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While wandering around the Kingdom of Zeal in 12,000 BC you may have noticed a small, unreachable floating island, off by itself in the sky. This is the Sun Temple, and for thousands of years it is hidden from sight. You won't see it again until you can fly around in the Epoch, after defeating Dalton and crashing the Blackbird.
Head to 2300 AD. In this era a portion of the Sun Temple reappears, emerging as a cave on an island to the southwest of the Keeper’s Dome. Stock up on equipment that will resist or absorb Fire attacks, put it on your fastest fighters (Crono, Frog, Ayla, arguably Magus), and head inside. There's no dungeon to complete, just an annoying boss battle.
Son of the Sun
HP:
- 12,000 (Son of the Sun)
- 30,000 (Prominence)
Immune: All elements (Son of the Sun)
Absorbs: All elements (Prominence)
Charm:
- Black Plate (Son of the Sun)
- Elixir (Prominence)
Bet you didn't expect that. Surrounded by five flames called 'Prominence', Son of the Sun is utterly unique in Chrono Trigger, as it is more of a puzzle than a normal boss. Son of the Sun uses the following attacks:
- A non-elemental beam attack against a single target (Son of the Sun)
- Flare, a powerful Fire spell against the whole party (Son of the Sun)
- Roulette Spin, which shuffles the placement of the five Prominence flames (Sonof the Sun)
- A Fire counterattack (Prominence)
Son of the Sun is a tricky creature that utterly resists normal attacks. A being of fire, Son of the Sun is protected from damage by its five Prominence flames, which also serve as its weak points. Hit Son of the Sun directly and you’ll do basically nothing besides incur a painful counterattack. Hit four out of the five fires and you’ll get the same reaction. Hit the right Prominence, however, and Son of the Sun takes damage. Son of the Sun occasionally shuffles the fires, so finding the right one won’t guarantee you a victory.
Your path is pretty much set, in this case: Beat on the flames until you find the one that deals damage to Son of the Sun, then focus as many attacks as you can on that flame before Son of the Sun shuffles them around. Repeat the process until Son of the Sun goes down. Given the sheer number of possible counterattacks this incurs the fight can be very painful, but wearing Red Vests, Red Plates, or Ruby Armor (which you can get at the trading post in Ioka Village) will greatly reduce the risk, as Son of the Sun only has one attack that’s not Fire-elemental. An annoying, lengthy fight, but not that difficult so long as you prepare in advance.
(Fun tip: If you use Magus's Black Hole tech there's a chance it will swallow one or more of the 'fake' Prominence flames, making it easier to find the real thing. Handy!)
Son of the Sun retreats north after the battle. Follow it to collect the Moon Stone. This precious item is lacking in solar power, and needs to be recharged. Doing so requires some intensive time travelling.
Recharging the Sun Stone
Head to 65,000,000 BC and fly to the northeast corner of the world map, using the remains of the Tyranno Lair as a starting point. Here you’ll find the Sun Shrine, a place where the sun always shines. There's a better-than-average chance that you've noticed this shrine in other time periods. You can leave the Moon Stone here.
If you jump forward to either 12,000 BC or 600 AD you'll find the Moon Stone right where you left it. Jump to 1000 AD or 2300 AD, by contrast, and the Moon Stone is gone. You'll need to go looking for it.
Fly southeast from the Sun Shrine to Porre. You’ll notice a decidedly conspicuous shine emanating from the Mayor's Manor. Speak to him, though, and he’ll deny finding the Moon Stone. He’s obviously lying - but nothing you can do in this era will change his mind. Previous visits revealed him as a bit of a jerk.
Travel to Porre's Snail Shop, east of the Mayor's Manor. Inside you’ll find a merchant who sells Spiced Jerky for 9,900 gil. Purchase some, then hop back into the Epoch. Travel to 600 AD and check the Elder’s House of the past. Speak to the woman in the kitchen and she’ll ask to purchase your Spiced Jerky. Give it to her for free. Don't accept any money, or this won't work!
Jump back to 1000 AD. Porre’s mayor is now an amiable, generous fellow, thanks to your time-tampering, and if you speak to him he’ll gladly hand over the Moon Stone. Take it back to the Sun Shrine in 1000 AD and leave it in the same spot as before.
Leap forward to the Sun Shrine in 2300 AD. The Moon Stone is now fully charged, transforming it into a Sun Stone. Put Lucca in your party and check it out to fill her head with ideas. This zips you to her home in 1000 AD, where Lucca and Taban create a Wondershot and some Sunglasses. The Wondershot is a fantastically random weapon for Lucca, while the Sunglasses boost their bearer's damage output by 25%. Not a bad haul.
You’re not done with the Sun Stone yet. Assuming you complete this quest first, you’ll get some extra goodies when you complete the quest for the Rainbow Shell in another optional quest - including one of Crono’s best weapons in the game. (Or the best, if you’re not playing the DS version.) We'll work on acquiring said weapon in the next section of the guide.