Blooma knelt before Dark Void, her jaw tight with frustration.
Dark Void: "What exactly are you waiting for, Blooma?"
Blooma's eyes flared with annoyance.
Blooma: "I killed them nearly a week ago. I thought they were gone."
Dark Void's voice remained calm - but icy.
Dark Void: "And yet, I can still sense them. Alive. Training. Growing stronger."
Her stomach twisted.
Dark Void: "I thought this was part of your plan - keeping them alive to break them further. But it seems you weren't even aware."
Blooma's fingers twitched, her nails digging into the floor.
Blooma: "They... tricked me."
Her ego burned hotter than ever.
Her gaze darkened as she stared out into the void of space.
Blooma: "If they won't come to me - I'll destroy what they love."
Her sights locked on Soluna.
After a few minutes at Soluna...
Heatsun and Moonsalt fought back against Blooma's sudden assault.
Energy blasts lit up the sky as Blooma unleashed devastating waves of dark energy on Soluna's cities.
Heatsun: "We can't hold her back forever!"
Moonsalt: "She's too strong - she's tearing through us like paper!"
Henry and Marie who were in the middle of evacuating the Solar and Lunar people, sent a distress signal to the Resistance.
Jim, upon hearing the message, clenched his fists.
Jim: "I have to protect Soluna."
Despite Aron's protests, Jim bolted into a Resistance spaceship and launched off, heading straight for the battlefield.
Back at the Resistance Base
Sheila and Aron stood tensely, watching the training chambers where Tim and Rei still fought through their trials.
Sheila: "They don't have much time."
Aron: "We need them to finish... before Soluna falls."
The question was - would Tim and Rei finish their training in time?
Or would Blooma tear apart Solunar before they ever got the chance?
The countdown had begun.
An hour later...
The sky above Soluna burned with dark energy as Blooma's relentless assault continued, tearing through the last protective barriers. The once-proud city stood on the brink of destruction.
Heatsun and Moonsalt, despite their wounds that they got as a result of the battle, unleashed their strongest Solar and Lunar attacks - fiery bursts and icy storms - but Blooma swatted them aside with ease.
Her dark aura flared, laughing coldly.
Blooma: "Is this the best Soluna has to offer? A broken sun and a fading moon?"
The Solunar people, watching from their evacuation points, shouted words of encouragement to Heatsun and Moonsalt, but their hope wavered.
Then-
SLASH! A brilliant, grey streak of energy cut through Blooma's back.
She snarled in pain, staggering forward.
Blooma: "What-?!"
Standing there, gripping the glowing Solun Lance, was Jim - The Grey Warrior.
His lance glowing with a perfect blend of Solar and Lunar energy. His stance burned with determination.
Jim: "Get away from them."
The Solunar people gasped.
"It's him - the cursed one!"
"No... he's not cursed - he's fighting for us!"
"He's the Grey Warrior... our protector!"
For the first time in his life, Jim heard cheers - not of fear, but of faith.
Heatsun, breathing heavily, stared at his son.
Heatsun: "Jim..."
Moonsalt wiped the blood from her lip, her voice soft.
Moonsalt: "Our son..."
Jim didn't turn. His focus was locked onto Blooma.
Jim: "Both of you - rest. I've got this."
He braced his Solun Lance.
Blooma growled, her wound already healing.
Blooma: "You again? You think a child can stop me?"
Jim smirked.
Jim: "I'm not a child - I'm Soluna's shield."
And with that, the battle erupted.
Blooma rushed at him, her dark claws ripping through the air.
Jim countered with a Solun Finish that blasted Blooma back.
The ground quaked from the impact.
The people of Soluna watched, wide-eyed, as Jim pushed Blooma back - something even Heatsun and Moonsalt struggled to do.
Heatsun: "His Power... it's stronger than before."
Moonsalt: "He's grown, Heatsun. This is his battle now."
Henry and Marie from the crowd just watched silently not able to process how far he came.
Jim didn't let up. He darted around Blooma, using a combination of Solar Speed and Lunar Feints - striking from unexpected angles.
Blooma, however, quickly adapted.
Blooma: "You're fast - but not faster than death."
She unleashed a Void Spiral, a swirling vortex of dark energy that lashed out in all directions.
Jim barely managed to dodge, rolling to the side as the attack obliterated a nearby statue.
But he didn't hesitate.
He leapt forward, Solun Lance glowing brighter.
Jim: "SOLUN STRIKE: DUAL FANG!"
His lance split into Solar Saber and Lunar Crescent Hatchets- one blazing like the sun, the other glowing like the moon. He slashed Blooma across her chest - twice - leaving burning Solar and freezing Lunar marks on her body.
The crowd roared.
Blooma, now visibly angered, clutched her wounds.
Blooma: "You... miserable brat."
Jim spun his lance back into its original form.
Jim: "I'm not fighting alone. I fight for Soluna - for my parents - for Tim, Rei, and everyone counting on us."
The Solunar people began chanting his real name, no more calling him just Grey Warrior:
"Jim! Jim! Jim!"
He felt the surge of their belief - something he never thought he'd experience.
_ _ _
The chants of "Jim! Jim! Jim!" echoed across Soluna, a chorus of hope rising from the once-fearful people.
Blooma's dark aura crackled violently, swirling like a storm as her fury grew.
Her wounds healed yet again in rage.
Her pride had been wounded far worse than her body.
Blooma: "You dare let these insects believe in you?"
She clenched her fist, and a shockwave of Void Energy blasted outward, causing the ground beneath her to crack. Several Solunar buildings groaned under the pressure, some collapsing into rubble.
Jim gritted his teeth.
Jim: "You're not breaking them again."
He dashed forward, his Solun Lance shimmering with a celestial glow.
Blooma met him head-on, her claws swirling with dark matter as she swiped at Jim.
He blocked with his lance, the impact sending sparks of Solar and Lunar energy scattering into the air.
Jim: "SOLUN BARRAGE!"
His weapon shifted into rapid strikes - each swing glowing with celestial power - the sun heating and the moon-glow restricting movements.
Blooma deflected most of them, though some slashes grazed her, leaving sizzling marks on her obsidian skin.
But Jim wasn't done.
With a quick spin, he slammed his lance into the ground, summoning a shockwave of Solar-Lunar energy that exploded outward.
Jim: "SOLUN EXPLOSION!"
It shot at Blooma's feet, causing the ground to rupture beneath her. She staggered back, caught off guard.
The crowd roared again.
Heatsun: "He's fighting with everything..."
Moonsalt: "But Blooma's holding back..."
After a few moments...
Snarling, Blooma's dark aura expanded, the sky above them darkening even further.
Blooma: "Enough of this child's play."
She raised her hand, summoning a swirling orb of black flames - a Void Star - its edges radiating corrupt energy.
The ground trembled beneath its gravity.
Blooma: "Let's see you survive this."
She hurled the Void Star directly at Jim.
Jim's mind raced.
He knew blocking it head-on was a death sentence.
Instead-
He sprinted towards the attack.
Jim: "SOLUN SPLIT CROSS!"
The Solun Lance split again into Solar Saber and Lunar Crescent Hatchets, glowing intensely - brighter than ever before as Jim slashed them together, forming a glowing cross of grey.
He met the Void Star mid-air.
The collision sent a shockwave across Soluna.
The clash twisted and cracked the air, a battle between Solun Split and Void Destruction.
Jim roared, pushing with all his might.
The crowd's chants grew louder:
"Jim! Jim! Jim!"
And then-
BOOM!
The Void Star shattered - Jim's Cross slicing it clean in half.
Blooma's eyes widened for the first time.
Blooma: "Impossible..."
Jim, breathing heavily, stood firm - the Saber and Hatchets merging back into his Lance, still glowing.
Jim: "You're not taking Soluna - not while I stand."
Hope Rekindled
The Solunar people erupted into cheers.
Moonsalt: "Jim... won that exchange."
Heatsun: "He's pushing her back."
But Jim didn't celebrate.
As the dust settled, Blooma's fury burned hotter.
Blooma: "You insolent brat... I'll destroy you."
Jim tightened his grip on his lance.
Jim (to himself): "Tim, Rei... wherever you are... I need you to hurry."
The battle wasn't over - but for the first time, Soluna had hope.
And Jim - once called the cursed one - now stood as their warrior.
The Grey Warrior.
The protector of Soluna.