WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Power Rangers #8 by Ryan Parrott, Francesco Mortarino, Gilbey Ibarra, Raul Angulo, Jose Enrique Fernandez, and Ed Dukeshire, on sale now.
The Omega Rangers have done everything in their power to stay ahead of the world-ending Empyreal threat, even when that meant betraying their closest allies. Even with the advantages they have gained, it doesn't seem like the Rangers can stay ahead of their new foes for very long, seeing as how the two have just run into each other on the home world of one of the most tyrannical empires in the universe. Unlike when they first encountered this particular Empyreal's counterpart on Gorvinos 3, the Omega Rangers are now ready for the challenge. Unfortunately, they are still woefully unprepared for what their latest enemy is capable of.
The Omega Rangers have only narrowly escaped execution at the hands of the very Hartunians that they had been trying to save when the Empyreal arrives on the planet. The Emperor sends his army to intercept this new threat, and the Empyreal responds in kind by effortlessly creating a monstrous army of its own. While its minions wage war on the ground, the Empyreal towers over the battlefield, striking down attacking Omega Zords as well as the Emperor's palace. Although the destruction is devastating and they haven't held their ground so far, the Omega Rangers already have a plan in place designed specifically to harm their overpowered enemy. With the Empyreal between their Zords, Trini and Jason create a vortex of energy right on top of the alien assailant, and by the looks of things it did exactly what it was supposed to. However, the effort still proved to be futile, barely making a dent in the Rangers' powerful foe.
When the dust has settled the Empyreal is still standing. It comes as little consolation that the Empyreal openly admits to having felt pain from their attack before simply turning its attention back to its own attack. The Omega Rangers know they've been beat at this point and can only get as many people as they can out of the blast zone before the entire planet is destroyed.
Much like the world of Gorvinos 3 before it, Hartunia is annihilated in an instant, with no obvious effort by the invading Empyreal. Once again the team is devastated by this loss, Zack taking it the hardest of all of them once he realizes that they weren't able to save many lives. Although the Empyreal promised that this planet will eventually be renewed following this act of mass genocide, it is nothing more than a stark reminder of just how outmatched the Omega Rangers really are.
Trini's Omega Energy Vortex tactic was the best shot the team had at bringing down one of the Empyreals, and it didn't even come close to doing that. Harming one of these godlike alien threats is nothing to scoff at, but it is far from a success by any measure. Hartunia was the second planet that the Omega Rangers have seen obliterated in recent days, but it was one of a countless number that the Empyreals have culled in the past.
This, compared to the fact that the heroes' only plan was a bust, cements the fact that even after everything they have learned, the Omega Rangers are still outclassed by a wider margin than they could ever hope to bridge on their own. This leaves the Rangers in a hopeless position as they consider what, if anything, they can do to stand against the power of the Empyreals.