Deviant: No Longer Human

"Uh… why are you standing in the corner?"

This woman, standing there with a sword in such a careless posture, right after revealing a dead emperor's skeleton—honestly, even Buddha himself would have lost patience by now.

"Just explain from there…" Wang Xiao asserted, his tone firm.

Aurora blinked, glancing down at the sword resting casually in her hand, then back at him. "Really?"

Her first reaction was disbelief, a faint smirk pulling at the corner of her mouth.

"Just… stay there." Wang Xiao held up a hand to keep her from coming closer, a cautious smile barely masking his wariness.

He liked women, sure—but he valued his life even more. If life had taught him anything, it was not to dive into holes whose depths he couldn't measure...

And right now, Aurora, with that sword in hand and that unreadable look in her eyes, felt like a bottomless chasm.

"Whatever… keep it. It might help you," Aurora said, slightly exasperated by his skittishness, and tossed the blade toward him.

SWOOSH!

Wang Xiao instinctively caught the hilt, his initial reaction one of bewilderment, which quickly morphed into surprise as he felt the blade's aura.

"This was the weapon used by Aegis's enemy to kill him," Aurora explained, her voice echoing through the silence. "It severed his soul, altered its structure… an irreversible cut into the spirit itself."

Wang Xiao's eyes widened. Aegis's skeleton and his killer's blade… both in her possession? Just how powerful were these items, and why did she have them?

'Who was this woman, really?' The thought sent a chill through him. Could she have been pulling strings even hundreds of millions of years ago? Was she somehow… involved?

His gaze turned suspicious, his thoughts spiraling. Have I ended up with a killer for a wife?

Aurora noticed his wary look, and for once, she actually looked embarrassed. "I'm innocent…" she started, as if to explain herself, but seeing the doubt in his eyes, she shook her head, realizing her words might only make it worse.

"Wait… you mean Aegis was killed?" Wang Xiao finally grasped her words and looked down at the blade in his hand. If this blade had truly severed Aegis's spirit, then shouldn't that mean… he was completely gone?

"Yeah…" Aurora muttered, a hint of exasperation in her tone. Hadn't she already said as much?

"So… you're not trying to revive him?" Wang Xiao asked cautiously, still eyeing the blade as if it held some hidden threat.

Aurora's expression shifted to one of pure bewilderment, her gaze practically asking, 'Why would I?'

"But… Athene…" Wang Xiao muttered, wondering if that woman had just been stirring up trouble.

"Athene what?" Aurora's eyes narrowed, her posture shifting as a spark of suspicion flashed in her gaze. It seemed someone had been feeding him ideas.

Noticing her reaction, Wang Xiao shrugged, feigning innocence as he recounted Athene's words, painting himself as the unwitting bystander and subtly shifting the conflict toward an Aurora vs. Athene scenario.

"That woman!" Aurora's face flushed with disbelief, unable to hold back her frustration. She could hardly stand it, listening to how Athene had been slandering her character behind her back.

She, who had no real home of her own, now had to endure Athene's attempts to tear apart what little she'd managed to build here?

Aurora clenched her fists, her irritation clear, a silent vow to settle this discord clear in her eyes.

"You… you don't believe her, right?" Aurora asked softly, her voice carrying the faintest wisp of uncertainty.

Wang Xiao nodded, his arms circling around her as he pulled her close. "How could I?" he murmured, warm and reassuring. 'Did she think he was so easily swayed?'

"Mmm…" She smiled, snuggling into his embrace, savoring the warmth. But his next words froze her in place.

"It's just… if you knew going into the Graveyard of Gods could kill me, why did you let me?"

Aurora looked up at him, momentarily speechless. 'So much for trust.' He shrugged with that innocent look of his, but she could see his suspicion. 'Does he think I'd plot to take him out in his sleep?'

With an exasperated sigh, she threw her hands up. "It's not even me who pushed you in!"

Didn't he jump in all on his own? And a good woman should support her man's choices, right?

Wang Xiao gave a grudging nod, seeing her point. But before he could press her any further, Aurora lifted a hand, cutting him off.

"Don't even ask!" She huffed, a rosy blush coloring her cheeks. "Even Immortals make stupid decisions — sometimes…"

She trailed off, a soft smile tugging at her lips. Though, letting him stay… it might just be the best 'stupid' decision she'd ever made.

Her gaze softened as she looked into his eyes, feeling her long-frozen heart stir. She had a thousand reasons for letting him into her life, a thousand excuses she'd whispered to herself.

But if she were honest… it was all a whimsical, foolish mistake.

She smiled to herself, remembering that night—a memory she'd never admit out loud.

Naomi was hiding in him, and on that fateful evening, she'd planned to obliterate them both.

But a fleeting, random thought held her back.

'Let him do whatever he's doing…'

Stupid, right? But somehow, it felt right in that moment.

She had no real threat from him. After all, living so long can twist one's mind a bit.

She'd seen it in herself… and in him too, with his reckless chocies—devouring her precious fruits without a second thought, even if it was the worst survival choice possible.

It was the kind of foolishness that made him both infuriating and oddly endearing.

Yet somehow, the ridiculousness of it all had softened her. She'd even let him "assault" her that day, the memory so absurd it made her laugh even now.

How could he have looked cute, trying to take liberties with her, mistaking her for a mere service girl?

Only someone with a strange, twisted mind like hers could look back on that day fondly. She glanced at him again, marveling at how that silly mistake had grown into something so… real.

Now, this guy could actually take liberties with her if he wanted, and she'd be helpless to stop him. Oddly enough, that didn't bother her at all.

Watching her flushed face, Wang Xiao grinned, cupping her cheeks between his fingers. "Haha… I knew it. How could my little wife be so dangerous?"

Aurora rolled her eyes at his cocky laughter. And what about him practically jumping back when she pulled out the sword? A bitter smile tugged at her lips.

Honestly, it was for the best—if he was too trusting, it'd be his downfall, especially with that bad habit of his: putting himself, and certain other things, into every beautiful "hole" he came across.