The freezing cold of Tantal… Rex had known beforehand that it was not to be taken lightly, and even though he had experienced it before, he didn't have it that bad in his memory. However, if his obvious shaking was any indication, despite how hard he was trying to suppress it but his body simply wouldn't listen to him, the current wave of freezing cold air around him had quickly proven his memories to be false.

How did he shake it off when he was here for the first time…? He still remembered the way Nia had been clinging to Pyra for warmth back then, something that he desperately wanted to avoid at all costs, for even he was able to see the way Pyra's discomfort at Nia's gesture had been evident in her eyes. She was not his personal heater…

Unbeknownst to him, Pyra was glancing at her driver out of the corner of her eyes as she walked beside him, the sheer concern within them evident ever since they had arrived upon the freezing cold land. However, since the rest of the group was constantly making an effort to remain behind her and Rex, leaving a considerable amount of space between them as they walked, it was only her who immediately took note of his apparent discomfort.

Rex was oblivious to Pyra's intentions as she wordlessly closed the distance between them until suddenly, he visibly tensed with a gasp the moment a soothing warmth enveloped him from behind, and his eyes immediately darted towards his blade. Having wrapped her arms around him from behind, her head was placed upon his left shoulder as she now walked directly beside him with her arms around him. A small smile was upon her lips as she met his eyes out of the corner of her vision, a trace of amusement in her gaze once she witnessed the way he was staring back at her with wide eyes.

"... better?", Rex felt as if his breath was stolen as more and more warmth began to course through him, a sheer neverending amount radiating off of her. And he was forced to resist an entirely new urge, namely to do the same as she did and scoot even closer against her. Now he was uncertain what was worse to endure, the freezing cold, or the urge to go limb in her arms and beg for her to never let go…

… until he suddenly realized that he still hadn't said anything in return, which caused Pyra to look at him with yet another wave of concern in her eyes. Thus, he was quick to stammer out whatever his mind could come up with to reassure her, albeit he ended up saying more than he intended to.

"Y-yeah, much better…", realizing the true meaning of his words only after he witnessed the way Pyra's smile was growing ever so slightly, he quickly shook his head slightly and tried to look away, albeit he knew that her eyes were still upon him, in the same way that would only cause a whole other warmth to course through and overwhelm him.

"I-it's alright, you don't need to, I… I'm fine, really!", their close proximity still caused him to avoid her gaze, and after only a matter of seconds, he found himself unable to look away from her eyes any longer before he met them once more. And he couldn't hold his facade anymore as she stared back at him knowingly, her smile not ceasing in the slightest as she didn't need to say a single word.

And soon enough, Rex surrendered before he allowed his true thoughts to escape him in the form of an almost inaudible mutter.

"... I don't want you to act as my personal heater…"

For a small moment, Pyra's expression turned into one of genuine surprise before it shifted back into one of glee. And suddenly, her eyes lidded ever so slightly once she made sure to hold him closer against herself.

"Special privileges for my driver…"

However, Rex became aware of the rest of their group staring at them from behind with a large grin, especially since Zeke wasn't too subtle with his 'whispers'. And while Pyra merely shrugged it off with her eyes closed against his shoulder, Rex began to look at their surroundings in wonder.

"Zeke, are you sure we're going the right way? I can't remember this part from when we first came here.", the crown prince in question froze slightly behind Rex's back, the latter too much focused upon their new surroundings to notice anything.

"Don't worry chump, I know this place better than anything else! We'll be there in no time.", having neglected to think of a proper excuse, he quickly improvised once he caught Mythra staring at him from the side with expectant eyes, more than causing him to look back at her with an uneasy grin as he held a thumbs up in return.

But only after another short while, they arrived at a large entrance towards a cave that was leading deeper underground. And for Zeke it meant that they had finally arrived at their destination, even if both Pyra and Rex were still unaware of it. The once proud ritual site was now lying at a location that was almost forgotten by most, but here it was, with no one having set a foot inside for a very long time. Now, only for an excuse to seek shelter inside… and his attention wandered to the setting sun, indicating the approach of the night.

"Hold it for a moment, the nights tend to become even colder than now. I don't know about you, but I'd seek shelter for the night before we move on.", it was then that both Pyra and Rex looked up at the others in surprise, and especially Pyra was getting more and more suspicious about whatever it was that the others seemed to be hiding from them. She couldn't recognize these parts either…

"Sounds good to me, I've got no intention to freeze around here, and that cave over there looks suitable enough. What are we waiting for?", almost on cue, Mythra broke the silence with conviction before she moved towards the convenient looking cave not far away from them, followed by Pandoria and Zeke. The latter gestured for both Pyra and Rex with a shrug to follow along, albeit the pair looked at one another with a questioning glance before they hesitantly began to move as well.

The freezing air from outside reached beyond the entrance, and once they were inside, everyone halted once they witnessed that the supposed cave led far deeper into the ground than anticipated. Or rather, at least a certain fire blade and her driver were surprised while the rest did their best to play along.

However, even for Zeke it was an anticipating sight, for he himself had never entered this place either. And along with that, he didn't know what was to be expected further inside…

"Well chump, would you look at that…", Zeke turned his head slightly towards Rex, the latter staring at the way down with mixed feelings.

"How far does this lead…?", Pyra glanced at her driver with unease as he muttered this, since for some inexplicable reason, she felt a weird sensation within her as she stared down the barely illuminated walkway in front of them.

"Why not just find out?", once again, Pyra was almost about to question her other half as Mythra didn't seem to hold a shred of concern in the slightest, instead, she merely walked up to Rex with a smile before she slightly urged him forward.

"Mythra…", Pyra watched as Rex reluctantly proceeded to walk along before she slowly caught up and joined his side again, the two of them walking in front of their little group again. However, unbeknownst to the pair, Mythra finally allowed her small facade to drop as her expression molded into one of uncertainty, unlike her previous demeanor.

"... I hope you do know what exactly to expect here? You haven't said a single word yet…!", Mythra barely managed to hold her voice down as she stared at Zeke with an expectant stare, and Pandoria merely witnessed how her driver could hardly muster an honest smile. Thus, she merely shrugged with a grin before she managed to send a chill down his spine.

"... he actually has no clue at all. You're welcome.", Zeke almost shakingly turned his head towards his electric blade with a forced and sweated grin that almost spoke along the lines of 'why'.

Thus, Mythra's jaw almost dropped with narrowed eyes, her gaze turning into a death stare until suddenly, Pandoria caught both her and Zeke's attention once more as she suddenly halted in their way.

"Hold on, weren't Pyra and Rex still in front of us just now…?", their attention immediately shifted towards the second Aegis and her driver who were actually supposed to be in front of them-

-only to find out that they were no longer there.

"Where did everyone go?", after numerous attempts to call out for their friends, Rex and Pyra found themselves wandering along the seemingly endless corridor alone. However, even after they had long turned around to go and search for the others, they were somehow never able to find the way back towards the entrance anymore. Instead, the path in front of them only seemed to become more and more unfamiliar with each step that they took, almost as if they had never turned around in the first place.

And the further they went, the more this unfamiliar sensation began to grow within Pyra. Rex's eyes widened slightly when she suddenly put her arms around him, almost meaning to speak up about it until he witnessed the way she was staring around at their environment. She didn't even look back at him at her sudden gesture, almost as if she was doing it completely subconsciously.

But before Rex could finally muster the right words to speak up, he halted once they finally arrived at an end of the large corridor they had been following the entire time. Yet, it wasn't the exit they had reached, instead, it was a large chamber deep underground that was almost entirely empty. Only a single, small and circular podium was located within its center, engraved with strange markings that he had never once seen before. Scattered all around the walls were small crystals that were emitting a faint light, ones that had been partly scattered along the corridor behind them as well, illuminating the chamber enough to be seen in its entirety.

"What is all of this…?", Rex all but stared at the interior with his mouth agape.

Having finally broken out of her thoughts, Pyra looked at the podium in the center with uncertainty while holding a hand to her chest. Again, Rex turned his head back towards her once he felt her hold on him growing stronger ever so slightly, but before long, his eyes widened slightly the moment her core crystal upon her chest suddenly began to glow faintly as well.

"Pyra…?"

"This place, it feels… strange…", with an uncertain glance towards her driver, Pyra took a few hesitant steps towards the podium at the center, almost as if her core crystal was urging her to go on. And indeed, with each step that she took, its glow began to grow stronger, all until she took a first step upon it, along with Rex, who looked more than unsure if it was truly a good idea. But for Pyra, it felt as if her inner flame was raging within her, guiding her, all until it directed her eyes upon the ones of Rex-

-and suddenly, the light of the crystals on the walls began to subside, leaving only the glow of Pyra's own core crystal as it shone brighter than ever before. But along with the darkness that was now encroaching upon them, so too did suddenly multiple dark shades appear all around them, crimson eyes piercing through the dark once they were completely surrounded by them. With a gasp, both Pyra and Rex instinctively stood back to back against each other, Rex's fire blade coming to life.

Without a word, they stared down at the shades that were drawing shadowy blades of their own, and they didn't need to look at each other to know that they were thinking the same thing.

Thus, both of them got ready as Pyra gave it her all to fuel Rex's weapon with her powers.

The shades didn't hesitate for a moment as they charged at the pair one by one, striking without reservation. But each one who approached met the same fate as both Pyra and Rex remained at each other's side, one shade after another being struck down by Rex's blade or Pyra's fiery flames as they moved with a conviction and understanding that didn't require any words.

It was only after numerous of them had faded back into nothingness that the shades halted ever so briefly in their movements, allowing the pair just about a small moment to breathe as they stared at their opponents. Panting heavily, Pyra witnessed that the amount of shades didn't seem to have decreased in the slightest, their piercing eyes still focused all around them as they seemingly appeared without end.

"We won't give up…!", almost as if Rex could read her thoughts, a small smile of utter confidence appeared on her lips, reflecting upon her eyes as well before she took her fighting stance once again.

"Our emotions are in tune, Rex…", smiling alongside with her as he witnessed this, he followed her example and grasped his weapon tightly. For another small moment, the shades were slowly circling the pair, their crimson eyes always focused upon them until suddenly, the first one began to charge forward once more, his shadowy blade raised. And within that moment, two others began to push forward towards Rex, leaving Pyra to fight off the one who had charged ahead as the first one.

But instead of striking with his blade, he summoned a shadowy aura which he channeled towards her. Summoning her flames to act against it, she struggled as they both tried to break through the other's attack. But regardless how much she struggled, how much it began to tear at her, she wouldn't give up…!

'The key… lies within you…'

With a gasp, her eyes widened as she stared at the shade in front of her, his attack growing stronger in power as he mustered everything he possibly could.

'Believe in the bond you share…'

With an ever growing struggle, Pyra gritted her teeth as the force threatened to overwhelm her, all until her core crystal suddenly began to glow brighter than it had ever before. Their bond… nothing would ever destroy it!

With a strong outcry, Pyra narrowed her eyes before her flames turned into a raging inferno that all but consumed the shadowy aura before it engulfed the shade in whole, and thus, it spread even further and washed over any other shade it came across, their shapes fading away as the light illuminated the entire chamber in a bright glow.

Rex's eyes widened once the two shades in front of him were drowned in the flames, but regardless how intense they were, and that the being that was radiating them was directly behind him, they never once threatened to consume him. Thus, he ever so slowly turned around from his position to look at his blade with nothing but shock in his eyes. And while her back was still facing towards him just as the flames began to subside ever so slightly, they were still coursing all around her the moment she slowly turned her head towards him as well.

And his breath was completely taken away the moment their eyes met.

"... P-Pyra…"

The flames were dancing along her figure, the very tips almost waving near her hair as the fiery glow was reflected by her eyes, and he felt almost as if he was standing in front of a being that could not possibly be real. And yet, throughout it all, his eyes wandered towards her hand as Pyra slowly reached it out for him to take, her eyes having never left him while a small smile was gracing her lips.

"Rex… do you trust me?", once again, her words almost left him speechless before he nodded without hesitation.

"O-of course, but-", his words died in his throat once he witnessed that she still reached out her hand, no other word needing to be said. Her core crystal was glowing in an intense light, and just as he reached out and touched his hand upon her own, she intertwined their fingers together before she closed her eyes and her core crystal began to resonate once more.

She finally understood.

The shades were cowering against the near blinding light that suddenly began to illuminate the entire chamber, and even as Rex witnessed how the flames suddenly began to grow once more all around the podium, he didn't budge. He… trusted her…

Without end, the flames began to grow stronger even still, and before long, he could feel a warm sensation within himself. A barely audible gasp escaped him as it grew stronger, coursing through his entire being, and suddenly, Pyra took a step closer towards him as their hands remained intertwined. He felt a warmth that filled his entire being, a warmth that coursed around his heart, and it never ceased to be, for with each step that Pyra took closer towards him, it only began to increase until they were but an inch apart from one another.

The flame within him grew without restraint, all until he couldn't suppress the torrent of feelings any longer and held her hand even more tightly, which she returned just as much as her smile began to grow with each second that passed. The inferno around them did not leave a single space besides them untouched as it consumed any and all shades that remained, reaching to the last corners of the chamber and beyond as it was no longer to be restrained.

It never seemed to stop as the endless amount of love and warmth he could feel coursed through him, and before long, he finally understood what it was that he could feel. Those… those were not his own…

With the flames never dying out, Rex slowly opened his eyes to see that Pyra did the same, and what he saw was forever burned into his mind as he lost himself within her gaze, her smile never ceasing to be even as she panted. And slowly but surely, her other hand suddenly lifted upwards while they kept holding on to each other, and she reached for the very center of his chest.

His eyes followed her every movement, and once his eyes came to halt upon the spot her fingers were touching, his eyes all but widened. For once again, the same glow of her core crystal was now emanating from his chest as well, two halves that were glowing just as strongly as the other…

… and should the glow of liveliness from one of them ever fade, so too, would the other...