[Current Balance: £419,516,560 4s. 2d.]
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With the miraculous healing of Deganawida complete and Shakoka's tearful gratitude still echoing in the quiet guest room, Alaric and Kassandra took their leave, allowing the reunited brothers a moment of peace.
They walked side-by-side through the grand, sunlit corridors of the Kenway Mansion, their footsteps silent on the polished wooden floors.
Kassandra, who had observed the entire impossible event with a quiet, analytical intensity, finally broke the silence. "Agápi mou, how do you do it?" she asked, her voice a soft murmur.
She stopped walking, turning to face him, her ancient amber eyes filled with a profound, searching curiosity. "I've seen you fight two thousand soldiers with ease, fly through the heavens, reverse the very flow of time on a man's body, and now… now you cure a fatal illness with a single drop of your blood."
She took a step closer, her gaze unwavering. "...Are you... a God?"
The question, so direct and filled with genuine wonder, was heavy in the air between them. Alaric stopped as well, looking at the beautiful, immortal warrior before him. He saw the awe in her eyes, the same awe he'd seen in the faces of his family, his friends, even his enemies. A faint, almost weary smile touched his lips.
"A God?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow before letting out a soft chuckle. "No, I'm no God, my love. Just a normal human who hit the jackpot."
"...Jack…pot?" Kassandra's brow furrowed slightly, the unfamiliar English idiom a puzzle to her. She shook her head, a small smile of her own appearing. "You always have your own way with words."
"I guess," Alaric smiled back, and they resumed their walk towards the wing where Caroline was resting. "Are you curious what I did to heal Shakoka's brother?"
Kassandra nodded, falling into step beside him. "Of course. It was… unlike anything I have ever witnessed."
"As I said," Alaric began, his tone becoming more serious, "my blood isn't like that of a normal human. It can heal all kinds of diseases and illnesses, treat life-threatening injuries." He glanced at her, a flicker of the loneliness he'd once confessed to her passing through his eyes. "But in the end, I'm still just… me. Still normal."
"...Normal…?" Kassandra echoed, her voice filled with a gentle, loving skepticism.
"Yep," Alaric confirmed with a final, confident nod as they reached the heavy oak door of Caroline's room. He could sense the numerous, familiar life signatures within. He paused, his hand on the doorknob, and gave Kassandra a small, reassuring smile before pushing the door open and stepping inside.
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A few minutes before Alaric and Kassandra's arrival, the atmosphere inside Caroline's bedroom was a fragile mixture of joy and sorrow.
The room was bright and airy, the large windows letting in the warm afternoon light, and the bouquets of wildflowers Eleanor and Linette had insisted on picking now filled several vases, their vibrant colors a cheerful contrast to the heavy emotions in the room.
Caroline was propped up against a mountain of soft pillows, her infant daughter, Jenny, cradled gently in her arms. She looked pale and exhausted, but her eyes were clear, lucid, and filled with a profound, heart-wrenching sadness. Around her bed sat her mother, Elizabeth, and her sister, Aveline, along with the entire Kenway family, Reuben, Flavia, and Thulani.
She had just finished telling them everything.
Her voice, weak but steady, had recounted the entire nightmarish journey. She spoke of finding the dark sphere in the Iroquois lands, of the intoxicating whispers of power that had promised her the means to protect her family, to create a perfect, orderly world.
She described her travels, the faces of the people she had manipulated, the kingdoms she had bent to her will. She spoke of the growing obsession, the loss of herself, the final, terrifying confrontation with Alaric in the heart of a Korean palace.
When she finished, a heavy silence filled the room.
"And then… I woke up here," she whispered, her gaze dropping to the sleeping baby in her arms. She looked around the room, at the concerned faces of her family. "How did I get back? Was it because of Alaric? How are you all here, in Pennsylvania? The last I remember of you all was in Bristol…"
They answered her questions gently, piece by piece. They told her of the Crown's betrayal, of the raid on the Kenway Estate, of their desperate flight across the Atlantic. They told her of Alaric's impossible return, of how he had brought her back, broken and unconscious, from the other side of the world.
Caroline listened, each word another weight on her already burdened soul. She looked at Reuben, a flicker of surprise in her tear-filled eyes. "Reuben… you have a wife…?"
Reuben flushed slightly, glancing at Flavia, who offered Caroline a small, supportive smile. "Yes," Reuben said quietly. "We… found each other."
Thulani, seeing the brief, almost normal exchange, tried to lighten the mood. "What about me, Caroline?" he asked, a rare, gentle teasing in his deep voice.
Caroline managed a weak, watery smile. "Oh, Thulani," she replied softly. "I knew about you and Aveline before I even left. It was as clear as day."
A wave of soft, gentle laughter went through the room, breaking the heavy tension. Aveline blushed deeply, while Thulani just smiled, a quiet contentment in his eyes. But the laughter was short-lived. Caroline's smile faded, her expression crumbling as the full weight of her guilt crashed down on her again.
"I… I am so sorry," she sobbed, clutching Jenny closer. "The things I did… the people I hurt… I was a monster."
The happy atmosphere vanished, replaced by a somber, helpless silence. No one knew what to say, how to comfort a pain so deep.
It was in that moment that a soft knock sounded at the door.
The door swung open, revealing Alaric and Kassandra. They stepped inside, their presence instantly shifting the energy in the room. Alaric's gaze swept over the scene, taking in Caroline's tear-streaked face, the somber expressions of his family, and he understood immediately. The time for quiet comfort was over. It was time for a different kind of healing.
Alaric walked calmly to Caroline's bedside, Kassandra following a step behind. He offered a gentle smile to the weeping woman. "Hello, Caroline."
He turned to Kassandra, his hand gesturing towards her. "This is Kassandra," he said, his voice soft but clear. "She is my love. The one who completes me."
If this were the modern era, such a heartfelt, almost cheesy declaration might have drawn cringes. But here, in this room filled with raw emotion, it was a statement of profound sincerity. A warm, genuine smile touched Eleanor's lips, and even Leonard nodded in gruff approval.
Kassandra stepped forward, her ancient amber eyes filled with a wisdom that seemed to calm the very air in the room. She looked at Caroline, not with pity, but with a deep, knowing empathy.
"I am Kassandra," she said, her voice a soothing balm. "Once, they called me the Eagle-Bearer, a misthios of Sparta. Now... I am the one who will stand beside Alaric, wherever his path may lead." She sat gently on the edge of the bed, her gaze never leaving Caroline's.
"I have heard about what happened to you," Kassandra continued softly. "Alaric told me of the Apple. I know of its power. It whispers to you, promises you the world, shows you a path to a perfect order that seems so right, so necessary. It makes you believe its will is your own. You feel powerful, in control, but in truth, you are the one being controlled. You are a passenger in your own life, watching through a haze as another hand guides your actions. It is a terrible, insidious poison."
Caroline stared at this stranger, this impossibly beautiful and poised woman, and felt an instant, inexplicable connection. Kassandra's words weren't just a summary of events; they were a perfect description of the nightmare she had lived. She felt… understood.
Alaric smiled at the immediate bond forming between them. He stepped closer, his own voice adding a layer of firm reassurance. "Kassandra is right, Caroline. You are not at fault. Humans were never meant to wield such power. The Apple preys on our best intentions, our desires to protect, to create a better world, and twists them into something monstrous. What happened was not your failure; it was the artifact's nature."
His words settled over the room, a final, definitive absolution. The Kenways, the Scotts, Reuben, Thulani, and Flavia all nodded slowly, the last vestiges of blame or confusion replaced by a shared understanding of the cosmic forces they were now entangled with.
"By the way," Alaric said, his tone shifting, becoming lighter, a curious glint in his eye. "Do you still have your memories from when the Apple was influencing your mind?"
"...Yes?" Caroline replied, her voice hesitant, unsure where this was leading.
"Hmm... do you still remember how the Apple made you fight me, using that sword?" Alaric continued. When Caroline nodded again, a slow, calculating smile spread across his face. "I guess this means we have another ridiculously skilled fighter within the family."
"Huh?"
"What?"
A unison of surprised gasps echoed through the room.
"It's just a theory," Alaric continued, his smile widening, "but most likely correct. The Apple fed you millennia of combat data. You have that knowledge, that muscle memory, imprinted on your very soul now. The only issue is that your body can't keep up with your mind. With the correct foundation, the right training… you could fight just as you did in Joseon."
He looked around at the stunned faces, then his gaze settled on Kassandra. "Speaking of which… it's time for a little demonstration." He motioned for Kassandra to join him in the center of the spacious room. "I'm going to offer all of you a chance to build that foundation. I'm going to teach you how to use chakra."
Most of them just looked confused. "Chakra?" Leonard repeated, the word foreign and strange.
Alaric just grinned. "Kassandra, if you would?"
Kassandra raised an eyebrow but understood immediately. She walked calmly to the nearest wall, a solid, flat expanse of plaster. She took a breath, focused, and then simply… walked up it. Her feet stuck to the vertical surface as if it were flat ground. She took three steps up, turned, and stood there, parallel to the floor, her arms crossed, looking down at the room of utterly flabbergasted people.
"And if you're really, really good at it," Alaric said, his voice filled with theatrical flair, "like I am… you'll be able to do this."
And then, he began to float.
He rose slowly, effortlessly, from the floor, his feet dangling a few inches above the carpet, then a foot, then two. He hovered there, a wide, smug grin on his face as he looked at the sea of shocked, disbelieving faces staring up at him.
'Heh,' he thought, a wave of pure, unadulterated satisfaction washing over him. 'It feels nice to farm aura…'
'Now… how do I explain how I have this power…'
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