Chapter 38
Sera
A Few Seconds Earlier…
Light.
Creation.
Life.
It’s all around me. Swimming through my veins. Flourishing in my soul, my very being, my heart. But it’s underlined by something cool. Something harsh. Something deadly.
My Hades.
We’re weaving together the most unique plane in existence, a manifestation that will serve as a sanctuary for all of Omega kind.
That’s not exactly what Hades had in mind when he embraced me. He wanted to dissolve Demeter’s world and allow life to re-create itself.
It’s what I want, too.
But we need a safe haven to replace Demeter’s plane.
A place for the Omega souls to thrive and be reborn at their own pace.
It’s a delicate dance, one I’m enjoying when agony rips through my being and yanks me back to the present.
To Demeter’s blunt rage.
To her branch piercing my sternum and driving into Hades.
To the very real insanity of the moment.
I can’t see Demeter, but I can feel her fury. Her betrayal. Her need to annihilate me, the entity housing her daughter’s soul.
Because she’s finally realized we’re not the same being.
She’s been so blinded by her own ambitions and needs that she never considered trying to get to know me—the being born with Persephone’s spirit inside of her. She just assumed I was her daughter. Assumed I was the same Omega she ensconced in that prison she called a world.
I played the part once, pretending to be Persephone in that mansion back in the Monsters Night dimension.
Reaper fed me the words I needed to say, ensuring I distracted Demeter.
That won’t happen again here.
Because she knows who I truly am now.
I’m not afraid. I’m relieved.
And more than that, I’m ready.
I know what I need to do.
So I close my eyes and let death take me. It’s what has to happen. I understand that now.
This is all about rebirth.
Resurrection.
The cycle of life.
Darkness descends, but I’m still very aware of myself. My soul. The tiny bundle of energy pulsing inside me. I stroke it with my mind, whispering contentment. Everything’s going to be okay, I promise my future child. Trust me…
The entity does, implicitly.
I feel that now.
It’s a treasured bond, one that begins at conception.
An Omega’s purpose is to protect creation.
That’s a lesson Demeter will never understand. She’s an Alpha. She was never meant to birth Persephone.
I’m going to fix that now.
By finishing what I started with Hades, weaving a new plane of existence. One where souls go to thrive. A funnel from the afterlife that feeds resurrection into our current dimension.
I see now that there are already some Omegas who are hidden inside other forms throughout the various realms.
I can’t pinpoint them, just sense them.
Demeter has been busy, repopulating the various dimensions with Omega souls. But so many are still trapped in her creation.
Not for much longer.
My new plane—which won’t be a world so much as a gentle space that nurtures the restoration of life—will provide them with the freedom they need to choose their fates. Or rather, engage in a second chance at living.
Because that’s the point of resurrection, something I fully grasp now that I’ve tasted Hades’s mind and his power.
He’s the God of Death, which is so much more than simply overseeing the souls of the world. He manifested an afterlife. The world of the dead. He gives opportunities, as well as creates cycles of his own.
It’s so closely tied to fertility in a way that I don’t think Demeter ever truly understood.
But I do.
I see the important role he plays in the general life cycle, the need for balance between his gifts and mine.
Only, it’s not just us here.
I feel Morpheus’s influence, too. His fantasy elements help me manifest even more potential outcomes for the Omega souls. They can dream of who and what they want to be, then perhaps engage in such a life upon resurrection.
It’s so much kinder than living in a state of nonexistence.
Freedom is all I care about here.
But I also recognize that some of the souls may prefer to hide.
Or return, I think, considering the Omegas in the various dimensions that have already been reborn beneath Demeter’s influence.
I weave a new layer into the world, creating the ability for the affected souls to come and go, making it a sanctuary for Mythos Fae Omega kind.
So I suppose it will be more tangible than I originally intended.
However, it’s necessary.
Because if the Alphas are as cruel and as bloodthirsty as Morpheus once said—which I have every reason to believe—then a physical plane may actually need to exist.
It’s an intricate process, the manifestation of a new plane. But it’s empowering, too. In a beautiful way.
I don’t make it large, just… just a safe space. One with trees. Fire lilies. A sun. And an area for snow. It’s… it’s a combination that’s all me and my mates.
A dreamland filled with magic—courtesy of Morpheus.
A place to embrace the afterlife with a direct bridge to Hades’s death world.
And I add some sensation elements, too. Like soothing stones and a stream of calming waters. Those enchanted items embody Maliki and his intriguing tattoos.
All of us can be found in this land, and it’s powered by our circle. Guarded by our collective essence. Only Omegas will be allowed to pass through or stay. They can make the land into what they desire, or move into the real world once more—as new beings.
Pleased, I pull back to begin dismantling the barriers around Demeter’s world. Her power pushes against me, but I simply absorb it—since it should be mine anyway. She used me as her conduit. This is her payment for that betrayal.
Persephone deserved better.
I deserved better.
All of Omega kind did.
Good intentions or not, Demeter is a monster. She has to be stopped. And I… I know how to ensure this never happens again.
What are you doing? she demands into my head, feeling my presence as I create the hole I need to free her trapped souls. You ungrateful child…
Oh, I’m grateful, I tell her softly. Grateful you resurrected your daughter. Grateful that I could help right the wrongs of the past. Grateful for this second chance at life. Grateful for the mate-circle I found.
I mean every word.
And I inform her of why… I wouldn’t be here or exist if it weren’t for you, Demeter. So… yes, I am grateful. It would be wrong to deny it. But I’m also going to ensure you can never do this again.
Because she has to be stopped.
Omegas are not meant to be locked away in a plane of nonexistence, Demeter. Omegas are meant to thrive. To create. Your world—the Mythos Fae Realm—has deteriorated and fallen apart. Because without life, there is only death. And balance is the key to existence.
She says something back to me in a snarl that I can’t understand, mostly because I’m not trying to listen. She’s been in my head for long enough. Controlled my life for long enough. Made decisions on my behalf for long enough.
It’s my turn to choose.
My turn to exude authority.
My turn to live.
I pluck away the final block, then wait for the souls to find their new life source—my new plane.
It’s all connected now.
Because Demeter’s creation is mine. It was built with me as an anchor. And as soon as the last soul leaves, I will release it for good.
The Alpha screeches in my head, her agony almost hurting my heart.
She truly feels this is the only way. But I’ll soon put her out of her misery, too.
Come on, Omegas, I think, trying to coax them to leave the dark plane and enter the light.
However, when the first glimmer comes through, it’s… it’s not what I expect at all.
If I were corporeal, I would blink. But I’m in a weird state of existence, somewhere between soul and Goddess.
I can see, just not truly interact.
Though, the soul that just came through looks directly at me.
Because it’s Pip.
His big blue eyes smile happily, then he does one of his trademark jigs, and I feel myself weeping inside. You’re okay…
He executes a bow as though he can hear me, and maybe he can, then he twirls around and raises his hand toward the hole I’ve made.
For a moment, I think he wants me to go inside, but then I realize he’s signaling for someone to come outside.
No, not just someone. Everyone.
A string of souls begins to follow him, similar to the geyser I saw shooting upward in the death pits. Except this wave is filled with curiosity and joy, the spirits eagerly leaving their prison and following my Pip to the world I’ve just created.
It’s… it’s everything I desired and yet so much more.
You’re alive, I think.
Though, I suppose, he’s truly not. He’s still a spirit. But he’s safe.
And what’s more, he seems to know exactly what to do.
Because he’s my familiar, I realize. This… this is why…
I still, understanding flooding my mind as I suddenly grasp the purpose of our connection. Fate introduced us for a reason. I would one day need Pip not just to help guide me in the death pits, but also to take the souls to their new state of existence.
Which means he, too, could potentially be resurrected.
Only, I created the world for Omega souls.
Maybe he’s a lost Omega spirit?
Or maybe… maybe he can reside there because it’s tied to me.
I don’t fully know, but I follow him and the others and see them enter my world with ease, the spirits whirling around in happiness just like Pip.
It’s unlike anything I thought I could manifest. Yet it all feels so exquisitely right.
However, I’m not done…
Guard them, I think at my familiar.
And he gives me a little nod, suggesting he can definitely hear me.
Then he starts to march around, like he’s a guard on duty, and I nearly laugh inside. He’s being funny on purpose, trying to lighten the moment.
Maybe because he knows what’s coming next.
I blow him a mental kiss, then head back to Demeter’s plane. I can no longer hear her, my mind having blocked her entirely when Pip appeared.
There’s no reason to listen to her.
She’ll be a nonentity soon enough.
I return to the hole I created, aware that the plane of nonexistence is now empty. All that’s left to do is demolish it entirely.
Which means… letting go.
To be fully resurrected is to not remember the past. To not know a former life. And to build one anew.
I’ll forever be altered by what I’ve recalled, and the links between my soul and my mates, but I have to see this through. It’s the only way to destroy Demeter’s manifestation—by releasing the anchor.
I can feel in my mind that I have not just Hades’s approval but also his respect. He may not realize what I’ve done or where I am. However, on some level, his soul is aware.
It’s time to say goodbye.
To be officially reborn… as Sera.
I focus on Persephone, her entity inside me, her memories, and her life. You can finally be at peace, I think at her. Your legacy will live on with me. I promise.
Because a part of me will always be grateful for her existence. She’s the reason I have life.
But I am the reason I’ve survived.
And my mates are my anchor now.
As well as the tiny life inside me.
Holding on to my circle with every ounce of my being, I allow myself to be swallowed into the darkness once more and say goodbye to the past.
So I can firmly embrace… the future.