Alex quickly pieced it together. The dark spots he had seen were areas of absolute nothingness—voids devoid of energy, matter, or anything at all.
"Veil tears…" he muttered, realization dawning on him.
He shifted his focus to the strings vibrating differently from the rest. These marked regions of space filled with celestial objects—black holes, stars, planets, and even entire galaxies.
The reason he hadn't noticed them earlier was simple: he hadn't encountered them directly as they sped past in his journey.
With this newfound understanding, Alex grasped that space wasn't uniform. Different regions resonated uniquely, influenced by the presence—or absence—of celestial objects.
Leaving the veil tears and other anomalies behind, Alex honed in on his connection, travelling until he arrived at a familiar and distinct frequency.
"Home," he murmured, detaching himself from space. In the distance, the pale blue dot of Earth stood out, its beauty striking even from afar.
Alex had found his way back, guided solely by his awareness. The experience had already given him ideas about how to return physically.
His consciousness extended toward his parents, but something felt wrong—an unsettling shift in his mother's life force.
Without hesitation, Alex deepened their connection, and his awareness entered her mind space—an intimate, otherwise inaccessible realm within her consciousness.
"Mom?" he called softly, his voice trembling as a lump formed in his throat—even as a fragment of awareness, he felt it.
Before him, his mother sat on the floor, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees. The sight sent a pang through Alex's heart.
She had been crying for what seemed like an eternity, and the sight broke Alex's heart. Without hesitation, he moved closer.
"Mom?" he called again, his voice softer this time.
Startled, she lifted her tear-filled eyes and froze as she recognized the presence before her. "A-Alexander?" she whispered, her voice hoarse with emotion, yet laced with disbelief.
"Alex!" she cried out, springing to her feet and pulling him into a tight embrace. "Oh, Alex, my baby boy! I've missed you so much!"
Her sobs grew louder as she clung to him desperately, as though afraid he might disappear again.
Alex couldn't hold back his own tears. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her just as tightly. They stayed like that for several minutes, mother and son reunited in a moment of pure emotion.
When they finally pulled apart, Sarah cupped her son's face gently.
"Oh, Alex… where have you been? We've been so worried. Things haven't been the same without you," she said, her fingers brushing the edges of his face.
Alex's appearance had changed. Gone was the boyish charm she remembered. Now, he stood tall—over two meters—with a strong, imposing physique that spoke of incredible strength and resilience.
Overwhelmed, Sarah poured out everything she had bottled up, asking him question after question about his disappearance.
"Mom, I'm fine. You don't need to worry anymore," Alex said, his voice steady and reassuring. "I'll be back soon. That's a promise, Ma."
He went on to explain, in broad strokes, what had happened since he'd vanished, carefully leaving out the dangerous parts about battles and his abduction.
"But, Ma… why are you here in this dark place?" Alex asked, concern etched on his face. He knew enough to understand that her awareness shouldn't be trapped here.
"I… I don't know," she admitted, her voice trembling. She looked lost, and Alex realized that the pain of losing him had caused her to retreat to this dark corner of her mind. She hadn't even noticed she was in a comatose state.
"No worries, Ma. Let me take a look," Alex said gently, extending his awareness.
He immediately assessed her condition, sensing the faint presence of her sister nearby and overhearing the words Olivia had been whispering to herself.
'I can't believe my absence caused this,' Alex thought, guilt gnawing at him.
He turned back to his mother. "It seems you're in a coma, Ma. This place… it's your subconscious space, and this form is your awareness."
Sarah's eyes widened as she processed his explanation. "So, this is my mind… and you reached me here through our entanglement connection?"
Alex nodded, sparing her the complex details. "Exactly. Our bond allowed me to find you. Don't worry—I'll help you wake up."
Focusing on the bond they shared, Alex channelled his essential energies through their connection.
Carefully, he directed the flow toward his mother's dormant consciousness, revitalizing her mind and reactivating her neural pathways.
The black hole within him served as a stabilizer, ensuring the transfer remained intact and didn't dissipate into the vast void.
Sarah felt the spark of life returning to her like a flame rekindled. She turned to Alex, only to see his form flickering and growing faint.
"W-what's happening to you?" she asked, her voice trembling with panic as she gripped his shoulders tightly.
Alex chuckled softly at her reaction. "It's nothing, Ma. The process just took more out of me than I expected," he reassured her, though he left out the part where his physical body had grown weak from expending so much energy across such an immense distance, more so through his consciousness.
As his presence began to fade, Alex smiled and gave his mother a final request. "Don't tell Ross or the others just yet. I want to surprise them."
Sarah watched anxiously as her son's awareness gradually disappeared. The space around her grew dim, and soon, she too began to feel faint. Moments later, she vanished from the mind space entirely.
Back in the veiled space, Alex's eyes snapped open as he gasped—not for air, but for energy. He hadn't realized just how much of his reserves the process had drained or that he'd been in that state for months.
Navigating through awareness was still an uncharted ability for Alex. With his heightened state of existence, his perception of time had become distorted.
"No way… nearly all my energy is gone!" he exclaimed, shocked at how depleted he felt. Even his passive absorption had struggled to keep up with such a massive expenditure.
After spending more time cultivating, his colour began to return, and his strength gradually recovered.
'I can finally head back, and this time, nothing will stop me,' Alex resolved, rising to his feet.
Reaching out to his void core, he connected to his universe. With a deliberate motion, Alex tore through the veiled space, stepping out into the vastness of interstellar space.
Around him, the scene was chaotic—celestial storms raged, tearing through the surrounding cosmic bodies.
Already aware of the direction he needed to take through his bond, his body and armour began to glow as he merged with space itself, vanishing as though he had never been there.
If the distance were shorter, he could have arrived in the Sol system in an instant. Unfortunately, the journey stretched across millions of light-years.
'Hopefully, nothing major has happened.'