff then?" I gave him an opening to shift the topic.

"Yes." He smiled rather happily. "Yoruichi simply told that you are a 'Wizard' who calls himself a Magus'. I admit to being ignorant of Humans in what they refer to as 'magic'. I may no longer be the Captain of the Kidō corps, but my interests have never wavered."

"The general term is Magus. Wizard is more of a title for certain individuals. I suppose it wouldn't be wrong to equate it to your use of Captain, even if it isn't a direct correlation. But yes, a Magus by definition is soone who practices Magecraft."

"A fascinating description." His eyes lit up. "Can you tell about 'Magecraft'?"

Well, he's going to tell about kidō, so It's fair I suppose. "The barest definition of Magecraft would be any natural phenona that could be achieved by mundane ans regardless of ti or effort, but simply using Magical Energy to facilitate the process."

I held up my hand in front of us. "I'll give you an example. A person can easily buy a lighter from the store and produce a fla, yes? Well...." I created a small fla above my palm. "I did the sa through Magical Energy, thus it is Magecraft."

"Marvelous." He praised with clear interest. "I was not aware that such a group existed."

"Magi congregate towards the west, mostly in Europe and London." I replied.

He continued to look at the fla on my hand. ".....you are not using Reishi nor Reiryoku."

"Noticed that, huh?"

"It seems the shop owner is going to be most displeased that he missed this opportunity." Tensei muttered.

"Shop owner?"

He blinked, nodding again. "Yoruichi and I were not the only ones who were banished." He said simply without further explanation and I didn't push.

"You're right." I clenched my hand, snuffing out the fla. "Magical Energy isn't just another na for the spiritual equivalent. There are so very heavy similarities, but it's like comparing Salt Water to Fresh Water. You all thrive in Salt Water and process it without even a second thought. While Magi such as myself exist in Fresh Water and can't normally coexist in a Salt Water habitat."

"A curious comparison, and not one I can find fault with based on what I have seen so far." He rubbed his chin. "And what is Magical Energy?"

"Magical Energy can generally be broken down into three different types, like your Spiritual Energy. You have the ambient Magical Energy – Mana. Like how Reishi exists in the air, so too does Mana. However, Mana seems to contain the more physical characteristics of the world, compared to the spiritual component of Reishi."

"That would explain why this is not common knowledge. As Shinigami – Spirits exist in a state that would make coming into contact with the....physical aspect of the living world difficult."

It wasn't a perfect explanation, calling Mana physical in comparison. But it also wasn't wrong either considering that it's sothing only living beings should be able to properly generate. Such as Servants not being able to produce their own under normal circumstances. There was obviously much more nuance to it than that, but it would take hours to explain in depth.

"Mana cos from the planet itself." I added.

"And as beings that are 'born' from a different plane of reality, I can understand why we are not accustod to this energy as you are." He sipped his tea. "Yes, it makes sense."

Well, Servants are still extensions of the world, thus they operate on Magical Energy. Not to ntion that Reishi like this isn't a driving force everywhere else. It's sothing almost unique to this world that I've discovered.

Truthfully, this is mostly just my hypothesis on the nature of Magical Energy and Spiritual Energy.

"Moving on. Like Reishi, we have Mana. And like Reiryoku we have Od. Or, the Magical Energy that each person produces by just existing."

"And once one stops existing as you put it, they lose the production of this Od and it turns into our domain." He summarized.

"That is my belief, yes." I said plainly. "And lastly, you have the combination of the two. It has several nas such as Prana that different generations use. But it's fairly common just to use the sweeping term of Magical Energy when referring to any aspect of this process unless one needs to be specified for any reason."

"You are saying that these Magi, as you put it, are.....absorbing Mana from the air?" He questioned.

"More or less, yeah?"

"Curious." He set his cup down. "Tell , have you ever heard of people known as 'Quincy'?"

"That's my first ti hearing the na. What are Quincy?"

"Hmm." He humd, looking thoughtful. "Quincy are a race of spiritually aware humans that are able to....subjugate Reishi and mold it to their own use. Shinigami are unable to do such and only can make do with our own Reiryoku."

"Oh?" Now that's pretty interesting. "And are they nurous?"

"I am afraid not." He shook his head. "There is an unfortunate side effect of a Quincy's existence. Unlike Shinigami who purify Hollows and send their souls through the proper cycle upon death, Quincy....destroy the souls contained within a Hollow. Due to this, they have run afoul of Soul Society many years ago and were destroyed."

"....and Quincy are Spiritually aware. A simple way of saying they have a substantially higher amount of Reiatsu than a normal person. Which in turn attracts more Hollows to them."

"Correct." He nodded.

"A lose-lose situation all around. I can't comnt on how your Soul Society handled this Quincy group, but it sounds like there was no plausible alternative when Shinigami exist to protect the supposed Balance of souls."

From what I understand, Hollows eat souls. That is to say, they absorb them and turn them into power. The one's I've faced, they probably only had about a dozen or so souls they've feasted on. When I killed the first one, I made sure that all of those souls were released back to the natural cycle. If a Quincy kills a Hollow, they aren't simply killing the Hollow's soul in that case. If it were such, I don't think Soul Society would kick up as much as a fuss. No, they were most likely killing the Hollow and all the souls it ate.

How many souls would an older Hollow have consud? Hundreds, Thousands?

Yeah, that just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

I don't know much about these groups, but it sounded genuinely like a bad situation for all involved and drastic asures were taken.

He seed to take a minute to digest everything. "You wish to try and learn Kidō, I admit to being unsure if a living being is capable of learning. Yoruichi should have ntioned the relation between a physical body and Spiritual Power."

"Briefly, but I understand the gist of it. My Body is more or less a barrier to actualizing any Kidō spells. I suppose that a physical body is literally a barrier now that I've had ti to think about it. Soul à Body à World. You, as Spirits, go directly from Soul to world, while my body stands in the way."

"An astute observation. Your theory matches my own and that of my cohorts. It is the reason that humans cannot be Shinigami.....in normal circumstances."

"Like the carrot head I t before."

"Yes, Kurosaki Ichigo is an interesting child."

"Speaking of, I saw Rukia do sothing to him that basically pulled his soul out of his body. A red glove or sothing...."

"Ah, yes. That child's luck is either very good or very bad. Due to having a Shinigami transfer him their powers, his body and soul aren't as.....intertwined as you would expect. His Soul chain is not damaged in the slightest by separating from his body. However, one cannot say the sa for another living being. Unfortunately, this path would not provide results if it was sothing you were considering."

"It was a thought, but nothing more than a minor interest. I don't think separating my body from my soul is the correct course of action." I waived it off.

I rely too much on my body for everything.

I feel like they were being vague when talking about Ichigo. They kept referring to it as 'unique' circumstances, but from what they've also said, it's known, that transferring a Shinigami's powers to a human can happen.....so how unique is it really?

Well, not my business.

"I am most curious to see how this experint goes. I have written down the incantations for the first ten Kidō spells for both branches. Regardless of if I am able to help you down this path, these are yours per the deal you made with Yoruichi." Tessai pulled a little book out of his pocket, setting it on the table.

"Well, let's start from the beginning." I clapped my hands. "Yoruichi showed what should be the first spell in the Hadō branch. Shō, I believe?"

"Yes, a very simple yet elegant spell." Tessai nodded again. "As you probably know by now, a spell requires the incantation to actualize– I believe you used this term. Shō is one of the few that does not have an extended incantation. The simplicity of the spell requires no such adherents, as well as several others in the list that are below level ten. While every spell requires the incantation to be spoken, it is possible to remove the need for the extended portion at an increase of Reiatsu cost and a decrease in output."

"So it's more expensive and weaker if you want to trade for speed. Not an unfair trade depending on the circumstances. And the first spell is simply the na?"

"Correct, allow to show you once more. I rely need a target –"

"I got you." I started standing up. I moved to the edge of the room and set down a piece of chest armor. One of the many random things I had gathered from my ti in Skyrim. Seeing how the spells work against a forged piece of iron would be best.

"That shall work." Tessai raised his hand up as I stood away, his finger extended. Though he looked interested in how I just made it appear, it seems like he was keeping this professional. "Hadō #1 Shō." He intoned.

The sa invisible force shot out, sothing I would compare to a use of my Telekinesis if used in a small burst. Though, this spell felt much more coherent and refined than my Telekinesis. Considering the origin, I suppose it isn't that strange.

It collided with the iron armor, creating a solid and round dent at the center.

"Can the power be altered?"

"Yes, by pouring more Reiatsu into the spell, it can produce a more powerful effect." He held up his finger again, and I could see a more significant amount of Reiatsu gather around him in a blue hue. "Hadō #1 Shō." He intoned again, and this ti a much larger force shot out.

The chest of the armor caved inward, the spell tearing right through it and colliding with the wall behind.

"Interesting." I muttered, inspecting the damage.

And I didn't feel an iota of Magical Energy contained within. If I can harness a whole Magic System not dependent on Magical Energy.....how significant would that be against that demon I fought that claid supremacy over Magecraft?

Not to ntion I plan on getting my hands on a Zanpakutō....

"The spell words seem very important to the spell itself, which is odd from my point of view. Most spells that I cast don't have true – " I paused for a mont, considering what I would say. "—Words of Power. They're Arias, help to facilitate the casting but not required." I held my own finger out, almost mimicking what he did, I instead shaped my Telekinesis into the form of a bullet and launched it at the piece of armor.

"I see." His eyes flashed as he watched inquisitively. "A similar effect, but I barely sensed the movent of Reiatsu from you. It seed to be more a by-product of your display rather than an intentional act on your part."

"Right, I think my Reiatsu just moves naturally and gets aggravated when I cast spells through the use of my Magical Energy. Now that I think about it, Yoruichi ntioned that Onmyōji were sowhat popular at so point. Didn't you say that humans couldn't cast spells with their Spiritual Power due to the limitations of a body?"

"Correct." He didn't deny it. "Kidō arts were created by Shinigami, they are tailored for spirits to begin with. The way our Reiatsu flows out in correlation to the casting of each spell. I have not researched Onmyōji in detail, but there are two prevailing theories. One is that they rely created their own system that siphons off their own excess Reiatsu through various ans to cast spells. The second is that they are an offshoot of Quincy with the ability to subjugate Reishi, negating the problem."

That makes sense then, why would Spirits care about their stuff working for living beings? Though it does lend credence to the theory of living beings being able to accomplish what I'm trying.

"And should you not be the expert on this? Yoruichi spoke about your use of similar arts when eting you." He added.

"I use Magical Energy." I shrugged. "And my learning was by my own hand, I don't really have any teachers for it."

"Perhaps I am wrong on both accounts then. Maybe it was mistaken for either of those and you are correct with your own." He responded. "Regardless, let us see what we're working with. It has been a very long ti since I have attempted to teach soone Kidō, much less a Human. I am eager to see what we can accomplish."

Well, it didn't really seem complicated on the surface.

I held up a finger just as he did. "Hadō #1 Shō." I spoke the words clearly and fluently. I felt my Reiatsu stir but it was strange, almost as if it wanted to move, but couldn't. As a result, nothing happened.

"I felt your Reiatsu flare up briefly." Tessai noted.

"Yeah, felt like it wanted to go forward, but hit a wall and reluctantly backed away." I frowned, feeling my Reiatsu, what I had gathered so far in my soul.

Which....was exactly what we were expecting, to be honest.

"As expected. However, I have thought up so experints, perhaps we can discover a ans to overco this." Tessai said a little excitedly.

I'm all for so magical study.

[***]

"Please note down experint number 73." I started as Tessai sat at the table, taking notes.

"Experint number 73. Releasing Reiatsu from one's body, then attempting to follow the sa pathways and cast. Begin when you are ready." Tessai gave the go ahead.

I breathed out, letting my Reiatsu flow out. I didn't have that much, and what I had was starting to run out, but the blue shimring energy flowed out. While not the sa as pulling on the pool of Reiatsu to facilitate the casting, it was providing so results in that I could feel the spell getting closer to casting.

If my body was a dam, one side had water while the other was dry. The water being my pool of Reiatsu, simply splashing so over the edge wasn't the sa as taking a congruent stream to fold into my desired effect.

"Hadō #1 Shō." I repeated the words I have spoken dozens of tis at this point, aiming at the sa target.

"Excellent." Tessai's eyes flickered happily.

"Still a failure." I lowered my arm.

"However, there was a gathering of Reiatsu at the tip your finger, even if the spell failed once more. This is progress."

"Agreed, but we're still a ways off." I noted, looking out the window and the sun had already set.

"Hmm, it appears that our ti has reached the conclusion. You are low on Reiatsu anyways, perhaps this is a good stopping point." Tessai closed the book.

I let out a breath, stretching my arms. "Oh well, I guess it's that ti. Even if it was only for one evening, I do appreciate the help you provided."

"The pleasure was mine, Wilhelm-dono. I have learned many things myself and it was a pleasant experience to exchange knowledge with soone who shares my sa passion."

I held my hand up as he gave it a firm shake.

The promise was only for soone to co by and teach , not for him to beco my personal tutor for how long it would take for to master everything. Regardless, I had a book listing the spells in both branches from one to ten. And it wasn't the sa as what I was used to. Learning the incantations was paramount to casting the spells, which ans that self-study is enough to get them correct with so ti and effort.

"I shall be heading back, Wilhelm-dono. If you have free ti, you are welco to stop by the shop I help manage. Our discussions were very intriguing and I look forward to more in the future."

"Thank you for your ti again, Tessai. I'll be sure to stop over when I have ti." I gave him one last thanks goodbye as he departed.

I watched his figure disappear from the area, heading back towards town.

I breathed out, letting my Aura that I had been keeping heavily contained seep back out.

Truthfully, I felt a little bad for keeping this a secret, but I wasn't one to divulge everything to people I just t.

I will properly thank him later, because I figured out the solution to my problem near the end there. The additional testing did serve to support my theory, now I just needed to test it for myself.

My body is a Dam. So I need to move water from one side to the other. He helped with how I should go about releasing my Reiatsu, but that wasn't enough in the end.

Once more, my Aura becos a magnificent bridge between my physical stature and my spiritual existence.

The manifestation of the soul.

Even more than my Magic Circuits. I attempted to channel the Reiatsu through my Circuits, but it was excruciatingly painful and I had to bullshit an excuse to Tessai.

It's a simple thought on the surface, but the testing with Tessai allowed to figure out the correct thod.

My Aura would be the bridge.

It's not that my Aura would be involved in the casting, it wouldn't deplete in any capacity. However, my Reiatsu seed to flow fluidly and without obstruction as my Aura pulled it out of my body.

"Hadō #1 Shō." I raised my finger up once more at the armor chest piece sitting at the side.

An invisible force shot off like a bullet, colliding with it, making a sizable dent.

I began cackling happily.

With this, I could begin learning Kidō properly.

Once I mastered these spells, it was only a matter of getting my hands on the others.

That and a Zanpakutō.

.....Maybe I should pay a visit to this Soul Society?

[***]

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