The battlefield erupted in golden radiance as the Celestic Beam Barrage rained down upon Goblin, engulfing him in a storm of endless swarm.
The air trembled with sheer force, and the very ground beneath them cracked from the intensity of the attacks.
Jim charged forward, his Solun Lance blazing with the combined power of Solar and Lunar energy, ready to strike.
But Goblin was not done.
Before Jim could get near, a thunderous explosion of demonic energy erupted from within the barrage.
BOOM!
From the smoke and destruction, Goblin emerged unscathed, his monstrous body pulsating with darkness, his sharp fangs twisting into a sinister grin.
"You think that's enough?!" he bellowed, his voice shaking the battlefield.
In a flash, Goblin lunged at Jim, his massive claw clashing against the Solun Lance, locking them in a fierce struggle.
Jim gritted his teeth, pushing back with all his strength, but Goblin's raw power was overwhelming. The demon's claws burned with abyssal fire, slowly forcing Jim down.
"You are NOTHING!" Goblin roared. "No matter how much you struggle, you will NEVER be perfect like Dark Void!"
With a burst of power, he swiped at Jim with his other claw, aiming to rip through him-
But Sheila intercepted, her twin red-blue sabers clashing against Goblin's strike with her full strength, forcing him back.
Jeromy appeared from the side, his plasma whip wrapping around Goblin's arm, attempting to restrain him. "You talk too much!"
Goblin snarled, ripping the whip apart and backhanding Jeromy with monstrous force, sending him flying.
The Celestic Justice warriors rushed in, surrounding Goblin and unleashing another coordinated attack-
But Goblin tore through them like paper, his speed and power unstoppable.
Jim struggled to rise, his breathing ragged. The weight of the battle was crushing him, but he refused to stay down.
Goblin slowly approached, his towering form blocking out the dim light. "You're weak. Imperfect. Unworthy of existence."
Jim clenched his fists, his Solar-Lunar energy flickering weakly around him.
Goblin smirked. "Accept your fate. Perfection belongs to Dark Void alone. He is absolute."
A heavy silence fell over the battlefield.
The warriors who still stood struggled to move, exhausted and wounded.
For a moment, doubt crept into Jim's mind.
What if Goblin was right? What if they weren't enough?
Then-
A hand grabbed Jim's shoulder.
Sheila, her body bruised but her resolve unshaken, looked him in the eye. "Get up."
From the wreckage, Jeromy pulled himself free, his body battered but his spirit unbroken. "You're really going to listen to this overgrown freak?"
The Celestic Justice warriors, though weakened, stood their ground.
One of them shouted, "We've fought too hard to give up now!"
Another added, "Together, we are strong!"
More voices joined even from the Resistance.
"We will never be perfect alone-"
"-but together, we are stronger than any perfection!"
Jim's eyes widened as he felt their energy, their unbreakable unity.
He looked up at Goblin, no longer afraid.
With a deep breath, his Solar-Lunar energy reignited, shining brighter than ever.
Jim grinned, gripping his lance with renewed strength. "You don't get it, do you, Goblin?"
Goblin narrowed his eyes. "What?"
Jim slowly stood up, his body glowing with power. "We don't need to be your version of perfect."
Sheila stepped forward, her saber shining. "We're not fighting alone."
Jeromy smirked, energy crackling around him. "We fight together."
The Celestic Justice warriors raised their weapons, their energy uniting into a powerful aura.
Jim raised his lance high, and the energy of everyone around him surged into his weapon.
"We are perfect-because we fight for each other!"
Goblin roared in fury. "LIES! DARK VOID IS THE ONLY PERFECTION!"
Jim leaped forward, his Solun Lance burning with the combined power of every warrior on the battlefield.
He lunged forward, his Solun Lance blazing, fueled by the unbreakable will of every warrior on the battlefield.
With a mighty battle cry, he thrust his lance directly into Goblin's chest, releasing a devastating explosion.
BOOOOM!
The entire battlefield shook violently, a shockwave ripping through the air as the attack landed.
For a brief moment, everything was silent.
Then, as the dust settled...
Goblin was still standing.
Though a scorch mark burned on his chest from the attack, it was barely a scratch.
Jim's eyes widened in disbelief as he trembled. "That... that...only... did..
this much?!"
Goblin let out a deep, menacing laugh. His demonic aura grew even darker, pulsing with untamed power. "You thought that would bring me down? You seem to have got your expectations too high, that's why you beings are unworthy to exist!"
With inhuman speed, he backhanded Jim, sending him crashing through multiple ruined buildings before he slammed into the ground, coughing up blood as he detransformed again.
Sheila and Jeromy rushed in, leading a combined assault with the Resistance warriors and the Celestic Justice members, trying to hold Goblin down.
"Don't let him move!" Sheila shouted, her twin red-blue sabers slashing at Goblin's arms and legs, attempting to weaken his mobility.
Jeromy's plasma whip cracked, wrapping around Goblin's right arm. "You're not going anywhere!"
The Celestic Justice warriors coordinated their attacks, firing a barrage of Celestic Bullets, while Resistance members used energy chains to restrain Goblin's limbs.
Goblin growled in annoyance, his monstrous muscles tensing against the restraints.
Even with their combined strength, holding him was almost impossible.
"You pests! You think chains can hold me?"
With a deafening roar, his demonic energy erupted, shattering the restraints and blasting everyone back.
Jim, battered and bloody, forced himself to stand.
His breath was ragged, his body screamed in pain, but his spirit refused to break.
Goblin stomped toward him, towering over everyone. His red eyes glowed with merciless power.
"You are wasting your time," Goblin sneered. "You will never win. You are imperfect-unworthy to stand against Dark Void!"
Jim gritted his teeth, tightening his grip on his lance.
Despite everything, despite the overwhelming power of their enemy, he refused to give up.
"You're wrong," Jim said, his voice steady despite his injuries.
Goblin snarled. "What did you say?"
Jim lifted his Solun Lance, its light burning defiantly.
"We might not be your version of perfect... but we don't need to be!"
Sheila, struggling to her feet, smirked, her saber glowing once more. "We're not fighting alone."
Jeromy wiped blood from his lips, standing tall. "We fight together."
The Resistance warriors and Celestic Justice members, though injured, rose once more, their spirits unbroken.
"Together, we are stronger than any perfection!"
Goblin's expression twisted with pure fury. "ENOUGH OF THIS FOOLISHNESS!"
He raised his clawed hand, forming a massive sphere of dark energy, its power so immense that the sky itself turned black.
Jim gritted his teeth.
Even though their last attack barely scratched Goblin, even though they were severely outmatched...
They refused to fall.
Jim took a deep breath.
Back in Soluna...
The massive black sphere above Dark Void grew larger, its gravitational force intensifying. The sky itself seemed to be sucked into the abyss, warping reality around it.
Tim and Rei felt their bodies dragged toward the sphere, their very essence being pulled into oblivion.
Rei gritted her teeth. "He's trying to erase us completely!"
Tim's Solar Saber blazed, his eyes narrowing. "We can't let that happen!"
Dark Void extended his fingers, the sphere pulsating dangerously, pulling in everything-the clouds, the light, even the air itself.
Tim and Rei had to act.
"Solar Smash!" Tim roared, rocketing forward, his blazing saber colliding against the gravitational mass.
BOOM!
The impact sent shockwaves across the sky, but the black sphere barely shuddered. Instead, it pulled Tim in faster, dragging him toward destruction.
"No!" Rei launched forward, spinning her Lunar Hatchets in rapid succession. "Lunar Pierce!"
She hurled her hatchets like crescent-shaped meteors, each slicing through the darkness, trying to sever the sphere's connection to Dark Void.
But-
The hatchets barely made a dent, swallowed instantly by the void.
Dark Void smirked. "Futile."
The gravitational pull tripled, and both warriors were nearly yanked off their feet.
Tim growled in frustration, his entire body burning with white-hot Solar energy.
Rei forced herself to move, even as her body screamed from the pressure. Her hatchets fell near her returning to her.
"Tim... we don't have a choice."
He met her gaze. They knew what had to be done.
"Celestic Resonance!" they shouted together.
Their Celestic Resonance flared, igniting with a power unlike before. Solar and Lunar energy intertwined, creating an unstoppable force of cosmic harmony.
Tim raised his saber. Rei raised her hatchets.
A blinding fusion of celestial energy surged between them, forming an amplified Celestic Blast-twice as powerful as their attack against Blooma due to them improving Celestic Blast in there training.
Dark Void's red eyes flickered with intrigue. "So, you still resist. Good. Entertain me one last time."
With one final roar, Tim and Rei unleashed the Celestic Blast-
A colossal beam of fused Solar and Lunar energy erupted, colliding with the black sphere, igniting the entire sky in a clash of grey.
The Celestic Blast collided with Dark Void's gravitational sphere, creating an explosive shockwave that sent tremors across Soluna's skies.
The sheer force of the impact split the heavens apart, Solar radiance and Lunar shadows twisting together in a desperate struggle against the abyss.
Dark Void's red eyes narrowed. "Impressive."
He raised his other hand, pouring even more dark energy into the black sphere. It swelled in size, absorbing the surrounding light, its gravitational pull growing stronger than ever.
Tim and Rei gritted their teeth, pushing harder, their Celestic energy burning at maximum output.
But-
The sphere wasn't stopping.
Cracks of darkness spread across the sky.
The ground below trembled, entire buildings lifting off and multiple Solar and Lunar people who were near the range, were sucked with agonizing screams as the void's pull increased.
Rei gasped, her muscles straining. "It's... too strong!"
Tim's arms shook as he tried to keep the Celestic Blast from collapsing under the pressure.
For a brief moment, doubt crept into their minds as they recognised how helpless they were.
Then-
A familiar voice echoed in their ears.
"Tim... Rei... you can do this!"
Heatsun.
From below, Heatsun and Moonsalt stood together, their bodies glowing with Solar and Lunar energy, sending waves of support upward.
"Don't give in!" Moonsalt called out.
Tim's heart pounded. His mentor-the man who trained him, who believed in him-was watching.
Rei's resolve hardened. Her mentor, Moonsalt, was still standing with her.
Dark Void chuckled. "Your resistance is meaningless. You cannot overpower me. You never will."
But as he said that, Henry and Marie from there hiding spots collaborated sending there energies. The citizens near them were inspired by them and they too released their energies entrusting their strength to their Saviours.
Tim experiencing that, gritted his teeth. "That's where you're wrong."
He turned to Rei, his eyes burning with determination. "Let's push beyond our limits."
Rei's Lunar aura flared with confidence. "Right beside you!"
With a synchronized cry, their Celestic Resonance erupted to new heights-
A golden-blue aura engulfed them, their bodies glowing brighter than ever before.
The Celestic Blast... AMPLIFIED AGAIN.
A new wave of cosmic power surged through the attack, pushing back against the void.
For the first time-
Dark Void's expression shifted.
"Impossible."
The black sphere trembled.
Fractures of light spread across its surface, as if the Celestic Blast was tearing it apart from the inside.
Dark Void's hand trembled, his control over the void wavering.
Tim and Rei pushed harder.
"END THIS!" they roared together.
CRACK!
A massive shockwave burst outward-
The black sphere SHATTERED.
Dark Void's cloak billowed violently, his piercing red eyes narrowing.
Tim and Rei hovered in the sky, panting heavily, their Celestic energy still radiating like twin stars.
Dark Void slowly lowered his hand.
Silence.
Then-
A low chuckle.
Dark Void grinned.
"Not bad."
Dark Void's grin widened as he extended both arms, and suddenly-
BOOOOOOM!
The entire sky erupted into chaos.
Massive tendrils of darkness burst from the heavens, crashing into the city below.
Buildings crumbled into nothingness, the ground split apart, and everything in sight began disintegrating under his sheer, overwhelming power.
Tim and Rei hovered weakly in the sky, their bodies trembling. Their Celestic Blast had broken the black sphere, but the strain had nearly drained them completely.
They could barely lift their weapons.
Dark Void's crimson eyes glowed, his voice echoing like a god's decree.
"Perish."
With a simple motion, he sent dozens of dark spears raining down toward them.
Tim tried to raise his Solar Saber, but his arms felt like lead.
Rei clenched her fists, forcing herself to move-
But neither of them were fast enough.
Just before the dark spears could pierce them-
"Celestic Barrier!"
A powerful solar-lunar shield appeared before them, blocking the attack at the last second.
Tim and Rei turned, their eyes widening.
Heatsun and Moonsalt stood below them, their hands outstretched, pouring the last of their energy into the shield.
"You two have to keep fighting!" Heatsun said, his voice strong but strained.
Moonsalt smiled softly. "We may not be able to battle Dark Void directly, but we can still do this."
Solar and Lunar energy surged upward, enveloping Tim and Rei as the Solunar people alongside Henry and Marie passed most of their energies into them.
Their fatigue vanished gradually as warmth filled their bodies, their strength returning tenfold.
Tim's eyes sharpened, his grip tightening on his saber. "Heatsun, Moonsalt and the great people of Soluna... thank you!"
Rei nodded firmly, her hatchets glowing once more. "We won't waste this chance!"
The moment their energy was fully restored-
They vanished.
Dark Void barely had time to react before-
"SOLAR SABER STRIKE!"
Tim appeared in front of him, his Solar Saber blazing white-hot as he slashed downward, leaving a massive trail of white.
"LUNAR WAVE BURST!"
Rei teleported behind Dark Void, spinning midair and hurling a crescent-shaped black energy explosion directly into his back.
Dark Void snarled, raising his arm to block-
BOOOOM!
The impact sent shockwaves through the battlefield, a brilliant explosion of Celestic energy igniting the sky.
But Tim and Rei weren't finished.
They darted around Dark Void in a blur, unleashing a relentless assault-
Solar Rush! - Tim blazed forward, slashing furiously, his movements like a comet crashing down.
Lunar Shroud! - Rei vanished into shadows, dodging Dark Void's counterattacks before reappearing behind him, striking his weak points.
Celestic Storm! - They crossed their attacks, sending an unrelenting barrage of Solar and Lunar energy spears at Dark Void.
For the first time-
Dark Void grunted in annoyance.
Tim and Rei landed one last synchronized strike-
"SOLAR-LUNAR FINAL IMPACT!"
Their weapons clashed against Dark Void's chest, releasing an explosive burst of Celestic energy that lit up the entire sky.
BOOOOOOM!
The explosion ripped through the air, sending Dark Void hurling backward.
He skidded midair, stopping himself with a flick of his wrist. His cloak was slightly torn, his breathing heavier than before.
Dark Void slowly lifted his gaze to them, his red eyes burning with a strange emotion.
Not anger.
Not frustration.
But... genuine intrigue.
"Interesting," he murmured. "You two are proving to be more amusing than I expected."
Tim and Rei hovered in the sky, panting heavily, their Celestic energy still glowing fiercely.
Tim's eyes blazed with determination. "We're just getting started."
Dark Void's lips curled into a smirk.
"Good," he said. "Let's make this battle memorable before you fall."