"The hardest thing about survival is finding a reason to keep going."
The road stretched endlessly before him.
If it could even be called a road.
The cracked, uneven dirt path wound through the dead forest like an old scar, leading nowhere and everywhere all at once. The trees stood tall but lifeless, their charred branches reaching toward the ashen sky like skeletal fingers. The air was dry, carrying the distant scent of burned wood and fading blood.
Rei walked.
One step at a time.
His boots left no footprints. The earth was too hard, too lifeless to remember that he had passed through.
And somehow, that felt right.
Because for the first time in years, he didn't know where he was going.
His fingers twitched at his side, grasping at something that wasn't there.
His sword.
It was gone. Left behind. Abandoned.
It had been a part of him for so long that without it, his body felt... wrong. Lighter, but not freer. Unarmed, but not defenseless.
It wasn't the weapon he missed.
It was the weight.
Because as long as he had carried that sword, he had a reason to hold it.
A war to fight.
An enemy to kill.
A purpose to fulfill.
But now?
His fingers curled into an empty fist.
And for the first time, there was no answer waiting for him.
By the time he saw the light in the distance, the sun had already started to fade behind the ruins of the horizon.
A fire. Small. Controlled. Flickering against the remains of a stone outpost, long abandoned but still standing.
And next to the fire—a figure.
Rei slowed.
Not out of fear. Not out of caution.
But because for the first time in a long time, he had no idea what to say.
The figure noticed him before he could decide.
A shift in the air. A head turning. Eyes meeting.
A woman.
Dark hair, tied back. A cloak wrapped around her shoulders, weathered and stained from travel. A sword—worn, but well-kept—resting beside her.
Not a soldier. Not an Exorcist. Not a Sinner.
Just... a traveler.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then, without hesitation, the woman gestured toward the fire.
"Cold tonight," she said simply. "Sit if you want."
Rei didn't move.
Because something about those words—those simple, meaningless words—felt... strange.
No suspicion. No hostility. No judgment.
Just an offer.
It had been so long since anyone had spoken to him like that.
And somehow, that made it harder to accept.
His body was exhausted. His mind was frayed at the edges.
But still, he hesitated.
Because if he sat down—if he let himself rest—then he would have to think.
And he wasn't sure if he was ready for that yet.
But his legs had already made the choice for him.
Before he could stop himself, before he could question it—he stepped forward.
And sat.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
The fire crackled, throwing faint shadows against the ruined stone walls. The wind whistled through the broken structures, whispering memories of a past long buried.
Rei stared into the flames.
The woman stirred the fire with a broken branch, watching the embers drift upward.
Then, finally—
"You look like hell."
Her voice was casual, too casual for someone sitting across from a man covered in blood and ghosts.
Rei let out a slow breath.
"Feel like it too."
She huffed out something that almost sounded like a laugh.
A pause. Then—
"Long road?"
Rei glanced at her. Measuring.
Her expression was unreadable, but her posture was relaxed. Comfortable, in a way that felt... foreign to him.
She wasn't interrogating him.
She was just talking.
And for some reason, that made it easier to answer.
"Yeah," he murmured. "Long road."
She nodded like she understood. Maybe she did.
And just like that, the conversation drifted into something unexpected.
Something that wasn't about war, or sin, or the weight of the dead.
Something normal.
She told him her name—Ren.
Told him about the roads she had traveled, the places she had seen.
Nothing important. Nothing extraordinary.
But that was what made it strange.
Because for the first time in what felt like a lifetime, Rei was speaking to someone who didn't look at him like a traitor.
Or a monster.
Or a ghost.
And he wasn't sure if that made him want to stay.
Or leave.
At some point, Ren tilted her head, watching him carefully.
"Where are you headed?" she asked.
The firelight flickered across Rei's face.
He didn't answer.
Because he didn't know.
He had spent so long running from something—war, vengeance, the ghosts that clung to his back like a second shadow.
But now?
There was nothing left to run from.
And that was more terrifying than anything.
So instead of answering, he leaned back against the stone wall, staring at the stars.
For the first time in years, he didn't have an answer.
And maybe—just maybe—that was okay.