Deviant: No Longer Human

"Sera, what you see is not always the whole truth. You think this one is not as close to me, and might be superficial on the surface? But why then is she sleeping in such an unguarded manner?" His voice carried no hint of anger or suspicion, just a calm assertion of misunderstood situation.

"!"

Seraphina felt a stir of fear. Had she inadvertently revealed something she shouldn\'t have?

Especially since her understanding of Wang Xiao\'s true strength was limited.

Even from their first meeting, she believed he could crush her effortlessly, and only yesterday had she realized her previous assessments were wildly underestimated.

His power had soared beyond the expectations of the world.

It wasn\'t just her; a pervasive sense of crisis loomed globally.

Even some Guardians found it hard to accept that he had obliterated an entire dynasty in the span of ten breaths, without any prior planning or external assistance.

"I..." Seraphina\'s lips, pale from the cold as they approached the glacier, quivered. \'It\'s so hard to see through him...\' she thought inwardly. He seemed so calm, so why did she feel this instinctual fear again?

"Poof... Aunt Sera, you don\'t understand Yue at all." Wenxi, who had been eavesdropping, broke into a small smile, finding it unusual to see Seraphina act like a stranger and appear anxious.

Her father might have a fearsome reputation, but he wasn\'t easily provoked.

You could speak freely around him without fear of offense.

Otherwise, with his temper and the antics of her mother, she thought that her mother would have met the king of the underworld a thousand times over by now.

Seraphina\'s glare hardened at Wenxi\'s audacious remark. "Little girl, just because he is sitting here, you think you can slander me and get away with it?"

The idea of not even being taken seriously by the younger generation was utterly unacceptable to her.

The true reason behind her hesitation was deeper, a matter weighing on her heart that she struggled to articulate.

And now, Wenxi\'s teasing had driven Seraphina to her limits, her teeth gritted as she leaned in to impart a stern lesson.

"Dad..." Wenxi\'s voice trembled slightly, her face draining of color as Seraphina advanced.

Unlike her father, she and her sister were mere mortals with only a basic mastery of psychokinesis.

At that moment, Seraphina radiated a chilling aura, both powerful and intimidating.

Wenxi cast a desperate look at Wang Xiao, hoping for a rescue.

But noticing his serene, Buddha-like demeanor, with no intention to intervene, her hope quickly turned to dismay.

To Seraphina\'s satisfaction—and slightly delighted by Wang Xiao\'s nonchalance—it seemed a perfect moment to remind these girls of her seniority.

"Beautiful aunt, please spare me," Wenxi pleaded, her voice quivering slightly. "I promise not to trouble you in the future, and I\'ll even help you with an ice technique!" Her plea, though sounding sincere, was clearly crafted to bribe.

"Huh?" Seraphina paused mid-gesture, visibly taken aback.

Her cheeks reddened slightly, a mix of surprise and mild embarrassment washing over her as she was called \'beautiful\'—a compliment that felt oddly flattering at her age.

She instinctively turned to Wang Xiao, seeking his reaction.

"Humph! It\'s not suitable for me to discipline juniors... What about the ice technique?" Seraphina huffed, letting go of Wenxi.

Her earlier menacing aura dissipated, replaced by a twinge of disappointment that Wang Xiao hadn\'t reacted to the compliment.

Yet, the prospect of learning an ice technique lured her deeply.

In a world where the ways to cultivate and utilize Aether were shrouded in mystery, controlled and regulated by the likes of Mount Olympus, acquiring genuine teachings was a hard task.

The black market, though rife with offerings from Deviants or their kin, was notoriously unreliable.

A single misstep in these forbidden arts could lead to disaster.

Specific elemental techniques were especially rare and coveted.

Seraphina knew about these techniques but recognized her own limitations; without Wang Xiao\'s support, securing such valuable knowledge was very hard for her.

Facing Seraphina\'s expectant gaze, Wenxi felt a surge of responsibility.

"Dad! I want an ice technique!" She turned to Wang Xiao, tugging at his sleeve for support, her expression a mix of determination and lingering resentment for his earlier inaction.

Wang Xiao finally directed his attention to his daughter, noticing her puffed cheeks and earnest expression. "Do you even know what an ice technique is?" he asked, his voice filled with amusement.

The girl, who had barely interacted with Aether until now, seemed overly confident about the existence of such techniquesm?

Wenxi\'s smile widened as she showed Wang Xiao the movie she was watching, exclaiming with youthful enthusiasm, "Obviously, it\'s about Mages!"

Seraphina\'s expression darkened, her teeth clenching in frustration. \'I was played by this little girl!\' she realized, annoyed at the mischief.

Wang Xiao shook his head, surprised and slightly bemused. "These people have already started making movies about this stuff. It seems someone is very desperate for the world to accept the existence of mages."

"Here, keep this." Wang Xiao then pulled a scroll from his sleeves and handed it to Seraphina, startling her.

"Huh? Is this real?" Seraphina unfurled the scroll, her eyes widening in surprise.

Wenxi, watching the exchange, felt a pang of injustice—there really was such a thing?

Then why did they have to labor so diligently at psychokinesis?

Psychokinesis was significantly more challenging without Aether!

Seeing Seraphina with the scroll made Wenxi grit her teeth in determination. "Dad! I also need a few!"

Wang Xiao patted her head soothingly, "Once you master psychokinesis, we can talk about this."

"Eh?" Wenxi was stunned. Master psychokinesis?

Would that not take decades?

And even then, would it truly be enough?

Wang Xiao\'s attention shifted back to Seraphina. "When did you become a mage?" he asked, his curiosity piqued.

In their world, where new terms and techniques were continually emerging, there were multiple methods to refine and utilize Aether.

One such method involved the star map: as long as a person could visualize the star map in their consciousness, they were deemed qualified to become a mage.

For each element, different stars corresponded, and at least one dot within a star needed to be activated to practice that element.

Upon awakening a single dot, an individual could perceive a blurred outline of a star-shaped seal in their consciousness and were thus entitled to be called a \'Novice Mage\' at the first level.