"Subject 831 shows signs of brain activity, we cannot determine the exact level of comprehension, but there is definitely the activity we expected."
The voices come from far away, as if floating through a thick fog. He doesn't know what they are, or where they come from, but something in him recognizes those words, even if he doesn't fully understand them.
"What was once disorganized activity now shows some coherence. He is not reacting like an instinctive animal. There is something in his brain that is developing, but we can't define it with certainty."
Stabilizing? What does that mean? Thoughts come as scattered fragments, and every time you try to hold on to one, they dissolve into thin air, as if they never existed.
The images, the sounds, the sensations are fleeting, but there is something about them that unsettles him, something he doesn't know how to understand, who he is, where he is, what is going on, what is this strange sensation he feels all over his body.
Somehow he wanted to consciously connect the events, but he felt a blockage, he listened to the voices.
To see if he could make sense of his situation.
"Is it possible that he's processing the stimuli differently? The patterns we're seeing could indicate a conscious response."
"It's premature to say. Although the brain activity is more organized, we have not yet observed a response that could be considered logical or intentional. It could simply be a reaction to stimuli."
They were talking about him, of that he was sure, their voices sounded a little distorted, but he understood them clearly.
"Let's move on to more evidence. If the brainwave organization persists, we could be looking at an early stage of cognitive development. But it's still uncertain."
He finally opened his eyes but couldn't understand what he was looking at, everything was blurry and indistinct.
Besides, he felt that something had changed, but he didn't understand where he was getting the reference to begin with, but again something seemed to block his inquiries and he closed his eyes again and concentrated on listening.
"It's a breakthrough, no doubt, but we can't assume full intelligence yet. We need more data to confirm it, subject 831 will be taken to area 2, it has passed the first phase."
Hearing that last, everything fell silent, he on the other hand, with nothing to hold on to, fell back into unconsciousness.
...
..
.
"you know Cass, to love is to open our hearts, even knowing that goodbye will hurt, even if it sounds sad that so every hug, every laugh shared and every moment we share is worth so much."
"Maybe... Though from what I know, love has always been more of an illusion of sorts. It's said to be worth it, but when it all falls apart, what are you left with? Only emptiness, in the end it's nothing."
"Emptiness only comes when you avoid feeling. Those moments of connection, however fleeting, are what give life meaning. It's not just about avoiding pain, it's about living fully, without regrets."
"Living without regrets, huh? Sounds complicated. But...I wonder if in the end all this living with an open heart really makes sense, I think I can live without regrets without opening anything up."
"What you decide today, Cass, doesn't have to define who you always are. Sometimes opening your heart doesn't mean losing control. Sometimes, it's just a way to see things in a different way."
"Seeing things differently? Maybe, but what if that difference only brings more pain? Why would I even do that, it's illogical and unnecessary."
"But if you live by logic alone, what about what really matters? What it makes you feel? All of that can't be measured in calculations, Cass."
"..."
"Well you're smart, maybe someday my words will do you some good, you'll know how to use it, now buy me a meal for the life lesson I gave you."
"damn, before I think about emotions I need to investigate how your stomach works where all the food you eat goes, my wallet can't stand to keep paying for your food"
"are you calling me fat"
"yes"
"now you bastard!!! I'm going to give you some good love!!!"
..
'Maybe... maybe I never understood what you were telling me. Or I never wanted to understand.
In the end, my life was always a quest for power, control... but deep down, there was always something missing.
Something I couldn't fill, no matter how far I went, there was only more emptiness and resignation.'
~Cassiel
A whisper of his old name echoes in his mind, reminding him again of who he was.
'Cassiel... Fugo's mad wizard.' A wave of memories hits him for an instant, the weight of his past decisions, betrayal, loneliness and A deep pain.
Recovering all that formed his identity, he finally awoke.
..
.
"Woof!"
'What's going on right now?'
Now surrounded by three guys who had batons that produced electricity at their tip, Cassiel wondered what kind of situation he was in.
He wanted to speak, but all that came out was a bark. He didn't understand, and the men were getting closer and closer with their batons and he wanted to warn them to stop
"grrrr"
But again instead of words came out grunts.
Suddenly he had regained consciousness and was now in an unfamiliar and possibly dangerous situation.
He tried to conjure fire magic to neutralize them, but nothing seemed to come out of him at the moment, no matter how hard he concentrated and did the same old thing.
Also, there was something odd about his body; he was recoiling, but his body was obviously not normal.
Instinctively he was moving, but still the sensation was so unfamiliar that he didn't know how to describe it.
Also, his sight was strange; it was as if he was seeing through yellow or amber glass, he couldn't pinpoint it. He did not understand and could not communicate or defend himself.
He was in an unfamiliar situation where he had to think clearly, he calmed down and analyzed his surroundings.
He looked behind and there was a cage, quickly understanding that the purpose of the people was not to hurt him.
So, not understanding the current situation, Cassiel decided to retreat and fulfill what seemed to be the purpose of the situation.
Once he entered the cage of his own free will, he heard a person's voice.
"Excellent, he didn't foolishly attack the guards and willingly entered the cage, this is definitely a breakthrough. 831 looks like a promising subject, he needs to be made to area 4."
Cassiel followed the voice and saw an elderly man and a young woman in white coats. The man was talking and the woman was writing something down in what looked like a book.
Cassiel was still confused, but as a wizard who had reached the pinnacle of his field, his reasoning was excellent.
Again, now without the pressure of the men with electric batons, he looked around the area and again, to be sure, tried to look at himself.
As a human, he usually had to make his arms forward and he could see his hands, but for some reason, his hands didn't seem to react, or rather, they didn't seem to have the ability to do something like that.
It was as if he was asking his knee to flex in the opposite direction. I didn't want to believe it, but I was beginning to think that was exactly the case.
Not to mention that in her vision there were obstacles that clearly stood firm in the center of her vision, as if their noses were so long and prominent that she couldn't help but stare at them.
Seeing all this, Cassiel inevitably came to the conclusion that he now had the appearance of some kind of quadrupedal animal.
he didn't know exactly which one, but it was likely from the sounds coming from it that it was a black canine because of the fur it had. there was nothing to reflect it in that prison.
Again he tried to move his mana, but he couldn't feel anything. It was as if his body had none, he didn't understand what kind of situation he was in.
The last thing he remembered was indeed having self-destructed, taking with him Amaryllis, the demon queen, who was also about to die like him, the important thing was the demon queen's brother and his subordinates who were also on the scene.
He had barely been able to do so, thanks to the system and the way of using mana that he had created.
If he was at his maximum with what was his final trump card, he could have devastated much more than just the castle, but he knew for sure that no one inside the castle would have survived his flames.
Cassiel understood that he had died, since using that technique that was the only result for him, this should have been beyond that.
He wouldn't be lying if he said he was curious about what happened after death, but of all the things he thought about, this was definitely not one.
If I had to assume, this was more of a reincarnation of sorts.
Normally, he would think that a concept so far removed from logic shouldn't happen, but he never specialized in or studied that field.
Besides, the evidence was clear. He quickly understood what it was right now. Now he had to understand what the situation was in his strange environment.
So, with a perfectly clear mind and far beyond what the researchers could imagine, Cassiel began to understand and comprehend.
Researchers interested in the progress of their subject would never in their wildest dreams believe that one of their research subjects was a wizard who reached the apex in fire magic and possibly the ruin of all their plans and research.