"Breathe. . . " was the first word he had heard when the disjoint world came to a formless solitude, a blank existence. The voice was deep, inhuman but neutral, and though he would not trust it given the turn of events, he was grateful to have felt nothing rather then pain when he rose to his feet to see it; the source of the voice.

"Who are you?!" Paul demanded with mistrust. The figure mirrored his looks with the exception of it being a dark silhouette.

"We are Progeny; the outcome of how you choose to end this."

"How I should choose?!" He snapped, throwing an angered point of accusation. "You've done nothing but throw me in nightmares! What CHOICE do I have to look forward to?!"

"Symbiosis." It answered.

How could that be a choice?! But then again, Maya and Lysanna explained differently.  Perhaps this one was different.

"We have seen the events; the wars of your kind. They are preserved in your DNA. The process of conquest will be of no variance for the assailants who proclaim peace.  When their numbers further multiply, their interests divide, their visions overcome."

"But you are Lysanna's offspring!" He argued with shuddering bitterness.

"We are Progeny." It countered. "Lysanna misaimed her means."

"Misaimed her means. . . " Paul repeated, almost staggering forward as he took a step to come closer to the dark reflection of his self. The being stood still, inanimate in its observation.

Paul then heard the rustling of grass and caught sight of a child running her glee towards a playground. The scene had shifted and Paul found himself seated on a bench with Progeny at his side. The colors subtly shifted from their monochromatic malformation to a vividness his eyes never registered before .  School? This was where he worked. Why was he being shown this?

"You've set out to teach. Why?"

However personal, Paul could not answer such a question for himself.Not in ways he could explain in few terms. "I uh. . ." He'd squint his eyes, swallowing, as  he felt a sudden feeling of fatigue begin to weigh on him, as if a deep just sleep began to call for him. His strength began to wane. "Everyone's busy trying to lead, I thought, without knowing how ignorant they were."

"Ignorant?"

Paul opened his eyes. He was at a library now, reading words in Arabic. That's right. . . He had hoped to become a professor in linguistics, having already known six languages. He translated a sentence that was enlarged beyond all else. "Whenever I set myself the task to learn, I realize how little I know, and the more I learn, the more I realize the capacity of my ignorance." He quoted. Paul would almost fall over the book, before Progeny steadied him.

"Symbiosis." Progeny reminded him in that instant. "We are Progeny. The outcome of a choice. Make it and balance this conflict as you see fit."

Could he?