Deviant: No Longer Human

A question floated in the air, where cherry blossoms fluttered gently to the earth, painting the scene in shades of pale pink.

On a carpet of lush, vibrant green, a solitary woman sat, her gaze piercing the distant horizon as if searching for answers in the unfathomable depths.

Her attire was a striking mix of red and black, a gothic gown that flowed around her.

Her hair, long and lustrous, cascaded like stary sky, and her eyes glowed a deep, unsettling red.

She is Mary, officially pronounced dead.

Yet, Wang Xiao was certain she had not died.

Given her strength, it was inconceivable that Gabrial\'s blast could have extinguished her life.

He stood beside her as Mary cracked a dry, somewhat detached smile. "I\'ve surrendered the world, my mission is complete. Leave me in peace now..."

Humanity had indeed reached transcendence, though it happened in a manner far different from what she had envisioned, yet it occurred nonetheless.

Wang Xiao spoke, his voice cold and calculated, "Or I could simply capture you and surrender you to the authorities outside. You must have sacrificed numerous innocent lives to fulfill your ambitions by now, don\'t you think?"

Mary\'s expression darkened. "What do you need?" she demanded sharply.

"Have you seen any women with cream-white hair on the battlefield after the explosion?" he inquired, his tone urgent yet controlled.

Mary\'s expression tensed, a flicker of recognition crossing her features. "There were two," she murmured, "One had cream-white hair, the other silver-white. Now, leave me alone."

Wang Xiao clicked his tongue, not ready to let the matter drop. "Not so soon. What about them? What happened?" he pressed.

Mary\'s face darkened, a sense of ominous feeling enveloping her as if invisible forces had sealed off all escape routes.

She scoffed, her disdain palpable. "The girl with silver hair took the one with white away. That\'s all I saw."

"I see..." Wang Xiao muttered under his breath, frustration simmering within him.

How was he supposed to track down this woman with silver hair?

He had indeed sought out Athene, but the results were far from what he had hoped. The woman hadn\'t even shown herself.

As for the others, Wang Xiao was at a loss. He had no idea who they were or where they might be.

It had been a year since he had started his search for Aurora.

But that woman had seemingly vanished into thin air.

If anything, his frustration was only growing.

Tremble... Tremble...

The earth trembled beneath them, its vibrations a sudden intrusion.

Mary spun around, her gaze complex and tinged with astonishment as she faced Wang Xiao.

Her eyes, filled with an unspoken anxiety, betrayed her shock.

She hadn\'t anticipated that anyone would dare venture into the Graveyard of God a second time.

"Wait!" she exclaimed.

"Huh?" Wang Xiao turned to her, his expression a mix of confusion and curiosity.

"Don\'t destroy this place," Mary pleaded, her voice earnest.

Wang Xiao\'s brows furrowed in bewilderment. "Why would I?" he asked, genuinely perplexed by her request.

Mary\'s look of uncertainty deepened. Was he really not planning to destroy it?

"How do you even know about this place?" Wang Xiao pressed, his curiosity piqued.

Outside the sprawling metropolis of Silvertide, the capital of Xianthera, lay many small villages and beyond those, many uninhabited hills.

Wang Xiao was taken aback by the thought that Mary would seek refuge within Xianthera itself.

The fact that she knew of this particular spot was startling, especially since even Luna was oblivious to it.

"I found it, in 1989..." Mary\'s voice trailed off, her lips curling into a melancholic smile.

Wang Xiao nodded, his gaze narrowing. "You didn\'t bother to destroy it?" he asked suspiciously.

Considering her character and those haunting, hollow blood red eyes, he remained skeptical.

"I wanted refuge... a place to retreat if things go wrong..." Mary murmured, a trace of melancholy shadowing her features as her lips downturned slightly. "This spot seemed perfect... secluded from the world, beyond the reach of any prying eyes."

Wang Xiao nodded thoughtfully. "You\'re not entirely off base, but if you wish to remain here, there are conditions you must meet."

Mary fixed her gaze on him, unblinking. "What are your conditions?"

Wang Xiao presented her with an outfit. "Wear this uniform and assist me in monitoring two girls."

Mary examined the garment—a maid\'s uniform—and a flicker of disgust crossed her expression.

Clearly, it was not to her liking.

"That\'s all?" she queried, skepticism lacing her tone.

"Yes," Wang Xiao affirmed.

A heavy silence fell between them as Mary stared blankly, her eyes piercing into him. Wang Xiao felt a chill crawl over his skin.

Her eyes, deeply hollow and chilling, seemed to gaze through him...

Her skin was ashen, almost ghostly pale, as though she had not seen the light of day for ages...

Her shoulders, delicate and seemingly untouched by time...

"Why did you choose to go back into the tunnel?" Mary finally broke the silence, voicing the question that had lingered in her mind for far too long.

Wang Xiao\'s face registered suprise. "Again? That was actually my first time."

Mary looked genuinely stunned. "??" She hadn\'t expected this.

He wasn\'t a Deviant then?

This explained her ignorance about him.

But her query inadvertently sparked Wang Xiao\'s own curiosity. "How many attempts did it take you before you found the portal to Earth?" he inquired.

"How many times?" Mary\'s brow creased in perplexity.

"Did I say something incorrect? Or perhaps you don\'t recall? I can find out for myself." He moved to step closer, as if to probe her memories, but Mary quickly extended her hand, halting his advance.

"Why would it take multiple attempts? Do you keep dying until, by some fluke, you stumble upon the portal on the outside?" she posed the question as if it were the only conceivable explanation.

"The people who failed to find the portal probably never made it to this world. They might be lost in some other world, most likely dead by now." She added, observing Wang Xiao\'s increasingly somber demeanor.

Silence enveloped them.

The more Mary spoke, the more grim Wang Xiao\'s expression became.

He vividly recalled the first portal encounter—there were living entities, yet they were distinctly not human.

Was he somehow destined to go into that portal?

And what exactly was that mysterious place—could it be Hell?