The ground beneath Tim and Rei cracked as Blooma's monstrous form loomed over them, her shadow stretching like a curse across the battlefield.
Tendrils slithered through the air, glowing with dark purple energy, their eyes blinking and darting independently — alive and predatory.
Tim gripped his Solar Saber tighter, its golden light flickering against the suffocating darkness.
Tim: "Rei... this just got a whole lot tougher."
Rei spun her Lunar Crescent Hatchets, the dark blue blades humming with raw lunar energy.
Rei: "We've faced worse... I think."
Without warning, Blooma's six tendrils lashed out simultaneously — three aimed at Tim, three at Rei — moving like vipers.
Tim ducked, parried one tendril with his Solar Saber, and leaped back, slicing through another with a Solar Stab — the severed end writhing and reattaching itself like liquid shadow.
Tim: "Oh, great. They grow back."
The third tendril smashed into his side, sending him flying into a stone pillar. It shattered on impact, dust rising into the darkened air.
Rei twisted her body mid-dodge, her hatchets flashing as she performed Lunar Boomerang — flinging both blades in a perfect arc.
They spun like crescents, slicing through two tendrils. Blooma shrieked — a sound like metal scraping against glass — but before Rei could celebrate, the severed tendrils merged back into one, surging toward her.
She sidestepped at the last moment, only for a blast of dark energy to erupt from Blooma's palm, hitting Rei square in the chest. She skidded across the battlefield, barely managing to stay on her feet.
Blooma then raised both hands, and dozens of smaller tendrils sprouted from her back, forming a swirling storm of dark appendages.
Blooma: (snarling) "You think you can match me now? Let me show you what true power looks like."
Dark Spiral Barrage — Blooma twirled in place, sending a tornado of tendrils spiraling outward, slicing the ground apart. Tim and Rei barely managed to dodge the whirlwind of destruction.
Void Burst — She conjured a sphere of concentrated dark energy and hurled it like a meteor, exploding into a shockwave that sent Tim and Rei crashing into opposite sides of the battlefield.
Shadow Clones — Blooma split into three shadowy copies of herself, each launching tendril attacks from different angles, overwhelming Tim and Rei.
Tim, gritting his teeth, forced himself up and launched his Solar Saber Strike — his Solar Saber glowing brighter than ever. With a swift horizontal slash, a golden wave of solar energy surged forward, erasing two of the shadow clones and colliding with the third, pushing the real Blooma back.
Rei tapped into her refined lunar energy, using Lunar Mirage — creating multiple afterimages of herself, confusing Blooma's tendrils as they lashed wildly at the illusions. The real Rei emerged behind Blooma, driving both hatchets into her back with a Lunar Pierce.
Blooma roared, a ripple of dark energy bursting outward, sending Rei tumbling.
Tim and Rei regrouped, both panting, bruised, but still standing.
Tim: "She's fast... stronger... but we're still hitting her."
Rei: "Barely."
Blooma's monstrous form sneered, her fanged mouth dripping with black ooze.
Blooma: "You're insects... but persistent ones."
She extended both hands outward, forming chains of dark energy that coiled through the air. With a flick of her wrists, the chains whipped toward Tim and Rei like deadly vipers.
Tim dodged one chain, using Solar Smash to knock another away, the sheer force creating a small crater.
Rei sliced a chain with a precise Lunar Wave — the energy from her hatchets dispersing the dark magic momentarily.
But then —
Blooma suddenly appeared behind Tim, her speed now blistering, and raked her claws across his back. Tim roared in pain, falling to one knee.
Rei rushed to help, but Blooma conjured dark spikes from the ground — forcing Rei to leap into the air as the battlefield became a deathtrap of shadowy thorns.
The Solunar people, watching from a distance, gasped in horror.
Jim gritted his teeth, still too injured to move, his fists clenched as he watched his older siblings struggle.
Jim: "Come on... you guys can do this."
Aron's voice crackled through the communicator in Tim's ear:
Aron: "Tim! Rei! She's pushing you harder now — her power is off the charts. Don't let her corner you!"
Sheila: (urgent) "Remember your training. Stay in sync, and don't let your minds break!"
Tim, blood dripping from his back, stood back up.
Tim: (to Rei) "We're not losing here."
Rei, bruised but resolute, nodded.
Rei: "We push harder."
Blooma, laughing darkly, unleashed Void Chains again — but this time, Tim and Rei moved as one yet again.
Tim leapt over the chains, channeling solar energy into his Saber for a blinding Solar Saber Slice aimed at Blooma's core.
Rei darted behind, weaving through the spikes and launching her Lunar Phantom Strikes— striking from multiple angles, her hatchets glowing blacker.
Their combined assault landed — Tim's solar slash burning through Blooma's arm, and Rei's lunar crescent strike cutting deep into her side.
Blooma howled.
For the first time since her transformation... she was truly injured.
_ _ _
The battlefield trembled as Blooma clutched her wounded side.
Her monstrous form loomed even larger now, the tendrils on her back twitching violently — a clear sign of her boiling rage.
Blooma: "You... dare wound me?"
Her voice resonated with fury, echoing across the war-torn plains of Soluna.
Without hesitation, she extended both arms, summoning a surge of dark magic that split into a dozen different attacks at once.
Void Tendrils Barrage — dozens of tendrils shot out, spiraling in erratic patterns, aiming to bind and crush Tim and Rei.
Dark Nova Burst — an orb of condensed dark energy formed above Blooma's palm before exploding outward in a devastating shockwave.
Shadow Spikes Eruption — black spikes erupted from the ground in unpredictable intervals, threatening to impale anything in their path.
Tim: "Rei—on me!"
Without a second's hesitation, Rei responded.
Rei: "Got your back!"
Their movements were seamless, as if they were two sides of the same blade — Solar and Lunar, light and shadow, perfectly intertwined.
Tim darted through the incoming tendrils, his Solar Saber glowing white-hot. With swift, precise slashes, he severed the incoming attacks one by one — the tendrils hissing as solar energy burned through their dark forms.
Rei spun like a storm, using Lunar Mirage to create afterimages that confused the tendrils, allowing her real form to slip through and strike at Blooma's dark magic orbs, deflecting them with her Lunar Crescent Hatchets.
When Dark Nova Burst exploded, Tim crossed his Solar Saber in front of him, channeling a Solar Shield — the radiant barrier holding back the shockwave long enough for Rei to leap into the air and unleash Lunar Crescent Storm, slicing through the orb's core, breaking it apart.
The Shadow Spikes shot up from the ground — but Tim and Rei synchronized perfectly:
Tim struck the spikes with Solar Smash, shattering them before they could impale him.
Rei darted through the gaps, fluid as water, slicing the remaining spikes with Lunar Pierce.
Blooma(furious): "Why won't you just go down?"
Tim(staring at Rei): "Let's push her back!"
With their attacks blending like a flawless dance, they launched an amplified barrage:
Tim used Solar Radiant Strike, his saber radiating with an intensified solar glow — sending a wave of burning light directly at Blooma's core.
Rei unleashed Lunar Mirage Flurry — creating multiple afterimages of herself again, but this time, they all hurled their hatchets at once, overwhelming Blooma with glowing hatchets.
The combined Solar-Lunar barrage collided into Blooma's monstrous form, erupting in an explosion of light and dark energy.
Blooma staggered back — black blood dripping from fresh wounds across her body — but she did not fall.
For every devastating attack Tim and Rei landed, Blooma retaliated with equal ferocity:
Void Chain Slam — massive dark chains sprouted from her arms, sweeping across the battlefield like wrecking balls.
Dark Energy Spear — she summoned a spear of pure void magic, hurling it at Tim, forcing him to parry with his Solar Saber — the impact sending shockwaves across the field.
Nightmare Swarm — dozens of dark crows materialized from Blooma's aura, each exploding on contact like living bombs.
Tim and Rei, despite their newfound strength, couldn't overpower her — but they weren't losing either.
Every strike was met with a counter.
Every blast was answered by a deflection.
The Solunar people watched in awe — no longer cowering, but cheering.
"Don't give up!"
"You're out only hope."
Jim gritted his teeth, still too weak to fight, but his heart pounded as he witnessed the brutal yet masterful teamwork of his so called "elder siblings."
After what seemed like an eternity of furious exchanges, the battlefield went silent for a brief moment.
Tim and Rei stood side by side, breathing heavily but refusing to falter — their weapons glowing with celestial energy.
Blooma, now sporting several burns and cuts across her monstrous form, sneered — her breathing ragged, her dark aura flickering.
Blooma: "You pests... Why won't you break?"
Tim wiped a trickle of blood from his mouth, smirking despite the pain.
Tim: "Because... you're not the only one who's strong anymore."
Rei nodded, her hatchets glowing brighter.
Rei: "We've trained for this... and we're not backing down."
Both sides, battered but unyielding, stared each other down.