"Magic." Hojo wasn't particularly impressed by the word. "A term applied to those phenomena science has not yet cataloged." It was true that there were powers he himself could not explain, but that didn't mean they were magical. They simply had not yet been properly understood and defined. The very idea of magic was superstition. Rubbish.

At Gandalf's news, he paused to digest it, processing, calculating.

"Death... It is present, yet it is not." At this, he did laugh. It was surprising, yet he could understand that. He had already died, or been so near death there was no difference, but death could not take the cells from him, and he was here nonetheless. He had already woken up as if nothing had happened. Had already defied death.

"Hm, this is interesting." He drummed his fingers on the collar. "That kind of revival; they may have altered our cellular structure, or else we are simulacra, or they have truly impressive tools of molecular reconstruction, but I can't say at this point..." Reconstruction of living biological material was of extreme interest to him, however. Jenova had evidenced some related qualities. "Have the subjects who experienced death been tested to see if they have truly died, and to what extent? Have they evidenced pallor, mortis, livor mortis, algor mortis, rigor mortis?" He paused, suddenly smiling, a tight little smile. "Life, you see, is the subject of my research."