That actually does pull a quick, breathy laugh from Viktor, which then makes him cough a few times.

Viktor's gaze is drawn away from the stacks, to Ferin as he speaks of the cube.

"Incredible..." He murmurs. And what Ferin says of his own magic is no less impressive.

"You must get this ability back to show me," he urges.

Then, back to the books for a minute. Quiet, thinking, but it's almost as though his brain is an appliance that emits a low-frequency hum in the air. Viktor's thinking currently is deep, intense, venturing down new pathways, turning over ideas.

"It's funny," he remarks quietly. "Just before coming here, I had given up on all of my dreams. My legacy. Any impact I could make on the world before I died. But learning of all these kinds of magic, it is impossible not to feel... inspired."