Morpheus gently touched the jewel, reunited with it after just a month... though for the jewel, it had been over years.
Feeling its familiar aura, he asked, "What kind of magic do you think this jewel represents?"
"Magic?" Rin Tohsaka paused, too weary to correct him. A being from the Age of Gods might naturally use the term "magic."
Drawing on her expertise, she answered, "It's a form of jewel magecraft. My family specializes in jewel magecraft."
"Wrong. Completely wrong!" Morpheus shook his head. Under Rin's incredulous gaze, he tapped the jewel lightly.
A faint image appeared within the previously empty jewel. Handing it to Rin, he asked, "Do you understand what this means? What it represents?"
The jewel displayed a grid, divided into numerous squares, each containing a number.
"What… is this?"
"And what about this?"
Instead of answering, Morpheus altered the image. The grid vanished, replaced by a strange rune. Rin shook her head again... she couldn't decipher it.
But she knew these symbols held the jewel's secrets, the reason for its extraordinary nature.
Then Morpheus asked, "Do you know about theurgy?"
"Theurgy?" Rin frowned, sifting through her magical knowledge. "You mean spiritualism? Or perhaps evocation?"
"Evocation? You're thinking of the Clock Tower's Department of Spiritual Evocation, aren't you?"
Rin fell silent at his words, then said, "You know about the Clock Tower?!"
"Oh, yeah. Almost became a student there," Morpheus said, shaking his head as if recalling an unpleasant memory, throwing Rin's thoughts into chaos.
"Wait, isn't Morpheus from the Age of Gods? How does he know about the Clock Tower, let alone almost study there?"
"Let's not talk about me. You can think of it as evocation or spiritualism, but the target is a god," Morpheus breezed past the Clock Tower topic, continuing to teach Rin.
"A god?"
"Exactly. The grid and numbers you saw are called a planetary square... a 9x9 grid where rows and columns sum to 369, with a total of 3321. It represents the Moon."
"The Moon?" Rin hadn't expected the mysterious grid to symbolize the Moon.
"Yes, the Moon," Morpheus nodded. "The rune that followed is a sigil of planetary spirituality, specifically the sigil of the Archangel Gabriel."
"Gabriel!?" Rin gasped. The rune was tied to an archangel!
"So that's why you said the jewel holds divine power?!"
"Naturally. I asked if you knew theurgy because this jewel's use is rooted in it."
"So, you're saying this jewel belongs to the Department of Spiritual Evocation?"
"No, it's Astrology. If you must categorize it by Clock Tower standards, it's closer to the Department of Astromancy."
"Huh?!"
"It harnesses the spiritual power of planets to summon their guardian forces, turning that power to your use. Astrology often involves evocation elements too."
Morpheus stepped behind Rin, gently taking her left hand holding the jewel. Rin blushed but heard his calm voice.
"Don't be nervous. Follow my movements."
He guided her hand to her lower abdomen.
"This is near your stomach, your womb, your intestines…"
Rin's face reddened further.
Noticing her reaction, Morpheus said softly, "Sorry, but this is magical knowledge. Remember: the Moon governs your sense of taste, your left side including your left arm, and your stomach, intestines, and womb."
"O-of course, no problem! I'm a Tohsaka magus!" Rin declared loudly, as if forcing out her embarrassment.
"Let's continue," Morpheus smiled, releasing her hand after positioning it correctly. "Focus your mana, resonate with the jewel's mana, and when I say a number, repeat it."
Feeling him step back, Rin sighed in relief, focusing her mind.
She sensed the jewel's mana. With this stance, it was easier than usual, and she felt a vast torrent of mana within!
"If I could fully harness this mana, I might win the Holy Grail War without a Servant!"
The thought crossed Rin's mind.
Then Morpheus spoke the number.
"9."
"Just that?" Rin expected to recite the grid's numbers but followed his lead, saying, "9!"
In the next moment, immense power surged... an unimaginable flood of mana filled the room!
Though the study appeared unchanged, Rin felt the mana's sheer volume, like an ocean, her own mana a mere droplet in comparison!
This mana rivaled the jewel's own reserves. Rin couldn't tell which was greater... the jewel's or the room's!
She took a deep breath, cautiously scanning the room. Behind her, a faint shadow appeared.
The shadow was so subtle it could be mistaken for a hallucination.
It seemed to have wings, floating silently, unresponsive.
Seeing it, Rin startled, her mana flow faltering. The shadow vanished, leaving only the room's abundant mana, tinged with a water-like quality.
As the shadow faded, Rin exhaled, but seeing Morpheus's amused smile, she blushed, turning away. "W-was that Gabriel just now?"
Noticing her awkward attempt to shift focus from her panic, Morpheus nodded cooperatively. "Yes, that was Gabriel's power. You only drew a tiny fraction of it."
"That was little?!" Rin bristled at his claim. "That mana was terrifying!"
Morpheus assessed the power. "Not much. If used all at once, it could destroy half of Fuyuki City."
"Half of Fuyuki, and that's not much?!"
"For your level, it's a lot."
The reply left Rin deeply frustrated. Despite her efforts and talent, Morpheus saw her as a novice!
But soon, her excitement returned. This vast mana was incredibly useful. Magi typically refined mana from their life force, and jewel magecraft stored it for one-time use.
Now, with this new theurgical technique, she could tap immense mana and wield it.
"It's like drawing mana directly from the Greater Source without complex processes…"
"The Greater Source?" Morpheus corrected her. "You're mistaken. This mana doesn't come from the Greater Source... it's from Gabriel."
"From Gabriel?!" Rin confirmed she'd heard right, struggling to comprehend.
"If I learned correctly, magi convert life force into mana... the Lesser Source. The planet's or air's life force is the Greater Source, which magi can't easily use directly, relying on their own mana.
"But isn't your method refining mana from planetary circuits?"
Her voice grew urgent, her worldview challenged.
Morpheus listened, then asked calmly, "Think about it. Besides refining your own mana with circuits, which step used circuits to refine mana?"
Rin, still defiant, reflected on her actions. To her shock, after the initial mana refinement, she hadn't used circuits at all!
"This…"
"I told you, it's theurgy. It summons Gabriel's power to this world for you to use. The mana isn't from surrounding life force or the Root... it's directly from Gabriel.
"The jewel's mana is just a catalyst to simplify summoning, reducing difficulty. The mana you use for spells is Gabriel's water-element power you summoned."
Morpheus continued, "To master this technique, you need to start with Astrology and study Kabbalah. Your current math skills are sufficient for now.
"Also, while refining mana with circuits is convenient, I suggest learning basic meditation to refine mana without circuits.
"As a magician, don't waste life force converting it to mana. Instead, use your mana to trigger greater mana, then let it revert to life force."
Rin finally took Morpheus's "magic" Term seriously... not magecraft, but true magic, not reliant on the Greater Source but something more extraordinary.
This realization brought another question.
"Kabbalah? Gabriel? Morpheus… are you really from the Age of Gods? Or have you lived from then until now…?"
Morpheus smiled. "Who said I'm from the Age of Gods?"
"Huh?! But you fought in the Gigantomachy!"
"Is it possible that, since I can cross worlds to yours, I could also travel time from the future to the past?"
Rin's jaw dropped. She hadn't expected this explanation.
But it clicked, connecting everything.
"Wait, so you almost studied at the Clock Tower but got sent back to the Age of Gods due to some incident, fought in the Gigantomachy, met the Greek gods!
"Then, after various events, you became a Heroic Spirit and were summoned by me?!"
"Enough talk. Rest now. If you can't sleep, practice this meditation technique."
Morpheus handed her a small booklet. "This is a modern magic meditation guide, simple to learn. With the room's mana, it'll deepen your connection to Gabriel.
"Keep the Moonstone on, even when sleeping. Beyond being a medium, it's also a talisman."
Rin noted it mentally, taking the booklet. As Morpheus turned to leave, she asked, "Why use this jewel as a medium? Don't say it's just because jewels store mana!"
"I figured you'd assume that due to your jewel magecraft and not ask," Morpheus said approvingly. "It's about symbolism. For a Mercury talisman, I'd use agate."
As Morpheus left, Rin pondered his words.
"So, selenite represents the Moon, and agate represents Mercury?"
She scratched her head, exasperated. "Ugh, should I get some Astrology textbooks…?"
But she dismissed the idea.
"No, much of what Morpheus taught isn't in any books. To master this magic, I'd need to excel in Spiritual Evocation, Astrology, and Mineralogy…
"His magic blends these disciplines into something unique…
"And this magic summons immense mana. I can't use it all at once, but I can supplement my own for relentless magical barrages!
"If my usual attacks are like a handgun with limited ammo, this Astrology turns me into a machine gun with endless reserves, firing for a day and night without issue!"
But then she grew annoyed.
"Morpheus is so infuriating! My first try summoned that much mana, and he didn't praise me... he mocked me!
"Saying it's 'a lot for my level'? Destroying half of Fuyuki isn't enough?!
"And that was just one casual summon. I could keep summoning!
"…I can keep summoning, right?"
Rin faltered, uncertain.
After a moment, she sighed, lifting her wrist to study the Moonstone under the room's light, a faint smile forming.
"Father, Rin's finally starting to unravel the secrets you left behind…"
Outside, Morpheus overheard, stretching lazily as he headed to the living room.
"Since I'm here, I'll do my best to end these tragedies, then find a way back to my original world."
***
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