The whole story, yeah. [Alex met his eyes for a moment, and he wished Mal wasn't sitting so far away. Yes, he was right there, but, well, he wasn't right there. He scrubbed his face with his hand, the amethysts on the ring around his right index finger winking in the darkness. The ring, he'd found, didn't come off.]
So...the other night. [He thought, maybe it was just last night? Time had been vague.] I died and I was in this big hall. I thought maybe I was dreaming but...well. I wasn't. [He was never a natural storyteller; it came out in fits and starts.] Thanatos was there. And Charon. And Charon, he took me down the Styx. Cerberus was there and...like, it's funny but he was a really sweet dog. A fucking Shiba Inu. You know, but with three heads. [He kind of laughs at that, but it sounds a little choked.] I went through the gate and he was there. Hades. And that's...when he told me I was his kid. [He drew up his feet to the cushion and wrapped arms around his legs.]