Once the aftereffects of the explosion died down, one could see that Gea and Void were remaining at a distance from each other.
Instead of evaporating, Ego's spirit water was still as voluminous as before.
Gea's current state was incredulous to say the least.
To compare, Oregon had set aside Terresa's knowledge of minerals in order to bring out the best of the one he created.
He had only used three kinds of minerals, but Gea was a vibrating conglomerate of them all!
'It seems she has an innate tie to my Universal Rule of Vibration. If it turns out she can't handle it, I don't mind helping her out.'
In truth, Oregon wished to scan Void with his vibrations much like he did Xep.
Sure, there were similarities between the void stone and Void's makeup, but the difference was his ability to draw in spirit energy much quicker than the former.
There was also the matter of storage space as Void's was nigh infinite while Gea was limited to her Soul Stone.
After entering her shifting state, Gea saw the world differently.
She could see the vibrations of all the molecules that made up everything around her.
From the stone floors to her Dada, Oregon, Gea saw it all even where her eyes could not see.
Much like how Oregon analyzed the makeup of everything he scanned with his vibrations, should she copy the vibrations of say Xep, she found herself able to construct the alien mineral exactly the same.
The most intriguing thing she noticed with her sight was without a doubt between Oregon's crown and Void.
On one hand, she was unable to analyze the ever-changing vibrations that were contained inside the crown and on the other, she was incapable of sensing the molecules of the other Void Stoneman.
Little did she know that Void was made of something much more refined and minimized compared to a normal atom.
Just as space was more than an empty void, Void possessed a foundation not dissimilar.
A casual glance at Null told her that he was normal spirit stone.
As Gea had the knowledge of the composition of spirit stone, she wrote him off as just that not knowing his true form: banana.
With everything in mind, Gea set her sights back on her opponent.
Void was still maintaining the distance, but it seemed he wanted nothing more than to appear before her and devour her soul.
'Grandmama! I'm scared, but I have to do it, right?!'
Terresa chuckled softly, 'You have the soul of a mighty fighter, but your mind, dearest granddaughter baby of mine, must be tempered into a fierce and calculative force.'
She knew that her intelligence would heighten the more she grew, but laying a solid foundation was important.
'Just close your eyes and trust in me and most importantly in yourself, your instincts. You are all-encompassing, but your actions do not have to be.'
Gea did as she was told and calmed herself.
Even without sight, she could feel the vibrations of herself shifting and the vibrations of those around her.
Sensing his prey readying herself, Void burst into action.
Using the spirit water to aid his mental faculties, he began using his portals to pop in and out of Gea's senses.
She was on alert, but somehow felt her movements were devoid of any excess waste of energy as she charged forth.
"Rah!"
"Haa!"
What was going to be a clash of forces ended up being a feint on both ends.
Void disappeared into a portal but unlike before, he stayed in the void instead of appearing somewhere.
'Heighten your senses. Hone them in on the particles around you and respond to any fluctuations. Let your heartbeat slow and your veins still.'
Just as she was finished guiding, Gea burst into action!
Void exited a portal above her head with a spirit water infused claw aimed at her blindspot.
Unfortunately for him, Gea had moved in time to avoid the attack and retaliate afterwards.
There was a certain feeling she had deep in her soul, so deep that it dictated her personality entirely unbeknownst to herself.
She was a battle-ready warrior that spoke with her fists and the meaning that encapsulated her was one credo: win by any means.
She used the most minimal actions to grab onto Void's arm and flip him over to the ground.
Unable to use a portal to escape, he felt the air leave his body as his mind spun for a way out.
Before he could try anything, Gea— with her grip still on his arm— began striking him with boosted attacks.
Her arm raised as she made her fist into a dense metal and used the explosive mineral to force her arms down with much more force behind it.
Boom!
Smash!
Boom!
Smash!
Her relentless attacks caused Void to go insane.
He was still an immature spirit of course, so when things did not go his way he threw a tantrum.
Before, Void only made portals through his body as the particles he was made of detached from him to form a working portal.
Now though, he had separated the particles while Gea was mid swing and formed a portal right where her fist would fall.
Boom!
Before Gea could notice the well timed move, her fist ended up smashing into the portal and into the void.
Her molecules could not survive in the empty void and so the portion of her arm that entered it was cleanly reduced to nothingness.
Had she stayed composed of void stone, she would have avoided such a consequence.
There was no pain, but the loss of her molecules made it so she had to either focus on recovery or the fight.
Of course, Void would not leave her able to focus on the former as he charged once more.
He knew that this was a good time to refine his control over his abilities instead of letting his rage take control over him.
Ego was not as helpful as Terresa, but that was only because they chose to display tough love for the innocent soul reaper.
It was his fault for taking over Null and absorbing the souls of those on Planet Barter, so they felt this was a way for him to atone for his actions.
They had not expected Gea to perform so well, but seeing as she so dauntlessly fought against Void only made them want nothing more than for them to join the crew.
'Be patient with me for a second, Void. I'm going to partially fuse my mind with yours so that you can think and act reflexively like her.'
Void had already matured during the fight, but with Ego's help he would be able to put his full force into thoroughly defeating Gea.
The spirit water coalesced in Void's mind causing the feeling of ecstasy to wash over him.
His mind was sharpened and his body gained more fluidity.
His void stone had no issue absorbing the spirit water which increased his already powerful absorption to new heights.
Previously, Void absorbed the spirit energy of Gea directly from her body with a bit of hesitation.
Too much absorbed meant that she would die and that was against what he was told.
Now however, Void was thinking of ways to absorb her spirit energy to the point where she was unable to fight back.
Even with one arm missing, Gea was primed to fight.
It seemed like no matter what Void threw at her, she would always have the fighting spirit to combat him.