A weakened Cesaro slowly opened his eyes and realized that he was still laying horizontal. He tried to recall why and remembered that he had fallen asleep, seemingly, after walking through a forest. He noticed then that he was not on the forest floor any longer, but in a bed. A vaguely familiar bed, in fact. Cesaro carefully sat up and adjusted his eyes to the sunlight shining through the curtains. He looked around and saw several old posters that looked to have been torn from magazines along with a few oil paintings that looked as if they were dated many years ago. Cesaro decided to slowly get up from the bed and stand to his feet. He involuntarily stretched his arms above his head and made his way towards what he believed to be the bedroom door. He opened it to see another room across from it. The door was open, so he was able to see inside of it. It looked like a master bedroom with the size of the bed being larger than normal. Cesaro stepped out of the room and looked down the hallway to see a large sitting area, though it was the bedroom that had his attention. He walked inside and observed the surroundings. It was indeed the master bedroom complete with elaborate wooden bedroom furniture and a massive glass wall that showed off an endless blue horizon where the water and the sky met. He looked around the wall behind him to see a collage of photos of himself at various ages in his life and in his career. Cesaro then noticed a picture frame that looked strangely familiar sitting on the dresser. He approached it and confirmed it was a photo of him and his parents when they were all younger, the same photo he saw in his old home. Cesaro quickly made his way out of the room and into the sitting area to find no one in it. What he did, however, was the family table that his father and he handmade for his mother.

"What is… this?" He asked softly as his jaw had begun to tremble. He approached the table and placed his hand on it, believing it were merely a vision but finding it to be real. He then looked around the home and saw that it had many things from his old home, but the home itself was far larger and much more luxurious than he remembered. The most obvious difference was the area surrounding it as seen through the massive glass walls. It appeared the home was fixed right on top of a large mass of water or on the edge of it at least. Cesaro made his way to the front door and prepared himself for what he might see. He slid the door open to see that the house was built on a small island located in front of a much larger mountainous region that wrapped around the mass of water. The wind sang to him the sweet song of the morning as he stood in its splendor. He saw the house had a deck that wrapped around the entirety of the massive home, so he carefully made his way around it until he came to the rear. All he saw was the endless bounds of beautiful blue water dancing with the wind. Cesaro then noticed a woman leaning on the railing looking out at the water. She was a shorter woman with what looked like white hair and she wore a solid white coat and what appeared to be matching white pants and shoes. He could not see anything else as she had her back turned to him. Cesaro did the first thing that came to his mind.

"Excuse me?" He called out to her. "Can you tell me where I am?" The woman then turned around to face him and Cesaro's eyes widened. The woman was his mother, Diana Castagnoli. The woman he believed to be dead after leaving his father and him behind. He could not believe his eyes.

"Claudio." Diana called out to him, her voice ringing in his head as serene as it had when he was a child. "You are awake." She saw Cesaro shake his head.

"No." He said simply. "You're not real." Diana's face softened.

"Claudio, my son." She said as she slowly stepped towards her son, only to see him step backwards away from him. She saw the golden veins begin to form on her son's skin. With a soft smile, she walked over to Cesaro, the man wearing a scared expression on his face.

"Claudio." She said. "I know you have many questions." Cesaro looked into Diana's eyes and saw a gaze only his mother could give to him. The look that she gave him when he was a child. The look that had always reassured him that everything would be okay.

"Just one." He said finally. "Where were you?" Diana shut her eyes and carefully placed Cesaro's hand in hers. The moment she touched him, his body calmed and the energy building within him receded.

"I know I left you. I have been away for most of your life and I have missed so many moments that I will not be able to share with you. I will not ask for your forgiveness as it would not be fair to you. What I will ask for is the chance to create new memories. Ones to hold with those that I have missed." Cesaro's face filled not with joy and excitement, but with pain and confusion. He pulled away from Diana and looked at her in anger.

"You put false memories in my head." Cesaro said. "You gave me night terrors that shook me to my core! I kept thinking about those memories every night and then, one day, I find out none of it was real. You left on some mission and made Donovan give me away and he did it willingly without question. You both just let me go without a word or reason. You let me go and you didn't even wonder where I was or how I was doing. You left me to find out about my powers and deal with them alone. I've been dealing with controlling them on my own. I've been dealing with everything alone. I've been trying to live with being the only one of my kind. I've been trying to live with knowing I'd always be alone. I cried out for you almost every night! Why didn't you answer? I…" Cesaro stopped talking as tears began to form in his eyes. Diana then walked up to Cesaro and wrapped her arms around him. She felt him fight her off before feeling him calm down and begin to cry onto her shoulder.

"It's okay, Mein kleiner." She said softly to him as she rubbed his back. A few moments passed before she let him go and began walking around the balcony. "Come with me." She made her way to the stairway that led down to the shore and Cesaro followed behind her until the two stopped just shy of where the land ended and the gentle waves began. Diana turned to face her son.

"I know you are scared, Claudio." She said to Cesaro. "You have been through many things since I left you. I can see in your eyes that I missed a great deal of your life." Cesaro blinked his eyes in an attempt to bat away the approaching tears.

"I… " He started in a shaky voice. "I always looked at other people and saw them playing together, doing things together, holding hands, sharing things with each other. It made me wish for it all. I wanted what they all had, but my mind kept reminding me that I couldn't have it. Any of it. It made me feel like an island to their ocean. I felt alone. I would meet people and somehow, they would always leave me. No matter what I tried, I would always end up alone." Diana walked up to her son and placed her hand on his chest.

"This is my fault." She said to him. "I left you without knowing what it would do to you. My greatest regret is not being here when you needed me the most." She then took hold of Cesaro's wrists. "I am here now and I promise that I will never leave you again." Cesaro shut his eyes and hung his head to the ground.

"I… want to believe you… but I don't know if I can. I've heard that so many times before." Diana sighed softly and placed her hand on her son's face.

"I understand, Claudio." She said to him. "I know that gaining your trust will take time. I will do everything in my power to make sure that you hear my love in your heart. Take all the time you need." Diana withdrew her hand, turned to the water, and began towards it. Instead of stepping inside of the water, her feet began to step on top of the water's surface and Cesaro eyed her with slight shock. Diana walked a distance before turning back to Cesaro.

"Come, my son." She said as she offered her hand to him. "There is much I need to show you." Cesaro looked at the water as if he were a frightened child just learning to swim, even though he knew how to swim and knew his powers could allow him to levitate. Diana gave him another maternal look or reassurance. "You can do it, Mein kleiner. Come to me." Cesaro looked at her then down to the water in front of him. Though his mind was still unsettled, he tried to focus on walking to his mother. Cesaro took one careful step and, sure enough, he stepped on top of the water as his mother did. He took another step and then another until he stood in front of Diana. She gave a proud smile.

"I knew you could." She said. "Be proud of yourself." Cesaro breathed in deep as he absorbed the beautiful view of the water underneath and around them. The serenity filling his heart made him smile almost instantly. He then looked to his mother.

"What did you want to show me?" He asked her. Diana then smiled and raised her hand to the sky.

"This." She said simply. Cesaro then witnessed the entire landscape slowly wisp away as if it were a delicate fog in a forest of stars and comets. He looked around in awe as it appeared that they were standing in outer space. It felt familiar to him as he had been in outer space before, but it also felt foreign to him.

"What is this?" Cesaro asked his mother.

"This… is the outer edge of our universe… where no human nor Alpha Human can reach." Cesaro looked around and could not begin to fathom where it began nor where it ended. It all seemed limitless.

"…Where the Celestials exist." He said.

"Once upon a time, my son, we did exist here."

"What are the Celestials?" Diana looked up.

"We Celestials are descendants of the being one known as Infinity, the ruler of this Universe. We were born to create the galaxies and bodies within them, and to protect them as they grew. The galaxies were our children and we were their mothers. When Infinity died, its powers were split into six stones, each containing separate powers: Time, Power, Reality, Space, Soul, and Mind. When the stones were combined, the wielder could granted the power of Infinity, and as its children, my brothers and I were tasked with protecting the stones from those who wished to wield them for their own malicious intentions. For millennia, we succeeded, but soon my siblings began to want Infinity's power for themselves. They fought for each other's stones many a time and the fights slowly became battles. I knew that soon they would come for me and my trusted stone, so I created a small galaxy outside of their reaches." Cesaro then saw the Milky Way in front of them.

"You created our galaxy?" He asked. Diana moved her hands around and shifted the scenery and images around them to show Cesaro the story she was to tell.

"Yes." She said. "Your galaxy is the very one I created to keep the Mind Stone safe. I stayed here for many millennia undetected and I came to cherish all of the children in my galaxy, namely the humans of the planet Earth. I decided to give them all gifts, small fractions of my power to help evolve and grow to support my child. Those whom allowed my gifts to go unused became known simply as humans. Those who welcomed my gifts became what you know as Alpha Humans. Some Alpha Humans used my gifts to give their planet life and resurrection as I intended while others used them for their own intentions, often using those who did good as mere steps to the top of their towers. Alpha Humans began to fight amongst themselves because of this, and the humans came to loathe Alpha Humans because of their abilities. Soon, Earth began to look much like the rivalry between my brethren. I could not stand to look at what had become of my children, so I did my best to rectify what they had become." Cesaro then saw images of his mother in different places in human history.

"You… were at all these places… in all these people?" He asked.

"I was not supposed to be as using such powers meant I could not hide from my brethren." Diana answered. "However, I cherished my creations far too much to allow them to destroy themselves in such ways, so I allowed myself small moments in their reality and my own. Then, I encountered your father, a product of the hatred of Alpha Humans among themselves and the hatred of humans for Alpha Humans. I could not bring myself to allow such a kind soul to suffer, so I personally protected him using my earthly body. I became bound to him as time passed and thus, you were created of our earthly souls and a fragment of my Celestial being. I saw you and suddenly, nothing else mattered. All I wanted was to keep you safe. That was when I knew what that would mean. I knew that as long as I stayed here and as long as my brethren lived, you would be in danger." Cesaro blinked as he looked on.

"So you left." He said, mostly verifying the story for himself. "You left and left the Mind Stone with me."

"Yes." Diana confirmed. "I could not risk losing it nor could I entrust any other body with it as no human nor Alpha Human could contain its power. So I left it within you knowing you would be able to keep it safe. I faced my fellow Celestials and their judgment of my disappearance. I allowed them to believe that I still had the Mind Stone knowing that they would find you if they knew the truth. They destroyed my Celestial body trying to find the stone, then proceeded to turn on each other. They all destroyed their Celestial bodies and souls in their battle along with each of the five stones they held. All that remained were fragments of what once was until those fragments, too, dissipated."

Cesaro understood nearly everything his mother Diana told him as it was just as the Mind Stone told him some time ago when Earth was in danger. She had risked her life not once, but countless times, in many ways, all in an effort to restore peace to her galaxy and to the universe in which they all existed. That was when Cesaro thought of something.

"If the other Celestials destroyed you looking for the missing stone," He started. "How are you here with me in this form? How are you still alive?" Diana closed her eyes.

"They destroyed my body, yes." She answered. "However, they neglected to destroy my soul. My soul was lost without memory before I heard you call to me." Diana then smiled and looked into her son's eyes. "I am here, in this form with my soul whole, because of you. You cried out to me and your powers helped me find you again." Diana pulled her son into a warm embrace. "And here, I intend to stay with you." Cesaro closed his eyes and allowed the ethereal warmth of his mother's arms to give him solace.

"I… never thought I'd see you again." He admitted. "I thought I would be alone struggling with myself forever." Diana pulled herself away far enough to look her son in his eyes.

"Claudio." She said in a more serious tone. "You are the harmony of the realm of earth and that of the Celestials… a balance between godhood and manhood. Your powers come not only from your Alpha Human blood, but your Celestial blood and from the Mind Stone itself. You have more power than you could ever imagine. Your power reaches far beyond what you know. In your earth realm, all psychic power that is, has been, and ever will be, is yours."

Cesaro looked off into the stars as he tried to process what his mother revealed to him. He was able to command everything his realm offered. Human and Alpha Human alike, their powers were his, all of which were tied to his mind. Cesaro was then pulled from his trance by Diana.

"There is something else..." She said with a slight worry. "…something else inside you." Cesaro then thought about the pull that came from within him since the space mission with the others.

"There was an incident some time ago." He told her. "People got stuck in outer space and I was a part of the team that was to rescue them. We went out and there was some red cloud that looked like a solar flare floating near us. It was threatening their lives. I didn't know what else to do, but I knew I didn't want any of them to die, so I absorbed the red cloud into myself. I've been feeling different since then."

Diana almost shed a tear. From how Cesaro sounded, the others that he spoke of were humans and Alpha Humans he held dear to his heart. She also felt that they were part of the source of his pain. He sacrificed himself to save them, yet still he hurt for them. As for the mysterious red matter, Diana knew what it was all too well.

"What you encountered was no solar flare, Claudio." Diana told him. She then strangely stopped talking, leaving Cesaro to speculate about what it was inside him.

"Then what was it?" He asked Diana. Instead of a direct answer, she gave him a soft smile before returning them back to their place atop the water.

"Worry not about that." Diana said to him as she placed her hand on his face once more. This time, however, she was able to coax Cesaro's power out of him, making him shudder under the burning feeling of all the energy within emerging at once. "I am here now and I will help you become all that you are meant to become. I will help you control it." Diana withdrew her hand and in an instant, Cesaro's features returned to normal. Diana then proceeded to levitate into the air, leaving Cesaro to look up at her. "Let's go home now." She flew off towards their home off the edge of the island. Cesaro then carefully lifted himself into the air with his telekinesis and followed behind her. While airborne, he took a moment to observe the beauty of his surroundings and noticed that their home was the only home for miles it seemed. He then closed his eyes and used his Alpha Human power to briefly scan the area for signs of life only to find none. Slightly worried, he made his way to his home and carefully landed in front of the front door. He looked back one last time before stepping inside the home where he was immediately greeted by the voice of his mother.

"Fresh toast with honey and tea." Diana said to Cesaro as she placed a plate of food on the table for him. "Your favorite. Please, come before it gets cold." She motioned for Cesaro to sit, and sit he did. Though, a question filled his mind and soon, escaped his mouth.

"Where are we?" He asked. Diana looked up from the pan on the stove she scrubbed clean and slowly placed it back on the eye.

"We're home, Mein kleiner." She answered. "I merely… did a bit of remodeling and moved it to a more peaceful location."

"How long was I asleep?"

"Several earth days." Cesaro's eyes widened as he began to worry about his other Alpha Human friends.

"I-I have to find the others!" Cesaro yelped as he quickly stood up from the seat. Diana quickly rushed to his side.

"Claudio, please relax." Diana said calmly. "We will see them soon enough. Everything will be alright. They… will be alright." Cesaro slowly began to calm down and he sat back down in his seat. The two then heard a door open inside the home. Cesaro immediately grew tense. Diana, however, smiled as she knew the cause. The two then saw a young bald man with tan skin slowly come from the spare room into the kitchen stretching his arms above his head as he had just awoken from a restful night's sleep. Cesaro could not believe his eyes. He knew who the man was. It was the same young man he met that night at the bar in the city. The man grinned at him.

"Claudio!" It was Trevor. Cesaro was speechless as the man made his way to him. All Cesaro could do was hug the other man as tight as he could. "Whoa! I'm glad you're awake, too!" His response was met by a tighter hug.

"I thought you were dead!" Cesaro said to Trevor. "I'm so sorry for pulling you into my mess of a world! You were innocent." Trevor paused a moment before speaking.

"I mean…" He said. "Your world looks pretty okay to me. Your mom told me a lot. I'm the one who should be thanking you. I probably would have been dead if it weren't for you." Cesaro let go of Trevor. After everything Diana told him about the true nature of his powers, he felt that he truly did keep Trevor safe from death and its calloused grasp. Ultimately, Cesaro was genuinely happy to see him.

"I don't know how." Cesaro said. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"I'm glad you're finally up and moving." Trevor replied. "It's been days. I honestly thought you'd never wake up." He then turned to Diana. "Your mom's a wonderful lady, too. She's been looking after you the whole time you were out. I hope you gave her a big hug when you woke up."

That moment, a feeling fell over Cesaro. It felt warm and welcoming. Anything he worried about before disappeared the longer he looked at Diana and Trevor. He felt content, perhaps even happy for the first time in a long time. He knew not where it all came from and almost questioned if it were all real, but the more his mother looked at him, the more he knew that she was there with him. Truly. That brought him joy. He stood to his feet, walked up to his mother, and gave her the first genuine hug he had given her since he saw her.

"I missed you, Mother." Cesaro said in a trembling tone, allowing his tears to fall freely. "I missed you so much." Diana sighed gently in his arms and returned the gesture.

"I missed you, too, Mein kleiner." She said sweetly. "I am here for good now. I promise."