The sky flickered between gold and blue as the clash continued relentlessly neither side backing down.
Both the Solar and Lunar Warrior were visibly exhausted -
Tim's breathing had grown heavier, sweat rolling down his face, while Rei's grip on her crescent hatchets had tightened, her movements ever so slightly slower than before.
But neither backed down.
"Solar Radiant Barrage!" Tim shouted, unleashing another wave of radiant bolts.
Rei countered instantly. "Lunar Crescent Storm!" Her hatchets spun rapidly, forming a defensive vortex of lunar energy that shattered the incoming projectiles mid-air.
Above the battlefield...
Dark Void's expression darkened as the battle continued. His fingers tapped impatiently against the armrest of his throne.
"This is taking too long," he growled. "The Solar and Lunar Warriors... their powers are too evenly matched."
Moonsalt, standing beside him, smirked confidently. "Rei will win. She's trained for this - for him."
Dark Void's eyes, however, gleamed with a darker idea.
He suddenly turned to Sunburn who was lost in his own thoughts, possibly scheming something.
"Go down there."
Sunburn blinked in sudden surprise. "What?"
"Drain the Solar Warrior's energy. Silently. I don't care if Rei knows or not - I want Tim weakened."
Sunburn's jaw tightened.
He didn't like this. Helping Rei, even indirectly, gnawed at his pride. She was Moonsalt's student- not his - and he loathed the idea of giving her any sort of advantage.
"But... why should I-"
Dark Void's gaze snapped to him, a dangerous spark of fury in his eyes.
"Are you questioning me?"
Sunburn swallowed his pride. "No, Lord Dark Void."
Without another word, he disappeared in a flash of fiery energy, descending stealthily toward the battlefield.
Back on the battlefield...
Tim's mind raced.
"She's tough... way tougher than I thought."
He ducked under a swing of Rei's hatchet, countering with a Solar Saber slash that she parried with ease.
Their battle was a perfect mirror - light versus dark, sun versus moon - a cosmic struggle that neither seemed able to win.
But something was... off.
Tim felt a sudden heaviness in his limbs, like his strength was slowly slipping away.
His Solar Saber's glow dimmed slightly, his next attack coming out sluggish.
"What... the...?"
Rei noticed the shift too.
"Getting tired already?" she asked, though her voice held a flicker of confusion.
She hadn't hit him with anything that should've weakened him like this.
What neither of them saw... was Sunburn lurking in the shadows.
His hand was raised, a faint crimson aura swirling in his palm - his secret technique, the Solar Drain.
Slowly, bit by bit, he was siphoning Tim's energy without a single visible attack.
"Focus on him first..." Sunburn muttered to himself. "Once he's down... I'll deal with Rei later."
Tim staggered back a step. His vision blurred for a moment, the weight of his own body growing heavier.
Tim gritted his teeth, his knees threatening to buckle beneath him.
But he still continued battling without paying much attention to it.
Rei attacked and blocked as usual purely focused.
As more time passed...
His vision became a haze of gold and black, the Solar Saber feeling heavier with each passing second.
The silent energy drain from Sunburn was relentless, but Tim - unaware of the hidden attack - chalked it up to sheer exhaustion.
Still, despite the crushing weight in his body, he forced a crooked smile.
"I'm just... taking it easy," Tim muttered, swaying slightly but trying to look nonchalant. "Didn't wanna... scare you off..."
Rei's expression darkened, her grip tightening around her Lunar Crescent Hatchets.
"Mock me all you want," she said coldly. "I'll end this pathetic act right now."
She dashed forward, a flash of dark energy trailing behind her, and slashed Tim twice - one hatchet striking his shoulder, the other slicing across his chest.
"Gah!" Tim staggered back, blood staining his Solar armor as he collapsed to one knee.
Rei watched him struggle, her breathing just a bit uneven now.
"You're... done?"
She stepped back, her eyes narrowing as Tim's body wavered.
She saw the tremble in his arms, the dim glow of his Saber, the way his aura flickered weakly - signs of a warrior on the brink of collapse.
To her, this wasn't a victory - it was a disappointment.
"This is the Solar Warrior?" she muttered, her voice flat. "The one I'm supposed to kill?"
Disappointment settled in her tone.
With a final glance, she turned away.
"Pathetic."
But then-
"I'm... not done yet."
His voice was hoarse, but the defiance in it rang clear.
Rei's eyes widened as she turned. Tim, bloodied and barely upright, was standing again.
The Saber wobbled in his grip, his body trembling... but he hadn't given in.
"You think... you can just walk away?" he said, a faint, tired smirk still on his lips. "I'm still standing."
Rei clenched her jaw.
"Fine."
Without hesitation, she unleashed a devastating move - Lunar Crescent Slice - a dark arc of lunar energy ripping through the air and striking Tim square in the chest.
"Aghhhh!"
He hit the ground harder. The Solar Saber clattered beside him.
Rei looking at his fallen body turned her back towards him ignoring him as if he weren't even worth her time anymore.
She was just leaving when—
"Hey... at least tell me your name," Tim muttered, breath ragged. "Before you go."
Rei paused.
"That's the result of naivety," she said slightly turning in his direction. "Battles aren't games."
Her form shimmered-detransforming.
Tim gasped, unable to speak further.
"The name you better remember," she said, voice calm but resolute as she faced him directly.
"It's Rei. The Lunar Warrior. The one who won."
Tim's armor flickered, then vanished as he automatically detransformed not able to take the strain.
That name seemed pretty familiar to him yet out of reach.
He wanted to express that familiarity to her in desperation, not able to suppress his emotions.
So, he tried to say it loud but only a faint whisper escaped from his mouth:
"Glad to know your name. It... feels familiar somehow. I'm Tim."
Then he collapsed.
This time, he didn't move.
Rei stared at his unmoving form, her breath catching slightly.
A strange feeling gnawed at her.
But, she shoved it aside not wanting to overthink.
Without another word, Rei turned and disappeared.
In the distance, Sunburn emerged from the shadows, the faint crimson aura around his hand slowly fading as his Solar Drain came to a stop. A wicked smirk tugged at his lips.
"That should do it," he muttered, taking one last look at Tim's lifeless body.
Without a word, he vanished into the night, following Rei back to Dark Void's ship.
Back at the Dark Void base, Dark Void was waiting on his throne.
Rei and Sunburn knelt before him.
"The Solar Warrior is dead," Rei reported simply.
Dark Void's eyes gleamed.
"Excellent," he said, his voice a sinister purr. "You've proven yourself, Rei. Perhaps there is more to you than I thought."
Rei didn't respond, a strange hollowness lingering in her mind.
Sunburn, meanwhile, said nothing.
Dark Void leaned forward.
"With the Solar Warrior gone," he said, "Soluna is ours for the taking."
And somewhere, on the broken battlefield of Soluna, Tim's motionless body lay beneath the darkened sky - his once-bright Solar Saber flickering faintly beside him.
Dark Void's throne room, cloaked in shadows and glowing with an ominous purple hue, fell into an uneasy silence.
The air crackled with tension as Dark Void rose from his seat, his crimson eyes fixating on Rei - the Black Lunar Warrior - standing tall, though a strange emptiness still gnawed at her chest.
"Rei," Dark Void's voice echoed, firm yet composed. "You have proven your strength by eliminating the Solar Warrior. It is clear now - you are more than Moonsalt's favourite student."
Rei's eyes flickered, but she remained silent.
"I will retreat into slumber for a time," he continued, his long cloak of darkness swirling around him. "But while I rest... you shall lead in my place."
The room went deathly still.
Moonsalt smirked - a wicked, satisfied smile.
Sunburn's jaw clenched, his fists trembling at his sides. His crimson aura flared for a moment, but a sharp glance from Moonsalt extinguished it just as quickly.
"You're... putting her in charge?" Sunburn's voice was barely controlled, like a pot boiling under its lid.
Dark Void ignored him, turning fully to Rei.
"All will obey you - Sunburn, Moonsalt... even Robokamen. Soluna shall fall under your command."
He stepped closer, his tall figure casting a dark shadow over Rei.
"Disappoint me... and I will know."
With that, Dark Void's body slowly dissolved into swirling black mist, vanishing into the void. The room now belonged to Rei.
Silence reigned again - but not for long.
"This is absurd," Sunburn hissed. "How can she -"
Before he could finish, Moonsalt's lunar energy flared dangerously.
"Careful, Sunburn," Moonsalt warned, a deadly calm in her voice. "Challenge the new leader... and you'll answer to me."
Their auras clashed for a brief moment - a fiery solar red against a cold lunar blue - but Sunburn, gritting his teeth, ultimately lowered his gaze. He knew defying Rei now would only place him in an unwinnable battle.
For now.
Robokamen stood quietly behind them, his mechanical eyes flickering between the new leader and the commanders.
He had no opinion - his loyalty was to Dark Void's commands, and nothing more.
Rei finally spoke, her voice steady but cold.
"We waste time squabbling." She turned to the large map of Solunar glowing in the center of the room. "The Solar Warrior is gone so Soluna is vulnerable."
Her finger trailed over the cities, marking them like a predator mapping its prey.
"We attack without hesitation - one city after the next." Her lunar energy crackled at her fingertips. "This planet will kneel before us."
Moonsalt's smile widened.
"Spoken like a true leader."
Sunburn said nothing, though his fury simmered just beneath the surface.
Though she couldn't ignore a thought that kept coming in her mind.
That name… why does it feel so familiar and why did it look like it wasn't my first meeting with the Solar Warrior?
_ _ _
Heatsun, Henry, and Marie stood motionless, staring at the lifeless body of Tim, the one they had placed all their hopes upon.
Marie collapsed to her knees, her hands trembling. "This... this can't be happening..."
Henry clenched his fists, his usual carefree demeanor shattered. "No... there has to be a way..."
But Heatsun, his mentor, remained silent.
His eyes now held an unbearable sorrow.
"The prophecy... it never said the Solar Warrior would die this soon..." Heatsun muttered under his breath. "We failed..."
The war had barely begun, and yet, their beacon of hope had been extinguished.
Then-
A sudden blur landed beside Tim's body.