"Do you need a break?"
Berry shook his head, sitting up straight once more, he had been in a white room with Sepehr, Asher and Caelum. Touching different rooms for the past three hours.
But nothing happened.
No light, no changes, just nothing. "Does the Rune have to be feral for your magic to work?" Asher asked, frowning as usual.
"Hm that would make sense, since your magic only worked when in contact with a feral rune" Sepehr said, placing his hand on his chin, contemplating on something.
"But why did he light up like that with the other rune but not with Casper?" Asher asked again, "This is all just confusing".
"Berry may I ask you something?"
"Yes"
Sepehr walked directly in front of him, looking at him intently, "Did anything happen before you touched that Rune? Did you feel a strange sensation? Like a build up or an urge?"
Berry thought for a moment before nodding, "well I did see something, same thing I saw with Casper".
"Same thing? What is it?"
"Sadness"
"Deep within their eyes, they looked like trapped beings, begging to be free, I saw their humanity, pleading for the curse to be broken, deep within their eyes I saw an endless well of pain and it moved me". Berry explained, his voice becoming softer with each sentence.
The room fell into silence before Asher spoke up, "well that was poetic" he said sarcastically.But he was shut down by a glare from Sepehr
"I see…so you saw sadness and it maybe triggered your powers" Sepehr thought for a moment again, "Interesting".
"Then we wait" he declared suddenly.
"Wait for what?" Berry asked in confusion.
"Wait for a Rune to go feral, then maybe your powers might work then".
BEEP!!
"Ah that was quick" Asher remarked, smirking slightly, "guess we found our first test subject".
Berry felt nervous as the alarm rang all over the place, he clutched the hem of his shirt and swallowed the lump in his throat.
Then he felt a large hand on his back, "It's okay. You don't have to, if you don't want to" Caelum said reassuringly.
"It's fine, I want to"
Caelum nodded and helped him up, walking out of the white room and down the hall till they got to the apartments sections, where some Runes were running inside and the other were frozen in fear or screaming their lungs out. They spotted a room where the dragon guards gathered and a wave of nostalgia hit Berry but he forced himself to push it aside for now and focus on the task at hand.
Caelum walked beside Berry as they walked into the room. Immediately spotting the octopus-like Rune, thrashing around and growling at everyone.
The star dragons were trying to chain him up but he was keeping them away, defending himself against them. Berry looked at him, his eyes trying to make contact with the Rune, trying to look deep within them and feel the same sadness that he felt before.
But he never saw it
"Can you do it?" Caelum asked, noting the hesitation in Berry's face, there was something off and he couldn't figure out what so he decided to ask.
"I can't find it" Berry said softly, still looking at the Rune.
"Find what"
"The sadness"
The Rune lunged at one of the men, trying to bite him and take him down but he was immediately struck by a bright light coming from Caelum.
Berry flinched at the sound and the sudden hit, he wasn't expecting that and as much as he was scared he couldn't help but admire the precision he used to take down the Rune, absolutely no hesitation whatsoever.
He is the king.
"Take him away" Caelum commanded and the guards immediately obeyed, picking up the Rune's body and carrying him away.
Caelum looked down at Berry, noticing the confused and somewhat nervous look on the boy's face, "are you okay?"
"Well…just now, that Rune had no form of sadness in his eyes, or pain even, in fact it almost felt like he wanted to be Feral" Berry felt a chill run down his spine at the thought, someone wanting to be feral? That's absurd, but he knew what he saw.
Caelum hummed in response, his eyes narrowing, "we will get him tested and see what we can find, let's go".
.
.
.
Berry sat in the white room once more, the men standing before him, Sepehr went over his notes over and over again.
"This is outrageous" he exclaimed, "these test results are indicating that the Rune must have had something to induce his feral state but the substance is unidentifiable and we have never seen anything like this before".
"It's those ARS bastards, always causing trouble, there is no way a Rune would risk their lives like that" Asher said, scowling at the thought.
"No" Berry said sharply, "he took it himself, he would've looked like the others if he didn't but he did".
"And how do you know that?"
"He looked relieved, I have been trying to pinpoint the emotion I saw in his eyes, but it was actually relief and freedom, he wanted to go Feral, to maybe escape the suspense and just end it all at once".
The other men in the room went quiet, thinking over what Berry said, 'And there was nothing you could do?" Sepehr asked.
"I wasn't moved"
"Wow so our scientific breakthrough is determined by your emotions, how lovely" you can guess who said that and he said whilst throwing his hands in the air dramatically.
"I…I'm sorry" Berry said sincerely.
He felt a hand on his shoulder, "you have been at it for long now, you should rest" Caelum said firmly.
"I can continue", Berry really wanted to pull his weight, he felt inadequate and he felt like he was the one holding everyone back but Caelum shook his head.
"You'll only tire yourself out more, you can stop for now and come back later to continue".
"But-"
"No buts, get up and let's go rest" Caelum said, leaving no room for objections.
Sepehr and Asher looked at the two with a puzzled expression, "do you two sleep in the same room?"