Deviant: No Longer Human

"What... are you doing here?" Amelia's voice emerged hoarse, as if unused to conversation, her form slowly rising to confront the unexpected visitor.

Bing Xueli, momentarily rooted to the spot, found her gaze drawn away from Amelia. The flick of the switch had unveiled chaos, the laboratory's secrets laid bare under the unforgiving light.

Her eyes locked onto the large test tubes on the left, their contents suspended in a sickly green liquid. "T-That's...." she stammered, her voice trailing off as shock took hold.

Amelia's response, tired yet resigned, broke the silence. "No need to be surprised, it's dead."

The casualness of her declaration sent a shiver down Bing Xueli's spine, her mind racing as she tried to process the scene before her.

The disarray of the laboratory, once a bastion of scientific pursuit, now resembled a scene from a forgotten nightmare.

Test tubes, papers strewn about, and the mysterious specimen floating lifelessly in its green tomb—all painted a picture of obsession, desperation, and perhaps, a hint of madness.

Bing Xueli's shock morphed into a deep contemplation, her eyes wide as she revisited every detail of the scene.

Amelia's nonchalant admission had unsettled her, stirring a series of questions and concerns about the lengths to which Amelia had gone in her solitude, and what drove her to pursue such a grim project.

Guilt washed over Bing Xueli as she began to apologize, her voice laced with remorse. "I am sorry... I didn't mean any of i—"

"Save your words for yourself," Amelia interrupted, her laughter devoid of any real humor, piercing Bing Xueli's heart like needles. "Nothing would have changed since it was dead from the beginning. But why are you here today? Is the outside too calm, and you've come here seeking trouble?"

Her words, sharp and cutting, left Bing Xueli speechless, the discomfort in her throat intensifying with each barbed comment.

Amelia's impatience was growing as she dismissed Bing Xueli with a roll of her eyes. "If you have nothing to say, leave. I have only one year to breathe some semblance of life into this, or it's all for naught. Don't disturb me."

Bing Xueli found herself at a loss, her words failing her as Amelia turned away, burying herself back in her work, searching for the elusive solution to her problem.

Amelia's voice broke the tense silence once more, a hint of mockery in her tone. "What, do you think I'm trying to play god?"

Hesitant, Bing Xueli shook her head, struggling to find the right words. "It's not that...."

"Then what is it? Speak clearly," Amelia pressed, her frown deepening.

"It's been two and a half years since he left," Bing Xueli finally managed, her voice carrying the weight of the unspoken truths between them.

Amelia's demeanor shifted instantly, her face clouding over as she averted her gaze, focusing on the sprawling blueprint laid out before her. "Yeah, and don't mention it. You said it yourself—if he wanted to, he could come back on his own. It's not like I'm complaining. He should have been here, but we can't hold it against him when we gave him no choice— Wait!

What did you say?" Mid-sentence, Amelia's realization struck, her eyes widening in shock as the significance of Bing Xueli's words finally registered.

"It's been more than two years already," Bing Xueli confessed, her voice heavy, laden with the passage of time and the weight of untold stories.

Amelia's reaction was instantaneous and profound.

She froze, her body rigid as if turned to stone, the realization hitting her like a physical blow. "M-More than two years..." she echoed, her voice a whisper of disbelief, the magnitude of time lost dawning on her in that moment.

A heavy silence enveloped the room, filled with the weight of unspoken regrets and the ghost of time wasted.

Finally, Amelia exhaled a heavy sigh, a sound of resignation and acceptance. "I see, so I've spent more than a year on this with nothing to show for it. It's time to shut it down then."

Bing Xueli watched, a mix of surprise and concern flaring within her as Amelia moved with a newfound determination.

She began to systematically shut down the lab, flicking off switches and powering down the systems that had consumed so much of her life.

Bing Xueli felt a pang of panic, not at the loss of the project, but at the stark, unemotional acceptance Amelia showed in the face of failure.

Once the task was complete, Amelia washed her face, as if cleansing herself of the past years' obsession.

"Hah! It's time to restart the old life then. So, Eleanor, got any tasks for me?" Her attempt to return to normalcy, to reclaim the life she had put on hold, left Bing Xueli speechless, her guilt intensifying with each spoken word.

Among her relationships, if Victoria was a cherished friend, then Mei Leiyan—Amelia—was as close as an adopted daughter to her.

Witnessing Amelia's brisk dismissal of years of work and her readiness to move forward struck a chord within Bing Xueli, her heart aching with a blend of admiration and sorrow.

Knowing that any attempt to discuss the past would only add to the weight Amelia was already carrying, Bing Xueli found her voice, albeit with difficulty. "Can you design a new curriculum for..."

Amelia listened attentively, her demeanor calm and unshaken by the remnants of her failed project surrounding her. She nodded, signaling her readiness to embrace the future, leaving the past where it belonged.

In that moment, Bing Xueli realized the resilience and strength Amelia possessed, was far greater than she had anticipated.

______

On the 17th of September, 2026, the tension in the air was growing, a storm brewing in the confines of a room where the normal rules of engagement no longer applied.

Seraphine, fueled by a mix of desperation and fury, confronted Wang Xiao with a ferocity born of someone who had nothing left to lose.

"You bastard, stop pretending to be asleep and face me!" Her voice was a call to battle, her resolve steeled by the acceptance of her impending doom. In her mind, if death was inevitable, she would face it on her terms, leaving no words unsaid, no resentments buried.

Wang Xiao, for his part, lay in an unsettling peace amidst the chaos of the disheveled bed, seemingly oblivious to the storm brewing around him. Seraphine, perched above him, fixed him with a glare that could have set the room ablaze, her resolve unwavering.

"Who... is it?" As he groggily rubbed his face, Wang Xiao seemed genuinely perplexed by the 'creature' causing such a commotion, disrupting his sleep with her demands for acknowledgment and answers.