The fight between Void and Gea carried on much like a predetermined act of a play.
Both of them had heightened senses and began to attack and dodge almost effortlessly.
The Stonemen in the seats had long since gotten over the initial amazement and were now only waiting for a victor to be announced.
Null had begun to grow bored as well and Oregon was no longer seeing his creation's previous indomitable state.
It was at this point that Theef decided to intervene a little.
'Hehe. This should be good.'
It was subtle, but he suddenly held one of his treasures.
It looked like a wooden control bar only there were no strings or puppet.
Still, Theef moved the control ever so slightly and began his plan of spicing things up.
Back on the battlefield, Void and Gea were growing tired.
It was not as if they could not continue, but their minds were being overworked.
Void had it better as the spirit water soothed any pervasive fatigue, but this was definitely the most he had ever been active.
At one point, the two misstepped and landed blows on each other causing them to roll over the ground in exhaustion.
'Alright. Time to rely on him for this.'
'You've done well, Pangea. Oregon is surely proud of you.'
The two spirits left their partner after seeing the lack of fight left inside of them.
"Haa. Haa," Void struggled to lift his head, "All I need to do is get up."
"Huff. Huff," Gea pushed herself up with her remaining arm, "If my body would just listen I would win."
Then, almost eerily, the two were able to get to their feet.
Somehow, they felt both in control of themselves and completely out of body as if they were watching their own movements.
Needless to say, the feeling was strange.
They put the matter aside and got back into fighting stances.
One of them was going to win.
As if weightless, the two flew at each other with ease.
The only problem was that they were covertly being controlled, so when they sought to punch each other they were surprised by the result.
Whoosh!
The two missed by a wide margin, but it was that exact moment when everyone realized they were being controlled.
As their fists passed each other at odd angles, they repositioned themselves and grabbed each other respectively.
On the spots Oregon's hands made contact, Gea turned into void stone and where she touched, the shifting minerals seeped inside of him.
Void was ecstatic to find another energy, but was confused as he could not greedily absorb it.
Instead, he could only feel bits and pieces of Gea poured into him.
The two could hardly process what was happening when they began moving as one on the dance floor.
Void twirled and carried Gea as she gracefully flitted around him.
They could not help but smile despite the sudden change in atmosphere, but that too was a result of being under control.
Theef was giddy, so the two were made to feel as such.
The treasure was that of the Universal Rule of Control and as was shown, it had the ability to take control of others if the owner had stronger willpower.
Even if the owner did have less willpower, it was not impossible to slowly take control over time.
If Theef has anything, it was the balls to pull off stunts others would surely perish from.
He was no less than a genius when it came to orchestrating obscure ploys in pursuit of a nifty treasure.
It made sense that he would build up a sturdy will to succeed even when the odds where shitty.
For the two infant Stonemen to possess a will greater than Theef's was highly unlikely.
As such, they were playfully dancing together while giggling.
The scene made Null and Ego smile while Oregon resigned himself to a sigh.
'With her potential, she's bound to grow quickly,' Terresa said while her spirit gently rubbed Oregon on the shoulder.
It seemed she noticed the resignation in him and was showing her support.
'It's not her I'm worried about.'
While Theef had his way with the two, Null looked to Oregon.
Oregon matched his gaze and sighed once more.
Ego was feeling some type of way as they took on the color of one the Emotions.
Null recognized it as Cherish, a gentle emotion that tied the souls around her together in a warm embrace.
While he could resist the connection that Cherish brought about, he let himself be consumed in the moment.
Unlike the playfullness of the two children, Cherish raised a hand to which Null took and they waltzed across the floor.
From the unserious "fight" that Void and Gea found themselves in, the mood shifted as if the lights were shining solely on the two.
Step by step, those witnessing the dance lost themselves in the scene almost as if an illusory orchestra were playing in the background.
"Hahaha! This is fun!"
"Hehehe! You're right!"
In their own little world, Void and Gea— previously opponents in a death battle— let loose under Theef's influence.
By this point though, Theef was ready to boogie on the dance floor.
After controlling Gea, he felt more than just a connection to her.
In actuality, Theef was aware of every bodily function as if he himself were Gea.
He especially focused on the cells that formed her unique body as they made him resonate with another event that made an imprint in his mind.
When on Mamon, he got a taste of the elements when he was given mofei by Null.
Whenever he willed them to change and shift in a display much like fireworks, Theef got an inkling of enlightenment.
He enjoyed being all-encompassing in nature.
He felt natural in the forms of others like the Imeni and Shetavi.
If Theef had to choose one word to describe himself, it would undoubtedly be handsome.
That aside, the only other suitable word would be adaptable.
Whether it be his mind or his body, Theef was by no means inferior to Oregon, yet only one of the two had Transcended.
This could only be due to one of the three cores of anyone Immortal: the mind, the body, and the soul.
He had long since lost his mind to the racial nature of being a treasure seeker and his body changed to accommodate the orange energy of companionship which provided the basis for his bodily transformation.
If one was to say that Theef's entire being was not attuned to adaptability, they would be only partially correct.
While it was true that he was born a certain way, the special nature of the energy he was given reconfigured him entirely resulting in the mutated state he now had.
Theef could now change his entire race to fit a certain energy they were tied to let alone absorb the abilities of artifacts he consumed.
He had already received the method of advancing, had he not?
Fuck the orderly way!
'So what if I can't fly! I'll just gobble up a treasure that can make me! Fuck the system! I'll advance however I damn well please!'
He entered his chimera form while laughing all the while and once he reached the center of the floor, he started dancing wildly.
'So what if I don't have the energy of each race? Haven't I already experienced the change? It's been within me this whole time. The power to Transcend is meaningless for an Enlightened.'
From his chimera form, Theef became an Imeni.
He had not formed a core to produce mofei, but he had mei veins which provided the basis for one.
As if predetermined, the mei veins shone where they connected and a tiny bud formed.
Theef could not hide his satisfaction as he laughed wildly.
From his Imeni form, he became a Shetavi.
As if waking up from a nap, his Livelli exited from his livellum.
'Hey there, partner. How come you didn't tell me I could manifest you whenever I wanted?!'
'I was dormant due to the lack of ki, dipshit. You try starving yourself and see how bubbly you are!'
'Ki is essentially just life force, so I guess that should've been a clear sign of a breakthrough.'
It didn't really matter too much to him though.
Just basking in the feeling of ecstasy as he felt his body striving towards new heights.
There he stood, still dancing like his life depended on it.
It reminded him of the fairies dance of misfortune, yet he could control the effects of the dance so as to not harm anyone.
Instead, he actually felt a familiar energy rising inside of him that which gave him a surge of power.
He turned to the only one not dancing and sought change.