"It seems Lysander always brings intriguing people to my library."
The library was quiet in a strange way, as several shelves had cracked down the middle, their wooden frames bent at odd angles. Books lay scattered across the floor, some open, some torn, others covered in a thin layer of dust. The walls had long fractures like scars, and the ceiling still shed small particles whenever the building settled. It felt as though the place had taken a deep wound and was only barely holding itself together.
Heron stood near the center of it all, one hand pressed against his chest, breathing slowly. There was dried blood at the corner of his mouth, which he wiped away with his sleeve. His expression was no longer dismissive. Instead, it was tight and serious, as if he was trying to place something he did not yet understand.
Lysander was still on his knees.
He had not fallen because of injury. His body just simply gave out under the weight of what he had seen. His hands trembled slightly as he pressed them against the floor, eyes fixed on Aurelian as though he were looking at something unreal. His mouth opened once, as if he wanted to speak, but no words came out.
Aurelian stood where he always had, near the center of the room. Yet something about him felt different, heavier, as if the air around him still remembered what had passed through it moments ago.
Heron exhaled slowly.
Then he moved.
Without raising his voice or making any grand gestures, he lifted one hand and extended his fingers. The runic tattoos on his arms dimmed, then pulsed softly. Space itself seemed to shift, as the cracks in the walls began to pull together, stone grinding against stone as if guided by invisible hands. Broken shelves straightened, their pieces sliding back into place. Books rose gently from the floor, floating back to their original spots, pages fluttering before settling.
It was controlled and precise, a show of his understanding of spatial magic to the simplest details.
Within moments, the library looked almost whole again, like it never experienced the force of Aurelian's spell.
Heron lowered his hand and let out a breath. His posture remained firm, but there was no hiding the exhaustion in his eyes.
Lysander slowly pushed himself up and sat back on his heels, staring at Heron in disbelief. He had known Heron for years. He had seen his magic before. Yet even now, after everything, Heron still commanded space like he always did.
And yet…
Lysander's gaze drifted back to Aurelian.
For the first time, doubt settled deep in his chest. Not doubt about Aurelian, but doubt about the world he thought he understood. Rankings. Spell tiers. Associations. All the neat structures he believed kept magic in order now felt thin, almost fragile.
Aurelian flexed his left hand slowly.
A faint spark of light flickered near his index finger, then vanished. He frowned slightly and did it again. Another spark appeared, brighter this time, before dispersing into nothing. He stared at his hand with quiet focus.
"So it's still unstable," he murmured to himself.
There was no pride in his voice. Only observation.
He could feel it clearly now. The power responded easily, almost too easily. But control lagged behind. Like holding water in an open palm, the more he focused on force, the more it slipped through the gaps.
He closed his hand into a fist.
'Power without restraint is useless,' he thought. 'And restraint without understanding is just fear.'
His thoughts drifted, looping over familiar ideas. Control was not about suppression. It was about flow. Balance. Knowing when to stop pushing and when to let go. He replayed the moment the spear formed, the way the light surged faster than he expected. He had held it back, but only barely.
'Too much intent,' he reasoned. 'Not enough discipline.'
The thoughts went on like that, circling, repeating in different shapes. He knew he needed practice, time, repetition. The structure of control made sense to him in feeling, even if the words to explain it did not fully form.
Aurelian lowered his hand and looked up, his gaze finding Heron, as the old man was watching him closely.
"You held back," Heron said slowly.
Aurelian shrugged. "I tried."
Heron studied him for a moment longer, then straightened his robe. "That may have been the only reason this building is still standing."
"Just trying not to destroy something," Aurelian said.
Then, for a brief second, something almost like amusement crossed Heron's face. It vanished just as quickly.
There was a pause. Not an awkward one, but a careful one. The kind where both sides were deciding how to proceed.
Aurelian proceeded first.
"Your magic," he said, nodding toward Heron's arms. "Spatial magic, isn't it?"
"Spatial magic. Yes, you can call it that, but I prefer another term for it. I prefer the phrase infinity management."
"Infinity management?" Aurelian muttered, curious.
"Yes, infinity management. From what I have seen after years of wielding this magic, it goes beyond what most texts describe. Not to dismiss the efforts of my predecessors, but I believe I may have refined it further."
He stretched both arms outward as a demonstration, clearly trying to make Aurelian imagine the space between them. "How big is this space?"
'Is this a trick question?' Aurelian pondered. 'Giving any answer other than what he intends would be pointless, since I'm not entirely sure what he's trying to explain. I'll answer simply.'
"Big enough to fit a cat," Aurelian said.
"A cat," Heron repeated. "That means this space is finite, limited. Not very large, if the thing you use for comparison is a cat. But what if I say that this space is actually large enough to fit the entire universe inside it?"
'The universe?'
"The universe. The best way to quantify things is with numbers. Take the numbers five and six. The difference between them is just one, nothing in between, very small. But the true difference between them is infinite. After five, there exists a number that is incomprehensible. Five point zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero one. Even those zeros are not enough to explain what I'm trying to say. To put it simply, the way numbers behave is the same way space behaves. It's a paradox. Space is finite and infinite at the same time. The space between my arms can be stretched enough to cover the entire universe."
Heron continued his explanation, and as Aurelian listened, he began to understand the extent of Heron's control over spatial magic. At this stage, Aurelian might possess overwhelming raw power, but his control was clearly lacking when compared to someone like Heron.
"So how does it feel when you cast one of your spatial magic?" Aurelian asked.
Heron hesitated, then answered. "It doesn't feel like aether," he said. "Not directly. It feels like pressure. Like holding the edges of something vast and telling it where it can exist."
"Does intent matter?" Aurelian asked. "Or only structure?"
"Intent matters more than people admit. Structure keeps it scale. While intent decides how much space the caster allows to act on."
Heron then turned and gestured toward the codex still resting near Aurelian.
"The light codex you were given," he said. "It only contains spells below Tier X, or so I thought."
"I figured," Aurelian replied.
Heron nodded. "Higher-tier texts do exist. I chose not to hand them over to you, but it seems I may have misjudged you."
Bringing out a larger codex, he handed it to Aurelian. "Here. This codex contains spells that can reach as high as Tier XVI. You have clearly shown that you possess the capability to wield light magic as you see fit."
Heron looked away briefly, then back again. "You may keep the codex longer than the standard period."
Aurelian took the codex and held both books in his arms. This way, he could learn the lesser spells from the lower-tier codex first, then quickly shift his focus to the higher-tier spells contained in the new one.
"Take the time you need," Heron continued. "But do not cast like that again inside my library."
Aurelian inclined his head. "Understood."
Heron paused, then added, "Be careful. What you did today will surely draw prying eyes toward you. Do not be mistaken, many have already placed you on their list of interest. Be careful out there."
Aurelian's expression did not change, but he took note of the warning.