Null roared and all of the foreign molecules were forced out of his body.
Even Ego was sent out as he deemed him a foreign presence.
Finally able to think again, Null was covered in sweat and shivering heavily as if he had been locked in a freezer.
His hands searched his entire body for any pain or wound, but found nothing after a quick sweep.
'What the fuck was that?!'
His breathing was rugged and he was still a bit numb, but he was alive.
His shifty eyes then went to the one behind the attack.
Oregon stood still, spear in hand and crown above his head.
The spear was made of void stone and the crown was made of spirit stone with rippling waves and colors flowing inside.
Oregon seemed to pay him no heed as he looked to Xep.
A wave of vibrations swept the unsuspecting Stoneman, but they did no harm.
Instead, they registered the unique stone before returning to Oregon to which he waved his spear.
It shifted in composition, the blade now glistening with the same green sheen as the stone Xep was made of.
Not even a second later, the aura of death returned once more as the dark-green blade began to emit the deadly aura.
Null was not in the best state, so when the aura spread over him, he felt fear.
The fear of death.
He might have been in perfect physical condition, but his mentality was damaged after the attack on his body.
Oregon took a step forward as Null's heart began beating faster.
Ego screamed to Null, trying to snap him out of it, but it was as if his senses were dulled in his state of fear.
He could only watch as the pitch black entity went towards him with something that could harm his soul.
Before he knew it, the tip of the spear was placed against his lower torso.
'I won't give him the chance to plead or give his last words. I owe him that much. I am merely a monster feeding on a poor soul.'
'Is this it? Am I dead just like that?'
He had truly underestimated the power of Oregon since he had already faced more powerful threats.
Even the Creator had helped him out!
Currently he was chuckling to himself as he watched Null's stomach tear open, his soul targeted.
'This'll be interesting,' he thought as a took a small sip from the bottle.
His hazy figure stabilized and returned to clarity, 'Truly a waste.'
Null felt the blade pierce his tough skin and then a searing pain that stemmed from his soul coming into contact with the deadly fume.
It was only for a moment however.
Very quickly, the pain turned into a warm current that was sucked into the void stone vortex.
Oregon sensed this occurrence and was astonished.
Fwoosh!
The change showed in Null's aura.
A stone grey was on display as Null stood up with the spear still inside of him.
Sure, he was fearful and wet behind the ears, but Null was not about to be obstructed this early in his journey.
"I applaud your feats, but that's all I have for an enemy. You cannot kill me at my weakest, so I'll do you a favor and ask once more."
He grabbed the spear and shoved it deeper into his vortex causing the spear to dissolve into pure spirit energy.
"Join my crew— our crew— and help me right a wrong."
Oregon scoffed, "Is that what you want to do? Are we just going to act like we didn't let you in with open arms just for you to slaughter us like livestock?"
It was at this time that the twins could no longer stay quiet.
"He's just a kid! You remember how he was just a baby, don't you?"
"We already got the story from his perspective. Part of his unique system took control in that moment. As shitty as it is to say, it wasn't his fault."
They wanted to continue, but found their voices were silenced by an invisible force.
"Enough. I've already seen through it all. His mind is home to spirits and his soul capable of drawing in spirit energy. Truly astounding!"
The others were not aware he noted such things even after being spread so thin.
"I really do envy such power, but I have other means to gain such strength!"
'Terresa! Join me!'
The planet's spirit understood immediately what he meant.
She did not hesitate to enter his Stonehead and begin tying her being to his.
Oregon felt her presence echoing throughout his mind.
The feeling was neither pleasant nor unpleasant, but it continued as mostly everyone was confused by his actions.
As for those who had a decent understanding of his actions, they could not help but shudder at the thought of a Transcendent seeking to align himself with Null's own centers of power.
'He's gonna fail. He has to fail!'
'I can't believe he's putting up such a fight! This guy definitely doesn't seem like Cronir at all!'
Oregon was doing his best to contain the entirety of Terresa's spirit, but he already came up with a plan ahead of time.
'Time to become a planet.'
The words still sounded foolish to him, but he did his best to uphold the idea.
From his time separated into tiny molecules, he turned the ordinary earth into void stone all around.
The vibrations gathered spirit energy which in turn increased the amount of void stone, so now he had control over a widespread coverage of a spirit energy absorbing mineral.
With outstretched arms, Oregon willed all of the spirit energy both within himself and throughout the planet to converge to his Stonehead.
The massive increase began to rival Null's own intake!
'You're one step away! Now that I'm here, I can help you create life! You must use your own creation!'
Terresa did not even marvel at the success of the process because Oregon was doing something not a single person could have predicted.
What could a Transcendent do in the face of an Enlightened?
It was the same as an ant facing a dragon.
In this case, the dragon allowed the ant to evolve into something that could face him at full strength.
'Create a life? I still can't even fathom something like that!'
'You already know the process of creation. It's ingrained in your Ironheart!'
'So, I just have to take my void stone and infuse it with spirit energy while waiting for a soul to inhabit it?'
The connection between Terresa's spirit and Oregon's Stonehead was beginning to come into play.
'I can do this,' Oregon was the most serious he had been up to this point.
He was a bit nervous, but with Terresa's reassurance he worked quickly.
It was as if he was covered in oil as the color of the void stone slid across his body into his palms.
He was left with a pearlescent stone that had no special properties aside from being capable of channeling spirit energy.
Null and the others were dumbfounded at the familiar sight of a person holding a pitch black baby.
Only, this baby did not stir in his arms as it had yet to be inhabited.
While Void was an organism that gained a spirit, Oregon's creation would house a soul.
Null had only been birthing spirits in his two centers of power, but was tied to only one soul that was his.
Terresa herself could only guide the lost souls into their own minerals if there was enough spirit energy to kickstart the process.
Null knew this and figured that all of this was possible because of Terresa.
He had no idea how long she must have lived for, but seeing her wisdom come into play with Oregon's evolution, he had to admit she was perfect for him.
Null too knew how tedious forming a spirit was.
Not everyone could open their minds to allow them access to their mind space.
Not only that, but depending on how the spirit was formed it could possess certain abilities.
Ego was just a simple spirit when they were first formed, but after connecting to the Cosmic Structure and seeing Null's life play like a high definition movie, they matured and grew more intelligent.
Void was noticeably less intelligent, but he was formed from the vortex inside Null which caused him to have a strong connection to souls and spirit energy.
Terresa was a living library of all things mineral, but she also had the insight of creating life.
Not only could she allow Oregon to be informed on all the knowledge she accrued after trial and error of birthing Stonemen, but she could guide him as she was now.
It was not long before Oregon swore he heard a noise and a soul found it's way to him.
A soul just like him looking for new life showed up and Terresa was ecstatic.
'Now enshroud it with your spirit energy and form a connection that will allow you to judge the personality of the soul.'
'On it!'
Oregon was still new to handling spirit energy on such a scale, but his body allowed it naturally.
The Soul Stone was the most valuable thing he had.
He could feel it happening in real time as the Soul Stone shone a light that covered the baby Stoneman.
Oregon could determine whether the soul was suitable for his void stone.
Laid out before him was a rebellious soul that carried the aura of courage and bravery.
He could not glean any more specifics on the soul, but felt inwardly that it was perfect.
As the wandering soul found it's purchase in the void stone in Oregon's hands, the stone moved.