As the name suggests, duality refers to double. In this case, mind and magic exist as two separate entities that seemingly work hand in hand. While it may be easy to accept such a statement, the true value lies in its implications.
What is magic? This was the most appropriate position to begin with. Ember described magic as a bridge, one that connects desire, which stems from the mind, to action, which is reflected in reality.
"If I wish to hold my bag without walking towards it, then it would look like this," he held out his calloused hands, his sleeve revealing a circular mark on his wrist, and the next second his brown leather bag zipped towards him. "Magic stems from our internal desires and beliefs, this is the fundamental principle that every sorcerer must work with. Well, they don't need to come to this realization to practice magic; however, on a deeper level, they all accept this."
"Much like an actual bridge, magic requires certain materials or building blocks, which, as most of you might know, is what we call mana."
"Mana is everywhere; its existence is akin to air and is a fundamental part of nature. Just like how we use our lungs to breathe, we have a certain organ or part that aids in the process of mana accumulation." he paced back and forth. Ember had the attention of the students glued onto him. In the first place, this wasn't information that was available every day, the students wasted no opportunity to consume the information.
"Now this is the part where we enter a slightly theoretical part, the organ or part that is said to help doesn't really have a physical form. It exists more as a spirit or whatever state you consider mana to exist in. It is similar to a heart or a core that is made up of mana entirely,"
"This raises the question, how come we haven't verified this by cutting a dead body open? Any takers?" he looked around the classroom.
After a moment of hesitation, Dio raised his hand, "If mana is similar to air, then there should be none left after a person dies,"
"Spot on, Mr. Aethereus!" Ember clapped his hand once, his excitement reflected onto his demeanor, "Well, to be practical, for a sorcerer, the moment his mana is depleted, he's a dead man uhuhuh," he chuckled cunningly, amused by his own remark.
Before Ember could continue with his lecture, Dio decided to continue the conversation, "so this desire is truly the reason for the existence of mana and magic. If a person dies, then so does their desire, meaning their reason for accumulating mana is thus non-existent. It is likely we could find residual mana through the circuits, but the core itself would cease to exist,"
"...." Ember stared at Dio quietly before nodding, "Remarkable, Mr. Aethereus. The inferences were all accurate and spectacular. While there have been inexplicable cases that defy these statements, the reasons couldn't be narrowed down and they were ruled as exceptional situations…"
Did the mind only house an individual's desire? Was that the only purpose it served? These were questions the students eventually asked and discussed in the class, and Ember, being a fan of such discourses, openly accepted all the questions and arguments he could.
"The mind is far more important than we make it seem; perhaps the actual importance would be better captured in another course of yours. If I'm not wrong, every student has a mandatory course on runes and runic structures."
"Those are essential to the making of a spell, so yes, in a way you could say that desire is the most important function of the mind, but not the only one. Without perfectly replicating the runic structures underlying it, no spell could ever be accurately manifested,"
"Memory and recall are important features of the mind and are crucial for every user of magic; after all, desire without a minimum amount of effort is pointless. It's akin to delusion," Ember smiled before turning around, "well, that is all for today, you're free to leave."
The students looked around and blinked, certainly, a considerable amount of time had passed, but they didn't expect to be so invested that they wouldn't notice how long it had been since the beginning of the class.
One by one, following the Professor, the students began to leave the class. Leaving Dio alone to ponder about what he had just learned. Almost as if Ember knew this would happen, he stopped outside the classroom and smiled, "Exciting, huh?"
Dio snapped out of his thoughts and got up from his bench. It was time for him to get some nutrition before the next class; it was important to maintain one's energy levels, after all. Moreover, it kind of gave him more time to marinate in his thoughts.
Dio's reflexes were sharp, especially for his age; they were honed to a point where no threat could easily approach him. Of course, everything had exceptions; take for example, an individual he didn't consider a threat.
*THWAAAACK*
A loud slapping sound resounded, and a hand now rested over Dio's shoulders. He didn't even have to turn around to know who it was; the red strands that were in his vision could only belong to one person. "Alex….don't you have class?" he shot a quick glance at her and noticed the unusual combination. The contrast between her hair and the cerulean blue robe she donned was truly vague. The House of Iori Crypt, hailed as one of the strongest mages in history, he was known for being one of the few to work with the Lost King.
"Huh? It's my break time as well; let's get food together!!!" She picked up the pace with Dio still under her arm, "Oh! I invited a few of my classmates if that's alright,"
"Is that a good idea? I believe most of them would begin to question their senses at the sight of me; after all, such an ethereal existence could only occur in one's delusions, huhuhuh," Dio chuckled to himself.
They walked through a wide arch before entering the cafeteria space. A large number of tables were scattered all across with hundreds of students talking and feasting on their meal.
"No…" Dio uttered as he spotted the classmates Alex spoke about. "Anyone but that bastard…" his fist tightened as the weird teen with a man bun appeared in his sight,
"Godfrey…"