Deviant: No Longer Human

Two hours later…

After the initial shock, Velkhara moved like a curious bird set free, drawn not to caution, but to wonder.

Barefoot, she wandered through the castle's inner halls and down into the abandoned garden. Her dark blue dress trailed behind her, brushing against the stone paths as sunlight poured from above like some long-forgotten blessing.

The garden was strangely well-maintained, as if time had chosen not to touch it. At the center, a circular fountain still trickled, its water shinning in the sun. Velkhara stood by it, stunned.

She raised her face to the light, eyes fluttering closed.

"Warm, so warm..."

She hadn't realized how cold the castle truly was until now.

A slow, shaky breath left her lips… and she smiled.

Then, slowly, she spun in place, arms stretched wide, her dress flaring around her ankles. The sky above was a bright, endless blue, and for a moment, she looked like a child discovering freedom for the first time.

Outside the castle's cast metal gates, gates that had not opened in decades, a few townsfolk had gathered, drawn by the creaking sound of movement.

They saw her.

And froze.

Velkhara dipped her hands into the fountain, splashed her face, then giggled as droplets sparkled in the air. She cupped some water and drank without shame, then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, careless and content.

A mother clutched her child tighter.

"Wait... Is that… a girl?"

"From the castle?"

"Impossible…"

"Don't look! Don't make eye contact!"

"Run, child. Come on!"

Some crossed themselves. Others muttered old blessings. One man stood rooted, whispering, "No one leaves that place. That gate... it's never opened. Ever."

Velkhara, oblivious to their fear, caught sight of the cluster near the wall and waved.

Smiling.

Not like a ghost, not like a witch.

Just a girl.

But that only unsettled them more.

Their expressions paled, and without a word, they scattered, some walking briskly, others breaking into full sprints. Children cried, a man tripped over his sandal.

She stood there watching them go, tilting her head, a faint frown forming.

"…Strange," she murmured, then looked down at her reflection in the water, wet cheeks, messy hair, and those midnight-blue eyes glowing faintly beneath the sun.

She dipped her fingers again, traced a ripple, and whispered to her reflection.

"…Am I really that scary?"

The water didn't answer.

But the castle behind her did.

Its windows, empty just moments ago, were now filled again with shadows.

Watching.

She looked back over her shoulder and waved at the window.

The curtains shifted. Then, creak, the ancient frame groaned open, revealing two silhouettes watching from above.

Without hesitation, she turned and opened the castle's outer gates.

The ones that never opened.

Not in living memory.

And then… she walked out.

Into the streets.

Into the sunlight.

People gasped, with thier eyes widened.

Some made signs to ward off evil.

A few bolted.

But Velkhara didn't even stop. She didn't glance back again. She just kept walking, disappearing down the winding stone path toward the lower town, as if she'd done it a hundred times before.

When she was gone, whispers flooded the streets.

"She walked out..."

"Did you see that?"

"That place was cursed!"

But back in the castle, at the very window she'd waved to, "I didn't… expect that," Yanyan muttered, arms crossed, her usual smugness faintly shaken. "She's weird."

Wang Xiao's eyes were still fixed on the path she'd taken, even long after she was gone. A quiet, amused smile hung on his lips.

"You heard what she said… after waking up?" he asked.

"Hm?" Yanyan turned to him, puzzled.

Was he referring to when she timidly asked, "Am I your wife?"

Or when she panicked, saw the blood on him, and immediately apologized, wiping him like it was her fault?

But Wang Xiao answered his own question.

"She's more afraid of being abandoned than assaulted."

Just that.

A few calm words.

But they buzzed in Yanyan's ears like wasps.

When she thought about it… yes.

It made sense.

Velkhara hadn't screamed in hatred.

Hadn't cursed.

She cried, and apologized? She even wiped him clean like a girl afraid her first night had displeased her man.

Then, that question, "Am I your wife?", wasn't innocence.

It was fear.

Fear of being discarded.

Yanyan scoffed softly, clicking her tongue. "Silly girl…"

She turned and walked away into the hallway, heels echoing in the stone corridor.

She had seen her father with countless women.

Some were beautiful, others tragic.

Many waited, some died old, still waiting.

But he never kept any.

The last time Wang Xiao truly accepted a woman into his life… was before he gained this much power.

Before graveyard of gods...

Since then?

They were just ornaments.

Even those new ones who stayed, Zhao Lian, Yuzuki—they weren't truly new.

They were bound to his past.

They had names that belonged to his history, not the present.

Zhao Lian, daughter of Asmodeus.

Yuzuki, deputy of Luna.

Zhang Sisi, his old classmate.

There was a pattern.

Somewhere along the line, he'd stopped letting new people in.

No matter how many women he devoured... None truly made it in.

The entry list had closed.

That night, they shared a quiet meal.

No drama, and definitely no strange gazes, just food, and silence, and a few glances that lingered longer than necessary.

Afterward, as the castle grew quiet and the moonlight spilled through arched windows, they returned to the room.

Velkhara hesitated for just a second at the door.

But in the end… she followed him to bed.

Not quite walking.

Not quite resisting either.

Meanwhile, Yanyan was elsewhere, draped in shadows, moving like wind through rooftops and abandoned towers. She was investigating the recent whispers from the East.

A new Hero had appeared.

Aegis.

She smiled.

Probably him. Trying to build a name for himself.

Even if he had become a Transcendent, Wang Xiao had already lost interest. After reading the records of his past life… it felt like knowing the end of a story before the middle even got exciting.

"He won't ever come close to my father," Yanyan had muttered earlier, perched over a high bell tower, gazing toward the horizon.

And she meant it.

There were differences, even within the same realm of strength. Elements, comprehension, all played a part. Even at the level of gods, some were meant to rule. Others were just noise.

Like her.

She was only Quasi-Transcendent, but with her dark energy, she could already slip past the senses of most full Transcendents. A shadow with no weight.

But she also knew…

She had no path forward.

No true breakthrough into transcendent.

In truth, returning to the past with Wang Xiao was a selfish escape. A loophole. Here, she could train freely for hundreds of millions of year, devour techniques, and deepen her darkness.

But the price of returning… wasn't hers to pay.

He'd told her already: when he reset everything to go back to the present, he'd consume so much of his divine energy that he might lose more divinity than he had gained in all these years. If she had tried to do it alone… it would've shattered her.

Forget Quasi-Transcendent.

She might've dropped back to Immortal realm… or worse.

This little window of indulgence she was enjoying?

It existed because he was shouldering the weight.

Back in the castle…

The bed creaked softly as Wang Xiao laid back, half-asleep, arms behind his head.

"Hey! Hey, don't sleep yet."

Velkhara's voice chirped.

He cracked one eye open.

She leaned over him from the side of the bed, lips puffed into a subtle pout. Her dress was slightly wrinkled from sitting cross-legged too long, and her hair looked like it had been wrestled by a pillow and lost.

"How about… you teach me some magic instead?" she said, innocently.

Wang Xiao didn't answer.

So she took that as permission.

Slipping under the blanket, she nudged closer. One hand gripped his collar, tugging lightly, and then, boldly, she climbed on top of him, sitting astride his chest like a little bandit.

Her legs swung idly on either side of his torso, eyes staring into his, wide and expectant.

"...You're not gonna do anything to me tonight, right?" Velkhara asked softly, tilting her head. Her tone was careful, like she was confirming something she already suspected.

Wang Xiao cracked one eye open. "And how did you infer that?"

Velkhara gave a tiny hum, looking away. "It's been… an hour. You haven't even tried anything. I thought maybe…"

"…Maybe what?"

"That you were… I don't know, tired? Or… bored of me?" She tried to make it sound teasing, but her voice dipped at the end.

He stared at her for a moment in silence.

Then, without a word, his hands slid to her thighs and parted them.

Her lips quivered. "Wait...ah!"

The blanket shifted, her dress bunched up around her waist, and in one swift pull, her underwear was down. Her eyes widened as she felt him press against her already sore place from last night.

"You—" she gasped, half in pain as he pushed in, slow but merciless, the stretch making her whimper. "Why are you… so merciless?"

Wang Xiao's lips curved into a faint smile. He brushed his hand lazily through her hair, fingers threading above her head as if petting her. "Don't celebrate too early…"

She bit her lip hard, "You planned this…"

"Mm." His voice was calm, but there was an edge of amusement. "You sounded too sure of yourself."

Velkhara winced at the slow drag inside her, her body still tender. It hurt, but not the same way as last night...This time, there was strange itch with it.