Alister stood by the window, his gaze fixed on the horizon. The vast, endless ocean stretched before him, the rhythmic sound of the waves breaking against the shore offering a calm contrast to the storm brewing inside his mind.
His thoughts, like the ocean's pull, ebbed and flowed, yet the weight of his past and present no longer consumed him.
He had come to terms with his return, his body, his powers, his omega transformation—each a facet of a life he had already lived through.
It was strange, this nostalgia that lingered in his chest.
His tenth birthday had passed, the manifestation of his secondary gender complete. His body had changed into the form of an omega, and with it, a surge of power—the same magic he had once wielded with ease. But this time, it didn't feel like an awakening.
No, it felt more like the return of something long familiar. Alister was no stranger to magic, nor to the struggles that came with it. He had been through far more than his ten year self should have been allowed, and the weight of his past life now sat with him like an old cloak, a constant reminder that he had seen, and survived, it all. But doom only found his way due to his very own choices and selfishness. If he had been more of a human he could have saved everything which once mattered to him.
The door creaked open, and Alister turned slightly, sensing the familiar presence of his nanny Martha before she even spoke. She had been in his life since his earliest memories, raising both him and his father, watching over them with a steady, unwavering hand.
Martha had seen him grow, both in body and in power, and though she could not know the full truth of his return, she had always been a calming force in his life.
"Little lord!" she greeted him softly, her voice laced with affection and a touch of concern. She stepped into the room and came to stand beside him, her gaze following his toward the ocean.
"How are you feeling today? You've been so quiet."
Alister didn't immediately respond. He allowed the words to settle in the space between them, knowing she still saw the child he had once been.
But her words no longer held the weight of expectation. To her, he was still that boy who needed care. Yet Alister had changed, in ways she would never fully understand.
"I'm fine," he replied, his voice calm and steady, his gaze returning to the waves.
His lips curved ever so slightly at the corners, a faint smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. It wasn't a smile born of happiness or joy—it was something quieter, more knowing, as though he had already come to terms with the things she still worried over.
"It's just... nostalgia, I suppose."
Her eyes softened at his tone, recognizing the quiet maturity that had emerged in him.
"I can imagine, Little Lord," she said softly.
"The changes are never easy. I've seen your father struggle with them too."
Alister's lips curved in a fleeting, faint acknowledgment. He had accepted his path. Nothing carried the weight it once did.
"I've been through worse," he said quietly.
"Things that would've broken me before. But I'm not the same person anymore. Not even close."
Martha watched him for a long moment, she had seen the kind of resilience that ran through their family. She knew strength when she saw it.
"You've always been strong, my little lord," she repeated, her voice filled with warmth.
Alister's smile, though faint, lingered just a moment longer before he turned to face her fully.
"Maybe," he said quietly, though the faint laugh in his voice held no mockery, only a quiet acceptance.
"But strength is only the ability to endure. To keep moving forward, no matter what. And that's what I plan to do.
"While gazing outside the window a faint memory of his past life appeared and her words again resonated in his mind
"Do you hear that?" Alister nodded.
"The ocean. It never falters. It never hesitates."
"No," she said .
"It simply moves forward, one wave after another."
The distant roar of the waves was rolling in, each one breaking with a steady, soothing force.
The boy he once was, the one desperate for acknowledgment and approval, had faded. The man he had become—through trials, loss, and rebirth—remained.
The ocean continued its ceaseless rhythm outside, and Alister knew that, much like the waves, his journey would carry on, unbroken and unyielding.