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This stage marks the hero’s departure from their old life. The drastic change in setting, usually facilitated by the crossing of an entrance, border, or portal, represents the internal transition the hero will be going through on their quest. Often, the threshold is a “point of no return” in the sense that the hero will not be able to return home until the end of their journey, and when they do, they are a drastically different person. In Ayn Rand's Anthem, Equality 7-2521 encounters this stage when he enters the tunnel for the first time. As Equality descends down the latter, he notes "We could see nothing below us, and above us the hole open upon the sky grew smaller and smaller... Then our eyes became used to the darkness, but we could not believe what we saw" (Rand 32). Not only does Equality begin to be physically separated from the world above, but he also grows increasingly distant from his old way of life as he becomes more independent and self-assured due to his time in the tunnel.

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While on their quest, the hero meets a divine figure who helps them find the path forward and gives them the strength they need to stay on that path. This character is typically the polar opposite of the hero, or an ideal the hero aspires to live up to. They are the hero’s “other half”, and allow the hero to become complete by joining with them, through marriage if the figure is a love interest to the hero, or through reunion, if they are a non-romantic loved one, such as a family member or close friend. Equality 7-2521 meets his “goddess”, Liberty 5-3000, in the second chapter of Anthem. He immediately falls in love with her, and the two’s relationship is an important subplot of the novel. He first refers to her as the “Golden One”, and ultimately chooses the name Gaea for her, both names fitting for a goddess and the mother she is destined to become at the end of the novel.  "Their hair was golden as the sun... and the earth was as a beggar under their feet" (Rand 39). In the quotation above, Equality describes Liberty as ethereal in beauty and her supposed superiority to the earth.

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In order to become their ideal self, and make the world a better place, a hero must reshape their identity, and open their eyes to a new world. The belly of the whale is a stage of rebirth, which is why the location it takes place in often resembles a womb (examples include the innards of giant animals/gods, caves, or an abyss). Equality 7-2521 undergoes this stage when he uses electricity to create light in Anthem. Although one could argue that he is the one giving birth to the light, Equality himself asserts that “this wire is a part of our body, as a vein torn from us… is there a line to divide the two?” (Rand 61). He is being reborn just as this light, once used by the people from the Unmentionable Times, is recreated. Similarly, he wonders what he looks like after he decides to share this light with the world. This demonstrates a shift in his character, as Equality is beginning to look inward, and question things that he has never questioned before.

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"We placed our glass box upon the table before them. We spoke of it, and our long quest, and of our tunnel, and of our escape from the place of Corrective Detenion" (Rand 70).

"But terror struck the men of the Council. They leapt to their feet, they ran from the table, and they stood pressed against the wall, huddled together, seeking the warmth of one another's bodies to give them courage" (Rand 70).

Equality shows his invention to the Council after a long time of keeping it a secret. Instead of hearing him out, they become angry and fearful of him and the box.

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"We thought suddenly that we could lie thus as long as we wished, and we laughed aloud at the thought. We could also rise, or run, or leap, or fall down again" (Rand 78).

Equality realizes that he no longer has any set rules to follow, and he can do whatever he wants.

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"I am done with the monster of "We," the word of serfdom, of plunder, of misery, falsehood, and shame" (Rand 97).

Equality discovers the word "I" through books found in an old house, built before the Great Rebirth. At this point, he fully understands that he is his own person, separate from others.

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"I shall live my own truth. Gaea is pregnant with my child. Our son will be raised as a man. He will be taught to say "I" and to bear the pride of it. He will be taught to walk straight and on his own feet. He will be taught reverence for his own spirit" (Rand 100).

Equality (now Prometheus) has given himself a proper name, and has decided to settle in the house he and The Golden One (Gaea) came across. He is now starting to think about what he will do with his life.

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Having finished all they had set out to do, the hero realizes that there is one final (step) to their journey. They need to return to their homeland and share their knowledge and gifts with their people. Although Equality, now Prometheus, never completes this stage in the book, he plans to travel back to the city, save whoever he can, and create a newer, freer world for generations to come. In the last few pages of the book, Prometheus speculates on what he will do in the future, once he is ready to leave his home. He vows that  "When I shall have read all the books and learned my new way... I shall steal one day, for the last time, into the cursed City of my birth... I and they, my chosen friends, my fellow-builders, shall write the first chapter of the new history of man" (Rand 100-101).