Deviant: No Longer Human

"Bring back the gods?" Wang Xiao echoed, his brows knitting in confusion and intrigue.

Luna nodded, a chuckle escaping her lips. "They were trying to recreate gods through extreme body conditioning. For that, they set up their base at Shaolin, training the monks from childhood, making them tough enough to endure bullets. They conducted deadly experiments to make them invincible.

There was a rumor that the experiment failed terribly," she narrated, her tone hinting at the gravity of such endeavors.

She chuckled again, a hint of irony in her laughter. "However, it appears they've hidden a few successful 'toys' from prying eyes."

______

Wang Xiao's mind was a filled with questions and theories.

Anran's situation was indeed perplexing. Being pursued by Gabriel was one thing, but to have the Dharma Council on her trail as well? It didn't add up.

Anran, with her petite stature and seemingly mild demeanor, hardly appeared as someone who would attract such powerful enemies.

The sound of a door clicking gently open interrupted his contemplations.

Josephine re-entered the cabin, her arrival marked by a slight awkwardness as she noticed the charged atmosphere.

Luna, ever the embodiment of grace under pressure, quickly composed herself, adjusting her attire and hair before gracefully returning to her seat.

The dynamics within the cabin shifted subtly with Josephine's return, a brief interlude of normalcy in an otherwise tense journey.

As the plane soared above Norhaven, the voice of Marcus broke through the cabin's relative silence. [We won't be able to land nearby, but the monastery down below is exactly what we've been looking for], he announced from the cockpit.

Without hesitation, Wang Xiao rose from his seat, his determination palpable. "I'll go and take a look," he declared, moving towards the emergency exit with a decisiveness that left no room for doubt.

Josephine, still processing the sudden turn of events, could only watch in stunned silence.

Before she could voice her concerns, the cabin was filled with the sound of alarms blaring, a cacophony of warnings that sent Marcus into madness.

Beep! Beep!

"What the hell!?" he exclaimed, grappling with the controls as the plane rocked with the unexpected breach. "Who opened the emergency gate?"

Luna, quick to react, secured Josephine, ensuring her safety amidst the chaos.

Whoosh!

The door, after a few tense seconds, sealed itself shut, the alarms ceasing as suddenly as they had begun.

But Wang Xiao was gone, vanished into the thin air outside.

"D-did he jump!?" Josephine managed to utter, her voice a mix of disbelief and shock.

Luna, unfazed, simply shrugged. "He did jump."

"What!?" Josephine's incredulity was palpable. "B-But we're mid-air flying—" Her protest was cut short by her own realization of the sheer audacity of Wang Xiao's action.

Shaking off her disbelief, she moved with purpose towards the cockpit, intent on coordinating with Marcus for more information.

______

Swoosh!

As Wang Xiao plunged from the aircraft, his figure cut through the cold, crisp air with the precision of a falcon descending upon its prey.

Below him, the monastery emerged from the midst of a dense forest, an ancient edifice that seemed to whisper tales of the forgotten and the mystical.

Its walls, aged and weathered by time, stood steadfast amidst the sprawling greenery that enveloped it, an evidence to the resilience and the enduring spirit of those who dwelled within.

The northern lights, a mesmerizing dance of colors across the night sky, cast an ethereal glow over the scene, bathing the monastery and the surrounding forest in hues of green, purple, and blue.

The surreal illumination added a layer of otherworldliness to Wang Xiao's descent, as if he were falling not just towards a physical location but into a realm where the boundaries between the earthly and the divine blurred.

The monastery itself was a sprawling complex of buildings, with sloping tiled roofs that gleamed under the celestial light show overhead.

Towering statues of deities stood guard at the entrance, their features noble and serene, offering silent blessings to all who approached.

The central courtyard, visible even from the air, was an oasis of calm, with meticulously maintained gardens that hinted at the discipline and devotion of the monks.

As Wang Xiao neared the ground, the rustle of the trees in the light wind and the distant sound of chanting reached his ears, a serene soundtrack to his audacious approach.

_______

In the serene courtyard of the monastery, under the ethereal glow of the northern lights, the tension was enough to silence the natural symphony of the night sounds.

"Hm?" Shi Yan, standing with a commanding presence, suddenly cast his gaze upwards, a frown marring his otherwise impassive features.

His attention, caught by an anomaly in the sky, signaled an unexpected turn in the night's proceedings.

"Elder Shi Yan, is something wrong?" Shi Lei, stationed nearby, couldn't help but inquire, his curiosity piqued by the elder's sudden alertness.

The monastery, despite its peaceful appearance, was transformed into a fortress, with over fifty guards armed with automatic rifles encircling the compound.

A helicopter, its lights cutting through the darkness, stood ready in a clearing to the left, a silent testament to the seriousness of their vigil.

Shi Yan, his gaze still fixed on the sky, responded with a calm that belied the oddity of his statement. "It's nothing. I just felt someone was falling from the sky." The words, absurd in any other context, carried a weight in the charged atmosphere of the courtyard.

Shi Lei, momentarily taken aback, laughed nervously. "Haha... Elder, you won't be joking, how is this possible?" His disbelief was evident, a natural response to the improbability of such an occurrence.

"Do you doubt my words?" Shi Yan's sharp turn and piercing gaze sent a clear message of warning.

His authority, unquestioned within the ranks, demanded respect and belief, even in the face of the unbelievable.

Shi Lei, feeling the weight of Shi Yan's scrutiny, immediately silenced his doubts, a shiver running down his spine as he acknowledged the folly of questioning the elder's senses.

"Why isn't the people from your side here yet?" Shi Yan redirected his attention to Zach, the lead guard of the opposing faction, his tone indicating an impatience for the proceedings to commence.

Zach, ever wary of the monastery's occupants and their disdain for his group, replied with a glance towards the monks. "There are still a few hours before the designated time for the exchange."

The tension between the two groups was evident, with Shi Lei expressing open contempt. "Humph, if not for the supreme one directing us to purge this evil personally, we would never help sinners like you. Your aura stinks," he declared, his disgust for the alliance, however temporary, clear.