--Zero Months Until Purgatory. --

Awaiting in the lounge room was a complete ensemble of Outlanders, meeting both Ren and Iris as the day of reckoning had arrived for them.

As he expected, both Sirius and Sora looked as if they were fighting the battle of their lives against their tears, Sora had clearly lost that battle, though. The moment Ren's foot met with the ground beyond the final step of the stairs, he was plunged into the embrace of Sirius, followed by Sora encasing both of them with his massive wingspan.

"Cut it out, would--"

Stopping himself, Ren couldn't help but smile at the warmth provided to both his body and heart, relieving himself to the caring embrace.

"You better come back, you hear me? I'll go in there myself to get you out if I have to! Just make sure you get through it, no matter what, little bro."

Sirius ran his gloved fingers through the young man's fluffy locks, meeting him eye to eye with his damp azures.

"I will."

By this point, Sirius had already seized Ren's attention, cupping his cheeks, squishing them together as he looked into his eyes as if confirming his resolve.

"You heard him! Make it through this damn thing! You too, Iris!"

As rambunctious as ever, Sora grabbed the two planning to head out, putting them in loose headlocks.

Iris wasn't immune to her hair being ruffled by the crimson-haired man, leaving his grasp with a head of frazzled hair.

"I suppose this is where I part with you words of wisdom that'll be of some benefit to your coming trials."

Pushing his glasses up, Donatien stopped in front of Ren, wearing a half-smile that opposed his usual stoicness.

"That sounds about right."

Ren chuckled, fixing his roughed up hair from Sora's assault—glancing over to see that Iris was being bombarded by Charlotte and Fai with their own parting words.

It took a moment for the lens-wearing man to find his words before delivering them with a reassuring eloquence, "Remember that there is no path to victory without pain, without losing something—but what you will gain will triumph past displeasures."

"I don't really understand but thank you!"

Ren nodded at the man with a smile, who simply let out a soft sigh before patting his shoulder.

"I expected as much…Just persevere, Ren. You're strong."

Going in for a handshake, he was unexpectedly, once again brought into a hug, feeling Donatien's slender yet warm arms wrap around his body.

—That's right. This is my family now. Not just people who happen to be in the same predicament.

It wasn't just him being showered with embrace, for better or worse, watching with a smile as Brahmi lifted Iris into the air for a hug that looked almost like an unfinished suplex.

"I'm gonna miss ya', Iri!"

"—Put me down!"

Seeing her flustered and kicking her legs in the air was a sight he didn't know he needed to see so badly, earning a knock on the head from Donatien.

"You both are absolutely certain that this is what you want to do? Above all, you must resolve yourself to clear the trial in its entirety by reaching the fifth and final floor, both of you. Once you achieve that, those who oversee the trial will bestow powerful rewards upon you. I'm only allowing you both to enter this trial because I hold absolute faith in your potential."

Beatrice stood in front of them with an expression unusually baked with emotion. Through those nebulous eyes of hers, he could see the pain withheld in them, mustering every ounce of restraint she had to let them go.

Through the months leading to this moment, Ren recalled time and time again, Beatrice changed her mind. Although she spoke of worries for him, he could tell--what she feared was the safety of Iris. So did he, a part of him wished for the girl to break her promise and back out.

A part of him also knew he needed her with him, their cooperation was the one thing Beatrice held onto for this agreement to work out.

A massive seal of magic had been inscribed on the floor which the two stood, glowing faintly with a subtle verdant.

"Yes."

"Mhm."

With their resolve confirmed, Beatrice then raised her hand into the air and closed her eyes before speaking the incantation.

"Here me, great mother of all, the pleas of your child. The ground which was built upon your back, the skies formed of your dreams--as such, this very world is your authority. I ask of you, as one who carries your blood and burden, bend the world to your will!"

The seal began to vibrantly illuminate, releasing a vast quantity of magical energy as the floor shook under its activation. Preparing for their departure, the two companions reached hand in hand--erasing any doubt or fear in their minds.

"O'Gaia: Warp!"

Unleashing the name of the great magic, Beatrice invoked its power as the light consumed Iris and Ren's vision with a blinding white. The grip they had on each other's hands tightened as the sensation of firm ground beneath the soles of their feet vanished, being pulled into a shapeless space.

--It's similar to when I was brought into this world. As I thought, I can't get used to this feeling!

He couldn't muster the strength to turn his head to look at the girl who he held, the gravitational pull emitting from the teleportation restraining every function of his body.

Hand in hand with the girl he adored, there was no greater source of resolve he could imagine existing out there. The blinding light vanished as reality once again faded in, the harsh forces that pulled them through space settled.

The unmistakable loose, cold feeling of snow was now present under his boots, sinking into the tall stack of powdery frost. Letting out his first exhale in this unknown land, an icy mist left in place of his breath.

All that filled the desolate space of white powder were harsh winds that carried the bitter droplets of the cold through the air, conjuring a biting frost that crawled itself over every inch of his body.

"So, this is "Primordia", huh?"

Ren looked on at the boundless stretch of snow that laid in front of his eyes, rows of mountains acting as colossal, unyielding walls lined the land. Parting his lips even slightly to exhale caused the moisture in his mouth to succumb to the cold, drying up within contact.

"It is. We're here. There's no going back now. Not unless we use this."

Turning to see what she was referring to, watching as her nose, cheeks and ears turned to a shade of red under the bitter cold--Iris retrieved a small, opalescent gem from the pocket of her thick, fur-lined silver coat. Ren found himself questioning why she decided to wear a skirt to this region of frostbite, even if she was wearing silver leggings.

They were informed about it earlier by Beatrice, the gem was the activator for the return part of the transportation spell, which would return the both of them back home. However, there was one catch to it.

--Once we enter the Purgatory Trial, we can't use it. Apparently outside sources of magic, including spatial magic, is nullified by the walls that line the trial. There...isn't really any going back once we're in.

"She said we would be transported right in front of the entrance, right? I don't see anything."

Ren used his hand as a visor, squinting his eyes as he tried to see further into the obscuring winds that flung snow into the air. It was impossible to see more than a few meters in front of his own two feet.

As the temporary warmth granted to him by the residual mana of the transport spell faded, the true cold that inhabited Primordia was felt. A million needles poking at every pore of his body is the only way he could describe the absolute frost of the feral land.

"It's right up ahead."

"You can see it?"

"Mhm."

"Guide the way then."

Ren embraced himself, caressing his arms as he did his best to handle the cold while following slightly behind Iris.

"Here-- Feurer."

It was a spell without a true incantation, simply conjuring a bright orb of orange that hovered above her palm, radiating a much appreciated source of heat.

"Ah, you're a lifesaver. You aren't cold?"

Asking her out of curiosity, noticing she only used the basic fire magic after seeing him--Iris shook her head in response.

"Huh. Lucky."

Ren commented with a slight chuckle, staying close to the soothing orb of fire before Iris stopped in place, "This is it…"

He looked at the maiden beside him as her fluffy coat trailed close behind her step, averting his gaze as she felt his eyes on her.

Looking up, the sphere of heat parted the icy winds that obscured the sight just in front of him. An entrance to a cavern coated in frost laid ahead of their path, stretching far enough to evade the revealing light of the day as an enigmatic darkness hid the inside of the tunnel.

"I thought it was like a temple or something...This looks more like somewhere a bear is cooping up in."

"The entrance should be inside the cave. Let's go."

As unwelcoming as the dark, foreboding cavern was, howling with a chilling wind—it was better than standing out in the frostbite inducing cold. In his time knowing her, this was always how she seemed to deal with stressful situations--putting up a stoic front, pushing herself forward without allowing doubt to set it.

--Not too different from me, in that regard.

The cavity in the side of the frosted mass of stone was smoothed over, without any rough edges--clearly built rather than formed naturally.

Reaching the end of the hollow tunnel, they had found it.

"--"

A large, mystical door formed of dark metal sat at the end of the rocky hall. In their presence, the grooves of the circular door lit up with a subtle hum filling their ears, emitting a soft, black light from the many carvings engraved into the door.

"So, this is it? How do we open this thing?"

Ren approached the door, gently placing his palm on the center portion of the door, which was barren compared to the rest of the intricately designed gate. In response to his touch, the faint glow amplified--releasing a blinding illumination that consumed his vision.

"Ren--!"

Hearing the girl with him call out his name in desperation--everything went black before he had the opportunity to look back.