Deviant: No Longer Human

As he slipped into his clothes, Aurora leaned in close, her voice a conspiratorial whisper as she unveiled her reason for wanting Valen eliminated.

"You can actually do that...? I thought you wouldn\'t get involved in this?" Wang Xiao asked, his surprise evident as he fastened the buttons on his shirt.

With a sly grin, Aurora replied, "It\'s okay, I\'m not stepping into the war itself. I\'m merely lending you a trick." Her voice tapered off into a murmur, her words tumbling out almost as an afterthought, "...and if she has any qualms about it, she can simply tack it onto my list of crimes at the end. Not that it would sway her judgment anyway."

"..."

Wang Xiao noticed her murmuring or grumbling about something—or someone—as she bowed her head, her gaze fixed on her feet.

It might have been endearing, if only he could overlook the words she muttered, judgment and prosecution.

"Who is it... Athene?" he asked, his curiosity piqued.

Aurora lifted her head, her movements gentle, and shook it slightly. "I can slip from Athene\'s grasp with ease," she said, a small smile playing on her lips as she cast a clever glance towards the sky, as if to taunt an unseen adversary enemy.

Wang Xiao, "Then...?"

"It\'s someone else, merely some people who start to lord over others after gaining a shred of power," she muttered, her lips curling into a pout.

Wang Xiao raised an eyebrow, baffled.

How could anyone dare to bully this woman?

"Is it serious?" He needed to know, regardless of whether she was jesting.

"A bit, perhaps," Aurora murmured.

"You can\'t even escape?" he asked, his voice tinged with surprise.

Aurora fell silent before slowly shaking her head. "If I use my full strength, the damage would be catastrophic. That\'s precisely why none of us are permitted to engage in direct conflicts; we can\'t risk tearing the continents again." she explained, her chuckle light yet tinged with an uncertainty she herself seemed unsure of.

"Can\'t fight and can\'t even die, so what\'s the problem?" Wang Xiao pressed, his curiosity sharpening.

"I\'m constrained, but she isn\'t," Aurora replied, her tone laced with a mix of admiration and frustration. "Her ability to combat a single opponent is best—no weapons, no destruction."

Wang Xiao shrugged dismissively. "Let her fight, it\'s not like you would die."

Aurora\'s expression darkened, and she fell into a pensive silence. "What if someone can regenerate from a single atom? And I were to split them, atom by atom, and scatter each one as far as possible from the others, forbidding their reunion or regeneration? You wouldn\'t die, but nor would you truly be alive."

Wang Xiao was left speechless.

Hearing about this mysterious person now seemed to irk him even more.

Aurora, seeking to shift his focus, smoothly pulled something from her sleeve and extended her hand, palm open.

"Once you break the upper glass, this will allow you to masquerade as Valen for a few hours. Keep it close, perhaps in your pocket," she explained, her voice low and conspiratorial.

"Hmmm?" Wang Xiao leaned closer, his gaze fixating on a small, crystal-clear orb resting in her palm, about 2 cm in diameter.

Within it, nestled another intricate crystal sphere. His curiosity piqued about how she had crafted such a device.

Sensing that now was not the time for questions, he carefully plucked it from her hand and tucked it into his pocket.

This diversion was precisely what she had hoped for.

Gabrial was planning a surprise attack from behind, and now Wang Xiao could turn the surprise against him by impersonating Valen.

Ironically, the situation amused Wang Xiao.

He had gradually come to recognize that Aurora was more than she seemed—a crafty trickster operating subtly under the radar.

Seeing her slight, mysterious smile, he couldn\'t help but feel a pang of sympathy for those around her.

How many had she deceived until now?

However, he quickly noticed that she hadn\'t yet pulled her hand back.

She still held it out, as if expecting something in return.

"What?" Wang Xiao asked, puzzled.

Aurora curled her fingers, a playful gleam in her eye as she signaled, "My gift, where is it?"

"..."

Wang Xiao was left speechless.

His eyes twitched at the sight of her self-satisfied smile, clearly indicating she had orchestrated this moment.

She demanded a gift in exchange for her gift.

Yin Yue couldn\'t help but chuckle, observing the awkwardness, [She has a point, but you don\'t have a gift.]

Wang Xiao found himself in a particularly tricky situation today.

Thankfully, his quick thinking hadn\'t deserted him yet.

He gently curled her fingers back, grasping her hand between his and giving it a light squeeze. "For that, you need to survive. If you don\'t meet me after one month, no gift for you," he declared.

Aurora\'s eyes widened in surprise, then softened into a small, knowing smile as she pulled her hand back.

"Okay," she replied with a casual air.

Wang Xiao\'s face twitched in disbelief. Moments ago, she was hinting at her potential death, yet now, lured by the prospect of a gift, she casually vowed to survive?

It seemed these creatures could indeed go to great lengths for a gift.

It appeared that no matter their age, their fundamental nature didn\'t change much.

______

Deep within the rural heart of China, at a location veiled in secrecy!

The landscape was dominated by lush, golden wheat fields that stretched out like a vast sheets across the village farmland.

Nestled in the midst of this golden expanse, a girl sat in tranquil isolation, her attire a flowing ensemble of white and grey fabrics designed to ward off the oppressive heat.

Her head was shielded by a Guo-Ye, a traditional wide-brimmed hat crafted by the bamboo-weaving farmers of Shandong.

This sizable hat cast a shadow over her entire face, providing solace as she reclined leisurely on the unyielded earth.

Her posture was relaxed, with one leg stretched out casually and the other bent, drawing close to her chest.

She was leisurely chewing on a stick of sugar cane, grasping the fibrous stalk with hands that seemed too delicately sculpted for such rustic pleasures.

Her slender, almost fragile fingers suggested an otherworldly grace, weaving an aura of mystery around whether she truly belonged to the mundane realm of earth.