Tim and Rei's battle raged on - an intense storm of solar slashes and lunar crescents clashing in brilliant explosions of light and darkness.
Tim darted around, his Solar Saber blazing with bright solar energy. He unleashed a flurry of attacks - quick slashes, blinding sunbursts, and spinning arcs of light - each one meeting Rei's lunar crescent hatchets with a metallic clang.
"Solar Saber —Radiant Beam!" Tim shouted, sending a beam of white-hot energy straight at Rei.
Without blinking, Rei crossed her hatchets in front of her, forming a dark crescent shield. The attack was redirected by the barrier, exploding into a distant building.
Tim blinked. "Seriously? You're like a walking eclipse!"
Rei didn't respond. Her cold gaze remained fixed on Tim, calculating every move. She spun forward, hurling one of her hatchets in a spinning motion.
The glowing blue blades spiraled through the air. Tim ducked, only for the hatchet to curve and strike him from behind.
"Ow!" Tim stumbled, clutching his shoulder. "That's not fair - your weapon cheats!"
Rei charged forward, reclaiming her hatchet mid-swing and striking at Tim's midsection. He barely blocked the strike with his saber, sparks flying between their weapons.
"Focus," Rei said flatly. "Or you'll die."
Tim grinned. "Why so serious? Are you people allergic to jokes?"
Rei's expression didn't change, though something flickered in her eyes for a brief second - confusion?
But it vanished just as quickly.
Tim flipped backward, his Solar Saber glowing brighter. "Alright, Miss Moonface, let's see how you handle this - Solar Saber Burst!"
He swung his saber channeling his solar energy.
Rei didn't flinch. She slashed both hatchets in an X-formation.
"Lunar Barrier."
The solar wave shattered against her defense, the opposing forces canceling each other out.
Tim landed and panted. "Seriously? Do you just have a move for everything I do?"
Rei lowered her weapons. "You're predictable."
Tim blinked. "Excuse me?"
Meanwhile...
On the far end of the battlefield, Heatsun and Moonsalt clashed with unrelenting force.
"Solar Flare Barrage!" Heatsun roared, sending rapid bursts of solar energy toward Moonsalt.
She gracefully blocked it. "Lunar Shield."
A dark, crescent barrier absorbed the blasts, leaving scorched marks in the ground.
Moonsalt smirked. "Is that all the great Heatsun has left?"
Heatsun narrowed his eyes. "I'm just getting started."
The sky above them was a swirling mix of blazing light and creeping darkness - their long-standing rivalry painting the heavens.
Further back, Henry and Marie led the Solar and Lunar people against the invading troops.
Henry blasted soldiers with fiery solar bursts, while Marie conjured defensive lunar shields to protect their forces.
"Hold the line!" Henry shouted.
Marie, however, kept glancing toward Tim and Rei's battle. Her heart ached - she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something about Rei.
"Henry... doesn't she seem... familiar?"
Henry wiped sweat from his forehead. "We don't have time to think about that! Focus!"
Marie bit her lip.
Back to Tim vs. Rei
Tim wiped his mouth, his Solar armor slightly cracked. He realized something important:
Rei wasn't just strong - she was adapting.
Every new move he tried, she countered. Every clever tactic, she met with an equally calculated one.
She was like a shadow - silent, precise, and impossible to shake.
Tim narrowed his eyes. "Alright... let's kick it up a notch."
He crossed his Solar Saber over his chest, summoning a glowing orb of condensed solar energy.
"Solar Radiance Explosion!"
The orb expanded, glowing brighter and brighter, until it shot a blinding beam straight at Rei.
Instead of blocking -
Rei dodged at the last second, her hatchets glowing with a faint lunar shimmer.
Before Tim could react, she appeared behind him - so fast it was like she melted into the shadows.
"Lunar Crescent Strike."
A dark arc of energy struck Tim's back, sending him crashing into a pile of rubble.
He coughed, his armor smoking. "What... was that?"
Rei landed gracefully. "You rely too much on power."
Tim growled. "And you rely too much on being scary."
Rei's expression didn't change.
But something unspoken hung in the air between them - an unexplainable familiarity neither could shake.
_ _ _
Tim and Rei's battle burned brighter - a relentless storm of solar and lunar freeze attacks colliding with thunderous force.
The ground cracked beneath them, and the very air around them seemed to ripple with their energy.
Tim charged, his Solar Saber forward. "Solar Breaker!"
Rei, unfazed, spun both her crescent hatchets. "Lunar Crescent Slice!" A dark blue arc of energy surged from her weapons, colliding with Tim's attack. The clash created a shockwave that sent dust and debris flying.
Neither warrior flinched.
Tim gritted his teeth. "Alright, let's try this - Solar Saber Final Strike!"
Rei remained calm, raising one hatchet above her head and another below as she threw them both in a cool way. "Lunar Boomerang!"
The boomerang attack hit Tim two times, no 4 times without him able to dodge badly injuring him in his torso as he barely was able to stand and he wasn't able to find where his Solar Saber was dropped.
Rei already planned it in that split second. "This attack is strong but it's limitation is speed and evasion. So, boomerang is the best option."
Tim's jaw dropped as he found himself standing on his Saber. "Seriously? You have a counter for my finisher even?"
Rei's voice was steady. "Your attacks are way too easy to predict."
Tim's eye twitched as he picked up his Saber. "Oh, I'm predictable? Let's see how you like this- Solar Saber— Flurry Slash!"
A rapid burst of solar bolts shot from Tim's saber in a chaotic spray, each one arcing unpredictably through the air.
But Rei didn't move.
Instead, she spun both hatchets around her like a wheel. "Lunar Shield."
The hatchets' dark energy expanded into a spinning shield, deflecting every bolt with flawless precision.
The battle grew more intense with every strike - an endless back-and-forth of solar heat and lunar cold, light and darkness, with neither warrior gaining the upper hand.
Meanwhile...
High above the battlefield, Dark Void leaned back in his throne aboard his massive warship, a sinister smile creeping across his face as he observed the battle through a hovering projection.
The raw energy clashing between the Solar and Lunar Warriors intrigued him. The perfect balance - one never outshining the other.
"Fascinating," he muttered.
Behind him, Moonsalt arrived, still brimming with dark energy after abandoning her battle with Heatsun.
"Why did you summon me back?" she asked, irritation evident in her voice. "I could have defeated Heatsun."
Dark Void didn't even glance at her. "This... is far more interesting."
He pointed to the projection.
Moonsalt's eyes flicked to Tim and Rei - their battle still a swirling chaos of gold and blue.
"Look at them," Dark Void mused. "The Solar and Lunar Warriors... bound by destiny, yet locked in an eternal struggle. It's like they were made to destroy each other."
Moonsalt smirked. "Of course Rei is holding her own. I trained her for this."
Dark Void chuckled softly. "Indeed. But I wonder... how much more can she grow?"
He leaned forward, his eyes narrowing.
"I want to observe her power to its fullest. Let them battle until they break."
Moonsalt arched a brow. "And the Solar Warrior?"
Dark Void's smile darkened. "If he survives... then we'll see just how far the Solar Warrior can be pushed too."
The room fell silent, save for the distant echoes of clashing solar and lunar energy on the battlefield below.
And Dark Void was watching every move.