Noting the effects, Seth tried to write with the pen.

As expected, it no longer worked.

The ink inside was still there, the shape was the same, but the pen could not write as its original purpose had been taken away.

He watched it for a few seconds, then placed it down.

After confirming the second stage of [Authority of the Meaningless], he simply waited.

The stick in his hand slowly returned to its normal state.

The surface dried, and the dye-like sap from earlier disappeared.

However, the stick looked slightly damaged.

Small cracks showed along the side, and the wood felt weaker when he pressed it.

Even though the stick had only carried the new purpose for a short while, the change had strained it.

The stick was never made to write.

And so, once its body tried to fulfill that new role, it damaged itself.

The pen, however, showed no such damage.

It had momentarily lost its purpose, but when the purpose was given back, everything returned to normal.

It was clearly built for writing, so losing and regaining that purpose did not harm it.

This difference made something clear to Seth.

The purpose of an object could be moved, but objects that were not meant to carry that purpose would suffer from the change.

Meanwhile, objects that originally held the purpose could regain it without issue, unless the purpose had already been used up.

His thoughts deepened.

'If I take away a bomb's purpose of exploding and give it to something else… what happens? If the new item explodes, does the bomb regain its purpose? Or because the explosion already happened, does the bomb lose that chance forever?'

To understand the ability better, Seth continued testing.

He walked through a small alley and picked up a bottle.

Using [Null Presence], no one noticed him. He took away the "holding water" purpose from the bottle and gave it to a broken clay bowl nearby.

For a moment, the bowl held water without leaking.

The bottle, meanwhile, could not hold water and spilled everything immediately.

After a few minutes, both objects returned to their original state.

The bowl began leaking again, and the bottle worked normally.

However, the clay bowl now showed new hairline cracks.

Next, he tried with a kitchen knife and a spoon.

He took away the "cutting" purpose from the knife and gave it to the spoon.

The spoon scraped into wood easily, leaving thin lines.

The knife became dull while the purpose was gone, but once it returned, the sharp edge recovered.

But the spoon's surface had become rough.

Metal shavings were visible along the edge, proof that the spoon had strained itself carrying a purpose that did not belong to it.

After numerous more testing, Seth formed a clear conclusion:

One, was that purpose could be moved, but the cost depended on the object's nature.

Two, the effect was not permanent. It lasted only as long as he concentrated on maintaining it or for a brief duration after he stopped.

And three, what he transferred was a defined function, not the object's physical properties.

A rock given the purpose of a mirror didn't become silvered glass; it strained to reflect light with its own unsuitable material.

After he finally became familiar with how his Authority worked, Seth shifted his attention to his other abilities.

The first one was [Fate Consumption].

Its description stated that he could consume a chosen part of a target's fate and use it to empower himself, giving his identity a temporary "purpose."

The explanation was vague...

But because he was the one who owned the ability, Seth had an instinctive understanding of how it should work.

He could feel how to use it, even without seeing clear instructions.

Still, he did not want to rely only on instinct.

If this ability was going to be important in the future, then he needed to test it carefully and understand its limits.

Setting his thoughts in order, Seth activated [Null Presence] once more and swiftly moved to find a suitable test subject.

...

Within the Zerep district, where a public school stood not far from the main road, three young men were jogging together in the early morning.

The streets were quiet and the sun had barely risen, yet all three seemed full of energy.

They talked with excitement about the coming general assembly.

"It's going to be the first one this year," said Ren with a grin.

"I heard they're announcing new club officers."

"Yeah," replied Juno.

"And I bet the principal will give the same speech again. You know, 'discipline, excellence, community'."

The third young man, Theo, laughed.

"At least it means no classes in the morning, I'll take that."

Their footsteps were steady, and their voices blended with the morning breeze.

Unbeknownst to them, a fourth person was following from behind at a slow pace.

The man's presence was so faint it was easy to ignore.

Theo suddenly felt something uncomfortable rise in his mind.

It was like a strange warning, a tiny whisper telling him to look back...

But he quickly brushed it off.

The lively talk with his friends made the uneasiness feel like nothing important.

He continued jogging, yet after a few more steps his body reacted.

His head grew slightly heavy and his legs felt weak.

Without warning, he slowed down and stopped to take several deep breaths.

"What's wrong?"

Ren turned around, wiping sweat from his forehead.

Theo rubbed his eyes and let out a long yawn.

"I don't know... I suddenly feel tired."

Juno raised an eyebrow.

"Did you stay up reading The Artisan's Journey again? You looked dead tired last week too."

Ren nodded.

"You really like that book. Don't tell me you tried to finish another volume?"

Theo shook his head.

"No. I slept early last night. I only ever stayed up twice since it came out. I shouldn't be tired at all."

He frowned, confused.

His sleep had been normal...

He hadn't skipped dinner, and he didn't feel sick.

Everything should be fine, yet why did he feel so tired...

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