Ex-Legate Rikke.

—

Trying to forget that his hard work on Transcendence's dexterous movement has just gone down the drain, which only made him frustrated and stuck inside a loop of rage of thought that hinders his productivity further, William then focused his attention fully on the Dwemer-built item.

First and foremost, the reason why the Focusing Crystal is not completely destroyed when he bombarded the person that brought it with Infinite Extension is that the Tonal Architecture inside this thing is changing the density of the Dwarven Metal of the outer ring to protect the whole object.

By using a structure diagram similar to how Thu'um works, the creator of this Focusing Crystal was able to alter reality and bend it as they saw fit, since, by definition, Tonal Architecture is just a Thu'um but on the more enchanting side of things, as they embedded the magic inside the metal.

Which surprised him, as it was the first time he understood that the two magics are similar, since he had not yet delved into the knowledge of the Dwemer when in the College, where his whole mind was focused solely on creating his own spell that needed his full attention from the start to finish.

And the property that has been changed from just normal Dwarven Metal in this case is its density and corrosion resistance aspect, making it more durable and ensuring the important key in Mzulft ruins would be protected from circumstances that could make it lost forever, allowing it to survive millennia upon millennia of years.

The second reason this item is not destroyed when he bombarded it is that the enchantment within it is attempting to disrupt the Magicka that is foreign to the creator of the item itself, which has a similar property to natural Dimeritium metal in disrupting anything that arcane built, even though it is not even one-tenth as disruptive as that metal, since the attempt is very minimal.

Even though the Dwemer undertaking is pathetic compared to Dimeritium, which can be considered as the metal forged by the Order or Anu himself to essentially give a fighting chance for a normal simple folk, William was still ecstatic since he now had a clue on how to study the metal further instead of blindly getting stuck in the initial discovery phase.

So, taking his magic chisel from the left forward saddlebag given by the Nilfgaardians for his tools when doing tomb diving, William then wanted to study it with much eagerness. At the same time, his sight lingered on the many Dimeritium bombs in that bag when taking out the chisel, a sight that would make many mages vomit and pale at the sight of it.

A sight that is also one of his keys to take the Staff of Magnus without much difficulty, as the guy currently wielding it is just a sitting duck inside the bubble created by the deceased Arch-Mage Savos Aren's sealing magic, unable to dodge this arcane bane bombardment when the one continuous sequence of execution that will be established in the Labyrinthian later.

—

[21 days later.]

While studying the half-destroyed Focusing Crystal with the three items that essentially act like imitations of Sunder, Keening, and Wraithguard made by Nilfgaardian Dwemer researchers, William sees a group of orderly stones in the distance near a river of hot springs.

Knowing it is a standing stone for the Atronach constellation and a place for meditation since it can be considered one of the Places of Power where the leyline of the world of magic is concentrated, William puts away the tools back into his saddlebag and whips his horse to go in that direction.

Seeing many individuals wearing hoods, led by a female Nordling whose facial resemblance from the game he knows was supposed to be in Solitude and by General Tullius' side, currently meditating in front of that standing stone, William slows down his horse and decides to park it at a distance, frowning at the puzzling presence of the woman.

Getting down from the horse and taking a step closer, he now knows for sure that the person, or any of them, is not supposed to be here since he can see the dragon Imperial logo on their battle mage robes, as the last time he checked, the Skyrim civil war was happening in the Pale region.

Deciding that it is not his business anyway and knowing the constant changing plot from the game that elevated normal individual persons into someone that can destroy a mountain with a wave of their hand, William just nodded to Ex-Legate Rikke, who nodded back at him, and started meditating in front of the Atronach Place of Power.

Like one time when he felt the Aetherius Magicka coming from the Hall of Elements in the Winterhold College, when he had a chance to taste it during a test for his Apprentice-level title, William feels the same sensation, where his state of existence is elevated to be more ethereal and illusory.

But different from before, where his Magicka resonated with Aetherius Magicka in a general direction, this Place of Power is very specific to where they want to guide him, which is the plane of Atronach and Djinns, where he can see how they are learning to absorb the magic all around them to create a protective shield that will regenerate their Magicka when hit by a spell.

Following the direction of this ground constellation to guide his magic that will settle inside his body for a full five days straight, William finally can feel the protective bubble forming around him after six entire hours of meditating in front of the stone, which made him marvel at the buff that he received and how the creator of this stone designed it, as it is basically a clue to what the Immortal plane of Aetherius is.

But before he wants to contemplate any further the implication of Standing Stones that are scattered around the world, where even in the Witcher continent there are similar things long before their worlds are connected to one another, William's line of thinking is cut short by the sudden exclamation from the leader woman of the group of battle mages, or more correctly, the group of sorcerers and Magicka mages.

'Maybe the creator is Lorkhan. But no, there is no Lorkhan before the Conjunction—'

"Let's try once again, everyone. Hopefully, with this, we can ensure that the undead are sleeping in peace for good."

Turning his head to see Rikke talking and opening up the portal for them to pass through, William glanced at the mountainous range on the other side and returned to his contemplation, not minding where they were going. However, feeling a deja vu sensation like he has been there when he remembering the view from the game, his sight couldn't help but turn back to the lingering closing portal.

—