"Attention ground units: In case of presenting symptoms, report your condition and follow priority instructions. The vaccine is now in the early stages of research and production. Code: Inoculate. Shield. Administer."

The place I had gotten myself into had no other way out except for an antlion hole. I pressed forward until I found a path to the surface.

I tried to orient myself towards the Combine outpost; Jorge or other rebels would be there. The tower seemed closer, but the streets were longer than they appeared, and it was far from a peaceful walk. Among the antlions, I heard gunfire coming from the other side of a residential block.

The ceiling was riddled with holes everywhere, a result of the several headcrab capsules that had fallen or were still being launched. Perhaps this place was a target for some reason.

I followed the sound of gunfire while dealing with the sudden jumps of the creatures lurking in the shadows.

Almost as if it had been a "miracle", I caught sight of Jorge in profile, taking cover at the end of the hallway while shooting at whatever was on the street.

"Jorge!" I exclaimed.

"Faraday! It's good to see you here!"

I started running without realizing the fragile wooden bars forming a bridge, which couldn't support my weight and broke, causing me to fall into an antlion hole.

"No! Can you hear me, Faraday?! Are you there?" Jorge shouted.

I tried to stand up while looking at where I had fallen, coughing from the dirt that got into my mouth.

Jorge peered over, trembling and with his eyes wide open, resembling two white ceramic plates.

"This can't be happening! Bad luck follows me!" He closed his eyes and massaged his temple while growling in anger. "Listen! We're trying to get into that outpost they mentioned earlier. I hate leaving you here. Does that tunnel lead to an exit?"

"Seems like it."

"Alright, I hope to see you again, the same goes for Oxana. Was she with you? Right? Please..." Jorge sighed.

"Hey!" A rebel shouted in the distance. "Are you going to carry that box with the grenades, or should I do it instead?"

"On my way!"

This tunnel was nothing like the previous one. It was undoubtedly a maze and had remnants of objects that had also fallen into this place.

My nerves intensified as I realized that the tunnel didn't lead to a path to the surface but instead went deeper. The sound of antlion legs could be heard from the other side, possibly from nearby tunnels.

I arrived at a sort of collapsed apartment floor, with a sofa, a refrigerator, and other fragments of a dwelling.

It was a dead-end, but at the same time, it was a place where I could rest.

I had time to meditate, to reflect on the things I had heard, the things I had seen.

Spending time with those three made me think that in my place, they would be shouting, fear would dominate them, and they would probably argue amongst themselves. Or perhaps, what they had witnessed in these days would have brought them together, if they were together.

In less time than what is known as a week, what used to be ordinary had ended.

I stayed there, calmly searching for a way out.

Patience is a virtue that few species possess, as feared as a curse.

I tried to focus, to seek help in any way possible.

At that moment, I saw phosphenes behind my eyelids, heard strange whistles, and felt chills running through my entire body, as if daydreaming or being in the cold, dark space.

The vision became clearer, like the light of a dawn.

Finally, I had managed to reach the vortessence, without needing to manifest it. It was as if the vortessence had found me. In that moment, it was something marvelous and, at the same time, eerie.

It was as if my body and time had stopped, but my gaze remained fixed, admiring one of my kind in ceremonial robes, like those I had seen in illustrations from Xen, in memory of golden times.

I was in the place where it all began, where they had taken me when the quarantine started.

"You have made remarkable progress since the fall of City Ten start marching on.

"I regret to inform you that your path will not only take a detour but has only just begun... The route you will take will be tough and lonely, but it is the easiest way to master your power. It is the only thing I can do for you.

The walls darkened as if reality could no longer be translucent between this place and its power.

For a second, I returned to the border world, which I couldn't call home either here or there.

We were in a cave illuminated by a bonfire, and in the distance, the end of the tunnel revealed the diverse horizon of Xen.

"You are an important piece in an infinite box impossible to comprehend or measure from your perspective. But I would be lying if I said it's the first time I've put my own interests under observation.

I see he holding something in his hand, a kind of box hidden beneath his robes.

"I will only do one thing for you, regardless of the future that awaits you and the actions you take: You will fulfill your dream. You will become what you longed to be during your time as a slave, something you believed to be impossible... Until now.

We returned to the place where I was trapped, slowly, just as this event had begun.

"But dreams don't come true with closed eyes. Don't run from your destiny! Go, become a warrior, and forge your path with strength and determination. Prove that you are worthy of accepting the challenge I have bestowed upon you. The outcome I seek is not only your survival but also your triumph."

It was at that moment I realized...

I don't know how I didn't see it before...

But deep within myself, I sensed it.

This was not the vortessence.

And he was not an equal.

By the time I realized it, the color of reality had already returned to normal, time moved as it should, but I was alone. The only thing accompanying me was a level of concentration I had never felt before.

I started to notice something I hadn't seen when I arrived... That sealed tunnel behind that wall...