Deviant: No Longer Human

This forgetten land, Atlantia, whispered only in the tales of old sailors, defies the modern world\'s satellites and maps, persisting in secrecy.

"Doctor, did you found anything...?" Cain inquired, his advanced prosthetic legs, a marvel of science and art, clicked softly against the ancient stone beneath them.

"Yes," Dr. Isabella Mercer turned to face him, her presence commanding yet mysterious.

She was a vision of contrasts—the timelessness of her features was accentuated by the modernity of her attire. Her hair cascaded like a dark river down her shoulders, each strand catching the light as though woven from the twilight itself. Her eyes, a deep emerald, held the glint of untold stories, reflecting a mind that danced on the edge of brilliant discoveries.

There was a certain allure in the delicate curve of her jaw, the softness of her lips—a stark red that spoke of a fierce spirit.

The subtle mark above her brow, a signature of her lineage or perhaps a token of her adventures, added to her mystique.

Despite the chill of the Antarctic air, she wore the weight of her white research coat with an elegance that seemed to transcend the harsh surroundings.

"Our hunch is spot-on. The monstrous creature that emerged from the water two years ago, and the miraculous immortality serum we stumbled upon—they\'re one and the same," she whispered, her fingers casually tracing the ancient inscriptions on the island\'s stone walls.

"You mean...?" Cain\'s eyes quivered with disbelief.

Isabella nodded, her voice tinged with excitement. "Yes, the serum we found could very well be remnants of the beast, perhaps its saliva... We\'re still in the process of confirming."

Cain nodded, his hands trembling like leaves in a storm.

The serum they spoke of shimmered like liquid gold, promising to elongate one\'s existence when properly refined.

It was on that fateful day he lost his legs that they had made their discovery.

Even now, he shudders at the memory of that bone-chilling night.

"But did you discover the origins of the beast!? That\'s even more crucial, Doctor. If we can trace it back to its source, perhaps immortality will truly be within our reach!" Despite the shivers wracking his body, General Cain, wrapped in a thick fur coat, couldn\'t contain his curiosity.

Isabella\'s laughter, soft and mysterious, danced through the chamber like an ethereal melody. "Are you getting greedy, General? Haven\'t you already secured a pathway to heaven?" She teased, her fingers gracefully tracing the ancient characters adorning the walls. Then, with a sudden shift in demeanor, she instructed, "Fetch the ancient scriptures we unearthed at this site."

Cain, fueled by excitement and the prospect of regaining his lost limbs, urgently urged, "Hurry! Don\'t just stand there, bring the books!"

Caught in Isabella\'s knowing gaze, Cain felt a pang of embarrassment. "Doctor, as powerful as the tunnel is, it\'s of no use to us adults," he confessed, acknowledging the limitations of their discovery.

Isabella nodded, her gaze sweeping across the desolate island. Harsh, gray military structures clashed against the wild, untamed greenery, a stark symbol of man\'s intrusion. This island, now ringed with the most advanced tech and security, was a jewel of human achievement and a vault of untold mysteries.

It was discovered fifty years ago, in an age of innocence, when the first fairy was seen gliding through the sky near Icevale. The military, hungry for such wonders, conquered the island after numerous sacrifices.

Yet, the island kept its secrets close, like a sphinx guarding its riddle. Even the famed tunnel to heaven in Frostholm nation, a marvel in its own right, was but a child\'s toy compared to the enigmas here, unearthed from ancient scriptures found on this very soil.

"Here, doctor," Cain said, his voice tinged with reverence. He extended a stack of aged books towards her. Isabella\'s fingers, delicate as the petals of an island flower, selected only the middle tome, leaving the rest untouched.

Cain\'s forehead creased deeply, his brows knitting together in a visible expression of concern and curiosity. "Could this be about the guardians?" he ventured, his voice laced with a blend of hope and caution.

Isabella, her eyes reflecting the depth of her knowledge, gently shook her head, her long hair swaying slightly. "Possibly. But it\'s undeniably linked to this island." She delicately turned the pages of the ancient tome, stopping at a page marked by time.

The image that greeted them was both awe-inspiring and terrifying: a colossal beast, its massive form cast in shadow and light, rampaging through an ancient world, its roars almost audible through the depiction.

"Take a look at this," she whispered, her finger gliding over the aged paper.

Cain leaned in, his eyes tracing the intricate, cryptic script that danced around the image of the beast. The illustration seemed to leap from the page, its ferocity evident, "What does this signify, Doctor? This language is beyond my comprehension."

Isabella\'s voice dropped to a whisper, imbued with the weight of forgotten eras. "Remember the tales of the eight continent?"

"Indeed, Doctor," Cain responded, a spark of recognition in his eyes. "And this island," he said, gesturing towards the rugged landscape of the island stretched under a brooding sky, "is the sole surviving piece of that lost continent, Atlantia, the rest lost to the unforgiving sea."

Isabella\'s smile held a touch of melancholy as she gazed at the ancient illustration. "I think we\'ve stumbled upon the truth behind the destruction of Atlantia, the eighth continent." Her fingers traced the image delicately, outlining a colossal whale in the midst of chaos, its immense form casting shadows over the ruins below. Killer dolphins, depicted with an almost eerie precision.

Cain\'s eyes widened, a light of dawning understanding flickering in them. "You mean these beasts caused the destruction?"

She shook her head slightly, her eyes not leaving the page. "Look closer, right here on the whale\'s back." She pointed to a specific spot on the illustration.

Leaning in, Cain\'s eyes narrowed, focusing intently. His breath caught as he discerned the small, almost inconspicuous figure riding atop the whale. "Is that...?"

"That\'s the real culprit," Isabella confirmed, her voice a mix of awe and solemnity.

Cain\'s expression transformed into one of disbelief. "A child?" he exclaimed, his voice a blend of shock and skepticism. "You mean to tell me a kid was behind the fall of an entire continent?"

Isabella\'s frown deepened, casting a shadow over her usually composed features. "Do you dare question my research?" Her tone was sharp, laced with an edge that hinted at a lurking threat, a stark contrast to her usual calm demeanor.

Cain felt a shiver run down his spine, an uneasy sensation clutching at his heart.

He remembered the change in Isabella ever since she had taken that immortality serum. \'Why did she become so intense, so... fierce?\' he thought, a tinge of envy coloring his thoughts. \'I need that serum too.\'

Aloud, he hastened to appease her, "No, Doctor, I wouldn\'t dare. Please, enlighten me."

Her expression softened into a satisfied smile, the earlier harshness dissipating as quickly as it had appeared. "If my hypothesis is correct, then the girl riding the whale might be the eighth guardian," she declared, her words resonating with a certainty.

"The eighth guardian?" Cain echoed, his voice a mix of astonishment and disbelief. The soldiers stationed behind him, who had been silently observing the exchange, also showed visible signs of surprise, their disciplined composure momentarily slipping away.

Isabella\'s nod was one of conviction, a silent affirmation of truths long buried. "We\'ve always assumed there were only seven guardians, aligning with the seven known continents. But we overlooked this fragment of land, this island—once the eighth continent. If there were eight continents, it stands to reason there were eight guardians."

The place fell into a stunned silence, punctuated only by Cain\'s sharp intake of breath.

The implications of her words were staggering, to say the least.

"But weren\'t the guardians just a myth?" Cain\'s voice was a mix of skepticism and wonder. "We\'ve never seen any evidence of them, not a single one."

Isabella\'s response was a moment of contemplative silence, followed by a soft, knowing giggle. "A myth, you say?" Her eyes twinkled with a mixture of amusement and wisdom. "Then how would you explain the serum of immortality you so covet? The tunnel to the heavens? This very island, teeming with wonders akin to fairy tales? Are all these mere myths to you, General?

Or is age clouding your judgment?"

Cain\'s frown deepened, a clear sign of his displeasure, yet he held back from further argument. "But why is there no mention of this eighth guardian in other texts? Why only seven?"

Isabella\'s finger paused on the page of the ancient book, her mind visibly weaving through the threads of history and mystery. "The absence of any reference to an eighth figure suggests a deliberate attempt to erase her from history... like a dark secret best forgotten." She pondered deeply, her gaze fixed on the image of the colossal beast and the child upon its back.

Then, a spark of realization lit up her eyes. "General, I believe I\'ve uncovered how the eighth continent met its end!"