"Shooting Star" is episode 328 of the Berserk manga series.
Summary[]
The merrow swim along next to the Seahorse, which is once again at sea. They've volunteered to guide the Seahorse to Skellig island, and Isidro suspects this is because Isma, who has regained her legs, is riding with Roderick and his crew. Isma corrects him - the merrow are guiding the Seahorse out of gratitude for the Seahorse helping in the fight against the Sea God, and Isma is simply too embarrassed to reenter the water to be with her mother. Upon Isma's inquiry, Isidro reveals that Casca and the black-haired boy have gone to bed while Farnese and Schierke tend to Guts' wounds.
Below deck, Schierke speaks to Guts using thought transference (thinking that he is deaf), but she learns that his senses have not disappeared when he says he can see her hand, of which the index and middle fingers are outstretched. Farnese, meanwhile, is manipulating Guts' flow of od to accelerate his healing. Guts compliments Farnese's ability to do so, claiming that she's made him feel warm, and Farnese begins to tear up, having now found a role within her group.
Serpico watches Guts, Farnese and Schierke through the open door to their room, but his attention is turned away when Casca wanders out of her own. Hearing Casca's moans, the three people in Guts' room come out to investigate. While Farnese moves to take care of Casca, who is moaning loudly, Puck discovers the source of her agitation: the black-haired boy has disappeared.
The entire Seahorse is searched, both by hand and by Schierke, who attempts to sense the boy's od. Suspicions that he may have fallen overboard are dispelled when Isma says that the merrow would both have noticed and helped the boy. Schierke points out that the boy has only twice appeared during a specific circumstance: the full moon, when magic powers are at their strongest. With this evidence, Schierke surmises that the boy is an emissary from Skellig who was sent to investigate Guts' group, and if not this, then the Flower Storm Monarch.
Guts lies alone in his room. The effects of overusing the Berserker Armor have taken their toll; his hand is still shaking, and when he looks at a lit lantern, he sees only a swinging blur of light. He remembers the Skull Knight's words, which prophetically foretold that using the Berserker Armor would lead its wearer to muteness, deafness, and blindness, among other things. Guts dismisses this warning, convincing himself that prophecies don't always necessarily come true.
Guts begins to doze off, and he dreams of Casca as she was before the Eclipse. Then, he suddenly remembers the Skull Knight's words about her: Guts' wish may not be Casca's. An image of the Eclipse flashes into Guts' mind, and he is startled awake. He wonders what will become of Casca after her sanity is restored and she is able to remember the Eclipse. Guts then contemplates his next move after Casca's mind is restored; his mind immediately wanders to Griffith.
The black-haired boy on the branches of the invisible tree.
Guts stares up at the moon and notices a faint discoloring about it, thinking that some invisible tree's branches are causing the distortion. Guts is too far away to see that the black-haired boy is standing on one such branch, looking down on the Seahorse. The boy allows himself to sink into the branch, and he is whisked away by an invisible current, appearing like a shooting star to the unwary people below.
Characters[]
- Magnifico
- Roderick
- Isidro
- Isma
- Puck
- Ivalera
- Guts
- Schierke
- Farnese
- Casca
- Serpico
- Moonlight boy
- Griffith
Notes[]
- This episode was originally published numerically as episode 331. It was moved to its current official numeric position in the series in the volume 37 release.