The crew safely landed on the surface of the planet the flame occupied.
They had done a preliminary search of any life on the surface, but only found mountains and ravines.
Null referred to the vortex and saw that the flame was pointing downwards.
"You wouldn't happen to have a shovel, would you?"
Theef took a second to respond, but sighed and had a tendril spit out one of his Transcendent Treasures.
He had only revealed two of seven so far, so there was some excitement in Null's eyes as he saw the treasure.
"This is a very important treasure that me and Goldie had to struggle for. It holds the rule of Amplification," he explained.
"With it, it can temporarily boost a specific ability or power, even the aura of a person. The duration of it depends on the amount amplified, so less amplifying means a longer duration."
"What are you going to amplify that would help us," Null asked.
Without a word, the treasure lit up as Theef used it.
He then turned his head to the ground as his acidic saliva poured from his mouth.
He even showed off the intensity as he sprayed akin to a pressure washer.
Needless to say, the ground melted instantly as the acid touched it.
'Um,' Ego began to say, 'Why not leave it to me?'
They went ahead and joined with Void and simulated the purple Repulsion energy which at a powerful level simply moved the dirt away when in contact.
Theef wiped at his jaw which in hindsight was not a good idea.
After a little hissy fit over his already tattered suit, he walked up to the group and spoke, "Can't believe I wasted the surprise of one of my treasures. Whatever, lets just get on with it."
The twins were silently giggling to themselves.
With Superego using the Repulsion, the group easily made their way underground into a pathway with the luminescent stones.
"Looks like they have a tunnel system down here," Null expertly deduced.
"I wonder where it leads?"
"Perhaps a living space."
"Only way to find out is to get going!"
Theef charged down the path without hesitation.
"Let's go then," With Void and Ego returned, Null used the purple Repulsion to chase after him.
The twins looked to each other and smiled.
Tino's muscles grew slightly as he chose to activate the demonic essence to reach a higher speed.
Angie did her best to not fall behind either as she cast a hex that reduced their weight.
Once they reached the entrance to the newborn area, they were greeted by the arrival of those who were just in the underground arena after Oregon's victory.
Oregon stood at the forefront of the group with a condensed spear in hand, his countenance heavy.
Terresa had notified the Blessed about the arrival of the crew, intriguing Oregon the most as he had actually been to other planets and the like.
Needless to say, he felt complex emotions seeing that one looked somewhat familiar.
"Who are you," was all Oregon asked.
Null looked at him squarely and the turned to the twins, "You're up."
Albeit timidly, they stepped up.
Tino spoke first, "You look great, man. I'm sure this is confusing, but it's me, Taz."
"It's us, Cronir! Me and Taz kept our memories just like you.
Upon hearing them speak of his past name, Cronir could not help but show a distraught face.
Terresa knew that the fact that outsiders came specifically for her special Stoneman—even going as far to give a past name— meant that there was a connection.
As she was about to ask Oregon, he spoke, "My name is Oregon. And this planet is for Stonemen only! Leave now before we show the strength of Terresa's spawn!"
He then pointed the spear at Null specifically, "He can't leave until I face him in a death match."
Everyone was shocked to hear the sudden challenge, but Null remained unperturbed.
"I'm glad to see you remember me, only a bit disappointed we have to go through such an ordeal."
"I could kill you where you stand."
Null chuckled, "I can't die. Not to the likes of you anyway," he stepped towards the Void Stoneman with a Soul Stone, "I'm here to tell you that you still have a place in the Castello Crew."
The atmosphere in the newborn area suddenly sank.
Oregon stared directly into Null's eyes, his own glowing slightly before dimming.
"Dead. All of us. I'm not asking."
Oregon floated barely above the ground before it opened up for him to enter.
'So he's Immortal already,' Null took note while the other's eyes almost popped out of their faces.
The other Stonemen had no clue what was going on, but were smart enough to side with their fellow Stoneman.
Null copied Superego and use the purple Repulsion to allow him and the othere to follow them into the underground arena.
Oregon was waiting, spear in hand and no trace of his usual arrogance.
Null joined him with no more words to be said.
The usual referee took it upon himself to assume his role.
"Fight!"
Neither of the two moved.
Sparks flashed in Oregon's trained eyes as he condensed the Void Stone.
Null looked around at the audience and took a second to think, 'A planet full of different types of Stonemen... How strange? They're all Immortal, but that shouldn't have been enough to alert them of our arrival.'
He then realized that he underestimated how strong someone could grow to be in a little over five years.
'Hey, Ego, would you ask the loser in there with you how Stonemen are formed?'
Ego looked to the nodding off Creator and sucked their teeth, 'Ugh. Fine.'
The Creator craned his neck towards Ego and smiled lackadaisically, 'What is it this time?'
'How are Stonemen made,' they kept it short.
'The same way all babies are made: naturally. As long as a soul finds it's place in the surface of a planet, it can even bring forth life in the sediments.'
He seemed to be searching for something as his head rose for a brief moment.
'Hmm. There is another way one can bring about life in inorganic matter.'
He was on the precipice of an answer, but lifted his bottle with a scruffy laugh, 'Good! I'll take a step back and allow you to come to a conclusion yourselves.'
Ego knew that the Creator was less of a guide and more of an old teaser.
Ego shared with Null the conversation, so he knew they were left on their own to discover the method.
A minute passed with no action causing the crowd to grow antsy.
Oregon had had enough.
It was no time for him to be a pussy.
He stuck the butt end of the spear into the ground and crossed his arms.
"Come at me," he goaded, "This time I'm prepared to last more than the first blow."
He wanted there to be a test of endurance given that his new body allowed such.
'What do you think, Ego? How are we approaching this?'
'I say we lead him on. Draw out all of his anger so that it's easier to make him submit in the end.'
Null was taken back by the cruel response, 'Woah! Take it down a notch. I'm the one at fault here, remember?'
Ego went silent, clearly showing their stance on the matter.
Null focused on Oregon.
No, this time he really used all that he had to observe the Void Stoneman.
There were many new things his body was capable of and he figured if Klein had mofei-sensing eyes, then maybe he had something similar.
This only made for a strange scene as Null was squinting hard at Oregon despite receiving a taunt.
Ego sighed and used the Cosmic Structure to bestow Null with heightened eyesight like with Theef's Perception treasure.
Slowly, Null could see through the Void Stone and at the inner workings of Oregon's body.
'Is that spirit stone?'