The battlefield now glowed with the clash of opposing forces - Jim, Heatsun, and Moonsalt surrounding Dark Void, their combined Solar and Lunar energies forming a protective ring against his suffocating darkness.
Meanwhile, aboard their ship, Henry and Marie pushed their engines to the limit - their shields flickering as Dark Void's last attacks had nearly broken through.
Rei was curled in the corner of the cabin - her body trembling, her eyes red with tears.
Her mind kept replaying Tim's broken voice:
"Please... don't let me die for nothing."
Henry's grip tightened on the controls. "We're almost out of range-"
Marie's voice broke softly. "We should've saved her back then... fifteen years ago... we shouldn't have failed."
Henry swallowed hard. "We won't fail now."
As they broke through the darkened atmosphere, the Celestic Justice fleet held firm - shielding them long enough to escape into the vastness of space.
And with them - they carried Rei.
Broken. Crying.
And burning with the faintest flicker of rage.
As the battle raged on the dying planet, Jim, Heatsun, and Moonsalt fought relentlessly - their combined Solar-Lunar attacks illuminating the dark skies. Their powers clashed fiercely against Dark Void's overwhelming darkness, but it was clear their strikes barely fazed him.
They weren't trying to win - they were trying to buy time.
Each blow, each counter, every burst- it was all to ensure Henry and Marie's spaceship escaped Dark Void's range.
And finally - they did.
The spaceship, engines roaring, blasted away from the chaotic battlefield - breaking free from Dark Void's reach. His tendrils of black energy clawed at the empty air, but the ship disappeared into the dark expanse of space.
Dark Void growled. His prey was gone.
Henry and Marie's spaceship entered Soluna's atmosphere - the sky of the planet split between a golden sunlit horizon and a blue moonlit one, forever reflecting the balance of Solar and Lunar power.
Their ship descended swiftly, heading straight for Heatsun's base - its structure glowing with both Solar and Lunar symbols, a reflection of the alliance forged by the prophecy.
As the ship landed with a heavy thud, Rei lay slumped in the passenger bay - her face pale, her injuries severe, but the turmoil in her heart cutting deeper than any physical wound.
Henry and Marie rushed to her side - gently but firmly lifting her broken body and carrying her down the ramp, their steps hurried yet careful.
The base gates opened automatically, and guards, Solar and Lunar both kinds rushed to assist - but Henry and Marie waved them away.
It was personal.
The air was still - a painful contrast to the chaos they had just escaped.
Rei, despite her battered state, gazed around the surroundings of the base, her breathing shallow. Her voice, hoarse yet sharp, broke the silence:
"Is this... where Tim stayed?"
Henry nodded solemnly.
"For 15 years," he replied, his voice calm but heavy. "He trained here under Heatsun."
Rei's lips parted slightly - a flicker of disbelief in her eyes.
"The same Heatsun..." she murmured, "who was my mentor Moonsalt's sworn enemy?"
Marie exchanged a look with Henry but gave a short nod.
"Yes."
Rei's fingers clenched the fabric of her torn uniform- the weight of the revelation settling in.
She blinked, her voice distant yet bitterly aware.
"Ironical."
Her voice cracked at the next words:
"The ones I considered my enemies... saved me."
Silence again.
Henry and Marie said nothing - because there was nothing to say.
The truth hung between them like a blade - cutting deeper into Rei's heart with each passing second.
The very people she had sworn to fight... had risked everything to pull her from the jaws of death.
And the person who had sacrificed himself to protect her - was the same boy she once knew... the boy who, even in his final moments, didn't see her as an enemy even though she tried to eliminate him.
But as someone worth saving.
The atmosphere in Heatsun's base remained tense - a mix of disbelief, sorrow, and unsteady hope.
Rei slumped in her seat, took a slow breath. The pain of her wounds was nothing compared to the storm raging inside her.
Her voice, steady but firm, broke the silence again:
"Don't mistake this for trust."
Henry and Marie exchanged a glance - surprised by her sharp words.
"The only one I trust now... is myself."
The words hit harder than they expected. After all the chaos, after Tim's sacrifice, after Dark Void's betrayal - Rei still refused to rely on anyone.
Henry, his voice soft but strained, finally spoke:
"Rei... we thought... if we had saved you 15 years ago, you wouldn't have had to go through all of this."
Marie nodded beside him, her voice cracking:
"You wouldn't have had to suffer under Dark Void's control."
Rei's crimson eyes darkened - not with anger, but with an unyielding resolve.
"It's not your fault."
Henry blinked, stunned by her calmness.
"It's fate," Rei continued. "I was fated to walk that path. Even if you had saved me back then... I would have found my way to this same destiny."
She tightened her fists.
"I thought I could bring true justice by conquest under Dark Void."
Her voice trembled slightly - not with fear, but with the sting of betrayal.
"But in the end... I was just a pawn."
She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again - fierce, yet lost.
"So from now on... I'll walk my own path."
The air seemed heavier as she spoke.
"I'll give everything a chance - not for Dark Void, not for anyone else... but for myself."
Henry and Marie didn't know what to say.
Her words were cold yet hopeful - a strange contradiction that mirrored the turmoil within her.
Marie swallowed hard. "That's... better than following Dark Void's lies."
Henry nodded, though a flicker of worry crossed his face.
"I've decided one more thing."
Her voice cut through the quiet like a blade.
"I won't kill anyone."
Marie's eyes widened slightly.
"Tim..." Rei's voice softened for the first time. "He believed in something - a faith in others I never understood."
She looked away, a flicker of guilt in her expression.
"Even though I don't agree with it... I'll test it. I'll honor his faith - just once."
Her hand trembled slightly.
"I won't kill anyone - but I will stand against whoever I feel is a threat to justice."
Her eyes burned with newfound purpose.
"And for what Dark Void did to me - the way he manipulated me in the name of justice - he's my enemy now."
Her voice cracked at the end - a sign that, no matter how strong she acted, the betrayal still cut deep.
Before the room could absorb Rei's declaration, a sharp voice echoed through the hall:
"Then prove it."
Jim stood at the entrance - his Solun Lance pointed directly at Rei.
His face was hard, but his eyes were glassy - unshed tears threatening to spill.
"Dark Void said Tim sacrificed himself for you."
His voice wavered with anger and sorrow.
"Why?"
Rei didn't flinch - but the guilt crept back into her heart.
"I don't know."
Jim's grip on his lance tightened.
"Tim was like a big brother to me."
His voice cracked, and a tear finally fell.
"He called me his little brother."
Rei's chest tightened - the memory of Tim's final moments flashing in her mind.
Henry and Marie, clearly distressed by Jim's pain, quickly stepped forward - placing their hands gently on his shoulders.
"Jim..." Marie whispered, "Rei saw everything."
Henry's voice was gentle but firm:
"She didn't want to leave Tim behind... she cried for him too."
Jim's jaw clenched. "It better be true."
His voice was cold - but the heartbreak was evident.
Rei didn't respond. She simply stared at the floor - her silence louder than any words.
Before the tension could thicken any further, Heatsun entered the room, his stern but wise presence casting a calming aura over the room.
"Welcome, Rei."
Rei blinked - her head snapping up in shock.
Before she could respond, another familiar voice spoke:
"Nice to see you again."
It was Moonsalt.
Rei's heart raced.
"Moonsalt...?"
Her mind spun - her former mentor, the very person who raised her into the Lunar Warrior - standing calmly beside the man who trained Tim.
Moonsalt's gaze softened. "A lot has changed."
Rei's voice was hoarse. "But... you were my mentor... why...?"
Heatsun crossed his arms. "Moonsalt has changed - just as you have."
Rei's sharp instincts kicked in. "Changed...?"
Her eyes darted between Moonsalt and Jim.
"Then if my guess is right..."
Heatsun gave a small nod.
"Yes."
"He and Moonsalt are husband and wife."
Rei's mind reeled.
"And the Grey Warrior..." she muttered, still piecing it together.
Moonsalt's voice was soft yet firm:
"Is our son."
Another revelation.
Rei's heart pounded.
Her old mentor - a sworn enemy of Heatsun - was not only his wife but the mother of Jim.
She felt like the ground beneath her had shifted.
Moonsalt stepped forward, a rare gentleness in her tone:
"Rei... you should look after Jim now."
Rei blinked. "What...?"
"Like an older sister."
The weight of the words struck Rei deeply.
Heatsun added: "It's ironic, isn't it?"
His voice held a tinge of sadness.
"The student I raised became a big brother to Jim... and now, you may follow the same path."
Rei clenched her fists.
Her path had twisted and shattered more times than she could count - yet here she stood, surrounded by those she once saw as enemies... now tied to her through Tim's sacrifice.
Jim wiped his tears - his voice still firm.
"I don't trust you yet, Rei."
Rei met his gaze - calm but fierce.
"I don't expect you to."
Jim's hand gripped his Solun Lance once more.
"Then I'll test you myself."
The room fell silent again - but this time, the silence was a promise.
A promise that the path ahead was not about revenge - but about proving if the person Tim gave his life for was truly worth his faith.