- Oliver -

  As soon as they received the news about An, the group departed immediately, using one of the York family's exclusive teleporters. In a matter of hours, they were already in the heart of Italy.

  Everything seemed like a whirlwind of new information, people, and pces for Oliver. Not even before the war had he visited that try, and although much had ged, he could still see various historical structures of Rome. The a ruins trasted with the futuristic buildings, creating a unique ndscape where the past and future iwined.

  'How did all this survive the bombings?' the boy thought as they walked through the streets.

  However, his brief ption was interrupted. The path they took upon leaving the teleport statiohem directly to the Rome General Hospital.

  Upoering the reception area, an attendant approached them cordially.

  "How I help you?" she asked, her soft voice eg in the spacious lobby.

  Oliver felt unfortable. He knew he was hearing Italian instead of English, but his gaurahe unication iime. His brain had not yet bee aced to ign what his ears picked up and fog on the holographic subtitles projected before his eyes.

  "Um... we're... looking for..." he began, speaking word by word as he tried to follow the words that appeared in the hologram.

  Notig Oliver's problem, Isabe intervened naturally.

  "We're looking for An from House Aqui," she expio the attendant, who looked at Oliver with a slightly fused expression.

  "Right, one moment," the attendant replied, searg her hologram for the boy's location. "Are you family?"

  "Friends from the Academy," Katherine responded promptly.

  As soon as the results appeared oendant's s, the trio noticed her expression had beore serious.

  "I see. You may go up. He's in the North Wing, on the fifth floor," the attendant pointed out where the elevator was.

  The tension was almost palpable as they walked in silehe elevator asded slowly, each floor increasing their ay. Given their expectations, the enclosed enviro seemed even more custrophobic.

  Finally, the doors opened on the fifth floor. They walked through the corridors searg for the North Wing but didn't have to look far. Turning into one of the long corridors, they saw a room with several beds. A gss wall allowed them to observe the patients inside. In one of the beds, still intubated, was An.

  The boy y unscious, an oxygen mask c his pale face. They couldn't see if he had regained his legs, as a b covered them. However, the monitors beside him indicated stable vital signs.

  he gss, a young woma vigil. She didn't look much older than they were, with short hair and intense blue eyes. She wore the uniform of an NEA officer, but what drew the most attention was her tear-streaked face. The sunken and reddened eyes betrayed sleepless nights.

  She looked exhausted but didn't take her eyes off An's bed. The three didn't know her but imagined she must be some retive of their friend.

  Oliver stepped forward. He opened his mouth, trying to speak, but his throat seemed to fight against him, uo find his voice. Finally, his soft voice broke the tense silence of the corridor.

  "Excuse me. Sorry to bother you." Even Oliver, usually so direct, knew he o be careful at that moment, especially upon seeing the girl so frayed. "Are you An's family?"

  The young woman seemed to hear but didn't react immediately. She was lost in thought, her gaze fixed beyond the gss that separated the corridor from the hospital beds.

  Isabe, perceiving the girl's fragile state, approached gently. "Sorry, are you okay?"

  "Huh?" Finally, she made a sound and turo the group. "Who are you?"

  "Hi. We're An’s friends," Katherine expined, stepping forward.

  "We'd like to know how he's doing?" added Oliver, trying to sound reassuring.

  The girl observed them with a mixture of surprise and weariness.

  "Who would've thought? The shitling had friends," she ented, wiping the tears with the back of her hand.

  She took a deep breath before introdug herself.

  "o meet you. My name is Sophie. Sophie Aqui," she said, shaking each of their hands firmly but shakily. "I'm the older sister of that little brat lying there."

  She poio the bed where Aed, still unscious. The three exged worried gnces.

  "Pleasure to meet you," they responded in unison, in low voices.

  The girl walked over to one of the chairs he wall and sat down before tinuing. "About how he's doing. He's stable," she said, looking at her hands csped in her p.

  "But... but how did he survive?" asked Oliver, the disbelief evident in his tone. For him, it was almost unimaginable. He would have lost all hope if he hadn't gohrough a simir experience.

  "Were you at the test?" Sophie inquired, raising her gaze to them.

  "Yes. An was on our team. He tried to hold off the Red Ork before we were captured," Isabe expined.

  "Ha." Sophie gave a bitter ugh. "He tried to face a Red Ork. What a fug stupid idea."

  "Unfortunately, when we were captured, the st thing we saw was him bleeding and torn…," Isabe said, her voice faltering slightly.

  "I don't know the details. However, another recruit found him and mao keep An alive long enough for rescue to arrive," Sophie expined. "He ced in a VAT, but he's been like this sihen."

  "But what's preventing him from waking up?" Oliver asked, frowning.

  Sophie ched her fists, frustration evident on her face.

  "A neon from those Ork bastards," the girl spoke with hatred. "They ied some kind of virus that survives on their ons. When they cut someohe virus starts to spread, stantly hindering the effect of the VAT. Every day, they have to use the tank just to keep him alive, but he 't fully recover."

  The revetion shook the three. They felt a tightening in their chests at the gravity of the situation.

  "B-but the NEA must be w on a cure? Isn't there any boon that heal him?" asked Isabe, the wavering hope in her voice.

  Sophie shook her head slowly.

  "So far, no Boons has helped him or anyone else ied. As for a cure, they're researg, but there's no clear progress," Sophie said, her voice almost a whisper.

  They stood looking attentively at the boy's bed, not knowing what to say.

  Every time Olive looked at the gss, he felt his heart twinge. Maybe if An's sister weren't there, he would have cursed and damned every one of the Orcs. However, he was struggling to keep his rage under trol. "She's been through enough; she doesn't o worry about a kid who 't trol his emotions."

  Siletled among them. The rhythmic sound of the medical equipment was the only thing filling the void.

  "He was always strange, you know? Since he was little," ented Sophie, looking at the floor. "After our mother passed away, he stopped pying war, stopped fighting, anything like that."

  The tears began to stream down her face again. Oliver felt powerless, not knowing how to fort her. Isabe sat o Sophie, pg a gentle hand on her shoulder.

  "An always wao be a pacifist. He didn't want to join the NEA. Our father forced him to enlist, and as punishment, he was sent to the sed battalion," she tinued, her voice choked. "Before he was taken, I even told him that if he didn't take it seriously, he'd e ba a coffin."

  Sophie broke down, her silent g turning into deep sobs. Isabe enveloped her in a f embrace.

  Katherine and Oliver exged gnces filled with and sadness.

  "I'm so sorry," Oliver said, his voice low. “If we do anything to help..."

  Sophie raised her gaze, her blue eyes shining with tears.

  "Thank you. Just you being here already means a lot," she replied, striving to muster a smile.

  They remaihere for a few minutes, sharing that moment. Oher side of the gss, An remained motionless, enveloped in maes that kept his life suspended in limbo.

  The group remained in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. The war against the Orks had left deep scars, not only physical but also emotional.

  They exged taformation with Sophie in case anything ged in An's health.

  As they left the hospital, the sun was already beginning to set, painting the sky with shades e and pink. The a buildings of Rome cast long shadows over the streets, a silent reminder of the stories of resistand overing in that pce.

  Oliver took a deep breath, feeling the fresh air fill his lungs.

  "I'm going to visit my parents. After that, Kath, I e back to your house?" Isabe asked. "In Area 55, there's no one I train with."

  "Of course," Katherine replied. She had aken friends to her house before but had gotteo these two.

  "I'll take the opportunity to visit a friend. But Kath, if you don't mind, I'd also like to return to your house. I believe it would be the best way to train these few days," Oliver said, determio pass the upis.

  Katherine nodded.

  The war was still far from over. For them, it was only just beginning; however, the effects of the st mission were still unfolding before them.

  GCLopes