Deviant: No Longer Human

"I see..."

Wang Xiao rose to his feet, dusting off his clothes. His gaze shifted to Umbra. "We'll pick this up later," he said with a faint smirk. "First, let me patch that up. But don't get your hopes up, it won't be flying for the next three days."

A lie... Of course.

He could have healed it instantly, snapped his fingers, and the crow would be in the air by morning.

But he didn't want her leaving just yet.

Velkhara's brows knit, her fingers clenching the sheet beneath her. "Three days? I'm already two weeks late getting back... Can't you speed it up?"

She looked at his back, voice softer now, a hint of desperation.

He chuckled. "I'm a mage, not a god."

She nodded, biting her lip, she wasn't stupid.

Just frustrated, tired, and very, very out of place.

Then Wang Xiao turned to her again. "But," he said, "if you're here anyway, might as well make it worthwhile. I can help you… strengthen the bond between you and that beast."

She stared at him like he was mad. "That's not possible."

"You sure?"

"It's only possible when we're born… after that, never."

He tilted his head. "That's the lie they told you."

She blinked.

Without waiting, he tossed a thick white towel at her. "Take your clothes off. Wrap this around you."

"What?" Her hands gripped the towel, she had never seen something so soft, so foreign.

"Don't worry. I've seen bodies before. Yours isn't that special yet, grow for a few more years first," he added, smirking before walking out of the room.

She looked up to object, but he was already gone.

Left her no room to say no, no space to decide.

She hesitated, and looked around, the chandelier flickered above, that lion's head mounted on the wall watched her like a ghost of something ancient.

Left with no choice, stood frozen, cheeks flushed, eyes darting around the room. The towel felt soft in her hands, far softer than anything her tribe had ever used.

She hesitated but bit her lip and undressed, the fabric sliding off her smooth skin. She wrapped the towel around herself, barely covering her chest, her smooth white bare charming legs exposed beneath the hem.

When Wang Xiao returned, she was already sitting stiffly on the bed, white shoulders exposed, looking like a cornered deer.

He sat behind her, calm and unbothered to her shyness, his hands went to her shoulders.

"Ah!" she flinched.

Slap!

Her hand flew up instinctively, but he caught it and slapped it down.

"Don't move."

She froze, like his prey.

He tossed a pillow into her lap. "Bite it."

"Eh?" she looked back in confusion. "It won't hurt that..."

It did.

Her whole body tensed, her nerves ignited like they were wired to a storm. A scream burst from her lips before she even knew she was screaming.

Cold sweat drenched her back in seconds.

She clutched the pillow in her mouth, biting down with enough force to tear it.

Tears fell like tiny droplets of water, her vision blurred, she couldn't tell where her own pain began and where Umbra's ended.

Then something shifted.

She blinked, and her body was across the room.

No... Her body was there.

And she… she was inside Umbra.

Eyes wide, frozen.

She was staring at herself.

Sweating, crying.

Before she could process the sensation, her soul was yanked back, snapped into her own body like a whip returning to its handle.

Her chest rose sharply. She turned, wide-eyed, staring at Wang Xiao.

And for a brief second, she shivered.

Who is this man?

"See?" he said, smiling faintly. "I didn't lie… Let's continue."

She blinked, stunned. Then nodded slowly, her body still trembling a little, yet following his instruction without protest. Like a student in front of her master... Or a kitten, pawing at a lion's shadow.

They continued. Strange postures, sensations, ethereal links drawn tight like strings under his touch. It was intimate, not sexual, but a little bit too invasive.

He had touched her soul.

When it was finally over, she escaped to the bath, the warm water washing her sweat-soaked skin. She stared at the ceiling, cheeks burning.

Only now did she realize… the entire time, she had been wrapped in nothing but that single white towel, legs bare, shoulders exposed, practically naked in front of him.

"Stupid, stupid girl…" she muttered, slapping her cheeks, face flushing harder.

But she couldn't help it, a foolish smile curled at her lips.

She could feel Umbra now. Fully. Her vision blurred, and just like that, she slipped into her beast's mind.

He was outside, resting… and Wang Xiao?

Sitting on the balcony, sipping tea, watching the horizon like nothing had happened.

He didn't notice her gaze.

Her heart skipped.

If she couldn't feel it now, she never would, this man wasn't just powerful. He was beyond comprehension. Mages this strong didn't fight wars. They ended them, and lived alone, unbothered.

She assigned him that category in her mind, one of those wandering calamities hidden in plain sight.

She slipped into the white dress he'd tossed her, loose, soft, strangely smooth on the skin. She hadn't seen fabric like this before. She pulled it over her head, the hem brushing just above her knees. It didn't hug her body completly, but it covered in the right places when she moved.

Her fingers ran along the edge of the neckline. "Too wide…" she mumbled, blushing.

And then, just a bit excited, she checked Umbra again.

Still unnoticed.

With a grin, she walked out barefoot, humming under her breath.

Wang Xiao glanced up from the balcony.

"What are you smiling about?" he asked, eyeing her expression.

"Nothing," she said quickly, shaking her head.

But after a beat, she opened her mouth again. "I just…"

He raised an eyebrow, silent.

She swallowed her words and looked to the bed he sat on, one leg lazily stretched across the frame.

"…Where am I going to sleep?"

Wang Xiao raised a brow, didn't answer immediately.

She bit her lip again, face slightly red, her voice turned softer, more uncertain.

"…Don't you have other rooms?" she asked, her tone hesitant.

The moment she said it, she winced inwardly. Of course, this castle should have more rooms.

Wang Xiao, seated comfortably on the massive bed, glanced up at her with a slight frown. "We don't have any more clear rooms," he said casually. Then after a moment, he looked at the bed and added, "This bed is too big for me alone... If you want, you can sleep on the other side."

Velkhara blinked. "I-I can sleep on the ground," she said quickly, awkwardly, her fingers gripping the hem of her nightgown.

Wang Xiao shook his head, not unkindly. "Not a good idea. Bad spirits roam at night. If you're not close to me, I wouldn't know what happened to you. I haven't had visitors in the last ten centuries."

Her eyes widened. "Ten... centuries?"

"More or less. Time tends to blur when you stop aging."

Velkhara stared at him, unsure whether to be scared or impressed. She took a small, unsure step toward the bed. "So you're really that old? But you don't look... I mean… you look really young."

"I moisturize," he deadpanned.

She gave a tiny nervous laugh, then looked at the bed again. After a few more seconds of hesitation, she finally climbed up and sat on the far edge, pulling the blanket around her like a shield.

"You can face your back to me if that helps," Wang Xiao said, turning his gaze to the ceiling. "I won't bite."

Velkhara nodded and did exactly that, her back to him. But her voice came soft, a little guilty. "I don't think you'd do anything. I just… my mother used to say... avoid the strong and the weak. One will devour you. The other will drag you down."

He raised an eyebrow. "Wise woman..."

"She says people like you are dangerous without trying to be," Velkhara whispered, then added hurriedly, "I mean, not in a bad way! Just... like, powerful. I've never met someone who can touch souls."

Wang Xiao remained quiet for a while. Then he said, "You're right. I am dangerous. But not to you... Not unless you give me a reason."

There was another silence, until Velkhara mumbled, "I don't think I could ever give you a reason."

He turned his head slightly, looking at her silhouette beneath the blanket. "Good. That makes two of us."

Velkhara's breath caught for a second. Her lips curved into a faint smile, even if she didn't understand why.

Eventually, she whispered, "Do you ever get lonely?"

Wang Xiao kept his eyes closed. "All the time. You just stop noticing after a few centuries."

She bit her lip, clutching the blanket tighter. "Have you ever cried? Or were you always… like this?"

He let out a breath, staring at the ceiling. "When do you think people cry?"

Velkhara thought for a second. "When they're hurt?"

"No. When they're hurt, they scream. Crying happens when they can't do anything about the loss... It's helplessness… breaking loose. Some scream to lessen it, but if they could do something about it…"

"They'd turn it into anger," she finished. "Like revenge."

Wang Xiao gave a faint smile. "... Yes."

A breathe of silence followed.

"…You're asleep already?" she whispered softly after a minute.

No answer.

She turned her head, he was lying still, flat on his back, eyes closed, no blanket covering him, chest rising with quiet breaths.

"…Seriously?"

she muttered.