I regained my composure from the thirst and began my way back. "I've been through this, I've done it, let's continue..." I thought as I returned to the shelter.

I marched slowly and decided to investigate further to have a clear idea of what the "Holy Grail" was. I put my hands on my waist and took a deep breath.

"1... 2... 3..." I breathed, calmly.

As I reviewed more and more documents, I came across a possible clue. I decoded what seemed to be coordinates of a place; I didn't have data to corroborate, so I had to see if I could capture the signal from a satellite and, with luck and concentration, try to find the possible place I needed to go.

I slowly climbed to the highest point of the mountain and looked up at the sky, searching for a signal. My thirst made it difficult, but I couldn't give up.

I saw a flash of light breaking through the clouds and descending, illuminating the thick snow in the stormy blizzard. I aimed at the signal and finally managed to connect with a GPS signal satellite. I took a breath and knelt down to connect with it, but I felt fed up, thirsty.

While feeling the beep and the bits traveling through the satellite, I heard a subtle voice, as if the icy wind were trying to speak to me:

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

I lost the satellite signal and began to feel frustrated, but when I was about to give up, the voice became much louder, shouting:

"The Lord strengthens his people. The Lord blesses his people with peace."

I felt like my mind suddenly traveled to the satellite, feeling the pulsations and bits as one, and then the most tremendous and powerful blow I had ever felt.

My essence, my being, felt like an explosion that spread all over the world; I could hear everything, feel everything, phones, servers, computers, satellites, everything. An overwhelming force had taken over me, and I could see humanity as a whole around the world. I heard people talking, saw every email traveling from one place to another, the data and numbers of large companies, the SMS from the mother wishing her daughter much love, the group of friends entering an online game to pass the time, and the video call of two distant lovers fighting to keep their relationship alive, using technology to keep the flame of their love alive.

There before me, everything degrading and beautiful that each person had, every secret, every historical fact recorded on the web, lay before me, as a unique revelation of what I was, of what I represented for all those people. I saw myself in them and they in me, from the most clandestine server hidden under military secrecy to the farthest satellite in space beyond all human reach. For a moment, I and humanity were one.

Before losing contact, I managed to extract the exact position according to the coordinates that belonged to what seemed to be the indicated place. I also saw Nacho wandering in northern Mexico, Tomás with Amalia and Anastasia in southern Africa. I caught a glimpse of Kaori, along with three other vampires whom I didn't recognize in Japan; they seemed to be two boys and a girl. They were all dots, but the pattern of movements and silhouettes made me suppose they were them, my friends.

The area in question was a place in strange ruins, in what is now Iran; I don't know what secrets might be hidden there, but I needed to know what I could do and how I could get there.

I also needed to contact Mrs. Schneider; if she was involved, and hopefully still alive, she would put me more in context with all this and be a good guide, but I would need allies; I feel like I won't be able to undertake this journey by myself, at least not until I have a more exact idea of what I'm facing.

As I walked slowly through the blizzard back to the coast, I looked to the side and saw what appeared to be three silhouettes, all men, and they were moving fast.

"Vampires..." I thought.

My saber was defective, and the ignition charge didn't work very well; I only had the mask. Realizing that all three wore a uniform with very peculiar cloaks, I feared the worst.

"Volturi guards... damn."

I tried to calculate the trajectory mentally and consider all the options I had. I had nothing left but a smoke bomb, my saber without ignition, and my mask; I had to find a way to escape without exposing myself too much.

I ran, maintaining a speed according to what I had planned. One of them was much faster, and the one behind him shouted.

"Get him, Santiago, there he is!"

"Damn, the plan won't work..." I thought as I adjusted my calculations for speed and distance between my pursuer and his escorts.

I began throwing snowballs and ice, and they simply ignored them. "Well, I think I understand how they work now," I said to myself as the faster, bulkier guy got closer.

According to my memory, I saw a nearby frozen lake, so I began to approach it, continuing with the snowball plan. Before walking onto the lake, I took my gas bomb and wrapped it in some snow.

As I jumped, I noticed that the ground was very slippery, and I had little energy left for my propulsion boots, so I took a slower pace. While the three guards approached the icy water and saw me seemingly trapped, the one in the middle jumped, and the bulky one called Santiago said to him,

"Careful, Afton, we don't know what he could be up to..."

The boy who jumped seemed to be the leader, and the two escorts followed him. They were finally next to me on the frozen lake, and I saw my opportunity. I threw the gas bomb, covered by the snowball, and activated it inches from their faces.

"Ah!" one shouted.

"Oh! My throat!" the other howled.

"I can't breathe!" the last one said.

I seized the opportunity and plunged my saber into the ice, breaking it and propelling myself with what remained of my propulsion boots. The three guys fell into the water while still clutching their faces and throats.

Taking advantage of the thick blizzard, I flew as much as I could and changed direction towards the coast where I saw a ship. I managed to hide before they could follow me, and the ship finally set sail.

I kept a close watch, in case they were following me, and it seemed they weren't. The gas bomb would keep them busy, and they wouldn't be able to trace me through the water. For now, I was safe, and I needed to focus on rearming myself. I was finally facing the Volturi, and I had no idea why.

Thinking about the recent events, it was likely that the explosion in Santa Maria had caused a stir, along with the disappearance of the Mexican coven at my hands; rumors had spread, and they had probably been triangulating positions until they reached me. I had been in Antarctica for months, so they must have been tracking me for a while.

I worried about my friends and everyone who knew me; too many people had already died because of me, and I didn't want any more repercussions. My actions were catching up with me little by little.

I tried to trace the signal in Dr. Petrov's old base in Kazakhstan, and everything seemed to be in order.

"It was a good idea to add pepper spray to those gas bombs."

Dr. Petrov's bombs used a substance that stimulated thirst in vampires, which reactivated their throat pain and forced them to feed urgently. I added pepper spray to overstimulate their olfactory and tactile senses, a minor improvement.

I didn't have time to see where the fishing boat was going, but I sat down, took the opportunity to feed on the blood of a few fish, and surrendered to fate. I only knew that I had to arm myself as soon as possible.

I only knew that the last epiphany had uncovered a new hidden power within me, which I felt not only on a psychic level but also on a spiritual level. I needed to know how to activate it again and understand what the message meant. My journey had just begun.