You reach out, tasting the air around you and the magic that saturates it. And indeed, it saturates it – Ciel is drowning in magic. It has seeped into every surface available to your awareness, with even more ambient magic bouncing aimlessly through empty space. To your senses, it is a chaotic mix of energies that cannot quite stabilize into a greater whole... and so naturally, you begin to pick them apart and examine them separately. As you pick through the strings of energy in the tapestry around you, you notice the similarities and the differences. Each is fundamentally the same; a basic magic that resonates in the exact same way across all the various strands and variants.

Yet each of them unique. In this one, determination. In that one, regret. In another, imagination. Each of them with the tiniest hint of something familiar. The tiniest hint of Aura. It seems that whatever process Ciel wields that transforms Aura into magic is incomplete... by design, perhaps? It might, perhaps, explain Remnant's demonstrated lack of flexibility. They do not possess the ability to manipulate magic freely as Zeal did – at least, not that you have observed – and seem to function instead on already learned patterns of magic... save the Maidens, who operate on a strange sort of brute-force method.

If their magic remains Aura, then perhaps this could be a carryover effect? Their magic is, in a certain light, simply a learned Semblance. At least... potentially. It is hard to form concrete conclusions from such a distant and distributed analysis. And... hmm. You cannot ignore the similarities to another that you know.

For Penny's Aura is, at once, both Aura and magic. Hmm...

Regardless, you trace the lines of magic in the air with new theories, and you can see hints of souls. Each retains a small connection to the Aura that gave it form; not enough to follow to the source, but enough to be recognizable. This... you cannot ignore the signs.

The humans of Remnant have learned to do as you do. To cast off pieces of their energy, their Aura, and wield them in new forms. Perhaps, in time, they would learn to gift it to others... except, how else would you describe the Maidens' Mantles? Soul Magic is to humans as magic as you know it is to you. Thus, it would seem on the surface that learning Soul Magic would be of little use to you... yet you have observed humans for too long to dismiss their achievements so easily. Undoubtedly, it would be a useful skill for Penny, and potentially for Blake and your other mortals as well. As for you... it is possible you might learn new methods to control your own power, or that your understanding of Aura might reach new heights.

Whatever the case, you have reached a new understanding of Remnant's magic, and you will approach all future interactions with it in this new light.

You have gained a fundamental insight into a Curiosity...

Blake blinked away sleep as light gently filled the room. Aren't we underground...? Are they... are they simulating day and night? That's... wow, they really are advanced. Slowly, she stretched before slipping out of bed and approaching the dress she'd folded the night before. As she slipped it on, there was a knock on the door, and she opened it to find the servant from before.

Immediately curtsying, the servant spoke. "Miss, Lady Veve has requested that you join her for breakfast. Whenever you are ready, I will lead you to her."

Blake held back a sigh at being shepherded. "I'm ready now." The servant merely nodded demurely and led her down the hallway.

The food was... quite good. Blake couldn't quite place the flavors, but they were undoubtedly high quality. Perks of royalty, I suppose?

Veve smiled warmly at her. "I hope Ciel's hospitality has treated you well. I'm aware that your initial impression of the city might have been... strained."

She shook her head. "It wasn't anything worse than I expected."

A grimace. "That isn't reassuring..." Veve sighed. "Well. I'll be your escort for today, and by the end of the day I believe I can secure more privileges for you. I doubt you're accustomed to being confined to a tower, and I wouldn't want you to feel like a prisoner."

Blake smiled slightly as she thought of Beacon Tower. Well... "What are my options today, then? I admit there are some things I've been interested in."

Veve smiled indulgently. "Why don't you name some things you'd like to do, and we'll see what I can do? I am a princess, despite all appearances. You'd be surprised what I can get away with."

Blake tilted her head to one side in thought. Obsidian? I... I think I'd like to visit the soulsmiths they mentioned yesterday, but if I know you at all you're gathering information with every second we spend here. You'll learn more than I will no matter what we do... so I'll defer to you. What do you want?

An excellent question.