The battlefield echoed with the sound of Jeromy's plasma whip cracking and Blooma's dark tendrils slicing through the air.
Jeromy fought with every ounce of strength he had left. His arms were covered in gashes from Blooma's attacks, his uniform now tattered and stained with blood and sand. Each step he took was heavier than the last â but he still kept moving, still kept protecting Jim.
Above Jim, the massive swirling Solar-Lunar Finale pulsed â glowing like a miniature sun, its golden flames intertwined with the essence of Soluna's moons. It was so close â so dangerously close â to being fully charged.
Jim: (gritting his teeth) "Just a bit more..."
His arms trembled, his legs quaked under the weight of holding the celestial energy. Every second felt like an hour.
That's when, Blooma unleashed a barrage of tendrils again, each one aimed straight at Jim.
Jeromy's whip lashed out, intercepting them one by one â each impact sending shockwaves through the air.
WHIP! SNAP! CRACK!
The Solunar people gasped with every attack Jeromy deflected. But his movements were slowing. His breathing was ragged.
Jim: "Jeromy... there's no way you can keep this up!"
Jeromy didn't look back.
Jeromy: (hoarse but firm) "I'll endure... if it's for the good of the universe."
Jim's heart pounded at his words. The ex-champion wasn't just fighting â he was sacrificing himself.
Jim: (pained) "Jeromy, pleaseâ"
Jeromy: "Shut up, Jim. Focus!"
Time Left: 1 Minute
Jim gritted his teeth and shut out the pain, shut out the fear. His focus locked solely on the glowing sphere above him. The energy was almost ready â just one more minute.
Blooma's smile grew colder.
Blooma: "I'm done playing games."
Her tendrils doubled â tripled â in number. They shot toward Jim from all angles like a dark storm.
Jeromy roared, using every last ounce of his strength to intercept them â but this time, a few slipped through.
SMACK!
One tendril lashed across Jim's chest, sending him stumbling.
Jeromy pushed himself harder, blocking more tendrils, his own body taking the hits when he couldn't stop them all. Blood poured from his wounds, but his grip on the plasma whip never loosened.
The Solunar people cried out:
"Hold on, Jim!"
"Jeromy, stay strong!"
But the dread in their voices was clear.
Time Left: 30 Seconds
Jeromy's vision blurred. His knees buckled, but he stayed on his feet.
Another tendril struck him across the back, sending him to one knee â but his whip lashed out again.
Jim felt his heart crack.
Jim: (frantic) "Jeromy... please... stop!"
Jeromy: (through gritted teeth) "Not... until... you... finish."
Jim's arms felt like lead, but the sphere of Solar-Lunar energy above him was finally starting to stabilize.
The attack was almost ready.
Time Left: 10 Seconds
Blooma, now desperate, let out a furious scream.
She launched a massive tendril assault â a chaotic storm of dark energy â all aimed at Jim.
Jeromy tried to stop it â but there were too many.
WHIP! CRACK!
One tendril smashed into Jeromy's shoulder, knocking him flat onto the ground. His plasma whip fell from his hand.
He didn't get back up.
Jim: "Jeromy!"
Jeromy's fingers twitched, his breathing shallow. His strength was gone.
Now... Jim was alone.
The Solunar people fell silent.
Time Left: 8 Seconds
Jim's mind was racing.
"I'm so close... I just need a few more seconds..."
But Blooma's tendrils now had a clear path to him.
WHIP!
A tendril struck Jim's side â but he didn't fall.
Another struck his back â but he held his ground.
7 seconds...
Then â the worst.
One tendril shot straight through his stomach.
PIERCE!
Blood gushed from Jim's wound as the tendril emerged from his back. His vision blurred, and his mouth opened in a silent scream.
The Solar-Lunar Finale above him wavered. His grip on its energy faltered.
5 seconds...
Jim's knees buckled, but he clenched his teeth, refusing to let the attack collapse.
Jim: (weakly) "No... not now... not when everyone's counting on me..."
3 seconds...
Blooma's dark smile widened as she gathered energy in her palm.
Then â with a cruel laugh â she unleashed a blast aimed directly at the swirling sphere.
BOOM!
The Solar-Lunar Finale was sent hurtling into space â deflected off the planet.
The sky flared for a moment as the energy exploded harmlessly far away â lighting up the heavens like a distant star.
Jim's heart shattered.
Jim: (hoarse) "No..."
His greatest attack â gone.
Before Jim could react, Blooma's tendrils slammed into him again â and again â and again.
His body was battered as he detransformed as a result of the impact and strain.
Blood poured from his stomach wound, his arms, his legs.
The Solunar people watched in horror.
Solunar People:
"Jim... no..."
"He's losing..."
"What do we do...?"
Even Heatsun and Moonsalt were frozen â too injured to move, too helpless to stop the nightmare unfolding before them.
Jim lay on the ground, gasping for air, his Solun Lance cracked and glowing faintly beside him.
Blooma loomed over him â her dark energy swirling like a living storm.
Blooma: "Was that your best shot?"
Jim's vision blurred.
His mind screamed at him to get up â but his body wouldn't listen.
The cheers of the Solunar people had turned to silent fear.
Back at the Resistance base, Aron and Sheila watched the battle through the spy cameras.
Aron's hands shook.
Aron: (voice cracking) "Jim... no... he's... he's going to..."
Sheila clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms.
Sheila: (whispering) "Tim... Rei... please... hurry..."
The battlefield was quiet â except for the sound of Jim's ragged breathing.
Blooma raised her hand, preparing to finish him off.
The Solunar people could only watch in horror.
The hope of Soluna â beaten, broken, and bleeding.
And the Solar-Lunar Finale â lost.
_ _ _
Jim's body was a messâcuts, bruises, and open wounds painted him with streaks of blood. His Solun Lance lay shattered beside him, flickering weakly with the last remnants of his power.
Blooma's twisted smile widened as she towered over him, her dark tendrils swirling like a storm ready to strike again.
Blooma: "Ah... this... this is the taste of true despair."
Her voice slithered like poison, cutting through the stunned silence of the Solunar people.
Jim's head pounded, his vision blurred, but his thoughts echoed louder than the pain.
"Is this really how it ends...?"
Then, with a wave of her hand, Blooma summoned a swirling portal of black and crimson. From its depths, a massive dark guillotine emergedâgleaming with a wicked sheen.
The Solunar people gasped.
Heatsun: (horrified) "No... no, she wouldn't..."
Moonsalt: (breaking down) "Jim... not my son... please..."
Her voice cracked as she leaned into Heatsun, her whole body trembling. Heatsun held her close, but his own eyes were wide with helplessness.
They were too injuredâtoo weakâto stop this.
Blooma planted the guillotine into the ground with a thunderous clang.
She grabbed Jimâlimp and unresponsiveâand shoved his head onto the execution platform.
The Solunar crowd broke into a panic.
Solunar people:
"No! Stop this!"
"Someone, save him!"
"Please, Jim..."
But none dared to cross the barrier Blooma had summonedâan impenetrable dome of swirling black energy surrounding her and Jim.
The blade loomed above his neck, gleaming like death itself.
Blooma slowly placed her hand on the lever, a cruel glint in her eye.
Blooma: "It's time for a public execution... to remind you all what happens when you defy Dark Void."
Jim barely registered her wordsâhis mind fogged with pain and the bitter taste of failure.
"Is this really... the end...?"
The lever clicked into place.
The guillotine's blade screeched as it began to fallâ
BOOOOM!
A violent blast of black exploded against the barrier, shattering it into a thousand shards of energy.
The guillotine was blown apart mid-fall, the blade flung off into the sky.
The sheer force sent Blooma flying back, her body crashing into the ground and skidding across the battlefield.
From the dust and smoke, a figure emergedâhatchets glowing with amplified lunar energy.
It was the Black Lunar Warrior.
Her usual composed aura was goneâreplaced by an untamed, fiery rage.
Rei: (voice cold and fierce) "Jim... cannot be killed. Not on my watch."
The crowd gaspedârecognizing the Black Lunar Warrior standing tall once again.
Solunar people:
"Rei... she's back!"
"The Black Lunar Warrior is here!"
Jim blinked in disbelief.
Jim: (weakly) "Rei...?"
Before he could process her arrivalâ
CRACK!
A blinding white flash streaked down from the sky like a falling starâstriking Blooma mid-recovery, sending her tumbling miles away in a fiery explosion of solar energy.
The air rippled with heat.
Standing where the blast originated was the White Solar Warriorâhis Solar Saber glowing brighter than ever, its blade seemingly ablaze.
His cape fluttered behind him, his armor gleaming like the sun itself.
Tim: (grinning) "And I'm here too. Jim's like my younger brother... so you better not mess with him."
The battlefield froze in stunned silence.
And thenâ
The Solunar people roared with renewed hope, the fear that once gripped them now replaced with unyielding faith.
"The White Solar Warrior, Tim is alive!"
"The Black Lunar Warrior has returned!"
"We still have hope!"
Jim, still dazed and bleeding, looked between Tim and Reiâhis so-called "elder siblings" standing like titans before him.
A tear slipped down his cheekânot from pain, but from the overwhelming relief that he wasn't alone.
From the distance, a battered Blooma rose from the rubbleâher cloak singed and her face contorted with rage.
Her dark tendrils lashed violently, the air around her distorting with raw fury.
Blooma: (seething) "You... insolent pests... I'll kill you all!"
Tim twirled his Solar Saber.
Tim: "Try me."
Rei spun her Lunar Hatchets, dark energy crackling around her.
Rei: "You've tortured Jim long enough. This ends here."
Jim, still weak, forced himself to standâclutching his broken Solun Lance for support.
For the first time since the battle startedâhe didn't feel alone.
He had his family.
He had hope.
And the war for Soluna was far from over.