Chương 56: True Sight

While the books on the history of magic were undeniably fascinating, filled with anecdotes about ancient sorcerers, evolving magical institutions, and several disastrous wars caused by people with far too much power and not nearly enough restraint, Lira found herself significantly more interested in the books focused on mana control. Historical knowledge was useful. Practical knowledge was better. The books on mana control were, unfortunately, less exciting than she had hoped.

Most of the exercises boiled down to meditation, and then repeatedly trying to sense one's own mana flow through sheer concentration. There were pages dedicated to how to calm the mind, slow the heart, regulate breathing, and heighten awareness of internal sensations. Lira read through several chapters with increasing disappointment. Not a single one hinted at the existence of a spell for assisted meditation.

She knew that the broader magical community most likely knew about them; the trance caused by magical primers was proof of that. Yet there wasn't even a mention of one. Everyone was expected to achieve that mental flow the slow and miserable way. Either meditation was a litmus test to determine if someone was fit for magical practice, or the magical method was somehow worse than doing it normally. Lira considered that for several seconds.

She had already managed to achieve meditation alone several times before; that was how she had created her first spells. So if cheating with magic was an option, there was absolutely no reason not to try it. If it didn't work, she could always attempt the traditional method later.

"Pika. Selan. Tureth." The meditative spell settled over her immediately, calming her thoughts and sharpening her focus. After a moment of consideration, Lira decided that wasn't enough. If she was going to observe something subtle, she needed every possible advantage. So she cast again.

"Pika. Velar. Syneth." Her perception sharpened as the world around her became slightly clearer, edges more defined, and details easier to isolate. Satisfied, Lira placed a candle in front of herself on the floor to serve as a simple test target. She extended a finger toward it.

"Candira. Fila. Curad." The wick ignited instantly. Lira stared at it, but she felt nothing. There was no profound revelation, no visible mana currents, no internal sensation, and definitely no spiritual awakening. Just... fire. Lira would have felt annoyed if she weren't under the meditation spell. As it was, she pinched the flame out between two fingers, then cast again.

"Candira. Fila. Curad." Again, the candle lit, and again, nothing happened. The books had described mana sensing as deeply personal. Some practitioners reportedly felt warmth building in their abdomen. Others described pressure near the chest, a vibration in the fingertips, or a tingling sensation spreading outward from the heart. One particularly dramatic witness claimed mana felt like "liquid starlight flowing through veins not made of flesh." Lira felt nothing of the sort. Still, she kept trying.

Again and again, she cast the simple cantrip, each time attempting to observe something, anything. But she felt nothing from her abdomen, nothing from her chest, and certainly nothing from her heart. After some consideration, Lira decided that none of this felt right to her. Magic had never felt bodily to Lira. If anything, magic always felt... deeper. Less physical and more abstract.

She closed her eyes and leaned back slightly, allowing herself to focus inward instead of following the books' instructions too literally. If not the body, then where? Maybe the mind? She focused on her thoughts, her head, her brain, and cast again.

"Candira. Fila. Curad." Nothing. Then another possibility occurred to her. What about the soul? That was, admittedly, a mildly absurd thought. But only mildly. Lira was not especially religious, but that did not mean she didn't believe in the existence of the divine. The gods were never a matter of faith so much as an observable part of reality. Gods existed, miracles happened, champions were blessed, and divine powers were measurable facts. That did not mean she particularly liked any of them.

As far as Lira was concerned, the gods had an unimpressive track record. This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. They had watched her kingdom rot from within. They had watched as injustice flourished daily. They had watched her father die. They had watched her become homeless. And they had done absolutely nothing. So while Lira acknowledged their existence, she felt no particular desire to offer praise.

Still, that also meant that her knowledge about souls, gained through cultural osmosis and paging through religious texts, was likely true as well. There were recorded cases of reincarnation with past memories, divine resurrection, necromancy, and all sorts of magical phenomena that fundamentally relied on the existence of something beyond flesh. If the soul were not a philosophical myth, the question would become simpler. If the soul existed, what exactly was it?

Lira believed the soul was probably her truest self, her essence stripped of flesh and material limitation. The abstract concept of herself, independent of her body. A magical projection of identity. An imprint of self. Slowly, she began visualizing it. She imagined herself overlaid atop her physical body like a second form, slightly misaligned, like a translucent shadow encapsulating her true being. A version of herself distilled into essence. Then she cast.

"Candira. Fila. Curad." And this time... she saw something. Not with her eyes, exactly. It was more like within her mind's perception. Something stirred. A thread, a faint line of something, flowed outward from somewhere inside her and connected to the candle. The wick ignited. The line lingered briefly before slowly dissipating. Lira inhaled sharply. She sat perfectly still, trying to determine whether she had genuinely perceived mana or simply hallucinated a magical explanation hard enough to satisfy herself.

She decided not to overthink it. Progress was progress. So she continued. Again and again, refining the visualization. Each attempt made the mental model clearer. She adjusted the projected image of herself, adding more detail, making it feel more aligned with her own internal sense of identity. Eventually, a thought occurred to her. Could this be formalized into a spell? The same way she had created a spell that enhanced her physical perception, could she do the same for magical senses?

Lira reached for her father's lexicon and began scanning through it. A few moments later, she had what she needed. Pika. Maja. Syneth. Mind. Magic. Interpretation. It was structurally similar to her perception spell, but with a focus on magic. Lira recentered herself and focused on her visual model once more. Click. The spell was imprinted. Her lips curled upward with satisfaction, and she cast immediately.

"Pika. Maja. Syneth." And suddenly, she could see it. Not imagine it like before, but actually see it without any active effort of visualization. Projected over her own body was a faint translucent outline. A shadow of self, or perhaps a magical projection. The silhouette was slightly larger than her physical form, overlapping her body like a luminous shell. Lira stared. So that was it. That explained quite a lot. Her magical presence extended beyond her physical body.

Not by much, she was only slightly larger than her natural frame, but still visibly externalized. Which meant if her mana capacity grew significantly larger, that projected form would likely expand with it. Her soul would effectively radiate outward like an aura. Anyone with competent magical perception would notice. That realization sent a conflicted wave of emotions through her. It was a validation of what she had suspected before. But it also meant her paranoia was entirely justified. No Tier Two spells for her.

At least not anytime soon. Lira sighed and shook her head. That was when her attention shifted toward her runic experiments. Her eyes landed on the heating paper she had created the previous night. And then she froze. Before creating the spell, her visual model had only been personal, but apparently, the spell seemed to have somewhat of a broader scope. Under magical perception, the enchantment was astonishing.

Ambient mana drifted naturally through the room in subtle currents, almost invisible until drawn toward the runic configuration. As it entered the rune, it changed. The mana itself was being altered somehow. As it passed into the symbolic construct, the mana shifted in quality and appearance, then exited as something slightly different before gradually dispersing back into a more neutral state. It was difficult to describe. It reminded her vaguely of colored dye being diluted into clear water.

The runes were not merely absorbing magic. Instead, they were processing it, transforming ambient mana into structured magical effects. Lira stared in fascination. That was incredible, beautiful even. She stood up and exited her alcove into the library proper, her eyes immediately shifting toward one of Edward's copper heating plaques mounted on the wall. The same process was happening there as well. Though notably, the mana flow was less organized and less elegant. Lira smirked with immediate satisfaction.

Her own paper design was, in fact, superior. Then her gaze drifted toward the enchanted dust sack still sitting nearby. She had reset the enchantment and let it gather dust on the main floor, since no one would visit the library at this late hour. And her expression immediately changed into shock. The magical sight there was... unsettling. Lines of disturbed mana traced every moving particle of dust as they streamed through the air and into the bag. Tiny distortions followed each grain like afterimages.

They stabilized after a few seconds, except at the convergence point where all the dust gathered. There, the mana disturbance accumulated. The collection point glowed like a localized magical beacon. Lira stared at it in growing horror. Oh. That was bad. Very bad. No wonder Samy had been able to sense this mess. This spell was actively creating magical anomalies. Anyone remotely competent at magical sensing would probably be able to sense the vortex of magical disturbance.

Lira slowly lowered the magical perception spell and rubbed her forehead. She needed to fix that immediately. She couldn't keep blundering around half-blind and accidentally incriminating herself.