"Reed, you've all gained a solid grasp of your abilities," Sebastian said, his voice carrying a note of finality as he stood amidst the factory's humming machinery. "From here, it's up to you to push their limits and uncover their true potential."
"Sebastian, we can't thank you enough for your help," Reed replied, his elastic features softening with gratitude, his eyes reflecting the bond forged over the past week.
Sebastian shook his head, dismissing the thanks with a casual wave. "No need for that."
With a brief nod to Reed, Susan, and Johnny, he transformed into a swirling vortex the air twisting around him as he vanished, leaving only a faint ripple in his wake.
Reappearing in his home, Sebastian found the space quiet—Alisha had already left for work.
He prepared a modest meal for himself.
After eating, he retreated to his room, retrieving the third black-covered notebook from his desk, its pages worn from frequent use.
Settling at his desk, Sebastian began documenting the magical insights sparked during his week guiding the Fantastic Four. Each stroke of his pen captured fleeting ideas, blending observation with intuition, as he sought to refine his craft.
This magical repertoire was a collection of diverse traditions: the structured spells of his previous life's Hogwarts world and the cosmic mysticism of Asgard formed its core, while Kamar-Taj's dimensional arts and Atlantis's elemental sorcery served as supplementary threads.
Within this framework, Sebastian had crafted four unique spells, each a fusion of innovation and legacy:
Seraphim Shield, a protective barrier woven with celestial resilience.
Annihilation Ray, a beam of destructive energy honed for precision.
Hellfire Curse, rarely used due to his mastery of Hellfire's authority, but potent in its raw fury.
Shadowless Sword, an invisible blade of unmatched lethality.
Beyond the Hellfire Curse, these spells were staples in Sebastian's combat arsenal, their seamless execution a testament to his skill. Yet their significance extended beyond battle.
These fusion-innovation spells, near-original creations, yielded richer magical essence feedback when shared, unlike borrowed spells from his past life.
Even if he claimed those as his own, the truth of their origins diluted their feedback—a limitation of the heart's sincerity in magic's idealist nature.
To unite a magical authority—a pinnacle of power—Sebastian needed abundant magical essence. Spreading his fusion spells helped, but their feedback, while greater than past-life spells, paled compared to fully original creations.
Founding a magic school was one path to accelerate this process, but crafting new spells was equally vital, each innovation amplifying the essence flowing back to him.
Creating original magic, however, was no trivial feat. Sebastian set down his pen, staring at the notebook's intricate magical patterns, their lines a labyrinth of possibility.
With a sigh, he waved his hand, casting Tergeo to erase the designs, leaving the page blank—a silent admission of their inadequacy. Leaning back, he grappled with the challenge of his first truly original spell.
He wasn't chasing grandiose miracles, nor was he undervaluing his skill. Simple, trivial spells were within his grasp, but they lacked the impact needed to spread widely and yield meaningful essence feedback. His goal was a beginner-level spell with unique utility, akin to the Scourgify cleaning charm or Alohomora unlocking spell from his past life—basic yet indispensable.
Combat spells, focused on destruction, were simpler than restorative or defensive ones, as breaking was easier than mending. Thus, Sebastian envisioned a destructive spell, practical yet distinctive, as his first original creation.
A sudden realization jolted him upright.
In his distant past life, fictional works brimmed with magical concepts absent from his current or magical worlds.
Though born of imagination, these could serve as inspiration, blended with his extensive knowledge of wizarding and Asgardian magic. With practical tweaks for combat, he could forge something viable.
Seizing his pen, Sebastian began sketching magical patterns with renewed vigor.
Creating a spell wasn't mere fantasy—it required precise magical conduits, channels extended into circuits that shaped magical energy into desired effects. Ten pages, front and back, filled with dense diagrams, each line a step toward realization. As he drew the last stroke, a surge of magical essence flooded his mind, a warm, resonant with his soul and the Hellfire authority nestled within it.
This immediate feedback confirmed his success: the spell's creation granted essence, its validity proven by the influx. Essence feedback was a spell's litmus test, affirming its functionality.
Standing, Sebastian extended his right hand, tracing the patterns in the air to form a three-dimensional magical circuit. Over a dozen rune-like arrays merged, coalescing into a fiery orb-like structure. The circuit completed, it collapsed into a spark, embedding itself in his mind.
A searing heat bloomed in his palm, manifesting as a fist-sized fireball, hovering with quiet menace.
Fireball Spell—a true Fireball Spell.
Inspired by Reducto's explosive force and Incendio's fiery essence, this spell, while overlapping with their effects, was Sebastian's own, suitable for teaching and spreading. It couldn't fully replace its predecessors' potency, but its originality ensured robust essence feedback.
Sebastian wouldn't blindly recreate fictional spells—many lacked practicality, yielding negligible essence. The Fireball Spell was a proof of concept, validating this creative path. Its success affirmed his broader plan.
Kamar-Taj, Atlantis, and Asgardian magics—old magics—offered no aid in coalescing his authority, serving only as foundational tools. Past-life and fusion spells, his combat mainstays, were reliable and spreadable, yielding moderate essence. His new, fully original spells, like the Fireball Spell, promised the richest feedback, though currently limited in scope.
These three magical types—old, main, and new—formed a symbiotic system. Old magics grounded his main spells, which inspired his new creations. None could be discarded; each played a vital role.
This was Sebastian's unique magical framework, the foundation for his future studies and the path to forging his own magical authority.