Deviant: No Longer Human

The waiter stepped forward to greet her, but his words caught in his throat as he met her hollow, haunting gaze.

Gasp!

His face drained of color, and he stumbled back slightly, a low murmur of "Oh..." escaping his lips.

"Who is this now?" Seraphina set down her chopsticks with a clatter, her interest piqued by the disturbance.

The restaurant, styled like an ancient pavilion, hummed with the quiet sounds of dining—chopsticks clicking against bowls, soft sips of tea.

Mary stood still at the threshold, her eyes sweeping across the room until they landed on the twins.

In a voice that carried over the soft din, she asked, "Which one of you all comes from the Sun Dynasty?"

"..."

"..."

The room fell silent, the only sounds the soft rustle of fabric as everyone turned to look at Snow and Xavier.

"Uhhh....." Snow, her lips parting slightly, looked to her brother, a flicker of apprehension crossing her delicate features.

Xavier, swallowing hard, met her gaze with a steady one of his own, his hand reaching out to grasp hers under the table.

"Us," Snow\'s voice was a whisper, yet it resonated in the sudden silence of the pavilion. "We are of the Sun Dynasty."

Xavier nodded, his voice stronger, steadier. "We are the children of the dynasty you speak of. Why are you searching for us?" His eyes narrowed slightly as he studied Mary, trying to gauge her intentions.

Mary stepped forward, "I have a news that concerns you directly," she declared, her eyes locked onto theirs. "The Sun Dynasty... your homeland has suffered a catastrophe."

Snow, "What!?"

Xavier, "How is this possible?"

A gasp rippled through the room, chopsticks paused mid-air, and the sound of breathing seemed loud in the hushed atmosphere.

Seraphina leaned forward, her interest now fully captured. "What kind of catastrophe?" Her voice was a mix of concern and curiosity.

Mary\'s next words were heavy, "Your dynasty was cursed by a powerful being. Everyone—every living soul—was extinguished. Lakes of blood now flow where your cities stood."

"Powerful beings.... who..." Snow\'s face went pale, her grip on Xavier tightening.

A stifled sob escaped her as she bowed her head, her other hand covering her mouth.

Xavier remained stoic, but his eyes, brimming with sudden grief, betrayed his anguish.

"Destroyed? All of it?" he managed to keep his voice suspicious of Mar\'s claim, yet his voice cracked with the strain of his emotions.

Mary nodded solemnly. "Yes, completely annihilated. For now, you must consider yourselves the last of the Sun Dynasty."

The pavilion, once a bastion of light-hearted dining and conversation, descended into silence by the words that had just been delivered.

Seraphina\'s gaze shifted worriedly towards Snow and Xavier, who seemed to be silently pleading for her help.

Despite her fear of the mysterious bloody aura around Mary, Seraphina didn\'t falter.

With Wang Xiao still in the city, she found a reserve of courage and sighed resolutely, "Don\'t you know spreading false news in my land can get you into jail? How can a dynasty be erased so easily?"

Mary glanced at Seraphina, sizing her up.

Her eyes lingered with a subtle tremor on Seraphina\'s hips, pondering if this woman was destined to bear more heirs for her master.

She replied coolly, "It was destroyed by the Eighth Prince. If you have any questions, ask him directly. For now, I am here to conclude my business."

Since Seraphina was Wang Xiao\'s consort, Mary chose not to make things difficult for her directly but instead focused her attention on the siblings.

Whoosh!

With a swift motion, Mary waved her hand, and Xavier\'s head was severed from his body.

His eyes widened in shock as he toppled forward, his head crashing into the soup bowl with a splash and a crash, sending droplets and shards flying, freezing Snow in sheer horror.

Splash! Crash!

"You have to come with me; he is in need of experimental subjects," Mary stated bluntly, her tone devoid of emotion.

Without waiting for a response or allowing anyone time to intervene, she grabbed Snow by the wrist and dragged her towards the exit.

"You! Leave me! My father will kill you all!" Snow\'s voice broke through the chaos, her resistance futile as tears welled up in her eyes, sparkling like crystals of fallen snow.

At the entrance, Snow\'s sobs grew louder, her resistance more desperate.

The situation had passed so swiftly that no one in the pavilion had been able to fully grasp what was happening.

"M-Mom?"

William\'s voice broke through the silence, his eyes wide as he stared at the now headless body of Xavier.

He shivered, unable to reconcile the scene with the memories of their time at university, all of them batchmates in the same department.

How could things have ended like this?

"I... I am going—ugh!" Olivia gasped, her face twisted as she struggled to suppress the urge to vomit.

Clamping her hand over her mouth, she darted towards the washroom.

Jamie\'s face had drained of all color, his eyes fixed on the spot where Xavier had last stood.

Seraphina, witnessing the horror unfold in her establishment, turned sharply to the waiter. "Can you call someone to clear this mess?" she demanded, her voice trembling slightly.

The waiter, obviously bewildered by the request—they had never dealt with anything remotely like this before—stuttered, "W-we... we don\'t have—"

"Sigh... Just go outside, and grab the nearest guard!" Seraphina interrupted, her tone firm.

She expected the guards who secretly protected her to be nearby, ready to intervene.

Confused but understanding the urgency, the waiter nodded and hurried out.

Meanwhile, other staff members were frantically calling the police, their hands shaking as they dialed.

Still shaken by the sight of the head lying grotesquely apart from its body, Seraphina turned back to her son, her voice soft but fraught with tension. "William, I need to tell you something."

"W-What?" William\'s voice quivered, sensing the grave tone in his mother\'s words.

His heart pounded with fear.

Were they going to die too?

What was happening?

Seraphina\'s eyes were steely as she spoke in a serious tone, "First, as I told you earlier, I am not pregnant. Second, Wang Xiao... you saw him earlier. He and I—nevermind that. Just don\'t breathe a word about it to anyone, or you could be lying dead next. Also, try not to speak much around him."

"Huh?" William was visibly stunned.

How was Wang Xiao involved in all of this?

Seraphina had always moved cautiously, especially given Wang Xiao\'s unpredictable nature.

To avoid conflicts, William had been conveniently sent away during Wang Xiao\'s stays, particularly after Josephine recounted how William\'s first meeting with Wang Xiao had ended unfavorably.

Consequently, William remained oblivious to the true nature and identity of Wang Xiao.

"What happened... Did you tell someone?" Seraphina\'s voice was sharp, her gaze piercing as she noticed William\'s uneasy glance towards his phone.

"I... I texted Josephine."