Supernatural - Death Gods and Death Note Rules

[SinsI]

Out of this world influence is a very important aspect of the Death Note universe.
Shinigami, their Death Notes, and several other supernatural aspects are major factors in this story. We don't know much about of them, and most of the information we have comes either from the Shinigami themselves (and they can lie) or from the so-called "How to use" rules for Death Note.
Of course, the latter are far from actually being just "How to use", especially with rules such as XXXVI There are male and female gods of death,but it is neither permitted,nor possible for them to have sexual relations with humans.
The gods of death also cannot have sex with each other.
Rather, these are an attempt to answer some of the readers questions.
A list of them was on infoseek, but it is no longer there.
There are two sets of them - one being in Japanese, the other in English.
How different are they?
What exactly do those rules mean, what would happen if ...? Why are some of them so controversial and illogical? Are all of them true? What made the author create such rules?
Please discuss these and other questions regarding anything supernatural in the Death Note here.

[Kittie Rose]

Does it ever explain it in the manga?

If not, they should make another that does.

I mean, I don't want it explained down to the ground to the point where it's mundane and all scientific trickery, it just needs to be expanded upon.

[Jaden]

rule XXIX

"You cannot kill humans with less than 12 minutes of life left (in human calculatons)."

I guess this means that the wacko who was going to kill Misa along with himself would really only have killed Misa :D

rule XXXIV

"...a god of death who comes to the human world，in the objective to kill the owner of the DEATH NOTE，will not be able to do so."

"Only a god of death that has passed on their DEATH NOTE to a human is able to kill the owner of the DEATH NOTE."

Rem can't really kill Light :D

[SinsI]

I think everything the rules say about remaining lifespans (i.e. halving one's life in exchange for the eyes) is false, the main reason being the Death Note itself.
We already know that if you kill a murderer his victim's life would be extended.
And Kira is killing dozens of those every day, irreversibly changing the fates of all their future victims. Add the "butterfly effect" - and it becomes obvious that no such thing as "remaining lifespan" could exist.
I think this rule is a Deus ex machina, reflecting the author's dislike for superpowered characters and his desire to kill'em off faster.

[Jaden]

the shinigami and the death notes are one huge deus ex machina. Ryuk says himself that no one knows why they even exist. and truly, there's no reason besides that they're necessary for the story.

[bayoab]

rule XXIX

"You cannot kill humans with less than 12 minutes of life left (in human calculatons)."

I guess this means that the wacko who was going to kill Misa along with himself would really only have killed Misa :D
Where was it written that he was going to kill himself too?


rule XXXIV

"...a god of death who comes to the human world，in the objective to kill the owner of the DEATH NOTE，will not be able to do so."

"Only a god of death that has passed on their DEATH NOTE to a human is able to kill the owner of the DEATH NOTE."

Rem can't really kill Light :D
Rem's objective wasn't to kill Light so only the second rule would possibly apply and Rem passed on a note to Misa which would mean she isn't affected by that rule either. (These rules are really a plot hole cover for a later event though.)

I think everything the rules say about remaining lifespans (i.e. halving one's life in exchange for the eyes) is false, the main reason being the Death Note itself.
We already know that if you kill a murderer his victim's life would be extended.
And Kira is killing dozens of those every day, irreversibly changing the fates of all their future victims. Add the "butterfly effect" - and it becomes obvious that no such thing as "remaining lifespan" could exist.
I think this rule is a Deus ex machina, reflecting the author's dislike for superpowered characters and his desire to kill'em off faster.
Many of the murders were already in jail/arrested and were unlikely to kill again. However, for those who possibly would kill another person, the rule is probably meant to be interpreted as you can't kill someone to knowingly extending another's.

[SinsI]

Is there a limit to the things you can write with?
What would happen if you write a name with a pencil and erase it afterward?

[Mr JeburtO]

some of the rules are weird, for example in the previous episode i watched the rule "if the name is written in two death notes then the first to be completed takes effect" or something similar.

but in the next episode it said "if the same name is written within 0.006 seconds in another death note then they cancel each other out"

is this really neccesary :confused:

[Druix]

Is there a limit to the things you can write with?
What would happen if you write a name with a pencil and erase it afterward?



You can write with anything, including things like blood or cosmetics (ZOMGFORESHADOWING!), as long as it remains as legible letters.


Death Note: How to Use It XI covers most of your next question;

Even after the individual's name, the time of death, and death condition on the Death Note were filled out, the time and condition of death can be altered as many times as you want, as long as it is changed within 6 minutes and 40 seconds from the time it was filled it. But, of course, this is only possible before the victims dies.

Whenever you want to change anything written on the Death Note within 6 minutes and 40 seconds after you wrote, you must first rule out the characters you want to erase with two straight lines.

As you see above, the time and condition of death can be changed, but once the victim's name has been written, the individual's death can never be avoided.

And HTUI XLIII goes over it once more, just in case;

It is useless trying to erase names written in the Death Note with erasers or white-out.




Not concerning the above rules...
My favorite rule has always been from XXXVI, as mentioned in the first post of this thread. I understand why it was written, to answer fans' questions avoid as many creepy fanfics as possible, but still. It's called "Death Note: How to Use It" and that has nothing to do with actually using the Note XD

[Hisago]

I'm especially interested in the punishments that the Death Gods receive for breaking the rules... Considering the highest-level ones result in death, the Shingaimi must not break the rules very often. I guess they're vunerable to things in their own realm.

[distantarray]

L gets an idea :)

this is cute, also makes me wonder if anyone would've actually done this lol

http://ic1.deviantart.com/fs12/f/2006/316/3/3/DA_DN2.jpg

[SinsI]

Any new links for the list of "How to" rules? The old one is no longer working and I've deleted it.

[saku-san]

well the rules dont make much sence cuz i got the 'how to use 13' n they 'explain' the rules n all but all they r doing is re-writeing them

anyways my fave. rule is the one that was first posted ^_^
its funny to me
n also the one that says :
the god of death will not die from lack of sleep. moreover, gods of death do not really need sleep. the means of sleep for gods of death is essentialy different from humens and is merely lazyness.

thats calling all shinigami lazy ^_^

[Aquaman OS]

They pretty much are. Shinigami lead pretty boring and crappy lives. It's the trade off for being immortal. Human's only live a short time but can have much more fufilling lives and the human world is much more interesting. Balances everything out.

[saku-san]

hee hee true so very true
but i still like saying rem want all that lazy though she did stuff

[Aquillion]

I think everything the rules say about remaining lifespans (i.e. halving one's life in exchange for the eyes) is false, the main reason being the Death Note itself.
We already know that if you kill a murderer his victim's life would be extended.
And Kira is killing dozens of those every day, irreversibly changing the fates of all their future victims. Add the "butterfly effect" - and it becomes obvious that no such thing as "remaining lifespan" could exist.
I think this rule is a Deus ex machina, reflecting the author's dislike for superpowered characters and his desire to kill'em off faster.You know, that would be a humorous point -- if Ryuk knows all along that it's impossible for Light to be saving anyone with the use of a Death Note, and just laughs to himself about it.

(That would also imply that people who he thought he saved early on would not have died, but that's not much of a stretch.)

[shibuyakazuya_fhaye]

rule XXIX

"You cannot kill humans with less than 12 minutes of life left (in human calculatons)."

I guess this means that the wacko who was going to kill Misa along with himself would really only have killed Misa :D

rule XXXIV

"...a god of death who comes to the human world，in the objective to kill the owner of the DEATH NOTE，will not be able to do so."

"Only a god of death that has passed on their DEATH NOTE to a human is able to kill the owner of the DEATH NOTE."

Rem can't really kill Light :D
wah....sugoi
i haven't really know that!?:heh:

[OtseisRagnarok]

Does anyone know where I can find the complete list of rules?

[C.A.]

Does anyone know where I can find the complete list of rules?I just googled: 'death nore rules' and a whole bunch of links came up with the correct answers.

A neat one: http://www.zanpakuto.com/viewblog?id=29

[OtseisRagnarok]

I just googled: 'death nore rules' and a whole bunch of links came up with the correct answers.

A neat one: http://www.zanpakuto.com/viewblog?id=29
Thanks. I didn't know it'd be so easy to find...

[Deso]

How to use it I
--The human whose name is written in this note shall die.
--This note will not take effect unless the writer has the person's face in their mind when writing his/her name. Therefore, people sharing the same name will not be affected.
--If the case of death is written within 40 seconds of writing the person's name, it will happen.
--If the case of death is not specified, the person will simply die of a heart attack.
--After writing the case of death, details of the death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds.
How to use it II
--This note shall be come the property of the human world, once it touches ground of (arrives in ) the human world.
--The owner of the note can recognize the image and voice of its original owner ,i.e. a god of death.
--The human who uses this note can neither go to Heaven nor Hell.
How to use it III
--If the time of death is written within 40 seconds after writing the cause of death as a heart attack, the time of death can be manipulated, and the time can go into effect within 40 seconds after writing the name.
--The human who touches the DEATH NOTE can recognize the image and voice of its original owner, a god of death, even if the human is not the owner of the note.
How to use it IV
--The person in possession of the DEATH NOTE is possessed by a god of death, its original owner, until they die.
--If a human uses the note, a god of death usually appears in front of him/her within 39 days after he/she uses the note.
--God of death, the original owners of the DEATH NOTE, do not do, in principle, anything which will help or prevent the deaths in the note.
--A god of death has no obligation to completely explain how to use the note or rules which will apply to the human who owns it.
How to use it V
--A god of death can extend his life by putting human names on the note, but humans cannot.
--A person can shorten his or her own life by using the note.
The human who becomes the owner of the DEATH NOTE can, in exchange of half of his/her remaining life, get the eyeballs of half of his/her death which will enable him/her to see a human's name and remaining lifetime when looking through them.
--A god oh death cannot be killed even if stabbed in his heart with a knife or shot in the head with a gun. However, here are ways to kill a god of death, which are not generally known to the gods of death.
How to use it VI
--The conditions for death will not be realized unless it is physically possible for that human or it is reasonably assumed to be carried out by that human.
--The specific scope of the condition for death is not known to the gods of death, either. So, you must examine and find out.
How to use it VII
--One page taken from the DEATH NOTE, or even a fragment of the page, contains the full effects of the note.
--The instrument to write with can be anything, [e.g. cosmetics, blood, etc ] as it can write directly onto the note and remains as legible letters.
--Even the original owners of the DEATH NOTE, gods of death, do not know much about the note.
How to use it VIII
--You may also write the cause and/or details of death prior to filling in the name of the individual. Be sure to insert the name of the front of the written cause of death. ----You have about 19 days (according to the human calendar) in order to fill in a name.
--Even if you do not actually possess the DEATH NOTE, the effect will be the same if you can recognize the person and his/her name to place in the blank.
How to use it IX
--The DEATH NOTE will not affect those under 780 days old.
--The DEATH NOTE will be rendered useless if the victim's name is misspelled four times.
How to use it X
--"Suicide" is a valid cause of death. Basically all humans are thought to possess the possibility to commit suicide. It is, therefore, not something "unbelievable to think of" .
--Whether the cause of the individual's death is either a suicide or accident, If the death leads to the death of more than the intended, the person will simply die of a heart attack. This is to ensure that other lives are not influenced.

How to use it XI
--Even after the individual's name, the time of death, and death condition on the DEATH NOTE were filled out, the time and condition of death can be altered as many times as you want, as long as it is changed within 6 minutes and 40 seconds from the time it was filled in. But, of course, this is only possible before the victim dies.
--Whenever you want to change anything written on the DEATH NOTE within 6 minutes and 40 seconds after you wrote, you must first rule out the characters you want to erase with two straight lines.
--As you see above, the time and condition of death can be change, but once the victim's name has been written, the individual's death can never be avoided.
How to use it XII
--If you lose the DEATH NOTE or have it stolen, you will lose its owner ship unless you retrieve it within 490 days.
--If you have traded the eye power of a god of death, you will lose the eye power as well as the memory of the DEATH NOTE, once you lose its ownership. At the same time, the remaining half of your life will not be restored.
How to use it XIII
--You may lend the DEATH NOTE to another person while maintaining its ownership. Subletting it to yet another person is possible, too.
--The borrower of the DEATH NOTE will not be followed by a god of death. The god of death always remains with the owner of the DEATH NOTE. Also, the borrower cannot trade the eyesight of the god of death.
How to use it XIV
--When the owner of the DEATH NOTE dies while the NOTE is being lent, its ownership will be transferred to the person who is holding it at that time.
--If the DEATH NOTE is stolen and the owner is killed by the thief, its ownership will automatically be transferred to the thief.
How to use it XV
--When the same name is written on more than two DEATH NOTES, the NOTE which was first filled in will take effect, regard less of the time of death.
If writing the same name on more than two DEATH NOTES is completed within a 0.06-second difference, it is regarded as simultaneous; the DEATH NOTE will not take effect and the individual written will not die.
How to use it XVI
--The god of death must at least own one DEATH NOTE. That DEATH NOTE must never be lent to or written on by a human.
Exchanging and writing on the DEATH NOTE between the gods of death is no problem.
How to use it XVII
--If the god of death decides to use the DEATH NOTE to kill the assassin of an individual he favors, the individual's life will be extended, but the god of death will die.
--The dead god of death will disappear, but the DEATH NOTE will remain. The ownership of this DEATH NOTE is usually carried over to the next god of death that touches it, but it is common sense that it is returned to the Great god of death.
How to use it XVIII
--Only by touching each other's DEATH NOTE human individuals who own the DEATH NOTE in the human world recognize the appearance or voice of each other's god of death.
--An individual with the eye power of a god of death can fell the name and life span of other humans by looking at that person's face. By possessing the DEATH NOTE, an individual gains the ability to kill and stops being a victim. From this point, a person with the DEATH NOTE cannot seethe life span of other DEATH NOTE owners, including him/herself. But, it is not really necessary for the individual to view the life span of him/herself nor other DEATH NOTE owners.
The god of death must not tell humans the names or life spans of individuals he sees. This is to avoid confusion in the human world.
How to use it XIX
--It is prerequisite for the DEATH NOTE used in the human world that a living god of death makes sure that the humans in the human world use it.
--It is very difficult to consider that a god of a death who has possessed a human could die, but if he should die, the DEATH NOTE that he brought into the human world will not lose its power.
How to use it XX
--In order to see the names and life spans of humans by using the eye power of the god of death, the owner must look at more than half of that person's face. When looking from top to bottom, he must look at least from the head to the nose. If he looks at only the eyes and under, he will not be able to see the person's name and life span. Also, even though some parts of the face, for example the eyes, nose or mouth are hidden, if he can basically see the whole face, he will be able to see the person's name and life span. It is still not clear how much exposure is needed to tell the name and life span, and this needs to be verified.
--If above conditions are met, names and life span can be seen through photos and pictures, no matter how old they are. But this is sometimes influenced by the vividness and size. Also, names and life spans cannot be seen by face drawings, however realistic they may be.
How to use it XXI
--Those with the eye power of the god of death will have the eyesight of over 3.6 in the human measurement, regardless of their original eyesight.
How to use it XXII
--The individuals who lose the ownership of the DEATH NOTE will also lose their memory of the usage of the DEATH NOTE. This dose not mean that he will lose all the memory from the day he owned it to the day he lose possession, but means he will only lose the memory involving.
How to use it XXIII
--Whenever an individual with ownership of more than two DEATH NOTES loses possession to the DEATH NOTES, he will not be able to recognize that DEATH NOTE'S god of death's appearance or voice anymore.
The god of death himself will leave, but all the memory involving that DEATH NOTE will remain as long as he maintains ownership of at least one other DEATH NOTE.
How to use it XXIV
--The god of death must not stay in the human world without a particular reason. Conditions to stay in the human world are as follows:
?. When the god of death's DEATH NOTE is handed to a human.
?. Essentially, finding a human to pass on the DEATH NOTE should be done from the world of the gods of death, but if it is within 82 hours this may also be done in the human world.
?. When a god of death stalks an individual with an intention to kill them, as long as it is within 82 hours of haunting them, the god of death may stay in the human world.
How to use it XXV
--The god of death must not hand the DEATH NOTE directly to a child under 6 years of age(based on the human calendar).
--The DEATH NOTE must not be handed to a child under 6 years of age, but DEATH NOTES that have been dropped into the human world, and are part of the human world, can be used upon humans of any age with the same effect.
How to use it XXVI
--If you just write, "die of accident" for the cause of death, the victim will die from a natural accident after 6 minutes and 40 seconds from the time of writing it.
--Even though only one name is written in the DEATH NOTE, if it influences and causes other humans that are not written in it to die, the victim's cause of death will be a heart attack.
How to use it XXVII
--If you write, "die of disease" with a specific disease's name and the person's time of death, there must be a sufficient amount of time for the disease to progress. If the set time is too tight, the victim will die of a heart attack after 6 minutes and 40 seconds after completing the DEATH NOTE.
--If you write, "die of disease" for the cause of death, but only write a specific time of death without the actual name of disease, the human will die from an adequate disease. But the DEATH NOTE can only operate within 23 days (in the human calendar).
--This is called the 23-day rule.
How to use it XXVIII
--If you write, "die of disease" like before with a specific diseases name, but without a specific time, if it takes more than 24 days for the human to die, the 23-day rule will not take effect and the human will die at an adequate time depending on the disease.
--When rewriting the cause and/or details of death it must be done within 6 minutes and 40 seconds. You cannot change the victim's time of death, however soon it may be.
How to use it XXIX
--You cannot kill humans at the age of 124 and over with the DEATH NOTE.
--You cannot kill humans with less than 12 minutes of life left (in human calculations).
How to use it XXX
--If you have traded the eye power of a god of death, you will see a person's primary life span in the human world.
--The names you see with the eye power of a god of death are the names needed to kill that person. You will be able to see the names even if that person isn't registered in the family registration.
How to use it XXXI
--The number of pages of the DEATH NOTE will never run out.
How to use it XXXII
--If someone possesses more than one DEATH NOTE, by visualizing the victim, then writing down the name in one of the DEATH NOTES and the cause of death in the other, it will take effect.
--The order however, is unimportant, if you write down the cause of death in one DEATH NOTE and afterwards, write the name in the other, it will still take effect.
--This can also be accomplished by two DEATH NOTE owners working together. In this case, it's necessary that the two touch each other's DEATH NOTES.
How to use it XXXIV
--The owner of the DEATH NOTE cannot be killed by a god of death who is living in the world of the gods of death.
--Also, a god of death who comes to the human world, in the objective to kill the owner of the DEATH NOTE, will not be able to do so.
--Only a god of death that has passed on their DEATH NOTE to a human is able to kill the owner of the DEATH NOTE.
How to use it XXXV
--If a DEATH NOTE owner accidentally misspells a name four times, that person will be free from being killed by the DEATH NOTE. However, if they intentionally misspell the name four times, the DEATH NOTE owner will die.
--The person whose name was misspelled four times on purpose will not be free of death by a DEATH NOTE.
How to use it XXXVI
--There are male and female gods of death, but it is neither permitted, nor possible for them to have sexual relations with humans. The gods of death also cannot have sex with each other.
HOW TO USE IT XXXVII
--When regaining ownership of the DEATH NOTE, the memories associated with the DEATH NOTE will also return.
In cases where you were involved with other DEATH NOTES as will, memories of all the DEATH NOTES involved will return.
--Even without obtaining ownership, memories will return just by touching the DEATH NOTE.
HOW TO USE IT XXXVIII
--You will lose memory of the DEATH NOTE when losing its ownership. But you can regain this memory by either obtaining the ownership once again or by touching the DEATH NOTE. This can be done up to 6 times par DEATH NOTE.
--If the 6 times are exceeded, the person's memory of the DEATH NOTE will not return and they will have to use it with out any previous memory of it.
HOW TO USE IT XXXIX
--Humans that have traded for the eye power of a god of death will see a person's primary life span, and will not be influenced by the DEATH NOTE. If the victim is killed using the DEATH NOTE, the remaining lifetime of that victim will be provided to the god of death.
HOW TO USE IT XL
--Humans that have traded for the eye power of a god of death cannot see the name or life-span of humans who have already passed away by looking at their photos.
HOW TO USE IT XLI
--Whenever a god of death who had been in the human world dies and the DEATH NOTE is left behind and is picked up by a human, that person becomes the owner.
--However, in this case, only the human that can recognize the god of death and its voice is able to see and touch the DEATH NOTE
--It is very unlikely, but if by any chance a god of death picks up the DEATH NOTE, that god of death becomes the owner.
HOW TO USE IT XLI
--It is useless trying to erase names written in the DEATH NOTE with erasers or white-out.
HOW TO USE IT XLII
--The use of the in the human world sometimes affects other human's lives or shortens their original life-span, even though their names are not actually written in the DEATH NOTE itself. In these cases, no matter the cause, the god of death sees only the original life-span and not the shortened life-span.
HOW TO USE IT XLIII
--It is useless trying to erase names written in the DEATH NOTE with erasers or white-out.--If a Death Note is owned in the human world against the god of death's will, that god of death is permitted to stay in the human world in order to retrieve it.
--In that case, if there are other DEATH NOTES in the human world, the gods of death are not allowed to reveal to humans that DEATH NOTE'S owner or its location.
HOW TO USE IT XLIV
--If the DEATH NOTE that the god of death owns is taken away; by being cheated by other gods of death and so forth, it can only be retrieved from the god of death who is possessing it at the time. If there is no god of death, but a human possessing it, the only way that the god of death can retrieve it will be to first touch the DEATH NOTE and become the god of death that haunts that human. then wait until that human dies to take it away before any other human touches it or whenever the human shows a will to let go of it.
HOW TO USE IT XLV
--As long as the god of death has at least once seen a human and knows his/her name and life-span, the god of death is capable of finding that human from a hole in the world of the gods of death.
HOW TO USE IT XLVI
--There are laws in the world of gods of death. If a god of death should break the law, there are 9 levels of severity starting at Level 8 and going up to Level 1 plus the Extreme Level. For severity levels above 3 the god of death will be killed after being punished.
--For example, killing a human without using the Death Note is considered as the Extreme Level.
HOW TO USE IT XLVII
--Losing memory of the DEATH NOTE by passing on the ownership to another, or by abandoning its ownership will only occur when someone is actually killed using that DEATH NOTE. You will not lose memory of the DEATH NOTE, for example, if you merely owned it and had not written anyone's name.
--In this case, you will not be able to hear the voice or see the figure of the god of death any more. You will also lose the eye power of the god of death you traded with.
HOW TO USE IT XLVIII
--The god of death will not die from lack of sleep. Moreover, gods of death do not really need sleep. The meaning of sleep for gods of death is essentially different from humans and is merely laziness.
--Especially gods of death living in the human world that have passed on their DEATH NOTE shouldn't be lazy, as they are required to see the death of the human, but it is not that they are not allowed to sleep.
HOW TO USE IT XLIX
--Only 6 DEATH NOTES are allowed to exist at a time in the human world.
Of course, the DEATH NOTE that the god of death owns dose not count.
This means only 6 gods of death that have passed on their DEATH NOTE to humans can stay in the human world.
HOW TO USE IT L
--One god of death is allowed to pass on DEATH NOTES to only 3 humans at a time.
--It is possible for a single god of death to hand out up to 6 DEATH NOTES, for example, by handing 3 humans 2 DEATH NOTES each.
--In other words, one human could own all 6 DEATH NOTE.
HOW TO USE IT LI
--However, if a seventh DEATH NOTE is owned by a human in the human world, nothing will happen even if used,.
HOW TO USE IT LII
--In the event that there are more than 6 DEATH NOTE in the human world, only the first 6 DEATH NOTES that have been
delivered to humans will have effect.
--the seventh DEATH NOTE will not become active until one of the other 6 DEATH NOTES is burned up, or a god of death takes one of them back to the world of god of death.

I think that's the whole list.......I'm pretty sure of it......

[Aquillion]

Wow, some of those rules are... obscure. I wonder why humans over 124 years old are immune?

[Deso]

Quite simple really........if they're that old, it's likely that they'll probably just die soon......and that the God of Death, or Shinigami wouldn't get much life out of them.......so they just put it in their rules not to be able to kill them or not, it makes sense......I think......

[zaphod77]

Clarifications on rules.

Only death gods are prohibited from knowingly extending lives by killing someone's killer. There is no such prohibition on humans posessing notes.

The stalker would have lived longer than the time limit. his wound would not have been instantly fatal. Either that, or someone else's death note use on another person was responsible for the stalkers shortened lifespan, in which case it works anyway.

And to answer every other question before it's asked.

Light got the name correct within the first 4 times.

Rems threat was empty, but Light didn't realise this. Ryuk didn't tell him because it made things more intersting that way. Ryuk is a bastard.

Near did use the notebook to kill Mikigami. He simply could not risk a Kira escaping.

[Trafalgar Law]

Rems threat was empty, but Light didn't realise this. Ryuk didn't tell him because it made things more intersting that way. Ryuk is a bastard.
It was not empty.
How to use it XXXIV
--The owner of the DEATH NOTE cannot be killed by a god of death who is living in the world of the gods of death.
Rem was in the human world.
--Also, a god of death who comes to the human world, in the objective to kill the owner of the DEATH NOTE, will not be able to do so.
Rem did not come to the human world in order to kill Light, but to help Misa.
--Only a god of death that has passed on their DEATH NOTE to a human is able to kill the owner of the DEATH NOTE.
Rem had passed on her Death Note.

Near did use the notebook to kill Mikigami. He simply could not risk a Kira escaping.
That's SPECULATION. We do not know. Personally I think he didn't kill Mikami.