Chapter 42: Testing Things
Alistair held out his palm and gave a casual flick of his wrist. Out of nowhere, a crisp red apple materialized above his hand before dropping neatly into his grip.
He smiled at my surprised expression. "A handy spatial storage trick. Nothing grand."
Alistair tossed the red apple toward me. I reached out and caught it, feeling the smooth, cool skin in my palm.
"Your first task is simple, Seth," Grandfather instructed, stepping back a few paces. "Change its color."
I blinked, looking from the bright red fruit back to him. "How the hell am I supposed to do that? Is there some kind of chant or gesture? Shakala boom boom? Abracadabra?"
"Every Awakened channels their Astral Soul differently," Alistair explained patiently. "There are no rigid incantations for a conceptual soul like yours. In the end, it comes down to focus, concentration, and absolute intent. Will the reality you desire into existence."
I took a deep breath and looked down at the red apple in my hand. I cleared my mind, tuning out the hum of the overhead lights until the fruit was all that remained in my focus.
I didn’t try to imagine magic circles or complex energy flows. Instead, I simply locked my gaze on the smooth red skin and willed it, demanded it, to be orange.
*Shift.*
Without a sound, flash of light, or burst of aura, the apple’s color changed instantly.
The vibrant red skin was gone. In its place was a flawless shade of bright orange. It didn’t look painted or altered. It looked as though the fruit had grown that way from the very beginning, its previous state simply... erased.
"Whoa..." I murmured, turning the orange apple over in my hand.
I tossed it back to Grandfather. Alistair caught it effortlessly, studying the smooth orange skin with growing fascination.
"Fascinating..." Alistair muttered, rubbing his thumb over the skin. "No residual mana signature, no superficial illusion spell... Reality itself was rewritten to accept this as its baseline."
"Is it permanent, or will it fade back to red after a while?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"A good question,’ Grandfather replied, pulling a small, heavy glass containment bottle from his coat and placing the orange apple inside it before sealing the top. "We shall keep it sealed and observe it over time to determine the stability of your alteration. Now, let us test your range."
He produced a second red apple and placed it on a metal pedestal one meter away from me. "Now try changing this one without touching it."
I fixed my gaze on the second apple, willing its color to turn green. It took noticeably more concentration, a faint strain tugging at the back of my mind, but after a second, the red skin smoothly shifted into a crisp green.
"Good," Alistair noted. He moved the pedestal back to two meters. "Again."
I focused on the green apple, trying to turn it yellow, but nothing happened. I pushed harder, pouring every ounce of concentration into the change, yet the fruit remained stubbornly green. No matter how much I focused, my Authority simply couldn’t bridge the gap.
"It seems your current effective range is limited to a radius of one meter around your body," Grandfather concluded, mentally noting the result as he stepped closer. "Direct physical contact also requires significantly less effort."
To confirm the limits, we ran a series of rapid tests using various inanimate objects. I experimented with texture, weight, and density. At one point, I tried compressing the air around a third apple. I overshot my intent, and the fruit violently exploded into a cloud of pulverized dust like a miniature grenade, forcing both of us to take a quick step back.
"Okay, didn’t mean to do that," I muttered, wiping a speck of apple dust off my sleeve.
"Intent requires precision," Alistair chuckled, looking more fascinated than alarmed. "Even a stray thought can alter the physical state in unexpected ways."
I cleared my throat and looked over at the tray of testing materials. "Let me try the apple again, Grandfather. But this time, I want to change it completely, not just the color, but the entire fruit. I want to turn it into a real orange."
Alistair raised an eyebrow, handing me a fresh red apple. "A complete alteration of organic properties. Proceed."
I held the apple in both hands and closed my eyes. pictured an orange-the thick, dimpled skin, the sweet citrus scent, the soft pulp inside, and its juicy segments. I willed the apple out of existence and demanded that an orange take its place.
*Shift.*
When I opened my eyes, I was holding a perfectly round orange with thick, dimpled skin. It smelled sweet and tangy, exactly like fresh citrus.
"I think I nailed it," I said with a grin. "Smells legit too. Can I eat it?"
"Hold on, Seth," Alistair said quickly, stepping forward to take the newly formed fruit from my hands. "Never eat anything created through unrefined Reality Manipulation until its molecular safety has been verified."
Alistair peeled a small segment of the orange and dropped it into the cage. The rat sniffed the fruit curiously and took a tiny bite.
The moment the fruit reached its stomach, the rat let out a sharp squeak and collapsed onto its side. Within seconds, its fur withered, its flesh dissolved like melting wax, and its body rapidly decayed into ash, leaving behind nothing but a clean white skeleton inside the cage.
I stood there completely speechless, staring at the tiny skeleton with wide eyes. "What the hell?! It turned into toxic acid?!"
Alistair stroked his silver beard thoughtfully as he studied the remaining orange. "It wasn’t acid, Seth. Your mind focused on the fruit’s appearance, scent, and general concept. But because you lack a detailed understanding of its cellular biology and chemical composition, the reality shift filled in those missing details with an unstable, highly toxic organic anomaly."
He looked up at me, his eyes sharp and analytical. "Your Astral Soul relies heavily on your knowledge, imagination, and conceptual understanding. If you try to alter something complex without fully comprehending its internal logic, reality will fill in the gaps in unpredictable-and often dangerous-ways."