There isn't any spell to analyze a person's ego. That wouldn't make sense; after all, the Ego was as conceptual as a mana core. What was she referring to anyway? What did she mean when she said Dio's ego was too strong? That sounded like a good thing, but the phrasing was concerning.
"An Ego is no different than your concept of Self." Her posture was more relaxed now, almost like she had achieved her goal.
"But what do you mean…it is too strong..?" He cocked his head. Even without any assistance, Dio could eventually come to a conclusion on what Ego referred to. However, what did it mean to have a strong Ego? In the first place, he's heard of people having big or small Egos. Never strong and weak.
"The entrance test.." Her calm words jolted Dio's brain. He knew; he remembered everything after all. She was one of the professors sitting behind the judging panel, part of the group that looked at Dio with a lot of amusement in their eyes.
"You're talking about what happened between those two?" Dio replied in a slightly more serious tone. This was a rather frustrating topic, especially considering that things had escalated since the first incident.
"No. On the contrary, I'm referring to what you did,"
"What? You mean jumping in to save someone?? Yeah, that's egotistical for sure," he said in an irritable tone. Arguing about this only made it more prickly for him, and the worst part was that he couldn't understand why.
She stared at him with the same expression as before; the agitation and increased tension in Dio weren't bothering her one bit. Nor did she view his words as disrespectful. After all, things were going how she wanted them to.
"A big Ego refers to a wide sense of self. As in you or anybody, view themselves as through a bunch of features and characteristics. This would then mean a comment against anything could hurt their ego, because of how spread out it is," as she explained she drew a wide magic circle that encompassed a lot of space, and then made the gesture of throwing a dart on it.
"However, a Strong Ego does not mean expansive or wide. It could simply even be a singular point. The Strength of the Ego is determined by the depth and how deep the sense of Self goes, not how vast,"
"..." Dio took pride in his ability to remember; that was the crux of what made him special. That allowed him to act the way he did, it gave him an unfair advantage that most people would kill for.
She was right. The reason he jumped in wasn't because he wasn't familiar with death. It had more to do with John, the specific reason he wasn't yet sure of, but he now knew. His Ego was small but strong, and the incident was a dart that hit him right in that point.
This was why the conversations revolving around the incident were so bothersome. He felt a sense of relief wash over his entire body. He had made progress. Of course, the specifics were still unexplored, nevertheless, Dio actually gained great insight in this conversation with Felix.
"There may not be any spells to tell, but I have my eyes, and I'm a living being. I've lived and felt just like you have, and that in itself is just as magical." She wore a content expression, like her job there was done. Ruffling Dio's hair, she walked towards the door. "Your friend is waiting for you…Is she not?"
On the other hand, Dio was now even more perplexed by what to do after she had just ruffled his hair. It kind of went against who he was, but regardless, it was kind of natural for an adult to do that to a child.
He pouted slightly and walked out to find Alex leaning against a wall, waiting for him. Her red hair seemed to have grown a little longer, or maybe he just clocked it. Her eyes didn't wander, nor did she care about anyone looking at her. Vaguely, it was this confidence that allowed him to feel comfortable around her. She was sure of herself, much like him.
"What? don't tell me the walls remind you of that bastard.." He remarked and walked towards her, one hand in his pocket and the other scratching the back of his head.
"Did Miss Felix remind you of Mommy, you liddle baby.." She replied in a mocking tone.
"What, no!" he wore a flustered expression and waved his hands in denial. "Whatever, what's up? What'd you wanna talk about..?" he had an idea. Actually, he was sure what the conversation would be about; this was the one thing the two of them had been avoiding for the past few days.
"..." Her expression turned a little more serious as she began to fidget with her fingers. "I'll be straightforward about this…please make up with Jin,"
"….No," Dio hesitated a little before replying, he began to walk away after saying no. Almost as if that was the end of the conversation.
"Wait!" she raised her voice a little more, "is it because of what happened?"
Dio turned around, this time his eyebrows slightly furrowed and his gaze carried an intense expression, "what happened is that he nearly killed someone. What about that makes you think I want to get over or move on??" he took another step toward her, this time garnering the attention of those around them.
"Calm down…I'm not saying that didn't happen…it's just that…I don't think he knew what he was doing…" She stared at her feet for a second, "his intention wasn't to kill John!"
"Oh! Well, if he told you so, let's believe him. That settles this then, no?" Dio snorted in disbelief. "I can't believe you want to side with him just because you have a crush on him, that's fucking ridiculous tch" he clicked his tongue in disdain.
"That's not what this is about, though," she tried explaining, but the situation was clearly escalating. After a few seconds of silence, Alex looked him dead in the eye and spoke, "What about you then? What makes you so different from him? You nearly killed him as well!"
"What?" Dio was in absolute shock. His best friend, the closest person to him, now accused him of being a hypocrite. Moreover, she equated both of them which only pissed him off more.
"In case chronology is a new concept to you. I did that because he nearly killed someone first. I did it because of what his stupid brother did to John. Do you think that was also an accident? The part where that scum Blue caught John and beat him until his face was covered in blood!"
"Of course not! Screw Blue, this isn't even about him! This is about you. By repeating actions, you're not solving or breaking any cycles, you're propagating them," she yelled in a louder tone.
"What would you have me do then? Sit quietly and watch? Would you sit by and watch if that ever happened to me?"
"But it didn't. And you barely know John," she dismissed his hypothetical and continued, "you acted because you wanted to. You acted because there was something that bothered you. Sure, Dio, save everyone and help them. I won't stop you. But at what point will you pause and think about why you're doing things? At what point will you think about others and not yourself?!!"
Regret washed over her entire body, and it was visible on her face. Her lips were quivering and her eyes widened once she realized what she had said. "That's not-"
"No. Screw you," he gripped his fists, his nails digging into his skin nearly drawing blood. He turned around and walked away, leaving her where ever she stood.