(Alina POV)

Her mind was hazy, refusing to work properly. Memories, images, people, places, everything was jumbled and mixed in her head.

Then she felt the pain. Agonizing, sharp pain. She could feel it in several places of her body, but the most unbearable was the pain in her right arm and left leg. It felt like someone was trying to rip them off from her body. It felt like she was dying, until everything came to a halting stop and there was only darkness.

Abruptly jolting awake, like from a particularly bad nightmare, she saw that she was in a dimly lit room, seemingly made completely out of metal. It was not very large, with several seats near the walls, and somewhat tilted to one side. She was lying on something somewhat soft and covered with a thick blanket.

Where… am I…? Why is it so hard… to remember any-

"Aaaaghhh-!" - She shrieked, feeling the sharp pain in her right arm and left leg as she attempted to lift herself up. Trying to somehow soothe the pain she grabbed her arm, but the pain still was there any time she tried to move it or her left leg.

W-What is wrong with me…? I-It doesn't look like I'm wounded anywhere…

She tried to take a closer look at herself, but her clothes and dim lighting did not let her do it properly.

As she thought about her state, the door of the room where she was opened harshly, allowing the light from the outside to enter the room. Immediately turning her eyes towards the door, which she hadn't noticed before, her gaze froze on the giant figure in the doorway. It was clad in dark armor from head to toe, with a helmet in the shape of an animal skull. A halberd larger than her in size was in its hands, and to even enter the room it needed to bend significantly, all the while its horns still touched the ceiling. Its two red eyes stared right at her, while she was frozen on the spot from both confusion and fear.

"Alina. It is me, Patriot, a member of Reunion. I wish you no harm."

The figure, Patriot, said with a deep hoarse voice as he slowly raised both of his hands in the air, leaving the halberd leaning on a nearby wall.

H-He knows my name…? Who is-? Wait… Patriot…? W-What is-

"M-Mr P-Patriot? W-What? W-What is-? Where are-? I-I c-can't remember, wha-?"

Her confused panic was interrupted when two large armored hands gently clasped both of her shoulders.

"Everything is alright. I will answer your questions, Alina. Be calm."

Said Patriot, who managed to get right in front of her in a single moment despite his bulky armor, as he gently helped her to sit up in her place.

"Take a deep breath. You need to think clearly, Alina. I will help you, do not worry".

Taking several calming breaths, she finally started to recall some things.

Are we still in Ursus…? The surroundings outside this door looked like a tundra… But where is Talulah and the others…? What even is this room?

"Alina. There are several important things I need you to know and understand. Look me in the eyes and try to remain calm, do you understand?"

She could only nod, not understanding the situation she was in. She also couldn't help but notice that Patriot was… different from what she heard about him before.

"Alina. Do you remember what happened before you… lost consciousness?"

He asked with a slight pause. She thought about it seriously, concentrating on her memories and feeling them becoming more clear, when pain assaulted her again. She screamed, but couldn't even hear herself as memories, her last memories, flooded her mind.

~You mustn't... Don't you remember what you said to me yourself?

You mustn't fight for revenge. You've already chosen, Talulah. You've already chosen a path to follow...

Giving up halfway... all because of me...? I won't have it...

Don't hold this against anybody... You mustn't.~

Talulah was carrying her on her back through the forest. Cold snow fell on her skin.

~Talulah... There is one thing you can detest... Everything they did, you can scorn.

But... never hate... anyone.

Do you agree with me...? Do you think what I said... is right? Are our lives... meaningful at all? Ugh... I don't know.

I'm not sure what it was... that we did wrong... but I know very well just what that curse... is all about.

Your rage... can burn down the entire plain... but you mustn't hate…~

The snowstorm was growing around them.

~...Snow... is warmer... than I ever imagined.

I'm sorry... I still don't... have all the things we talked about... written down.~

Her eyes were heavy. She felt her consciousness slipping.

~You must... live on…~

"-ina! Alina. Look at me. Breathe. You are alive."

She was lying on her back, breathing shallowly and covered in cold sweat, with a giant figure of a legendary infected warrior looming over her, trying to reassure her.

I… have died…? I lost my arm… and leg… But then, where am I now…? Have I… survived somehow? But why is the Patriot here…? With me?

"Mr Patriot… I-I remember that I was w-wounded…" - She winced as a slight phantom pain could be felt in the limbs that she was supposed to lose.

"Talulah tried to get me to safety, but I… but I already struggled to stay awake… I-I remember myself closing my eyes and then… nothing..."

She didn't know how exactly to convey her feelings through the words, so she could only hope that Patriot at least somewhat understood what she wanted to say.

There was a tense silence in the room for a moment before Patriot pulled out a small(in comparison to him) flask.

"There is water inside. Drink."

She silently obeyed and drank the cold water from the flask, before giving it back to Patriot. It wasn't much, but she still felt a bit better than before. As for the Sarkaz giant, he sat slightly to the left of her with a thud.

"I will be frank with you, Alina, so please try to believe in my words. Both you and I have died. This place is not anywhere on Terra, and we seem to be… reborn here."

The old warrior says, looking her straight in the eyes. Impossible! - She wants to scream at him immediately, but his voice stops her. There is no sign of deceit in his words, only what he believes to be the truth.

"Reborn…? But how? How could that be possible?!" - She shouts, her voice filled with confusion, sorrow and fear.

"I do not know that. But it is the only explanation I can think of for our situation. Before you woke up, I had spent two full days here, and I can say that this place is not Terra. Even our bodies have changed. We are not infected anymore."

"...What…?" What does that mean? What does any of that mean?!

"The Originium does not exist in this place, Alina. At all."

"I-I see… a world without the infected…" She said without any emotion, not knowing what she should feel or how to act. Patriot simply sat in silence, looking at her with attention.

Recovering slightly from her shock, Alina focused on the more important details.

"Wait! I-If you are also dead, what has happened to Reunion and the infected? W-What happened to Tallulah?!" She couldn't help but ask in fear. If even he had died, what happened to Talulah and all the others?!

Patriot was completely quiet. His eyes stared at the floor for several seconds before he looked up, taking a deep breath.

"After your death, Talulah has changed. She became more ruthless. More violent. More manipulative. She has betrayed the Reunion. Betrayed the infected."

She didn't believe this. She could not believe this. Talulah could not betray the infected! It's not-

"Countless civilians - Infected and not - slaughtered. Our comrades - sent to die for nothing, yet still believing themselves to be helping the Infected. The Talulah you knew would have not done these things. But she is not herself anymore."

There was no place for argument in the warrior words, even if she didn't want to believe them. She simply looked down on the floor, all strength leaving her body.

"...We are not the only ones here, Alina. Yelena, Fau-, Sasha and Eno are also here. There is also Skullshatterer - Alex and his sister. They were Reunion commanders… and they have died fighting for it."

He gestured to the five children lying to the right from her, closer to the fire. They were sleeping peacefully, and she could clearly recognize Eno and Sasha among them. Frostnova - Yelena was also there, although she looked much younger than Alina remembered. Two Ursus children who were clearly siblings, layd close to each other. She could only assume that they were Alex and his sister.

"...Are they… alright…?"

"Yes. They are sleeping just like you did for the last two days before you woke up. I don't know how soon, but I am sure they will wake up too. As for their appearances, they look much younger than they were, although I do not know the reason for this." Patriot said quietly as he stood up and took some kind of plate with meat on it from a table in the far corner of a room.

"Eat. This is a meat of some local species of birds. It is safe and should help you to recover your strength. After you have eaten, sleep. I will be outside while you rest. You need a lot to think about."

Having said these words, he took his halberd and walked outside the room. Before completely closing the door however, he muttered in a small, barely audible whisper: "Even in this world there are things you can do. Do not give up."