Rey and Esme flew side by side, enjoying the brilliant sight that only they could see thanks to their high altitude.
Esme didn't have any Flight-based Skill, but her [Absolute Elemental Control] Skill allowed her to freely manipulate the elements around her.
Since the winds constituted that, she had no problem freely navigating her way through the air.
When Rey asked her how she was able to fly so easily, she responded:
"I was floating for most of my time in those two weeks of solitude. Learned a bit about my new abilities too…"
Rey was certain that Esme learned a lot more than just a bit, but he decided not to push it any further.
"You have immense potential, Esme." He could only say. "Maybe even more than those Elves we saw."
Rey noticed that Esme's smile only deepened. She didn't argue, so he knew she must have also checked their Status Windows.
'From the looks of things, they get 10 Stat Points from every Level Up. That's incredibly broken…'
Compared to humans, Elves were on another Level. Of course, someone like Adonis easily trumped them.
'They also have a ton of Skills. That Aurora lady had nearly fifteen Skills. That's like three times the limit of the strongest humans in H'Trae.'
All in all, Rey was impressed by the Status Windows he saw.
'Aurora looks like a young woman in her late twenties, and the others look like teenagers. Their Level difference is like night and day, as it should be…'
'If they were actually good people and Esme went with them, then it's possible that they could help her grow incredibly strong.'
All of that was lost now, but it was by no means thier fault.
'And now…' Rey glanced at Esme, whose eyes were on the landscape below them.
Once he gave her his attention, however, she looked at him and tilted her head to the side in curiousity.
"What's wrong? Is there something on my face?" She asked.
He shook his head.
"Oh? Whew!" She heaved in relief. "So what's up?"
After flying for a quite the distance, Rey felt like it was time to ask the difficult question that had been on his mind for quite some time.
"Where do you plan on going now?"
Esme didn't look surprised once she heard the question. She must have been expecting him to ask it eventually.
"Hm. I'm not sure…" She answered, her white hair flowing behind her like a river. "I'm sure I'll think of something."
Rey had somehow predicted his answer.
He already knew it was coming, and yet… he wasn't satisfied with it.
His silence spoke volumes, but it wasn't enough. He clenched his fist and gritted his teeth as he stared intensely at Esme.
"Don't leave."
Rey ceased his motion and instantly paused in the air.
Not long after, Esme also did the same. She looked at him with surprise as he stared hard into her eyes.
"I don't want you to leave."
Rey knew he sounded like a brat.
He knew Esme was her own individual, and as such, had her own life to live. He knew they hadn't really known each other for very long, and their friendship was still too young for him to make such a request of her.
She didn't even know what he looked like! Yet… YET…
… Rey couldn't help his selfishness.
"Where will I stay? The Reaper Group? There's really nothing waiting for me there."
Rey knew that very well.
"I… I am the leader of the Reaper Group. Staying with the Reaper Group means staying with me…" His voice trembled as he uttered those words.
He had never been so scared to open his mouh and speak in his life, yet somehow he found the courage to tell Esme what he truly felt.
Perhaps it was because he recognized that he could lose her forever if he didn't.
That fear gave him strength.
"Stay with me, Esme. I want you to… stay with me, even if just for a bit longer. I want us to talk together, laugh together, grow together, fight together… even if it's just for a while longer."
Rey was in love with Alicia, but he never had a friend like Esme before.
He didn't want to see their friendship dissolve so quickly—not when it was just starting.
"Don't… leave me too."
He cast his gaze downward, unable to look Esme in the eye.
Was he being manipulative? Was he trying to guilt-trip her by appealing to her emotions so she would have no choice but to stay with him?
Esme was a kind person, so maybe she could pity him and remain by his side.
Rey didn't want that for her.
He didn't want to force his selfishness on someone else. For all he knew, all of these rabid feelings that threatened to consume him were only one-sided.
'H-how can I live with myself… knowing I forced her to stay?' Despite his strong inclination to hold on, he knew that some thing had to be forfeit.
Perhaps… he just had to let go.
"Esme, I'm sorry for—!"
~WHOOSH!~
Like a blur, Esme's body rushed to Rey's, and she hugged him very tightly.
"What are you apologizing for, you jerk?"
Rey felt paralyzed—unable to move in the slightest.
All he could do was inhale the sweet aroma that Esme exuded, allowing the tears in his moist eyes to dry up and his trembling lips to part wide open.
"I… I also don't want you to leave me." Esme's words caused Rey's eyes to widen.
He had neevr heard those words in his life.
All of his friends… they left him at one point or the other.
Billy betrayed him. Noah abandoned him. Even Alicia wanted to leave this world that he loved so much and return to Earth.
He didn't despise any of these people, and to an extent… he understood why they made the choices that they made.
But Rey was human too.
He wanted connections that wouldn't expire. He desired a bond that would last.
He craved someone who would stay.
And right now… he was trapped in her embrace.