Tim fell to one knee, his body screaming with exhaustion.
Robokamen stared at the broken remains of his "perfect creation" - silent.
Tim, catching his breath, smirked.
"Looks like your best wasn't enough."
Robokamen clenched his fists, his metallic frame trembling.
"This... this is impossible..."
Tim stood back up, his Solar Saber still glowing faintly.
Robokamen healed him after that. Now, Tim tightened his grip on his Solar Saber as Robokamen stepped forward, his metallic body humming with energy.
Sparks danced along his limbs, and his glowing red eyes locked onto Tim's with a cold, calculating stare. The remains of Darkron still smoked behind them - but now, the real battle was about to begin.
"You didn't think I'd let you just waltz into Rei's throne room, did you?" Robokamen sneered. "I'm not like those monsters. I'm smarter. Stronger. Faster."
A faint hiss echoed as Robokamen activated a hidden compartment on his arm - a sleek, black blade slid out, crackling with dark energy.
Tim didn't flinch.
"You're just another obstacle," he said, his voice steady. "I'll break through you like I did your 'perfect' creation."
Robokamen's grin twisted into a scowl.
"We'll see about that."
Robokamen lunged forward - faster than Tim expected - his dark energy blade slashing downward. Tim barely raised his Solar Saber in time, the clash sending a shockwave through the room.
But unlike the monsters before, Robokamen wasn't just brute force - his strikes were precise, almost surgical.
Every swing of his blade aimed for Tim's weak points - his sides, his legs, his wrists - testing his defenses like a seasoned warrior.
"He's calculating my every move," Tim realized, dodging a quick thrust to his shoulder. "He's reading my patterns."
Tim retaliated with a Solar Saber Strike - his blade flaring with golden light - but Robokamen sidestepped it with an almost fluid motion, spinning behind Tim and slashing his back.
Tim winced as a sharp pain shot through him. His suit was cut clean through.
Robokamen chuckled.
"Your little light tricks won't work on me," he said. "I've studied every battle you've fought. Every move you've made. You're predictable."
Tim gritted his teeth.
Robokamen wasn't just strong - he was learning in real-time.
His mind worked like a combat computer, constantly adapting and recalculating strategies.
"I can't just rely on strength," Tim thought. "I have to be unpredictable."
He switched tactics - feinting a leftward slash but suddenly dropping low, sweeping Robokamen's legs with a quick Solar Dash maneuver.
Caught off guard, Robokamen stumbled - but before Tim could press the advantage, Robokamen twisted mid-fall, firing a burst of Dark Bolts from his arm.
Tim dove behind a pillar, the bolts exploding on impact and sending debris flying.
"You're not bad," Robokamen admitted, brushing off the dust from his armor. "But it won't be enough."
Tim charged at him again - but this time, he activated Solar Reflection, creating a series of glowing duplicates that surrounded Robokamen from all sides.
Robokamen's eyes flickered as he scanned each clone, calculating their movements.
But Tim didn't wait - he launched a Solar Saber Slice from an unexpected angle, aiming for Robokamen's exposed flank.
The blade connected - sparks flying - but Robokamen twisted just in time, the blow grazing his shoulder instead of cutting deeper.
"Close," Robokamen growled, clearly annoyed. "But not enough."
He countered with a Dark Pulse - a shockwave of dark energy that shattered the Solar clones and sent Tim flying into a wall.
Tim coughed, struggling to get back on his feet.
Tim's mind raced. Robokamen wasn't just powerful - he was relentless, reacting to every move with precision.
"He's too smart..." Tim muttered. "But..."
Then it hit him.
"He's too smart."
Tim smirked.
"What are you smiling at?" Robokamen snapped.
Tim stood up straight.
"You're so focused on analyzing every move I make... that you never expect me to stop thinking."
Before Robokamen could react, Tim deactivated his Solar Saber's glow - plunging the room into semi-darkness.
For a split second, Robokamen faltered.
"What-?"
Tim's Inner Feeling
"Come on! He's way too difficult. I don't care, I will go all out."
Tim rushed in without a plan - wild, chaotic strikes - no pattern, no logic, just instinct.
Robokamen struggled, his calculations failing to predict Tim's reckless flurry of attacks.
That's when:-
"He can't process random actions!" Tim suddenly realized, pressing his advantage.
He ended the wild barrage with a Solar Flare Punch - his fist igniting with bright light - smashing into Robokamen's chest and sending him flying back.
Robokamen staggered to his feet, smoke rising from his damaged chest plate. His circuits flickered, struggling to recalibrate.
Tim didn't give him time.
"SOLAR SABER- FINAL STRIKE!"
His saber blazed brighter than ever - a beam of pure solar energy extending from the blade.
Robokamen raised his arm to block - but the energy cut straight through, slicing his weaponized arm clean off.
"NO!" Robokamen roared.
Tim spun, landing one final slash across Robokamen's core - the dark energy within him crackling violently.
Robokamen collapsed to one knee, his systems short-circuiting.
Tim stood over him, his Solar Saber glowing faintly.
Robokamen glared at Tim - anger, shock, and disbelief flickering across his mechanical face.
"You... outsmarted me..."
Tim wiped his brow.
"Guess brains beat circuits this time."
The door behind Robokamen creaked open - leading to Rei's throne room.
Robokamen, weakened but still conscious, gritted his teeth.
"Rei... won't fall so easily."
Tim didn't respond - his gaze fixed on the door ahead.
He stepped past Robokamen, his heart pounding.
This was it.
Rei was waiting.
Tim detransformed as he went inside the room.
Inside he found Rei standing in her normal form.
Tim stared at her, their eyes locked - his blazing with fierce determination, hers a cold, distant void.
The tension between them was thicker than ever.
Behind him, the remnants of Robokamen's shattered form still sparked, but Tim's focus was solely on Rei now.
"Why not fight me here?" Tim asked cautiously, his Solar Saber still gripped tightly.
Rei, standing regally in front of her throne, smirked.
"I don't want my throne room tainted by your light," she said coolly. "Besides... this battle deserves a proper stage."
She stepped forward, the dark energy swirling faintly around her fingertips.
"There's a planet not far from here. No life. No distractions." She tilted her head. "We fight there - a true test of strength."
Tim, despite the trap this could be, didn't hesitate.
"Fine."
Rei raised her hand, summoning a dark portal with a flick of her wrist.
"Follow me," she said, stepping through without looking back.
Tim cast one last glance at Robokamen's broken form - who, in a final act of defiance, activated a small device on his chest.
A burst of dark energy pulsed out - and to Tim's surprise, his wounds healed instantly.
Robokamen's voice crackled weakly:
"I won't let her win that easily... If you beat her... it proves I'm still the superior creation."
Before Tim could respond, Robokamen's body sparked violently - then exploded into a cloud of black smoke and shattered metal.
Tim grimaced, stepping through the portal.
_ _ _
The other side was silent.
Tim emerged onto a desolate, barren world - a cracked wasteland of lifeless soil and dark skies.
Jagged rocks pierced the horizon like broken fangs, and a faint red glow pulsed from the planet's core beneath the surface cracks.
The air felt heavy - suffused with both darkness and an eerie, ancient stillness.
Rei stood several meters away, her black Lunar robes rippling in the windless void.
"Welcome," she said softly, her voice echoing faintly. "This place suits me... empty, quiet... forgotten."
Tim tightened his grip on his Solar Saber.
"It's not going to be quiet for long," he shot back.
Rei's lips curled into a smirk.
"Good."
For a long moment, neither of them moved - the tension a hair-trigger away from snapping.
After that Tim raised his Solar Saber to transform into White Solar Warrior and Rei instinctively followed transforming almost at the same moment into Black Lunar Warrior.
Then, without a word -
- Rei attacked first.
A blast of Lunar Energy erupted from her hatchets - a beam of swirling blue light.
Tim leapt sideways, dodging just in time as the beam scorched the ground, leaving a smoking crater.
He retaliated with a swift Solar Strike - his blade glowing bright gold - but Rei effortlessly deflected it with a flick of her hatchets, a shimmering Lunar Barrier forming around her.
"You'll have to do better than that," Rei said, her voice calm - almost taunting.
Tim gritted his teeth.
"I'm just getting started."