The golden light emanating from Alexander's body had been pulsing for hours. No one in the infirmary could approach him; every attempt resulted in an invisible force pushing them back. The doctors had established an observation perimeter, monitoring from a distance while something inexplicable happened before their eyes.
Sekhmet's mask continued glowing over his face, and the blue horns cast strange shadows on the room's walls. But no one knew this was just the beginning of something much bigger.
In a dimension between dimensions
Three figures watched from a place that existed outside time and space. A young man with an elegant appearance, golden hair shining like a crown, dressed in a suit that seemed made of starlight itself. Beside him, another identical blonde man but with a more relaxed posture. And between them, a slimmer young man with hair dark as night, with enormous white wings extending majestically from his back.
"I want to see my son," said the one with white wings, his voice breaking with contained emotion. His eyes filled with tears as he observed the light emanating from Alexander. "I can't anymore, Voren. It's been more than 30 years and I just want to hug him."
"Lucifer," said the first blonde man with a consoling but tense voice, "you have to wait. He has to decide for himself."
"Voren is right," added the second blonde, although his expression showed he was also struggling to contain himself. "If we interfere now, we could influence his choice. And this time, it has to be completely his choice."
Lucifer wiped his tears with the back of his hand, his wings trembling with the intensity of his emotions. "I know, I know, but seeing him so hurt, so alone... My baby has suffered so much in this life."
"And that's exactly why," said Voren, though his voice softened seeing his omega's pain, "he needs to freely choose if he wants to return to being our Alexander. If he wants to come home."
In Alexander's mind
Everything was happening too fast.
His life as a Bearer was fading like water through his fingers—the memories of Ra-Ma-Tec, of New York, of Adrian and Cali, everything became blurry and distant, as if they were someone else's memories.
But then, other memories began to take their place.
He found himself standing before a colossal tree that extended infinitely upward and downward. Its roots were lost in abysses that seemed to contain entire galaxies, while its branches held worlds that shone like jewels. It was Yggdrasil, the World Tree, and somehow he knew he had been here before.
A scene materialized before him: a young man embracing a boy who was identical to Alexander. The man had dark hair and white wings, and his eyes were full of tears as he held the boy against his chest.
"I'll come back for you, baby," the man whispered. "I promise."
Two adult blonde men were crying silently behind them, and Alexander felt he should know them, that they were important in some way he couldn't explain.
He wanted to see more, understand what that scene meant, but something dragged him toward another vision.
This time he saw himself as a baby, being born from a woman who cried while holding him. That woman resembled the man who had embraced him.
"I'm sorry," the woman whispered to him through her tears. "I'm so sorry for not being able to be with you. You'll be better off without me, baby."
He saw that baby grow—himself, he realized after feeling all the emotions—but not as Alexander Rasis. This child had beautiful blonde hair that shone like liquid gold, and powers that manifested from an early age. Powers that terrified those around him.
The child grew up in what seemed to be a cult, where they treated him like an experiment, like something that needed to be studied and controlled and like a weapon against anyone who challenged their law. He saw how that boy fought against loneliness, against the fear of those who were supposed to care for him.
But the memories accelerated, and he saw himself as a seventeen-year-old teenager, fighting against creatures he recognized: the same creatures he had faced at the docks as Alexander. But in this life, he was incredibly powerful, his supernatural abilities developed to a point that Alexander Rasis had never reached and believed that even the most experienced bearers wouldn't have a chance against him.
Then he appeared: Kael, one of the blonde men from the previous vision. Tall, confident, with golden eyes and a form resembling a monster with bone wings but still retaining his human face, and his eyes shone with a warmth that Alexander had never experienced as a Bearer.
He spent three years with Kael, training, fighting, learning to be what he was—a nephilim. Until the battle that changed everything came: they faced a demon that almost killed them, only to discover it was Voren, Kael's brother.
And he turned out to be his father too.
The memories became more intense. He saw how he distanced himself from them since Kael had suspected it before but didn't tell him anything, so he moved away from them for a year, unable to process the truth of his parentage. After meeting a nephilim like himself, he realized that maybe he didn't do it out of malice. When he returned, he confronted the brothers. Voren didn't know of his existence, and Kael didn't tell him because he thought Voren was dead and didn't want the child to suffer for a father he never knew. He forgave them and stayed, becoming a true family. Precious months of happiness that ended abruptly when a fallen angel destroyed his world.
In that final memory, he saw himself sacrificing to open the bifrost, the door between dimensions, to save Voren and Kael. He sent them through the portal before dying, promising they would meet again.
The scene changed, and he found himself back under Yggdrasil. The boy from the memories—the angel from whom he had been born—embraced him with a sad smile.
"I am your mother," the boy who was identical to him said. "In this life I was your mother. Your grandfather assured me you would be reborn."
"I want to be your son again," Alexander replied without hesitation, tears in his eyes.
His mother's memories faded with an understanding smile, and two new figures appeared before him.
Set and Sekhmet.
They weren't as he had seen them in the visions during the crystal ceremony. Here, under Yggdrasil, they appeared as what they really were: ancient gods, powerful, but also filled with fierce love toward him, both with their masks but with a beautiful smile that both shared.
"We will follow you wherever you go," said Set, his voice resonating with the force of millennial sandstorms.
"Always," added Sekhmet, her feline eyes shining with unwavering determination.
But then a third figure appeared between them, and Alexander found himself looking at another version of himself. This version had eyes that changed from green to gold and finally to amethyst purple, and from his back grew enormous wings the color of molten gold. He was beautiful—a being only seen in fairy tales.
He understood immediately. This was his true nature: angel and demon, order and chaos, all in one. He had to choose to continue being human or return to being himself.
But for him, it really wasn't a difficult choice.
He thought about everyone in his current life as Alexander Rasis. His parents who had ignored him until it was convenient to judge him. Adrian, who had been his best friend until he decided to believe a stranger instead of him. Cali, his own sister, who had turned her back on him. Even Sara, who had arrived and unknowingly ruined the only happiness he had known in that life, and Kaius—well, he knew how his ex was and still believed him.
They were all hypocrites. He had loved them too much. He didn't want to know anything more about them.
With a smile, Alexander embraced his true self, accepting himself back. He felt power flowing through him, his angel and demon nature merging in perfect harmony. Then he embraced Set and Sekhmet, feeling their unwavering loyalty wrapping around him like a protective mantle.
"I am who I always was," he said. "Not what they wanted me to be."
In the infirmary, outside
The change was immediate and dramatic.
The hole in Alexander's chest began to close by itself, the flesh regenerating at a speed that defied all logic even for bearers. But that wasn't the only thing that changed.
His body transformed before everyone's eyes. The muscles he had developed as a Bearer faded, leaving a slimmer, more elegant figure. His eyelashes lengthened, becoming thick and silky. His black hair began to shine, lightening until it became a golden cascade that fell like silk to his shoulders.
Sekhmet's mask cracked and fell, revealing a face that was like perfect porcelain. His features had refined, becoming beautiful in a way that transcended gender—androgynous but absolutely captivating.
Several of those present were left speechless, unable to look away from the transformation they were witnessing.
When Alexander finally opened his eyes, they were no longer brown, nor gold, nor blue, nor red as they had been during his awakening as a Bearer.
They were a beautiful and impossible violet, like liquid amethysts.
He sat up in bed with fluid grace, and when he spoke, his voice had a different cadence, more refined, charged with a power that made everyone in the room feel chills.
"Hello," he said simply, and his smile was beautiful and terrible at the same time. "Did you miss me?"
But he wasn't talking to the people in the room. His violet eyes were looking toward something only he could see, toward three figures who had just appeared at the infirmary entrance.
Lucifer, Voren, and Kael had finally arrived to reclaim their beautiful son and nephew.