"Alright, keep moving!"
The command echoed harshly through the kingdom's hall, bouncing off the cold stone walls. The air was thick with tension.
Dragon guards lined the hall, their faces as unreadable as the iron armor they wore. Yet even in their hardened expressions, a flicker of something else was visible—wariness. As if even they were unsure what might happen next.
The newly emerged Runes stood in a line, some blinking in confusion, others trembling with the weight of impending doom. Each of them awaited their fate like prisoners before judgment.
Runes were not born like humans. They didn't come from the warmth of a mother's arms; they simply emerged. Sometimes overnight, a human would wake with features that were foreign, unsettling—antlers sprouting from a skull, or fingers twisted into branches.
Twisting them into something else entirely. Nature itself seemed to be turning against them, merging humanity with the earth in ways no one could explain.
"Keep moving!"
The voice cut through the murmurs again. The Runes shuffled forward, their movements stiff and mechanical as if daring not to draw attention.
They were here for evaluation.
A Rune's poison level would decide their future—if they had one at all.
The higher the poison, the greater the risk of going feral. The lower the poison, the greater the chance to see another day, though even "safe" was a fragile term in this world.
"Poison level: Red. High risk of going feral."
The verdict landed like a death sentence. The Rune, a grotesque mix of scorpion and human, went pale. His trembling became visible, panic twisting his features as he desperately shook his head.
"P-please..." His voice was weak, broken, but it didn't matter.
Two dragon guards stepped forward without a hint of compassion, grabbing the Rune by his arms and dragging him toward the ominous dark door at the far end of the hall. The door opened soundlessly, as if welcoming him into oblivion.
"Wait! No, please!" His voice rose in hysteria, struggling against the guards' unyielding grip. But his fate was already sealed.
The door swallowed him whole, slamming shut with a finality that left the hall in haunting silence.
For a moment, no one moved.
The remaining Runes, trembling and wide-eyed, barely breathed as they tried to process what had just happened. The dark door seemed to loom larger, a reminder of the fate that could befall any one of them if their result came back wrong.
"We're gonna die" One of them said in a shaky voice, almost crumbling to the floor and crying.
"Next!"
The voice called out again, breaking the silence, and the process resumed. One by one, Runes stepped forward, their lives in the balance. Some were spared, walking away with shaky relief. Others weren't so lucky, their terrified pleas ignored as they were dragged to the same dark door.
At the back of the line stood a peculiar Rune. He was small, almost fragile, with soft, pink hair that shimmered in the dim light. His skin was so pale, it looked as though it had never been touched by the sun. There was something unnervingly delicate about him, as if the slightest touch might break him.
He was about 5'7, he remembered he used to be taller but the memories were all jumbled up, not that it mattered now.
Berry. That was his name, or at least what he remembered it to be.
His heart raced in his chest, each beat louder than the last. He didn't know what his result would be. He didn't even fully understand what he was. Only days ago, he had been something else—something simpler, less terrifying. But now? He barely recognized the reflection staring back at him.
As he stood there, trembling, he felt a soft tap on his shoulder. He flinched and turned around.
A fox-human hybrid Rune stood behind him, his sharp features softened by an expression of tentative friendliness.
"Hi," the fox Rune whispered, his voice gentle, though it struggled to break through the oppressive atmosphere.
Berry blinked, his pink eyes wide with anxiety. He had no words, too overwhelmed by the situation to speak but he managed out a small, shaky, "Hello".
"Don't worry," the fox Rune continued, his voice barely audible. "We'll get through this."
Would they? Berry wanted to believe him, but doubt gnawed at the edges of his mind. He nodded nonetheless, offering a fragile smile in return before turning back to the line, the cold dread seeping deeper into his bones.
---
Finally, it was Berry's turn.
He stepped forward, heart pounding in his ears. His legs felt weak, but he forced them to move. Before him stood the evaluator—an imposing figure with a scar running jaggedly across his right eye. His presence was suffocating, his muscles tense and his hair, a wild flame of red and orange, crackling with silent fury. But it was his eyes—soulless, cold, indifferent—that sent chills down Berry's spine.
In the man's hand was the crystal. The glowing rock that decided everything.
Berry's breath hitched as the crystal hovered before him, ready to measure his poison. Blue meant safety. Yellow meant Caution. Red… Red meant the end.
Time seemed to slow. The crystal began to glow faintly, its light flickering as if undecided.
Berry could hardly breathe, his entire body tense, waiting—hoping.
The light grew stronger, then finally… blue.
"Safe."
The word hit him like a flood of relief. His knees nearly buckled beneath him, but he forced himself to stand, swallowing the sob of relief that threatened to escape. He turned and quickly walked toward the other side, where the spared Runes were gathered. His heart still hammered in his chest, but for now, he was safe.
---
The spared Runes were herded through a small white door, down a long, dimly lit hallway. Dragon guards flanked them on either side, and ahead of them, a commander led the way, his deep, raspy voice echoing off the cold walls.
"You may have been spared today, but don't think for a moment that you're free. The dragon guards are watching you at all times. Step out of line, break a single rule, and it won't matter if you tested blue. You'll be executed just the same."
A cold chill swept through the group. The Runes glanced at each other with wide eyes, fear tightening in their throats. They weren't safe, not truly. They would have to tread carefully, every step of their lives a cautious dance on thin ice.
"Now… you've all heard of the great war between the Runes and the Star Dragons."
At the mention of the war, the Runes shifted uncomfortably. They all knew the history. Before they were Runes, they had been human. They had learned about the war, the conflict that tore the world apart.
"Four regions once existed. Now, only one remains: the kingdom of Altair, where you once lived before your mutation. But things have changed. You'll be under constant surveillance now. Your rules will be stricter than any human's."
Berry's heart sank further with every word. He whimpered softly, feeling as though the weight of this new world would crush him. Was this really his life now? Was there any escape from this fate?
They emerged from the hallway into the cold, dystopian landscape beyond. The steel buildings loomed over them, their design harsh and unwelcoming, lacking the warmth and comfort of human homes. It was a city built for survival, not living.
Or maybe for holding hostages.
Were they truly safe?
Since the war, Altair had become the last bastion of humanity, the kingdom divided between the humans, the Runes, and the Star Dragons who watched from their mountain strongholds, ever vigilant.
The dragons had mastered the art of identifying newly mutated Runes. They captured them swiftly, testing them before they could pose a threat to the kingdom. It was all done in the name of safety, or so they claimed.
But as Berry looked up at the cold, uncaring walls of his new world, he wondered: Safety for whom?