The road ahead was quiet. Too quiet.
Rachel still looked shaken after what had just happened, but she tried to hide it. She walked beside Rei and Lina, sneaking glances at Yami, who was walking ahead of them, his hand resting lightly on his scythe.
Lina leaned over to Rei and whispered, "She keeps looking at him."
Rei smirked slightly. "Well, she did just see him nearly decapitate a guy. I'd be looking too."
Lina sighed. "That's not what I meant."
Rei's smirk faded as she glanced at Yami's back. His posture was tense, as if the weight of something unseen was pressing down on him.
Rachel finally broke the silence. "Yami…"
He didn't turn around. "What?"
She hesitated. "What… happened to you?"
Yami stopped walking.
The others slowed to a stop behind him. Rei and Lina exchanged a quick glance but said nothing.
For a moment, Yami didn't speak. Then, he exhaled and turned around.
"I had a family once," he said, his voice calm but hollow. "A sister. A mother. A father. Even a few distant relatives I barely knew."
Rachel's eyes widened slightly, but she didn't interrupt.
"They're all dead now," Yami continued. "One by one, after my sister was killed, the rest of them… followed."
The weight in his voice made the air feel heavy.
Rachel swallowed hard. "What do you mean, 'followed'?"
Yami's eyes darkened. "Some were murdered. Some died from illness. Some just… vanished. But in the end, it didn't matter. Because in the end, I was the only one left."
Rachel took a step back, the sheer emptiness in his tone sending chills down her spine.
"I had no friends either," Yami said, looking up at the sky. "Not a single one. The only thing I had left was my hatred. And even that… wasn't enough."
Silence.
Rachel's heart ached at his words.
She had never met someone so alone.
"I don't know why I'm still alive," Yami admitted. "Maybe to kill monsters. Maybe to keep moving forward. Or maybe I'm just too stubborn to die."
Rei sighed. "That's a bit dramatic, don't you think?"
Yami gave her a side glance, and she smiled. "You're not alone now, idiot."
Lina nodded. "Yeah. You've got us. And you just recruited her, too," she said, pointing at Rachel.
Rachel blinked. "Wait, what?"
Yami raised an eyebrow. "You were going to register as an adventurer, right?"
Rachel nodded slowly.
"Then stick with us," Yami said. "At least for now."
Rachel hesitated, then smiled faintly. "I… I'd like that."
For the first time in a long time, she felt like she wasn't alone.
And maybe, just maybe, neither was Yami.