The cold wind howled through the barren, frozen wasteland, carrying the scent of scorched air and the echo of Moonsalt's ragged breathing.
Her Lunar aura flickered dimly, like a dying star, as she lay on the cracked ground.
Sunburn stood tall, flames dancing in his hands, a cruel smirk plastered across his face.
Moonfreeze, his lunar sister, loomed beside him landing yet another kick on her, laughing maniacally. " She is turning out to be the best ragdoll ever."
Moonfreeze continued kicking her sadistically as she bleeded. "This is the best opportunity to vent all our anger on her. Brother, you can join in."
Sunburn smiled in a predatory tone. " It seems far more cozy to see you have all the fun for now. After you are done, I will personally have fun with her."
Moonsalt trembled as she heard him but still raised her head slowly.
"If you want to kill me," she rasped, her voice hoarse but steady, "then do it."
The words hung in the air like a bitter promise.
Moonfreeze chuckled softly, circling Moonsalt like a predator playing with its prey.
"What's the rush?" Moonfreeze sneered. "Let's enjoy this longer."
She crouched down, her hand then, suddenly gripping Moonsalt's glowing blue hair, yanking her head back.
"Look at you," Moonfreeze spat. "The proud and strongest Lunar - reduced to nothing but trash."
Her cruel words echoed, slicing through Moonsalt's heart.
"No son," Moonfreeze whispered. "A husband who abandoned you."
She laughed coldly, watching Moonsalt's pained expression.
But Sunburn saw something else - a single tear slipping from Moonsalt's eye.
He recognized it.
Grief.
Grief for a son she believed was dead - a tragedy orchestrated by him and Moonfreeze.
The sight filled Sunburn with twisted satisfaction.
"Aren't you angry?" Sunburn taunted. "Doesn't it burn you inside?"
Moonsalt's gaze remained steady.
"I am angry," she admitted softly. "But I have no way to beat you."
Moonfreeze smirked as she landed another kick straight on her chest laughing. "So, you understand how pathetic you are! Great. "
Sunburn then held Moonsalt's face near his with a predatory look. "So, let's do something that will make break her even farther."
In the spaceship, Heatsun's fists clenched tighter as he was boiling so much, even Jim wasn't sure if he should stop him especially after seeing everything.
Moonsalt weakly muttered. "What else could you do? You have already broken me..."
Sunburn vaguely said "Who knows?" as he brought her face even closer to his.
Moonsalt freaked flailing weakly. "Wait, what do you think you are doing!"
Sunburn didn't listen as his unsettling grin filled lip almost closed in on hers.
Moonfreeze standing beside, cheered in a twisted way. "Now that's creativity. Can't wait to see her reaction."
"Noooo...!" Moonsalt helplessly tried to shout with everything she had and even when she tried to pull herself away from him, Moonfreeze gripped her arms leaving her gasping as Sunburn inched closer.
And then -
A blinding flash of Solar light exploded between them.
A fiery blast surged forward, forcing Sunburn and Moonfreeze to stagger back in shock, shielding themselves from the intense blaze.
The ground cracked beneath the force of the Solar energy.
When the light faded, a figure stood tall and unyielding in front of Moonsalt - his yellow hair glowing, his Solar aura burning bright.
His fists clenched, his jaw tight, his fury barely contained.
"How dare you try to....There's no way she's alone," the figure growled.
He spun, his hand gently grasping Moonsalt's shoulder, pulling her close.
"I'm here."
Moonsalt's eyes widened in shock.
"Heatsun...? Is... that really you?"
Her voice cracked, unable to believe what she was seeing.
Sunburn's lips curled into a sinister smile.
"So..." he said in an annoyed tone. "You still have your husband by your side, how disappointing!"
He then exchanged a glance with Moonfreeze, their mockery unspoken but clear.
Moonsalt's gaze remained on Heatsun, still processing his sudden appearance.
"Why?" she whispered. "Why did you come for me? How did you even know I was here?"
Heatsun's jaw tightened.
"I know everything," he said softly, his voice carrying more weight than the words alone.
Moonsalt somehow relieved by his presence wrapped her arms around him tightly as she shed tears of humiliation that she endured.
Jim, watching from the ship, gritted his teeth half relieved, half tensed.
"Not yet," Jim murmured to himself.
His eyes burned with emotion as he watched his mother - broken and grieving and his father - fiercely protective.
_ _ _
Heatsun finally stepped in front of Moonsalt loosening his grip on her, his Solar energy pulsing like a heartbeat.
"I won't let them hurt or humiliate you," he stated. "Not again."
Moonsalt's heart, long frozen by sorrow and betrayal, cracked ever so slightly.
The fierce rival she once respected and later fell in love - the man who had stood by her side all those years ago - was here.
But the wounds of the past still hung heavy in the air.
Sunburn and Moonfreeze, though momentarily separated from their prey, were far from done.
After a few minutes...
The battlefield crackled with tension as Heatsun attacked and fought relentlessly against Moonfreeze, his Solar aura dimming with each passing minute.
The blazing energy surrounding him flickered like a dying flame - the toll of Sunburn's hidden power-draining ability slowly gnawing away at his strength every minute.
Moonsalt stood back, her heart pounding, watching Heatsun struggle against the cruel siblings who had once torn her family apart. She clenched her fists, helpless.
"It's no use, Heatsun," Moonsalt said softly, grabbing his hand in a rare moment of tenderness. "They drain energy - they did it to me too."
Heatsun's jaw tightened.
"I don't care," he growled. "I can at least stall them."
But even as he spoke, his eyes darted quickly - subtly - toward the sky.
It was a silent signal.
From the cockpit of the hidden spaceship, Jim sat motionless, his green hair casting a faint glow against the console's lights. He understood the message instantly.
Observe.
That was all he had to do - watch their movements, study their tactics, and formulate a counter.
Jim's mind was already racing. Sunburn and Moonfreeze weren't just skilled warriors - they were one.
Their seamless teamwork allowed Moonfreeze to engage Heatsun in direct combat while Sunburn siphoned his Solar energy from a distance, like a leech bleeding him dry without ever lifting a finger.
"They fight as a single force," Jim muttered to himself.
Sunburn grinned, his fiery aura intensifying.
"We've taken care of stronger ones than you across the universe, Heatsun," Sunburn said smugly. "None of them survived. Not with our combined strength."
Heatsun panted, his vision blurring, but his resolve burned brighter than ever.
For half an hour, he fought - evenly matched with Moonfreeze - yet his body was slowly betraying him as his energy dwindled.
Moonsalt watched anxiously, her heart torn between fear and hope.
And then -
Jim moved.
In one swift leap, he descended from the spaceship, landing right in front of Heatsun.
The ground cracked beneath his feet.
Moonfreeze's attack - a shard of razor-sharp Lunar ice - hurtled toward Heatsun, but Jim blocked it effortlessly with his Lunar crescent hatchets.
A surge of grey energy burst from Jim's body as he activated his warrior form - the Grey Warrior.
Sunburn's eyes narrowed.
"So you're the Grey Warrior," Sunburn sneered. "The one who's been causing trouble for us - and for Dark Void."
Moonsalt blinked, startled.
"The... Grey Warrior?" she whispered.
She remembered seeing him - how he'd single-handedly disrupted Rei's Soluna invasion strategies in Tim's absence. His precise, calculated moves. His unwavering focus.
He had fought for Soluna in Tim's absence.
And now, here he was - standing in front of her.
A small, flickering relief bloomed in her chest.
Without hesitation, Jim launched into action.
He shoved Moonfreeze back with a fierce swing of his Lunar hatchets and, in a fluid motion, brandished his Solar saber, leaping toward Sunburn.
The blade blazed bright as a miniature star, cutting through the air with a hiss.
"Get Moonsalt out of here!" Jim barked at Heatsun. "Take her to the spaceship and escape."
Heatsun's breathing was ragged, his body drained, but he refused to move.
"I'm not leaving you behind," Heatsun growled.
Jim gritted his teeth.
"Go. I can handle them."
And then -Moonsalt froze.
Her eyes, wide with disbelief, flickered between the two men.
Heatsun's refusal to leave. Jim's fierce protectiveness.
And then - the word.
"Jim..." Heatsun's voice cracked. "Our son."
The world seemed to shatter in that moment.
Moonsalt's heart stopped.
"What did you just say?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.
Heatsun's gaze softened.
"Jim," Heatsun said, his voice steady. "He's our son."
Moonsalt's knees almost buckled.
"He... he's alive?" she choked. "The one I thought I lost 15 years ago...?"
Jim's jaw tightened, his hand still clutching his Solar saber.
"Yes," Heatsun said, his voice both tender and heavy with years of unspoken pain. "The son you thought died when you launched him into that capsule - he survived."
Moonsalt's lips trembled.
She looked at Jim - really looked at him.
His green hair - a perfect blend of her Lunar blue and Heatsun's Solar yellow - should have been a dead giveaway.
His fighting style - calculated yet fierce - a reflection of both their teachings.
And the way he stood before her now - a protector, a warrior... a son.
The Grey Warrior had been her son all along.
Moonsalt's eyes welled with tears, but for the first time in years, they weren't born of sorrow - they were a fragile mix of joy and shock.
"So... you didn't die that day," she whispered. "When I sent you away to save you..."
Jim's voice was calm but firm.
"No," he said. "I survived."
Heatsun added softly, "He healed and aided Tim, the Solar Warrior when he was injured. He stayed at our base for days."
He paused, his gaze distant as he remembered the moment of realization.
"At first, I looked at him with suspicion," Heatsun admitted. "But then I overheard him... and I knew."
Moonsalt blinked.
"Knew what?" she asked.
"That he was ours."
Heatsun's voice cracked slightly.
"After that... I followed him. I snuck into his spaceship and learned everything."
Moonsalt's hands trembled.
Her son was alive.
Her husband was here for her.
For the first time in 15 years, the hollow ache inside her began to lift - replaced by something fierce and unyielding.
Hope.
She wiped her tears and stepped forward.
"I'm not running," Moonsalt declared. "I'm staying to watch my son fight."
Heatsun nodded.
"And so am I."
Jim, now battling Moonfreeze, allowed himself the faintest smile.
Jim revealed to Sunburn and Moonfreeze. "I am the same kid whom you tried to terminate 15 years ago."
"But unfortunately you failed. Now it's my turn."
Sunburn and Moonfreeze was unbothered by it.
Then—
The battlefield crackled with energies.
Jim retransformed into Grey Warrior, standing firm, his Solar Saber gleaming in one hand and his Lunar crescent hatchets spinning in the other.
The air around him seemed to vibrate, a swirling mix of gold and dark blue, light and shadow - a reflection of the Solar and Lunar blood running through his veins.
Sunburn smirked.
"You can fight all you want, Grey Warrior or that same cursed child" he said, his voice dripping with mockery. "But it doesn't matter. Every time you strike me, my sister drains your energy. And every time you touch her, I do the same."
Moonfreeze chuckled coldly.
"You can't win," she sneered. "We've brought down warriors stronger than you. Together, we're unstoppable."
But Jim didn't flinch.
He was already calculating.
He'd observed their pattern, memorized their movements.
It was a flawless strategy - one attacked while the other drained, never both at the same time. Their bond wasn't just sibling unity - it was a deadly cycle of offense and defense.
But now, Jim had a plan.
Heatsun, still weakened from the energy drain, clenched his fists as he watched his son battle.
Moonsalt, standing beside him, felt her heart twist. She had just regained her son and now she was watching him fight for his life.
Jim, however, remained calm. His mind was focused.
He tossed his Solar saber into the air, and in one smooth motion, he spun both Lunar crescent hatchets around it. The weapons, glowing with opposite energies, began to merge - sparks of gold and blue swirling together.
The air split with a flash of light - and there it was again.
The Solun Lance.
A weapon of perfect balance - a radiant shaft of combined Solar and Lunar power.
The ground trembled at its mere presence.
Jim didn't wait. He dashed forward.
Moonfreeze lashed out first, sending a barrage of icy spears toward him but Jim spun his lance in a whirlwind motion, shattering the shards into harmless mist.
He countered with a swift jab, aiming for Sunburn.
As expected - Moonfreeze began to drain his energy.
But this time... Jim didn't panic.
Instead - he redirected.
Using the momentum of his lance, he swiftly shifted targets - spinning around and slashing at Moonfreeze instead.
And when Sunburn lunged in retaliation, Jim pivoted again, thrusting his Solun Lance toward him - forcing Moonfreeze to stop her drain to protect her brother.
It was a rhythm.
Jim had turned their cycle of energy-draining into a constant back-and-forth dance - never letting either sibling maintain their drain long enough to weaken him.