I hate this memory...

"W-What...what is this?" Nathan asked with a look of despair. Lilith was so stunned that no words of comfort could reach Nathan could come to her.

Suddenly, a man in a green-decorated military uniform. It was a slightly younger version of Sergeant John.

"Thank you all for taking the time to see these traitorous murderers be put to death," John said.

"Yeah! Kill them!" A civilian shouted, which was supported by cheers from the crowd.

"Don't worry, I don't want to take up your time, everyone. So we'll get this out of the way quickly." He responded. "Do you guys have any last words?" He asked Nathan's parents. They were both wearing ragged and dirty clothing.

"We have nothing to say to anyone here," Tomas responded.

"I do wish we had got to see our son once more," Anna said to Tomas.

"Yeah, but we can hopefully take solace in the fact that he'll be living on," Tomas said, which made the parents smile in satisfaction.

"Tsk, how annoy--"

John's attention was brought to civilians in the crowd being pushed to the side.

"Get outta my way!" Nathan said as he violently shoved the civilians aside. His voice immediately attracted his parent's attention. He quickly got to the front, with Lilith following right behind him.

"Mom, Dad!"

"Son..." Anna responded with a look of despair.

I could tell by their facial expression, that they didn't want you to see this, Nathan. After all, which parent would want their children to watch them die?

"What the hell is th--" Before Nathan finished, he was pinned to the ground by several police officers.

"Nathan!" Lilith called out to him in concern.

"Who the hell is this?" Sergeant John asked with a look of extreme annoyance.

"L-Leave him out of this!" Tomas pleaded.

John stared at Nathan. Despite being pinned down, Nathan matched his gaze, with his being a look of pure hatred.

"Haha! So you had a kid, huh?" John asked. "You guys were pretty secretive about your personal lives...Let the kid watch."

"No! Please! He doesn't need to see this!" Anna desperately pleaded.

"Finally...you guys are no longer smiling," John said with a victorious expression. A man dressed, presumably as an executioner, came up on the gallows.

"NO! LET THEM GO!" Nathan shouted as he started to struggle but was stopped with a punch straight to his face by an officer.

"Shut up and watch!" The officer ordered.

That angered Anna, Tomas, and Lilith, but they could do nothing.

"You...you called Nathan's name, right?" Tomas said to Lilith.

"I'm not sure how close you are with Nathan, but--" Before Tomas could finish, the executioner put bags over their heads. Ignoring the bag, he continued.

"It'll take a while for him to recover...but please support him always, I beg you." His words were muffled due to the bag, but she understood.

"HURRY UP AND KILL THEM!" A civilian ordered. The more impatient they became, the louder their orders were.

"Okay, Okay. You can go on with it." Sergeant John said to the executioner, who approached a lever to the side of the gallows.

"Also, Nathan," Anna interjected. Knowing that her voice would be muffled, she spoke louder than normal.

At this point, Nathan was in a state of panic. He was hyperventilating, sweating immensely, and starting to tear up.

"Never forget, we always have loved y--" Not letting her finish, the executioner pulled the lever, causing them to descend through the floor.

"NNNNOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!" Nathan screamed at the top of his lungs. In contrast, the crowd had begun to cheer at the top of their lungs.

Their necks were not broken instantly. Instead, they were left to suffer...The sounds of them choking and the involuntary twitching of their bodies as they lost oxygen. All made worse with the cheers of the spectators...I'll never forget something like that, but I'm sure that Nathan had it far worse.

After they had died, their bodies were removed from the noose.

"Thank you all for your time!" Sergeant John said as the civilians began leaving in satisfaction.

"Sir, what should we do with the kid?" An officer asked. Nathan had an expression of brokenness. There was no life in his eyes.

"Eh, leave him there. He's not important now." John responded. He looked at Nathan and smirked. The officers obeyed as they let him go.

Lilith immediately rushed to Nathan's side. Without caring, Sergeant John had left with his officers.

Even though my mind was messed up from what I had just witnessed...I had to be strong, for you, Nathan.

Lilith had placed Nathan's head in her lap and waited for him. He laid there all they and waited for him, even when it was becoming nightfall. Even though her legs were numbing, she didn't move.

"L-Lilith." Nathan softly spoke.

"Yeah...?" Lilith responded.

"I don't think...that I'll be going to school...for a while." He said as tears ran down his face.

"Yeah...I understand. Let's at least get you home now." She advised, trying to keep strong for him. After encouraging Nathan, she brought him home.

Just as Nathan had told her, Lilith did not see him at school the next day.

"I heard the news that Nathan's parents were offed yesterday, Lilith." A classmate said. "I bet he's still crying at home, huh."

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A sudden bout of anger came over Lilith. She wanted to put that classmate in his place but kept silent.

You wouldn't have wanted me to bring unwanted attention to myself, right, Nathan?

Nathan missed many, many weeks of school. The teachers were surprisingly understanding, as even though they thought Nathan's parents were criminals, they understood that the loss of his parents would have greatly affected him.

Every single day after school, Lilith would visit Nathan at his home. Her being there would slowly pull Nathan out of his depression, until he returned to school, five months later. Lilith was the only thing keeping him sane.

Nathan still went through bullying, but he tried to ignore them by keeping Lilith in the back of his mind. With that said Lilith and Nathan quickly reached their final year of high school.

That was our last year in this...hell. I was determined to ensure that you and I made something of our lives.

Despite the bullying, the periodic misses from school due to sudden bouts of depression, and the fights he'd get in, with the help of Lilith supporting and tutoring him at times, Nathan would graduate from high school.

"So, you're gonna go to uni?" Nathan asked. They were both walking from school in their blue graduation gowns.

"Yeah, I'm gonna major in culinary arts," Lilith responded.

"Well, I might as well go to university too. I'll probably major in business or something. It'll be boring if I'm not with you."

"Oh great! Let's go to the same uni! I'm thinking of the University of Washington!" She excitedly suggested.

"Sure." He agreed. "Also, thank you...for everything you've done for me."

Hearing this, she couldn't help but smile. As they were walking, she hugged Nathan. "Aww! No problem!"

With red flushed cheeks, she noticed that Nathan was blushing, which also caused her to blush. She quickly let him go.

"Um...I'll always be there to support you..." She said awkwardly as she was still blushing.

"Y-Yeah," Nathan responded. With that said, they applied and were accepted into the University of Washington.

As we spent our summer together, we were filled with hopeful hearts, that our university experience would be much different. We were right...for a time.

Nathan and Lilith found their university experience at the start to be rather pleasant. Even though their bonds were unbreakable, they also made common friends. No one had extended any negativity to them.

In their second year, they met a woman by the name of Serena Collins. She was a beautiful woman with brown braided hair and a light brown skin color. She also wore expensive-looking clothing like a fur coat and knee-length leather boots.

From the get-go, she was very friendly to them, especially to Nathan which made Lilith a bit jealous occasionally.

I remember her hanging out with us a lot, and even though she was like an angel to us both, she was also very flirtatious with Nathan. Thinking about it now, I wonder if she was doing that on purpose. Even on Valentine's Day, she didn't stop.

"Hey, Nathan?" Serena asked. "Wanna be my valentine?"

Hearing this question, Nathan immediately blushed. Lilith, who also heard, felt a pain in her chest. She seemed to be scared of his answer but wanted to know.

"S-Sorry, I can't," Nathan responded. "You're nice and pretty and all but...I like someone else."

With relief, Lilith sighed.

I wasn't sure who Nathan liked, but I was glad that it wasn't Serena.

"Aww, that hurts a bit. At least I got that off my chest." Serena responded. "I'm not going to give up!"

For the first time in years, Nathan had felt happy around someone other than Lilith, even though he felt the most happiness with her.

However, good things always come to an end.

One day, while talking with Lilith and his friends during a break in classes at his university, a group of officers approached Nathan.

"Nathan Hayes?" An officer asked.

"Y-Yes?" Nathan nervously confirmed. With balled-up fists, he looked on edge after seeing them, likely due to his experience with officers. Instantly, the officers grabbed Nathan, putting a handcuff on him.

"What!?" Lilith shouted. His friends were also confused at this turn of events.

"Nathan Hayes, you're under arrest for the rape of Serena Collins. Anything you say can and will be used against you..."

"WHAT!!??" Nathan shouted with an understandably bewildered expression. Lilith and her friends were also utterly confused by this accusation.

Without a moment's notice, they took Nathan away.

That was when I realized that you would never get peace, Nathan.

In jail, until his court hearing, Nathan would be visited by Lilith. He would adamantly declare his innocence, which Lilith immediately believed. She knew that he was not the type of person to do something like that.

On the other hand, some of Nathan's friends were skeptical about his innocence. Their suspicions were also increased after hearing an announcement that Serena had been undergoing therapy for her 'trauma'.

However, when it was time for the court trial, even though Serena had testified against him in court (which made Nathan and Lilith feel betrayed by her lies), the evidence just wasn't enough, coupled with Lilith stating on his behalf that he's a good person and would never do that.

With that, Nathan was proven innocent.

"Why...why are you always...on my side?" Nathan asked Lilith after the court case.

As much as I wanted to tell you that I loved you at that moment, I doubt you'd want to hear that after the woman who proclaimed her love to you had just betrayed you.

"Because Nathan, we've been friends for so long that I know you more than anyone. I know you'd never do that. Of course, I'll believe you." Lilith explained.

"...Thank you."

After that, we never saw Serena again, but because of her, everything went to hell again.

Even though Nathan was cleared of the accusation, not everyone believed that to be true.

"Sorry...I don't think we can be friends any longer. I'm sorry, but I don't trust you." A previous friend of Nathan said to him in front of Lilith. Lilith noticed that Nathan didn't protest, but his expression seemed cold.

Nathan gradually lost more friends, and his enemies started growing.

Because of a stupid accusation that was proven false, life was slowly going back to how it was in high school. Until it became exactly like high school.

It didn't take long for people who disliked Nathan to dig up stuff in his past. Stuff that he was desperately trying to hide. His parents condemned and their execution.

"Hey, bastard!" A university student called out to Nathan rudely as he was walking with Lilith. "You may have gotten off someway from your rape charge, but I know that you're a criminal, just like your parents."

"What...?" Nathan turned to him with bloodshot eyes.

"You heard me. A criminal just like your pare--" Before he could finish, Nathan had knocked him to the ground. Nathan would have had a chance to get out of this if he didn't do it in front of a lecturer passing by.

I already knew it was over. Perhaps this was for the best in a way, so you wouldn't have to suffer here anymore.

Later in the day, Lilith received a text from Nathan.

"Looks like I won't be coming back here. I'm expelled apparently." Nathan's message read.

"What!? But how!? You only punched the student because he had provoked you!"

"Well, they said I'm problematic. After my rape accusation, they said numerous students reported not wanting me at the school, and since the news of my parents being criminals is made public in the uni, I'll only attract and cause trouble. So they said I should leave now."

"But...that's not fair." Lilith messaged him as she was tearing up.

"Yeah, that's what this world has always been...unfair and corrupted," Nathan responded. "But, I hope you have a nice life for the rest of your university."

After that, I realized that high school and university were filled with the same people. All selfish people with absolutely no empathy whatsoever.

From this point on, Lilith would not associate much with fellow students and teachers outside of work.

Even though Nathan was no longer attending the university, he still kept in close contact with Lilith. They'd both share their experiences.

Nathan would tell her of hobbies he'd make down the line. He'd even tell her that he'd learn to drive even though he had no license.

She'd also tell him about some achievements she received, especially increasing her culinary skills. When they'd meet up, she'd prepare for him what she had learned, and he'd always love it.

Lilith would however notice his depression that he'd desperately try to hide from her.

Nathan would also find himself being accused of a few other crimes, such as theft and assault, but Lilith would always immediately believe him when he proclaimed his innocence. He was always right, as he would be proven so, which made her glad.

She stopped reminiscing now.

I eventually got a job as a chef at Apple Garden but...you couldn't get any good jobs because you had no degree, and no one wanted to accept someone accused of numerous crimes...even though they were false.

How stupid am I...I who said that I'd be on your side, left you because you committed a crime...You've gone through so much, and yet I still left you because you understandably couldn't take the suffering any longer...

Lilith began to cry.

I'm so sorry...Nathan...forgive...me.

"DING!"

Suddenly, her phone rang, snapping her out of her sorrow. She checked, and it was a message from someone she had never met. It was a message from a recipient known as 'The Developer'.

"H-Huh?" She said before opening it.

"Do you want to know the truth about Nathan's predicament? Do you want to help Nathan?" The developer's message outlined.

H-Help Nathan?

Suddenly, the memories she reflected on immediately flashed through her mind again. After a few moments of hesitation, she began to respond.

"Yes."