Suddenly, Oliver felt something warm dripping from his lips. He opened his eyes, looked down, and saw blood splattered on the floor. He quickly realized the blood was coming from his mouth, and he began to panic.

     Gregory slowly marched towards Oliver. With a slow and deep breath, Gregory knelt and faced his friend as he buried his hand in his pocket. Then, he snatched out a bottle with glowing red liquid inside and opened it.

"Here... drink this..." Gregory calmly said as he placed the bottle on his friend's lips.

Oliver hesitated, his mouth shut tight as he shook his head. "No! It's poison!"

Gregory's face hardened as he looked at his friend. "...This is my last healing concoction... remember?" he reassured him.

     Gregory placed his thumb below Oliver's jaw and gently wiped away the blood with a warm, careful touch. He continued to clean the wound off Oliver's lips as Oliver's breath shivered. Once done, Gregory wiped his thumb on his trousers.

"Come on, drink now," Gregory said with a firm and convincing voice as he leaned the potion onto Oliver's lip.

     Oliver hesitated again as his mouth clamped shut. Oliver closed his eyes and shook his head. But, after taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes, looked at the glowing red elixir, and lifted his lips, allowing Gregory to feed him half of the vial. Oliver's eyes glistened as he stared at Gregory in the eyes while drinking the potion.

Gregory placed a palm on Oliver's cheek as he looked into his eyes. "There... feeling better?" he asked.

Oliver took a deep breath and nodded, the pain and fear slowly subsiding. "...Honestly, I was a quiet yet joyous child until everything changed," he said.

Gregory stated, "...I can understand how tough that must have been for you." He then placed a hand on Oliver's shoulder. "But you're not alone anymore. Remember... I am not here 'with' you... I am here 'for' you..."

     While Gregory spoke, Oliver's gaze drifted past him and out the blurry window. He could see the dark blue sky outside, devoid of stars and shrouded in an eerie darkness. And the night air felt heavy and oppressive.

     Oliver's eyes felt heavy. He couldn't resist the temptation to close his eyes. Slowly, his eyelids drooped lower.

     Suddenly, the door swung open, causing Oliver to snap and widen his eyes. Cal entered and immediately saw his son, Gregory, kneeling near Oliver. Furious, Cal hurried towards Gregory and snatched him away from the Remaining Podeshire.

"Gregory! Stay away from that Podeshire! They're dangerous..." Cal yelled as he dragged Gregory away, his voice filled with fury. "...And lethal!" Cal glared at Oliver.

"I'm sorry," Gregory quickly apologised as he stepped backwards.

"Now... instead of slacking around in this place, why don't you do something useful?" Cal said, walking closer to his son's face.

"What do you have in mind, then?" Gregory asked, curious.

Cal smirked ominously, then strode out of the doorway. "How about brewing a non-breathing potion?" he said cluelessly.

"Ugh!" Gregory grunted in frustration. "Father... for the last time, there's no such thing as a non-breathing potion!"

     Gregory reluctantly followed his father out of the room. Then, their arguments echoed through the halls. Their voices grew fainter as they walked further away, the noise gradually fading into the distance until everything fell into deep silence.

     Meanwhile, Oliver began to twitch his body, trying to loosen the knot that bound him. But as he writhed, he suddenly froze at the sound of a footstep. Slowly, he lifted his head and saw a man, Nelson, with piercing brown eyes standing before him with his arms crossed.

"Trying to escape?" Nelson sneered.

"No... I'm trying to live," Oliver replied, his voice shaking with fear.

"Too bad. You won't make it out alive," Nelson said, "just like your family."

Oliver growled as his brows furrowed. "Is it true? Is it you monsters that assassinated my family?" Oliver asked, trying to force a courageous voice as he leered into Nelson's eyes.

"We're simply doing our job," Nelson responded, rolling his eyes before rejoining the other assassins at the back of the room.

     Oliver's frustration boiled over as he glared up at the ceiling. His brows furrowed, and his lips tightened with anger. With a deep sigh, he leaned his head back against the pillar he was tied to, feeling the rough surface scrape against his skin.

     Oliver closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down, but the memories of his family's death kept flooding back. His fists clenched tightly. Then, in a burst of anger, Oliver banged his head against the pillar, feeling a jolt of pain stab through his skull. He winced, but the pain only fueled his rage.

"Dang it!" Oliver exclaimed, his rage boiling his blood. "I've been through so much just because Cal wants revenge for something the world cannot control?"

"Well, enough now," Nelson ordered.

Oliver let out a bitter laugh. "Such huge neglect from the universe," he said, bravely willing to die. "I have no point in living anymore, so what's with the wait? Can't you just kill me?"

Nelson chuckled in response. "Oh, ho-ho... woah. Our boss is still looking for a way to kill you slowly," Nelson stated. "Didn't you hear he wants a non-breathing potion for you?"

"..." Oliver let out a loud, frustrated sigh. "Ugh," he groaned.

"Don't worry, kid. That thing doesn't exist anyway," Nelson smirked. "But you should be worried because our boss is probably looking for another way to torment you before you die," Nelson added with an ominous smile.

"Please... I don't want to hear those things..." Oliver begged, hoping to earn some sympathy from the assassins. "Just let me go!"

Nelson shook his head. "No, kid. This is our job," he sighed, crossing his arms.

     Suddenly, Oliver's ears perked up at loud, stomping footsteps outside the room. He strained his neck to see the open doorway and saw Cal returning with Gregory trying to hold him back. Despite Gregory's efforts, Cal's taller frame allowed him to push forward.

"Ah, how are you, Podeshire?" Cal entered the room with a broad grin while Gregory continued to pull him back. "Before I kill you, though, my son, Gregory, wants to tell you something!"

"Oli... I..." Gregory began to speak, his voice trailing off.

"My son betrayed you, yes," Cal ventured, cutting off Gregory's words. "He may not have told me that he's friends with a Podeshire, but he let us follow you two throughout the grasslands."

"What...!?" Oliver gasped, feeling a piercing sense of deep betrayal wash over him.

"What? No!" Gregory looked at Cal, but his father cut him off again.

"...Is that why you've been acting odd so lately?" Oliver glared at Gregory and questioned him.

"No, it's because I..." Gregory tried to explain, but his words got stuck in his throat.

"It's because you're letting them come right to us?" Oliver guessed, tears welling up in his eyes.

"N-no!" Gregory shook his head frantically.

"No... no... I'll never trust you again," Oliver said, his voice breaking with emotion.