Fix a vertex of a simplicial complex , and let be the set of vertices reachable from by an edge path. If a simplex contains a vertex of , every vertex of that simplex lies in : append its edge from the reachable vertex to the existing edge path. Thus every simplex has either all its vertices in or all outside .
Partition the geometric realization as , according to whether the support in the barycentric coordinate system lies in or outside . On each geometric simplex, the intersection with is either the whole simplex or the empty set, and the same holds for . The defining realization topology therefore makes both and closed, hence also open because they are complements.
The vertex belongs to . If any vertex were unreachable, it would belong to the nonempty set , giving a separation of a topological space of . This contradicts connectedness. Therefore every vertex is reachable from , and any two vertices can be joined by an edge path.