"You asked to see me Sepehr?"
The dragon scientist nodded, bowing slightly to Caelum, his face showed a serious expression and Caelum knew he was about to say something he might not like.
"We have everything ready to start training Berry" he said firmly.
" I see…when can we start?"
"Tomorrow"
"I see, that's good, the sooner he learns to handle his powers the better, I will let him know"
"Yes but there is one more thing"
Caelum raised his brows in confusion, "Is there a problem?"
"Well no but it's just that some of the processes might be a little…extreme"
Caelum furrowed his brow after he heard that, "and what does that mean?"
Sepehr cleared his throat and spoke up, "Caelum this is the first time we have ever encountered anything like this, we have to discover everything we can about it-"
"Him! Him Sepehr! This is not some object you can mindlessly poke needles in! He is a person! That feels pain" Caelum said in a harsh voice, the anger in his chest slowly rising.
"I understand but this is for the goal, we must do whatever we have to"
"No! If we do not have to hurt him then we shouldn't! Let us take it slow and give him time to develop and get better at using his powers"
"With all due respect, the only reason we got this far is because we took the step of testing him with th-"
"A test that I deeply regret"
Sepehr scoffed, "regret? We made progress!"
"We frightened him!" Caelum yelled harshly, his hands balling into fists.
Sepehr's eyes narrowed, "you're getting too attached!''
"And you're becoming a monster!"
The words rang through the room, the silence and tension filled the air, Sepehr took a step back and spoke in a hushed voice, "I am doing what needs to be done! Maybe we can stop this madness of dying Runes and sudden mutations! We can achieve 0ur goal! Your emotions and flimsy attachment is what will damn us all!"
Caelum stayed quiet and glared at him, "I am not having any emotions, I'm just…" he sighed and gave up explaining, he just looked away and spoke up firmly, "do what is necessary but anything that would hurt him should be left out". He left the room without another word, leaving Sepehr alone.
.
.
.
Berry sat in the lab, his hands fiddling with the hem of his shirt, his palms sweaty and his mind racing, he didn't feel too well since he was going to have to run some tests but he knew it was importance and Caelum was standing not too far away from him, he knew he wouldn't get hurt with Caelum nearby.
Sepehr entered the room, the usual smile Berry knew was on his face but he had some dark eye circles and he looked tired, almost like he had not been sleeping.
Berry felt somewhat guilty, quickly coming to the conclusion that it was because of him that Sepehr had not been getting any sleep, he has probably been up getting everything ready for the test. He adjusted in his seat, promising to behave so he would not stress him any further.
"Good Morning Berry" Sepehr said with a bright smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Berry greeted back softly, he looked around and noticed that Asher wasn't in the room as usual. He wanted to ask but he didn't want to disturb the scientist any further.
"You have to follow me to the other room Berry, the other scientist are waiting for you"
Berry nodded, he looked at Caelum before getting up and following Sepehr out of the room. Everything will be fine, everything will be fine, he kept repeating in his mind, the presence of Caelum following behind them made him feel safer.
For some reason, the words of that girl the other day crossed his minds, heightening his anxiety but he pushed it aside as he did before, it's just nonsense.
They arrived at the other room and his breath caught his throat as he saw the huge glass-like rectangular box, standing in the middle of the room.
It was see through and large, enough to fit ten dragons. There were some pipes and some other things inside, some things Berry had never seen.
The scientists were around, checking and making sure that everything was okay, they all turned to Berry once he entered, their expressions varying from wariness to indifference.
Asher is not here either, strange.
"Take off your shirt and step inside" Sepehr ordered, not looking at Berry but just at the tablet.
Berry noticed his voice had become colder and his demeanor had totally shifted, it made him feel uneasy but he steeled himself and took off his shirt, his smooth, pale skin on display.
He walked inside the box-like containment and the opening close shut, locking him in.
He looked around the box, the white lights attached to the top, the pipes and wires inside it and then to the scientists all surrounding it, looking at him intently.
He felt his heart rate quicken and being in this small space made him anxious and scared but then he saw the large figure approach the glass and gently place his hand on it.
Caelum
The dragon king looked at him with a reassuring expression before mouthing, "it's okay", to him.
Berry smiled softly, already feeling better.
Sepehr pressed a button on the control in his tablet, "we are going to be starting soon".
Berry saw Sepehr speaking and then he realized that he could not hear anything on the outside, he wondered if they could hear him. This made him feel even more uneasy.
Caelum looked at Berry's nervous form before turning to Sepehr, "is there any way to communicate with him?"
"No"
He sighed in frustration, he knew Berry was anxious and he wanted to try to ease that but in this situation there was very little he could so, he just shook his head before speaking, "fine then, Let's get this done quickly".
At the mark all the scientists brought out their tablets, touching and typing different things, making the machine come to life.
The box suddenly began to turn opaque, the glass turning black and thick. Caelum felt panic rise in his chest, he looked back at Sepehr, "what is this?".
"Precaution! The sight might be unpleasant"