"No wonder you're so confident. Enlighten me, Cronir. How exactly are you Stonemen born?"
"The spirit of this planet, Terresa, selects the souls that gather here and assign them to a mineral deposit."
He did not correct him on his name because unlike before, he had already prepared for death.
The truth was unexpected, but after some thought it was plausible.
"To think I'd encounter another planet with a spirit this soon!"
Null's shout made Oregon shocked once more, 'Another planet? Seems like that's the reason behind his strength.'
He considered the fact that Null looked much older than before, so his real age should not be tied to his physical form.
'So what if he has the benefits of a planet's spirit? Don't I also have the same?'
The more he thought about it, the more he convinced himself that was the case.
"If you're not going to strike me, then don't mind me as I go first!"
He grabbed his spear and launched it at Null with all the strength he could muster.
Null made up his mind as he raised his hand.
A deluge of spirit energy fueled his process as a shimmering shield made from spirit stone blocked the spear.
'He even has such a thing in his arsenal?!'
The shield not only stopped the spear, but also absorbed the void stone spear.
Null would let Ego analyze it, but in the mean time, he wanted to show just how far the gap was between them.
He took it upon himself to change his physical form into that of a Stoneman.
His skin hardened and turned into spirit stone and his vortex turned into a void stone mass.
He could still absorb the spirit energy to make more of the peculiar stone.
"I like this stone of yours. What do you call it?"
"It's made from saturated stone from my Soul Stone. It's called void stone."
"Hmm. You call that spirit stone inside you a Soul Stone? I guess spirits and souls coincide with each other."
The form Null took on was the exact opposite of Oregon's: entirely formed from spirit stone with a void stone inside.
"You're worse than I feared," Oregon was genuinely worried about the one he chose to defeat, "But I now have the brains to see the world for what it is. It's mine. It's Oregon's!"
"Oh?"
"I've already thought about it. The next step. I've mastered the fundamentals, but going beyond that requires more than practice."
He saw how easy it was for Null to change into spirit stone, so he figured it must be possible.
Only, he was not sure how he could do it without having a source of energy.
'There's something about how he draws in energy. Huh? Is there void stone inside of him?"
He saw Null preparing to materialize more spirit stone and with the unique senses of the void stone, he felt a change in the atmosphere as if something went missing.
'Is that it? Is this precious stone something so easily made?'
This whole time, he had deemed the Soul Stone to be his prized possession after the Stonehead and Ironheart.
How could he not?
Even Terresa lauded the stone as without it, he would have been no more than an ordinary Stoneman.
'This stone exists as a part of me, but I created the void stone as I advanced. The real treasure was made from what I had.'
Seeing as even Null relied on the void stone, Oregon figured there must be a reason.
He had already taken the time to examine the Soul Stone down to the last molecule, but the void stone remained unknown.
'If I chose to gather this spirit energy with my void stone, I wonder just what might happen.'
It was a new process, but Null still was not actively attacking.
For the first time since his step into the Immortal stage, he immersed himself in the vastness of the void stone.
He felt the feeling of suppression through the connection and sought to remove it somehow.
'Maybe it's like those pores some people have. But aren't those subconscious actions? How am I supposed to take anything in?'
He tried time and time again to cause a reaction in the surface of the void stone.
'I sense a struggle going on, my child. What are you having trouble with?'
Terresa was a witness to the fight as much as any of the others, but she had a mental connection with Oregon so she could provide assistance.
'I just don't get it! How do I unlock the features of this stone when it seems like there's no way to?!'
Sensing his troubles, Terresa did what she knew best, 'Take a moment to do nothing but sit.'
Her words came as easily as a gentle breeze and Oregon felt no inclination to resist.
He dropped to the ground and ceased all action and thought.
At that moment, he felt the spirit of Terresa around him in that breeze holding him in her embrace.
'I may not know much outside the autonomy of the Stonemen, but I see the way these outsiders move and I feel the vibrations of their heartbeat.'
Oregon then felt the beating of his own Ironheart.
'These organic creatures take in the air and expel it before repeating the cycle. Try taking a breath for me.'
Oregon was confused, 'Take a breath? But I don't know how!'
'Do you know how to beat your Ironheart? How about thoughts? Are yours somehow operated on a scale of how well you know to think them?'
Her words were leading him to the answer he sought with each sentence.
Oregon felt his torso contract as his inner stone vibrated.
'Just do it? I still don't get it.'
There was movement in the vibrations, but that was all.
He was not met with the answer just yet despite Terresa's effort.
'If you don't understand now, that's alright. You're merely a few years old. It takes time.'
Her words were still gentle, but they soon turned louder.
'Even if you do not win, you will still be my special child. Fight with honor until you can not fight anymore!'
Oregon snapped out of the trance and floated slightly above the ground once more.
'You're right. This was supposed to be a fight to the death after all,' he punched his fists together in front of him.
Null looked at him as if he understood something and took on an offense stance.