With the spiritual energy transfer complete, there was not much to be done for the time being.
However, Tino still wanted to try out the transference circle on Null despite Klein's warning.
His reasoning was simple: it was a quick and easy was to become stronger.
That was all he desired in his current life.
"Let's just prepare for the worst," having already gone through a similar situation, Klein and the others made sure to keep a watchful eye on them.
As Tino readied himself to get started, he guided the knife to his hand, but when he did he noticed something.
'Why are there slits on my fingertips?'
Seeing his confusion, Null asked, "Is there something wrong?"
"There seems to be a change in my hands. The change is almost imperceptible."
Tino began picking at the slits and almost immediately, blood trickled from them without the slightest bit of trouble.
"Woah!"
"What's wrong! Did you hurt yourself?"
Tino realized he might have overreacted as the entire crew was on edge, "Sorry. It's just that these slits on my fingers allowed me to expel blood without having to cut myself. There's not even a bit of pain either."
Null saw how he picked at his fingers and was slightly grossed out despite having teared into the flesh of creatures.
"That seems... good I guess?"
"Maybe this is one of the changes my evolution brought about so that I could better control my blood. I'll try it out now."
Once he got the feeling down, Tino found that he could expel blood from the slits on his fingers like a pen and even spray it if he concentrated hard enough.
With that out of the way, he was even more interested in absorbing Null's essence as he created the transference circle on the floor and himself.
"Okay. I'll begin the process now," Tino said and touched the tip of his bloody finger to Null's chest.
Inwardly, he was thinking to himself, 'I can't let this chance go to waste.'
As the transference circle went to work, Tino felt an enormous amount of essence flood his body without him even trying to extract it.
This essence was peculiar in nature as it felt like the weight of the universe was carried inside of it.
It fueled Tino and made him feel as if he could destroy a mountain with his bare hands but at the same time left him feeling like a speck of dust floating in an endless abyss.
'What the hell is wrong with this essence?! I just started and it feels like I'm going to burst at this rate!'
Clueless to his internal struggle, Null felt the connection between him and Tino and spoke with Ego, 'Are you getting this, Ego? This method is truly something!'
'Focus on Tino to make sure nothing happens. I've already got all I need when it comes to the Cosmic Structure.'
'Alright. Now that you mention it, it seems like he's struggling a bit.'
'Serves him right,' Ego thought to themself.
Tino's true intentions could not be hidden from someone like Ego.
They did not understand the severity something like the loss of life when they were capable of resurrecting someone with the power of the Cosmic Structure.
Just like Void enjoyed the taste of energies and souls, Ego enjoyed cataloguing the different systems of life as well as death.
After mere seconds of absorption, Tino felt it was time to give up his plan of sucking Null dry.
Before, Tino absorbed essence like he was using a tablespoon to take bit by bit of a soup at a time.
One little scoop at a time satisfied him.
With the perks of the spirit energy, he felt that he could move up to a ladle.
Now, however, he was forcefully dumping the whole pot down his gullet and not only was it scorching, but there was also simply too much for him to consume.
The struggle manifested itself in the form of a pained face and trembling arm that Tino felt was glued to Null.
It was as if his wish was granted as he was forced to absorb all of Null's essence at his own risk.
The others noticed this and moved in.
"Separate his finger from Null first!"
"Null, are you feeling alright?!"
"Tino, stop absorbing at once!"
Klein, Evangeline, and Edmond were quick to manage the situation, but it seemed like Tino was doing it against his will.
"What's wrong, you guys?"
The culprit behind the danger was oblivious to Tino's obvious struggle, but he had a reason to feel as such.
The connection between the two felt comfortable and like a treatment.
It was as if Tino was draining an abscess slowly, but Null failed to realize that his essence was not something he could lose easily.
The transference circle worked easily with lower life forms like those summoned for Tino's use, but he was the holder of the Cosmic Authority.
If someone could take his essence without the proper requirements then why would the status even matter.
Null was transformed inside and out just to become the perfect being to wield the Cosmic Authority.
Tino could hardly suppress the growing pain of accommodating the cosmic essence flowing into him from Null, but it did not seem like the process could be ended as simply as wanting it to.
He could not retract his hand no matter how hard he or the others tried to pull him away.
Just like how Edmond absorbed more spiritual energy than he could handle, Tino was absorbing the essence which should have been impossible for another entity without the Cosmic Authority.
Once Null was in his right mind after noticing the crew's effort to part him from Tino, Null cancelled the transference circle with the reluctant help of Ego.
Since the Cosmic Structure could map out any and every power, energy, or other source of being, it was easy for Ego to reverse engineer an ability like it was their own from the start.
With an audible crash, the two separated and fell on their backs.
"Finally!"
"Were you trying to kill yourself?"
"Are the two of you okay?"
Angie tended to Tino while Klein came to Null's aid.
He observed Null and checked everything before sighing in relief, "As far as I can tell, there's nothing wrong with you."
"Yeah, but there's something wrong with Tino! He's not breathing," Angie yelled.
Edmond cast his holy flames on the boy to see if it would help, but the action was to no avail.
There was something intrinsically wrong with him.
'Ego! You have to help him,' Null pleaded.
'Help him?! You should know he tried to harm you just now by absorbing your essence. The fool should learn a lesson or two before messing with someone like you,' Ego was vehemently against the idea.
'Someone like me?! You mean a murderer! A greenhorn idiot that can't even control my own powers!'
'That was Void's fault! You couldn't control him any better than you could control me!'
'Void is a part of me! You aren't! You're different than him. You get to remain awake and learn and process things unlike him. I can't control you, but Void should be well within my means of control due to his nature.'
Ego stayed silent for a moment but left a few parting words before seeping into Tino's head, 'I got to choose to be a part of you. Void can't help but be who he is.'
As a separate spirit, Ego had full autonomy over their life.
Void however, lived as a special organ that gained sentience from both Null's influence and his innate connection to Null's spirit.
He was technically not separate organism, but Null still considered him to be like a brother.
All in all, Ego was more like his child than a sibling.
As they tended to Tino, Null felt how he hurt them and wished they could be on the same side more often.
Ego knew that him trying to absorb Null's essence would result in a problematic conclusion, but after accessing the damages, they were surprised.
Even though his body could not properly contain the cosmic essence, it was morphed by it nonetheless.
His blood in particular was trying to accommodate the essence rather than absorb it.
It was as if there was a tacit understanding that the essence was something that could not be absorbed, so his blood reacted naturally to it.
The rest of his body, though, could not keep up with the potency of the essence and shut down completely.
Ego went through Tino's body and collected the cosmic essence so that he could recuperate sufficiently.
As if receiving a shock, Tino sat up straight, "Ahh!"
Ego exited and calmed him down, "Relax, you big baby. Wasn't this your plan all along?"
"Huh? What happened to me? Why do I feel so... strong?"
"Are you sure you're not hurt at all," Angie asked.
"Hurt? No," Tino patted his body, "I feel better than ever!"
'But you'd be feeling pretty dead if it weren't for me,' Ego thought.
"I can feel it in my blood. It's stronger than before in a different way."
"You are different now," Ego said, "You're a Sanguine Warlock with enchanted blood."