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Penn's jaw, which had already dropped considerably at the sight of the staff materializing in Kassandra's hand, seemed to unhinge entirely as the holographic figure of Aletheia solidified before him.
His eyes, wide and staring, darted from the glowing Isu woman to Alaric, then to Kassandra, and back to Aletheia, his mind clearly struggling to process the impossible sight.
The teacup he'd been holding slipped from his fingers, clattering loudly as it shattered on the wooden floor of the cabin, the spilled tea spreading like a dark stain. He didn't even seem to notice.
Aletheia's luminous eyes fixed on Alaric for a long moment with an expression that was unreadable. It was a silent and analytical regard. Then, her gaze shifted, turning towards the visibly shaken William Penn.
Penn, finally finding some semblance of his voice, though it was raspy and trembling, looked from Aletheia to Kassandra, then his wide, horrified eyes landed on Alaric.
"'Laric… lad…" he stammered, one hand gripping the edge of the table for support. "W-what… what in the name of all that is holy… is going on here?"
Alaric took a calm sip of his Celestial Tea, setting the cup down gently before answering, his tone surprisingly casual given the circumstances. "Ah, that. Well, Penn… my friend," he began, gesturing with a slight nod towards the glowing hologram, "allow me to introduce you properly. This is Aletheia. She's an Isu." He paused, letting the unfamiliar word hang in the air.
"They're one of the ancient civilizations. The ones who, ah... well, to put it simply, they created humans. Or at least, had a significant hand in our early development."
Kassandra looked at Alaric, a flicker of surprise in her ancient eyes. Aletheia, too, seemed to register a subtle shift in her holographic projection, her gaze returning to Alaric with a new intensity. They hadn't discussed how much Alaric knew, or how much he would reveal.
Aletheia had been confident, in her millennia of observing humanity, that knowledge of the Isu, of their true role in history, was fragmented at best, even among the most dedicated seekers in organizations like the Hidden Ones or the Order of the Ancients. For this… boy… to speak so plainly of their origins was unexpected.
Penn's face, already pale, lost another shade of color. His eyes, if possible, widened even further. He stared at Aletheia, then at Alaric, his mouth working silently for a moment before he finally managed to choke out a question, his voice barely a whisper. "Created… humans? Then… then your kind… are you… are you Gods?"
Aletheia remained silent for a long moment, her digital eyes seeming to pierce through Penn, analyzing his fear, his awe, his dawning comprehension. When she finally spoke, her synthesized voice was calm, carrying no judgment, only a weary sort of patience.
"We are not the Gods your human mythologies project, William Penn," she stated with an even tone.
"Yes, our understanding of the universe, our command over energies and matter, far surpassed that of early humanity. We were stronger, our intellect more advanced, our lifespans… significantly longer." She paused, a subtle flicker in her projection. "But we were not infallible. We were not omnipotent. We could not destroy the universe with a mere thought, nor were we immune to our own flaws, our own arrogance, our own eventual decline." Her gaze seemed to turn inward for a moment. "We were… beings. Powerful, yes. Creators, in a sense. But imperfect. And mortal, in our own way."
Penn stared, his mind reeling from the implications. He looked from Aletheia's regal, ancient form to Alaric's calm, almost nonchalant expression, then back again, the pieces of a puzzle he never knew existed crashing together in his mind. The Celestial Salves, Alaric's impossible abilities, Kassandra's wisdom, the very staff she held… it all began to take on a new, terrifying, and awe-inspiring context.
He sank back heavily into his chair, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps. "'Laric…" he finally managed, his voice weak. "Damn… I… I need to take this in. This is… this is too much for an old Quaker to comprehend in one sitting." He rubbed his temples, looking utterly overwhelmed. "Gods… or not Gods… creators… I need… I need a moment."
Alaric stared at Penn for a few seconds as the older man's distress was evident. He rummaged in his coat pocket, pulling out his familiar cigar case. Selecting one, he placed it between his lips, the tip glowing red for a moment as he lit it with a casual flick of his index finger.
He took a slow drag, the fragrant smoke mingling with the scent of Celestial Tea in the cabin, then nodded his head towards the overwhelmed Quaker. "Sure, go ahead... take your time."
"I'll... I'll go to my room for a moment," Penn said softly, his voice still shaky. He offered a polite, if somewhat strained, smile to Kassandra, then nodded gratefully at Alaric. He rose unsteadily and walked out of the great cabin, the door clicking softly shut behind him.
As the door closed, sealing them in the relative quiet of the cabin, Aletheia's holographic form turned its full attention back to Alaric. Her digital eyes, usually so calm and analytical, now held a distinct sharpness.
"Alaric Kenway," she began, her synthesized voice devoid of its earlier patience, "you possess knowledge that no human of this era should. The creation of humanity by the Isu... this is not common understanding, not even amongst the most dedicated lore-keepers of the Hidden Ones or the Order. How did you come by such information?"
Alaric just shrugged his shoulders, taking another leisurely drag from his cigar, the smoke momentarily obscuring his expression. "Found an Isu fragment," he replied smoothly, his tone casual.
"Years ago, when I was just a boy, maybe five. Back in Swansea. It was… damaged, but it pulsed with a strange energy. When I touched it, I saw… glimpses. Flashes of history, things I didn't understand at the time, but they stuck with me." He offered a disarming smile. "Just bits and pieces, really. Enough to be dangerous, as they say."
Aletheia's luminous eyes narrowed slightly, her holographic form flickering almost imperceptibly. The doubt was clear.
Kassandra, who had been watching the exchange silently, her gaze shifting between Alaric and the Isu construct, finally spoke. "Aletheia? What is the matter?"
"There is no known Isu fragment or artifact with the capability to passively transmit such detailed historical understanding through mere glimpses, especially not to a child," Aletheia stated, her voice regaining its analytical edge, though a hint of skepticism remained. "The Pieces of Eden, yes, they can influence, show visions, but what you describe… it is inconsistent with their documented properties."
Alaric heard her, a faint smirk playing on his lips. He finally sighed, a cloud of smoke escaping with the sound. "It doesn't really matter where I got the information, Aletheia," he said, his tone shifting, becoming more serious, though still nonchalant. "All that matters is that I'm going to prevent the second disaster, ain't I right? We're on the same side when it comes to that particular catastrophe."
Aletheia remained silent for a long moment, her digital eyes fixed on Alaric, perhaps trying to dissect his words, his intentions. Finally, she gave a slow, almost imperceptible nod. "Yes..." she conceded, her voice returning to its usual calm. "You are right. The prevention of the Great Catastrophe's recurrence is paramount."
Just then, the door to their cabin creaked open again, revealing a now slightly calmer William Penn. He offered a weak smile. "My apologies for that… display. It was rather… overwhelming."
Penn walked back towards the table and, with a newfound determination, reached out and touched the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus again, Aletheia's hologram immediately stabilizing beside Kassandra.
"If I may," Penn began, his voice steadier now, "I have so many questions. This… Isu civilization. You said you created humanity, or guided our development. And that you were mortal, in your own way. What… what happened to your kind? Such power, such knowledge… how could a civilization like yours fall?"
Aletheia's hologram turned towards Penn, her expression unreadable. "Our downfall, William Penn, was multifaceted, a confluence of internal strife, environmental catastrophe, and the inherent flaws within our own nature." Her voice was a calm, historical record. "We were a species of immense intellect and technological prowess, yes. We built wonders, manipulated the very fabric of reality, and indeed, guided the evolution of your species for our own purposes."
She paused, a flicker of something that might have been sorrow, or perhaps just digital static, crossing her features. "But we were also arrogant. We believed ourselves masters of the universe, above consequence. Factions arose, ideologies clashed. We warred amongst ourselves, with weapons that could shatter continents. And then came the Great Catastrophe… the first one. A solar flare of unimaginable magnitude, one we had foreseen but, in our hubris and division, failed to adequately prepare for. It devastated our world, decimated our population, and shattered our civilization beyond recovery."
"As for the creation of humanity," Aletheia continued, her gaze becoming slightly distant, "it was a complex undertaking. We saw potential in the nascent hominids of this planet. We guided their evolution, enhanced their cognitive functions, shaped them to serve our needs as a workforce, as soldiers… as inheritors, perhaps, though that was a point of much debate." She hesitated. "The precise biological and genetic mechanics are… intricate. Suffice it to say, your species was engineered."
Penn listened intently, his brow furrowed in concentration, but as Aletheia finished, he looked slightly dissatisfied. "Forgive me, Aletheia," he said respectfully, "but that… that does not truly explain how humans were created. Engineered, yes, but… the specifics?"
Alaric chuckled softly, taking a drag from his cigar. He was the one to reply, his voice cutting through the quiet cabin. "She's not telling you the full details, Penn, because she herself likely doesn't know all of them."
All heads in the cabin… Penn, Kassandra, and Aletheia's hologram… turned towards him.
Alaric met Aletheia's gaze directly, a knowing look in his eyes despite his casual posture. "Even if Aletheia is an Isu, a being of immense knowledge, she's not an all-knowing entity, are you? The Isu, like humans, had roles, specializations. Not every Isu was a geneticist or a bio-engineer." He turned his gaze to Penn, a small smile playing on his lips.
"During her tenure as Dikastes, a judge or arbiter of sorts, Aletheia sought to uphold ethical standards and challenge the more authoritarian tendencies within the Isu civilization," Alaric explained, his voice smooth and confident. He took another drag from his cigar. "She became aware of the Olympos Project, a scientific endeavor led by a rather ambitious Isu couple named Aita and Juno. Their goal?" He paused for effect. "To find a way to quell potential human rebellion, to ensure humanity remained… compliant."
He exhaled a plume of smoke. "Horrified by the nature of their experiments, the methods they were employing, Aletheia advocated strongly for the cessation of the Olympos Project. She saw the dangers, the ethical violations."
Penn's eyes widened a little more with each revelation, a dawning understanding, mixed with a fresh wave of shock, spreading across his face. He looked from Alaric to Aletheia, then back again, clearly trying to process this new layer of ancient history.
Kassandra, too, looked surprised; while she knew Aletheia had been a Dikastes, the details of Aita, Juno, and the Olympos Project were clearly news to her, a hidden chapter in her long companion's past. She looked at Aletheia's hologram with a new curiosity.
Aletheia's luminous form remained still, her expression unreadable, but Alaric could sense the shift in the energy around her, a subtle tightening, a flicker of ancient pain and unresolved conflict brought to the surface by his words.
"How do you know of this!?" Aletheia finally exploded, her synthesized voice, usually so calm and measured, now crackled with an intensity that seemed to vibrate the very air in the cabin. Her holographic eyes blazed as she glared at Alaric. "This is impossible! Your kind should not, cannot, possess such intricate knowledge of our internal affairs, of projects that were classified even amongst the Isu!"
Alaric sighed, taking a slow drag from his cigar, the smoke momentarily veiling his expression. He calmly looked at the furious Isu construct. "Calm down, will ya?" he said, his tone still surprisingly mild. "It's not like you did anything bad... well, not that bad, anyway."
But Aletheia was far from calm. Her anger, her millennia of contained frustration and perhaps fear, surged through the Staff of Hermes. Kassandra, still touching the artifact, gasped, her hand flying to her head as she cried out in pain. "Agh! Aletheia! My head…!"
Intense waves of dizziness and sharp, stabbing migraines assaulted her, forcing her to clutch her temples.
Alaric's eyes widened slightly, his nonchalant demeanor vanishing in an instant. He glared at Aletheia, his own voice dropping to a dangerously cold level. "Careful, Aletheia," he warned, his blue eyes flashing with a sudden, icy menace. "I can make it so that your consciousness in that staff will never be able to come out again. Forever."
Aletheia, still radiating fury, shot back, "You won't! The Keeper's immortality, her very essence, is tied to this Staff! Harm me, and you harm her!"
"I think you forgot," Alaric stared at Aletheia coldly, his gaze unwavering. "I reversed Penn's age. Even if Kassandra is a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand, or even a million years old... I can reverse her age, make her eighteen all over again, Staff or no Staff."
He gently placed a hand on Kassandra's head, his touch surprisingly soft. A faint, almost invisible green chakra enveloped his palm as he began to massage her temples, channeling the Healing Palm Jutsu.
Instantly, the throbbing pain in Kassandra's head receded, the dizziness fading as she leaned into his touch with a grateful sigh.
Alaric looked back at Aletheia, his expression still hard. "And don't think that your Staff is all-powerful. I can find the Spear of Leonidas, the one your kind actually feared, and have it grant her more power than your entire civilization could ever dream of."
This was a surprise to Aletheia. This was the first time she had ever seen Alaric so serious, so… threatening. His usual playful arrogance was gone, replaced by a chilling resolve.
Kassandra, too, looked at Alaric with wide eyes, her earlier pain forgotten. This was the first time she had heard him speak with such cold fury, and it was… for her.
A warmth spread through her chest, a feeling so intense it almost brought tears to her eyes. To think he cared for her that much, to threaten an ancient Isu for her sake…
'Can he really?' Aletheia thought, the anger in her holographic projection slowly dimming, replaced by a dawning apprehension. The way he spoke, the absolute confidence in his impossible claims… She slowly nodded her head, her form becoming less agitated.
"I… understand," she finally conceded, her voice returning to its usual, measured tone, though perhaps a fraction less certain than before.
Hearing this, Penn, who had been a silent, horrified witness to the entire exchange, felt a shiver run down his spine. He couldn't believe that the young lad he'd taken under his wing in Bristol, the one who seemed more interested in business and money, could so effortlessly threaten an ancient, god-like entity.
'Good heavens…' Penn thought, his earlier shock at the Isu revelation now compounded by this display of Alaric's hidden depths. ''Laric is even scarier than these ancient civilizations...'
"Tsk," Alaric clicked his tongue, the coldness receding from his eyes as he took another drag from his cigar, seemingly satisfied with Aletheia's submission. "Aletheia… the only reason your consciousness is still active in that staff is because you're my radar for other Pieces of Eden. You're useful. Hurt Kassandra again, even accidentally, and you'll end up like Juno. Trapped, silent, and forgotten."
Aletheia's holographic eyes widened almost imperceptibly, and she gave a curt nod. Without another word, her luminous form flickered and vanished, retreating into the depths of the Staff, clearly having received the message.
Penn stared at Alaric, then at Kassandra, who was now looking at Alaric with an expression of profound affection and awe, then back at Alaric. He let out a shaky chuckle and slowly got up from his seat. "Well…" he said, his voice a little unsteady, "it seems I've… overstayed my welcome for this particular… discussion."
Penn then walked towards the door before turning his head towards Alaric and says "'Laric… Kid, I'm running out of Celestial Teas and Cigars… gimme some, will ya?"
Alaric smiled and nodded his head, "Sure... as many as you want."
Penn nodded his head in return before going out and closed the door.
"I hope he'll come to accept this new reality of his..." Alaric continued smiling. He then looked towards Kassandra only to widen his eyes as he saw her blushing and smiling at him seductively.
"My, my… look at you..."
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