Redd looked at Shade with a bewildered expression, not believing what he heard. Blinking confusedly, he asked with a hesitant tone.
"Are you intending to kill yourself?"
"Hm? Of course." Shade replied as if that was the most obvious answer ever.
"Why?"
"What do you mean why? They all died, it's only right I follow suit." Shade replied casually.
For some reason, the young man's nonchalant attitude suddenly became eerie rather than abnormal. His eyes also gained a sudden shade of darkness Redd didn't notice at first.
That's when Redd realized something. He wasn't talking to someone normal but to a person who saw everyone he knew die in front of him, one by one, and had to spend god knows how long burying each one of them. How can anyone stay normal after being put through that? If anything, staying normal would be the abnormality.
"I already dug two holes, can I rely on you to dig the third one and bury me? You know, a dead person can't bury themselves, hahaha!" He said with a laugh that Redd didn't reciprocate. Nothing about this was funny.
"You don't want to die, do you?" Redd suddenly asked with a dark expression.
"Huh?"
"I can see it in your eyes. You're scared of death." Redd added.
"What are-"
Before Shade could even reply, Redd's hand moved swiftly as he pulled his Crimsonmorph out and aimed it at Shade. The latter instinctively backed away until he fell down on his ass.
"If you're really ready to die then let me do it for you. You don't mind, right?"
"H-Huh? Of course, I don't mind! Do it! And then make sure to bury all of us." Shade replied with a wavering yet loud tone.
"Sure. Are you ready?"
"Yeah, go ahead."
Approaching the young man, Redd lifted his sword up in the air for Shade to see clearly. Then, he started to slowly move his hand down in a horrifying dance of death. Shade watched with widened eyes as he felt something change inside of him.
'H-Huh? What's wrong with me?' His heart rate increased, his breathing became erratic and his vision sharpened. He was feeling adrenaline pumping in his blood and his brain sending waves of alert to every fiber of his being.
This was what Shade knew very well… Fear.
The more the sword approached his neck, the more that feeling grew diversified and more impactful. At some point, it reached an unbearable degree as he suddenly closed his eyes and yelled.
"Stop!"
At the last second, before the blade slashed through his neck, Shade had spoken and halted Redd.
"See?"
"No! No, no! I'm ready! It's just too sudden! You know, dying and stuff. I was intending to ready myself before doing it."
"Someone who is ready to die won't hesitate unless there is a part in them that is still willing to live," Redd explained. "Have you ever thought what your loved ones would think if they saw you kill yourself? They would feel great pain in their graves. I'm sure none of them told you to die, did they?"
Hearing those words, Shade's memory was flooded with a stream of memories. Each and every person he knew, on their deathbed, ready to die. He had made sure to visit each and every one of them in their last moments, he had to.
But, what shocked him was that every single person told him the same thing.
'Live. Experience life to the fullest. Don't look behind.'
They all could see that he won't die, not yet. It was a blessing and a curse for him. To be healthy enough to live instead, see your heart die slowly with each person you know. What was worse?
Slowly, tears streamed down Shade's cheeks as he looked down.
"I don't want to die… But, it hurts. It really hurts." He wept silently. The pain in his heart that he hid for months and months as he slowly dug every grave, buried every corpse, and carved every tombstone.
"Everyone died! Why didn't I die too?! Huh?! I don't wanna stay alone! It's scary! I couldn't sleep at night! I couldn't even eat! I felt guilty to be alive when they were all dead. Who am I not to be with them?"
The days that he had to spend alone on this dead island almost destroyed his sanity. Weirdly enough, he found his solace in two things, the first one is digging and burying his fallen fellows and the second one is well… Something completely different.
Redd watched the young man silently, his face was dark. After that, he put down his spear and approached Shade before he crouched down and tapped his shoulder.
"If you didn't die then it should've been for a good reason. As long as you're alive, you're never meant to be alone, Shade."
The young man lifted his head and looked at Redd. The latter had a confident look on his face, as if he was stating mere facts and it was indeed the case in his mind. No human was ever born to be alone, whether they're bad or good, weird or normal, hated or loved, they're bound to find someone who can understand them, follow them, or plainly be with them.
As long as one lives long enough, they're going to find someone who takes them for who they are.
"Hey, let's become friends! If you join me, you can leave this place and experience the world." Redd smiled.
"Huh?"
"That invitation you got, can bring you to a place called the Hunter's Dream. It's a magical world where everything is possible. I'm going there too because I want to see it for myself."
"Magical place?"
"Yeah, I don't know much about it but it's going to be amazing! My master told me a lot about it and it's absolutely thrilling." Redd's eyes sparkled with excitement.
However, he quickly coughed and then scratched the back of his head. "I will never understand how much it must hurt. But, if you truly don't want to die, then let's leave this place. There is a vast world to seek. Maybe that will show you that your life is still worth it." Redd grinned.
Shade sniffled slightly as his tears continued to trickle down endlessly. Redd's words resonated with him deeply for some reason.
'Experience the world, huh?' That idea sounds nice, very nice.' He contemplated silently.
Shade's dad was a sailor when he was still alive and he always told him tales about the vast sea and what was beyond it. Shade loved to listen to those tales every night. It filled his imagination and nurtured his curiosity.
The world was truly a magical place. Far more beautiful and far more ugly than this island. Nevertheless, it was something worth looking for.
"Maybe you're right."
"Of course I'm right! Hahahaha! Adventure is never wrong!" Redd laughed proudly. How can someone go wrong with a thrilling adventure? He asked himself and the answer was easy. It was impossible.
"Yeah, adventure is not bad." Wiping the tears on his face, Shade coughed before he extended his hand to Kai.
"You're an interesting guy, Redd. Who knew I would meet you here, out of all places? Maybe this is our destiny. From here on out, we're friends!"
"Friends!" Redd shook his hand.
That was a distant past and this was a distant future. One side can look back and see what happened and the other thinks it can look forward and expect the future. However, the latter never knows that this meeting, on that dead island, in that early morning would change this entire world as people knew it. It was indeed destiny and destiny was damn ironic.