Reinhardt sighed as he tiredly sat by Rex's room Elysia sat by his side, holding his hand.

"Mobius," Reinhardt greeted the snake-themed Valkyrie dressed in a lab coat over her clothes. 

"Rex is fine, but he's in a coma," Mobius said with a sigh as she looked inside the room at Rex, sleeping on his bed. The young man's younger brother suddenly passed out in the middle of his training with amber coloring appearing on his body in the form of lines and symbols. "He was holding this,"

"A rook?" Reinhardt noticed as he looked at the item in Mobius' hand. "Interesting," Reinhardt said as he observed it. "It's not from this world," Reinhardt said, knowing the truth as he looked at it as red streaks appeared in his dark hair and a red tint on his eyes. 

"Are you sure?" Elysia's eyes glowed like crystals as she looked at the rook and felt it. 

"Yes, and it's connected to Rex," Mobius added as her snake-like eyes looked at the young man. Suddenly, the rook disappeared, alarming the trio only for a scream that erupted from Rex. 

"Rex!" Reinhardt cried out to his youngest brother only to look in shock as he now had new hands. Not the prosthetics, but new arms covered in earth-colored gauntlets with glowing crystalline amber lines.  Wasting no time, Reinhardt pinned his brother on the bed as Mobius tied him up to prevent him from thrashing more and possibly harming himself. 

====

Rex said nothing as he found himself all alone, dressed in a dusty, blood-covered trench coat over armor watching under the heat of the desert as sands roared. 

"So, it is done, my successor." Rex watched as Zhongli, dressed in his Archon attire in front of him, holding a spear in one hand. 

Rex said nothing as he looked at his hand, clenching it as behind him, countless impaled corpses were present in the desert sand. 

"Hm, I admit that now, in this situation, I understand Guizhong," 

Rex raised his brow as he looked at the man before him. 

"And to think you are more attuned to that drunken bard," Zhongli said with a light and half-hearted scowl while Rex raised his brow. Saying nothing, Rex turned around and disappeared into the infinite pan of the desert covered in a sea of blood and corpses.

====

"Rex!" Kiana's voice was the first thing Rex heard as he opened his eyes, Standing by his bed was a rather messy-haired Kiana Kaslana with Drool coming out of her mouth. "Rex is awake!" Kiana called out as she wiped her mouth. 

The young man gently pushed himself up only to look at his arms—real flesh and bone. 

"What the hell?" Rex whispered as he looked at his arms only to flinch as he felt someone hug him tight. A flash of gold, Lumine. Lumine hugged him tightly just as soon as she entered his room. 

"You're awake! I was so worried!" Lumine cried out, holding him a bit tighter than usual. 'What happened?' Rex thought as he looked around and saw his reflection in front of the mirror. His hair was longer with amber-colored tips and it reached his shoulders. His eyes were similar to whenever his brothers accessed their genetic abilities but instead of his brother's ruby red, his was amber.

'You are my successor,' The voice of the man in his dreams echoed in his mind. 'You are Rex Gaius, the joyful lord of the earth.' 

"More like the heart of the desert," Rex whispered as he remembered what he did. Although less powerful compared to Zhongli, his was more versatile and deadly.  

"Rex!" Kiana called out, hugging his other side, ignoring Lumine. "I'm so glad you're okay," She said as she held him close. 

"Grr... What are you doing, Kaslana?" Lumine gritted out as she looked at the White-haired girl. 

"I'm showing my childhood friend that I'm happy he's awake," Kiana announced with a smile as she leaned in and... delivered a small kiss near his lips. A small grin appeared on her face as she pressed her cheek with Rex while giving Lumine a smug grin, one that Lumine returned with a glare. 

Kallen entered Rex's room, the favorite of the two that she used to babysit, and smiled at the sight. The sight in front of her reminded her of Sakura, Reinhardt, and herself. Lumine just growled and grabbed Rex's head and pressed her face between her breasts and she smugly smiled at him due to her... more bountiful assets. 

"Come on, you two. Let Rex have some rest," Kallen said with a smile as she watched how Lumine and Kiana glared at each other while unwillingly letting go of the young man. 

"Rex!" A messily-dressed Reinhardt said as he stopped in front of his brother, ignoring Kallen, Lumine, and Sakura while Elysia smiled at how adorable her boyfriend is. As if something or someone was talking about him behind his back, the young man sneezed, causing amber crystals to grow from his walls before turning into sand.