Upon returning, the suit they had prepared for him was a work of art.
Deep purple with black details, cut in a military style but perfectly adapted to his omega body. The lines were elegant, feminine without being delicate, and it moved as if it were a second skin. But what caught his attention most was the final touch: a black metal tiara that rested on his golden hair, with small black wings that curved backward like a crown.
"Perfect," murmured Lucifer when he came out of his room. His eyes shone with paternal pride as he adjusted a small imperfection on my shoulder. "Every inch a prince."
Voren nodded with approval, though I could see how his eyes hardened slightly. "And let no one dare forget it."
His uncles surrounded him immediately, all making comments about how good the ceremonial uniform looked on him. Michael, in particular, seemed particularly satisfied.
"Now you really look like a Morningstar," he said with a smile that had too many teeth to be completely friendly.
The carriage waiting for them was a marvel of infernal engineering—black as obsidian but shining as if it were made of fallen stars. When they arrived at the center of Hell City, he was left breathless.
It was beautiful in a way that defied all the descriptions he had heard of hell. Gothic architecture mixed with designs that seemed to come from feverish dreams, all illuminated by fires that burned in colors that had no name. And the streets were filled with demons of all shapes and sizes, all respectfully stepping aside to make way for their procession.
But he also noticed something else.
Seven figures were standing on an elevated platform, clearly waiting for them. He recognized them immediately from the descriptions he had heard all his life: the Seven Deadly Sins. Satan with his aura of perpetual fury, Beelzebub radiating an authority that rivaled Lucifer's, Leviathan with eyes that promised eternal envy...
And among them, unmistakably, was Asmodeus. Tall, attractive in a way that was both seductive and vaguely threatening, with Kaius standing directly behind him.
But there were more people on the platform. Sara, Adrian, Cali, and even Marcus and Helena were there, all looking completely out of place among the high-ranking demons.
"What are they doing here?" I murmured, feeling tension building in my chest.
"They came after the trial," explained Kael, his voice losing all its usual warmth. "Apparently they wanted to 'talk to you' about your decisions."
When our carriage stopped, the Sins immediately approached. But it wasn't a respectful approach.
"Lucifer," said Beelzebub, his voice charged with authority, "we need to discuss this civilly. You can't simply appear and change millennia of infernal tradition."
"The balance of power exists for a reason," added Satan, his eyes literally burning. "Factions maintain order."
Mammon stepped forward, with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "And there are contracts involved. Agreements that have been in place for centuries."
I could feel how Lucifer tensed beside me, but before he could respond, it was my voice that cut the air.
"My father just explained to you that the factions are over," I said, my voice colder than I had intended. "Didn't you hear?"
Asmodeus laughed, and the sound was like silk over steel. "Boy, you've been in the mortal world too long. You don't understand how things work here."
"Don't I?" I asked, feeling how something hot and powerful began to awaken in my chest.
The other demons—not the Sins, but the crowd that had gathered to see the procession—had begun to bow automatically when Lucifer had spoken. But the Sins remained upright, defiant.
That wasn't going to work for me.
Without warning, I let my aura deploy completely.
It wasn't like the previous times, when my power had come out in waves of anger or pain. This time it was controlled, deliberate, and absolutely devastating. The pressure emanating from me was so intense that the air itself seemed to solidify.
"I think," I said, my voice resonating with a power that made the windows of nearby buildings crack, "that you didn't hear my father well. So I helped you with that."
One by one, the Seven Deadly Sins—beings who had existed since before humans learned to make fire—were forced to their knees by the weight of my presence.
Their faces showed pure shock. Even Beelzebub, who was technically older than Lucifer, struggled against the compulsion of my aura and lost.
"Incredible," whispered Uriel behind me, and I could hear the admiration in his voice.
"His aura is stronger than Lucifer's," murmured Gabriel, sounding both proud and slightly worried.
When I finally withdrew the power, the Sins rose slowly, all avoiding my gaze. The respect they now radiated was far from what I wanted but it would help.
"Excellent," said Lucifer, and I could hear the satisfaction in his voice. "Now that everyone understands the new hierarchy, we can proceed."
The pilgrimage to the castle became exactly that—a pilgrimage. Lucifer went about distributing bloodied magic stones to the demons lining the streets, a tradition that apparently marked the ascension of a new prince.
When they reached the castle, I took my place in the center between Lucifer and Voren, with my archangel uncles around us. The great throne room was packed with demons of all ranks, all waiting for my official presentation.
The ceremony itself was surprisingly relaxed. My uncles joked among themselves, making comments about the crowd and occasionally asking if I felt comfortable. It was beautiful—it felt like a family gathering that happened to take place in front of thousands of demons.
It was Michael who finally brought up a more serious topic.
"I heard from Quetzalcoatl that you plan to implement your own punishment," he said, his purple eyes shining with curiosity. "Have you thought about what it will be?"
The question caught me off guard.
"No," I admitted. "I'm still not sure."
It was then that Sara screamed from where she was standing with the other Bearers at the edge of the hall.
"You shouldn't even think about that!" her voice resonated throughout the castle. "It's a betrayal of your own people!"
The silence that followed was absolute.
I was going to get up to confront her—there were many things I wanted to tell her, many questions I wanted to ask her—but before I could move, Kael and Voren were already standing.
"No," said Voren, his voice so cold that I could see how several demons shuddered, "I don't think so."
Kael walked toward the group of Bearers with that smile of his that promised violence. "Time to leave."
"Wait!" shouted Adrian. "Alexander, please, just let us explain—!"
But Kael had already opened a portal that led directly to Earth. Without ceremony, he began pushing the Bearers toward it.
Kaius tried to object, but a single look from Asmodeus silenced him immediately. Clearly, his father wasn't going to risk my family's anger by defending his son.
"You can come back," said Voren as the last Bearers were pushed through the portal, "when you're ready to apologize appropriately. Until then, we'll be more than happy if our son asks us to finish off your entire race."
He paused, his smile becoming absolutely lethal.
"But even they know that won't happen. Otherwise, Alexander would have already accepted that they disappear along with their precious gods."
The portal closed with a definitive sound.
The silence extended for several seconds before Raziel began to clap slowly.
"Well," he said, his voice full of amusement, "that was dramatic."
The rest of my uncles laughed, and gradually the tension in the hall began to dissipate. The demons resumed their conversations, though I could notice that now they looked at me with a mixture of respect and caution that hadn't been there before.
Lucifer leaned toward me. "How do you feel?"
I thought about his question. How did I feel? Part of me was sad about how things had ended with Sara and the others. But a bigger part felt... good, and even that was incredible.
While the celebration continued around me, I leaned back in my throne next to my parents'—my throne—and for the first time in any of my lives, I felt with a power similar to what I had read about in wizard books, but this had always belonged to me.
This was real power. It was no longer the kind that came from hiding or pleasing others who concealed what I was, but the kind that came from being exactly who I was destined to be—a prince, a king, an omega, even a nephilim with power, surrounded by people who loved me unconditionally.
And if the Bearers or anyone else wanted to challenge that, well... they had just seen what happened to those who underestimated Alexander Morningstar.