Chapter 33: The White Solar Warrior Vs The Black Lunar Warrior
Meanwhile...
The desolate planet echoed with the clash of light and dark as Tim and Rei launched into battle.
Their movements blurred - Solar and Lunar energies igniting the bleak landscape in flashes of gold and silver.
Tim's Solar Saber blazed like a miniature sun, every strike aimed to pierce through Rei's defenses. But Rei, draped in the cold elegance of her dark robes, moved with calculating precision - her Lunar Energy weaving around Tim's attacks like a serpent, countering with swift, merciless strikes.
"You've gotten faster," Tim admitted, his voice steady but strained.
"And you're still reckless," Rei retorted, sending a wave of dark energy rippling through the ground.
Tim leapt back, avoiding the shockwave, but the force of it cracked the rocky surface beneath him. Dust and debris clouded the air as he regained his footing, gripping his Solar Saber tighter.
Their battle intensified - a dance of light and dark:
Tim would slash forward with radiant Solar Strikes, only for Rei to deflect with a Lunar Barrier and Lunar Crescent Boomerang using her hatchets.
Rei would unleash crescent-shaped blasts of Lunar Energy, while Tim countered by spinning his blade in glowing arcs, forming protective solar shields.
Explosions of energy erupted with each collision, sending shockwaves rippling across the lifeless planet.
The balance tipped dangerously as Rei began to shift tactics - vanishing and reappearing behind Tim, striking with surprise Lunar Crescent Slash.
Tim grunted, narrowly blocking the ambush.
"You're holding back," he growled.
Rei's expression remained unreadable.
"You don't want me to stop," she replied, her voice a whisper against the howling silence of the planet.
The battle pressed on - unrelenting, merciless.
Tim's Solar Saber pulsed with light, while Rei's Lunar Energy grew darker with every strike. It wasn't just a clash of powers - it was a war of will, of ideologies, of a broken connection neither could fully sever.
As the fight raged on, Tim realized - this wasn't just about winning. It was about reaching Rei, about breaking through the icy walls she'd built around herself. But with every blast of darkness she hurled at him, he wondered...
_ _ _
The dying planet trembled beneath the storm as Tim and Rei clashed with raw, unyielding fury. Every strike was a flash of gold and dark blue, each blow resonating through the lifeless soil like thunder.
Tim wielded his Solar Saber with fierce precision, its burning blade an extension of his will. With each swing, radiant arcs of solar energy carved through the air, illuminating the planet's bleak surface. Opposite him, Rei's Lunar Crescent Hatchets gleamed coldly - twin curved blades of bluish light, radiating an aura of icy darkness.
Their weapons met in a blinding collision - Solar meets Lunar - sending shockwaves rippling outward.
The impact shattered nearby rock formations, the very atmosphere distorting under the force of their elemental clash.
Tim lunged forward, his Solar Saber crackling. He slashed in a wide arc, aiming for Rei's side - but she twisted effortlessly, her hatchets slicing through the air in a counterattack.
CLANG!
The blades clashed again, sparks flying.
Rei moved like a shadow, light on her feet yet deadly with her precision. She swung her hatchets in synchronized patterns - one blocking Tim's strikes, the other aiming for his exposed flank.
Tim barely managed to parry, the heat of his Solar Saber flaring brighter as their battle escalated.
"You fight like a machine," Tim muttered between blows.
Rei's cold eyes narrowed. "And you fight like a fool."
Their weapons met again - a fierce struggle for dominance.
Tim gritted his teeth.
Yet something strange was happening - something neither of them fully understood.
As their weapons clashed further, a hidden tension was growing deep inside, a flicker of something old, something hidden, sparked in their minds.
A faint memory - a fleeting image - like a dream long forgotten.
A small boy with white hair... laughing as he handed a flower to a girl with black hair.
A gloomy girl looking embarrassed by the situation.
The memory was distant, blurred - yet it clung to the edges of their thoughts with each strike they exchanged.
Tim's grip faltered for a fraction of a second. What was that?
Rei's next attack came faster, sharper - but for a brief moment, her hand trembled before her hatchet connected with Tim's saber.
Why did that image feel so... familiar?
Tim shoved the memory aside, his focus snapping back to the fight.
Rei spun, her hatchets glowing and unleashed Lunar Crescent Storm towards Tim.
Tim braced himself, raising his Solar Saber high above his head.
"Solar Shield!"
A golden barrier of solar energy erupted around him, deflecting the incoming attack with violent explosions of light.
But before Tim could recover, Rei had already closed the distance - appearing through the smoke like a ghost - her hatchets aimed directly at his chest.
Tim's instincts kicked in. He ducked, narrowly dodging the strike, and countered with a blazing Solar Saber Slash - forcing Rei back.
He was somehow having a feeling that girl may have been Rei and Rei thought the same for the boy. Though both of them were not sure.
"Is this all you are?" Tim asked, his voice a mix of anger and something else, something softer.
Rei's eyes flashed with dark energy. "I am what I was meant to be."
"And what about what you are?"
A flicker of hesitation crossed Rei's face - brief, but Tim saw it.
For a heartbeat, the battle slowed.
Tim's mind kept drifting back to that fragment - the boy, the girl, the flower...
And then -
"Tim."
The name echoed faintly in Rei's head.
Her grip on her hatchets tightened. Why did that name kept feeling so familiar?
Her heart twisted - a silent battle waging inside her as fiercely as the one she fought against Tim.
But the darkness wouldn't let her falter.
With a fierce cry, Rei summoned a burst of Lunar Energy and hurled it at Tim.
Tim responded with a Solar Radiance - the opposing energies colliding mid-air and detonating in a spectacular burst of light and shadow.
The force sent both of them skidding backward - battered but unbroken.
Tim's Solar Saber flickered, its glow slightly dimmer from the strain.
Rei's Lunar Hatchets shimmered, the dark aura around them pulsing like a heartbeat.
They were both nearing their limits - but neither was willing to back down.
After few more exchanges...
The battle didn't even slow.
Tim wiped the sweat from his brow, his breathing ragged but steady.
Rei, standing opposite him, remained cold and composed, her hatchets swirling with a dark lunar aura.
The air between them felt like a battlefield of two opposing forces- one burning with love, the other with hatred.
Tim lunged forward, slashing his Solar Saber in an upward arc.
"Solar Saber:-Arc Slash!"
A wave of golden aura erupted from his blade, cutting through the air toward Rei.
But she was faster.
"Lunar Crescent:- X Slash."
Rei crossed her hatchets in an X-shape, summoning a glowing blue crescent that split Tim's fiery arc in two.
The clashing energies exploded in midair, scattering flames and shadow across the battlefield.
Tim barely had time to react before Rei blurred forward, unleashing a flurry of hatchet strikes.
Left. Right. Diagonal. Swift and merciless.
Tim met every swing with his Solar Saber, their weapons clanging violently - golden sparks flying with every impact.
Tim, recalling every battle he'd fought - against Dark Void's forces, against Robokamen - adapted his movements on the spot.
He sidestepped a powerful downward slash from Rei, pivoted, and quickly countered with a glowing spiral strike.
"Solar Spiral Slash!"
His saber spun like a wheel of fire, forcing Rei to jump back, narrowly avoiding the searing heat.
But as soon as Tim pushed forward, Rei unleashed something new - something Tim hadn't seen before.
"Lunar Mirage."
Her figure split into three shadowy copies, all circling Tim like silent phantoms.
What-?!
Before Tim could react, all three Rei's attacked at once - a storm of hatchet strikes from every angle.
Tim barely managed to block the real Rei's blow - but the two illusions struck him as well, their attacks phasing through his body but sending chilling shockwaves through his limbs.
Staggering back, Tim realized they weren't just illusions - they were dark projections infused with Lunar Shadow Energy.
She's grown stronger... far stronger than I thought.
Even as their weapons clashed, their words became a battle of their own.
"Rei, stop this!" Tim shouted, deflecting another blow from her hatchet. "You can't force your way to justice!"
Rei's expression darkened, and her next strike came faster - angrier.
"What do you know about justice, Tim?" she snapped. "Have you ever felt the kind of discrimination I have? The kind that crushes you every single day?"
Tim faltered for a moment.
"Rei-"
"Everywhere I went, I was nothing. Just a weak, unwanted girl. A burden." Her hatchets glowed with fierce lunar energy. "No one cared about me - No one."
Suddenly a faint memory flashed in Tim's mind:- of the same gloomy girl who looked lonely...who seemed so distant.
"Was that really Rei?" Tim thought.
"But Dark Void," Rei continued, her voice cold but passionate, "he showed me the truth. This universe is broken, Tim. And he's the only one with the strength to fix it."
Her next attack was merciless - a sweeping Lunar Crescent Wave that sent Tim skidding backward.
"And I will rule Soluna with him - correct this system with my own hands."
Tim clenched his jaw.
"But you can't just take control and force everyone to follow you!" He raised his Solar Saber high, its golden flame burning brighter. "Change doesn't happen through fear, Rei. It happens through trust - through listening to others."
Rei's lips curled into a bitter smile.
"And what if they don't know what's right?" she shot back. "What if they're too blind to see the truth?"
Her voice echoed through the desolate battlefield.
"I don't need their opinions. I know what must be done."
Tim shook his head, frustration burning in his chest.
"You sound just like Dark Void," he said softly. "He's not making the universe right, he's just making it his."
Rei's eyes flickered with something - rage... and maybe something else.
"You're a fool, Tim."
Her voice trembled, but not from fear - from fury.
"You cling to these people - these weak, foolish people - as if they'll ever understand what true justice is."
Her hatchets pulsed with dark energy.
"I don't need a fool like you standing in my way."
And with that, she launched herself at Tim again - her speed and power surging to new heights.
The ground beneath them cracked.
The planet trembled under their fury.
And the war raged on.