Dimensional Theory was held in one of the academy's upper towers, its walls lined with floating diagrams and translucent glyphs that bent light itself.
Merlin took a seat near the back. The room buzzed faintly with distorted mana, like the air was thinner here, stretched.
Professor Asterion entered wordlessly, a trail of violet motes in his wake.
He turned, sharp gaze sweeping the class. "Let's begin with a question."
He raised his hand, and the space above his palm rippled, folding inward like water drawn into itself. "What is distance?"
A murmur went through the room. Someone answered, "A measurement between two points."
Asterion smiled thinly. "Incorrect. Distance is perception. It exists because you perceive separation. Remove perception, and space becomes irrelevant."
With a flick of his fingers, the folded sphere above his hand burst outward, expanding and collapsing again in perfect silence.
The air shimmered around him.
