---
Clangs of hamr on heated tal echoed softly in a hidden chamber within the doors to Atlantis, a sound Kassandra had grown accustod to over countless solitary years.
Deep beneath the volcanic island of Thera, she worked at her forge. Sparks flew as she expertly shaped a length of glowing steel, refining the edge of a new sword.
It was a task she often undertook to pass the endless ti, maintaining her skills, creating sothing tangible in a place built of impossible geotry and fading mories.
This particular chamber, like several others tucked away within the vast structure, was invisible to anyone. Its entrance was a seamless part of the Isu wall, activated only by the unique energy signature of the Staff of Hers Trisgistus, the artifact that had granted her immortality, and burdened her with the role of Keeper.
Anyone stumbling into this place without the Staff would walk right past these hidden chambers, never knowing they existed.
"Must you keep banging away at that?" Aletheia's disembodied voice echoed faintly in Kassandra's mind with amusent. The Isu consciousness, bound to the Staff, was her constant companion, advisor, and sotis, torntor.
Kassandra didn't pause in her work, turning the blade in the forge's heat. "It passes the ti, Aletheia. Better than staring at glowing walls or listening to your cryptic pronouncents."
"Besides," she added, examining the steel critically, "one must stay sharp. Who knows what might wander in?"
"Indeed," Aletheia conceded. "Though few possess the ans, or the knowledge, to find this place, let alone bypass its defenses."
Kassandra sighed, setting the sword aside to cool. She ran a hand through her braided hair, the familiar weight of centuries settling upon her.
"When, Aletheia?" she asked quietly, the question she'd posed countless tis before. "When will my ti finally co? When will this watch end?"
"Until the Heir of mories arrives, Keeper," Aletheia replied, her tone patient, almost gentle. "When the one destined to carry the knowledge forward appears, then you may let go."
Kassandra leaned against the cool tal wall of the forge room, crossing her arms. "The Heir of mories," she scoffed softly. "When will that be? Another thousand years? Two? Three thousand more years waiting in this... tomb?"
"Patience, Kassandra," Aletheia's voice resonated softly. "The Heir will co when the ti is right. Your journey is not asured by the years that pass, but by the choices you make, the knowledge you preserve, and the legacy you ultimately leave behind for them."
"Great," Kassandra muttered sarcastically. "So, another few millennia of babysitting this Staff and waiting for so obscure prophecy to unfold. Just what I needed."
Just then, a low rumble vibrated through the Isu structure, faint but distinct. Kassandra frowned, pushing herself off the wall. "What now? Another tremor? This place feels like it's falling apart sotis."
"No..." Aletheia's ntal voice sounded... different. There was a tinge of alertness on her voice. "This is sothing else. Not natural seismic activity."
Before Kassandra could question further, a deep, powerful *KRA-BOOOOM!* echoed from the direction of the main entrance chamber, far above.
The sound was muffled by distance and layers of Isu construction, but the force of it caused the very walls of her hidden room to sway perceptibly.
Kassandra's hand imdiately went to the sword she'd just been working on, snatching it up. "Aletheia! Is the volcano erupting?!"
"Negative," Aletheia replied instantly with her analytical tone. "My calculations indicate the next significant eruption is not due for at least another century. That sound... it originated from the outer entrance sequence."
This ant that soone was breaking in. Violently.
Kassandra moved quickly, grabbing her familiar sword hilt, the one that could manifest the blade, and securing it to her belt. She strode to the hidden door of her chamber, placing her hand on the tal. The Staff pulsed briefly, and the seamless wall slid open silently. She stepped out onto a high ledge overlooking the vast central cavern, the pyramid floating unmovingly.
She scanned the area with her sharp eyes, searching for the source of the disturbance.
Then she saw him.
A tall figure, clad in unfamiliar but clearly expensive dark clothing, was calmly walking across the energy bridge towards the central platform beneath the pyramid. Blonde hair… male... moving with ease.
"Malakas..." Kassandra mumbled under her breath, eyes narrowing in disbelief and suspicion. "Who the hell is that? And how did he get past the doors?"
---
Kassandra moved like a shadow along the upper levels of the cavern, observing the intruder. She observed his awe at the pyramid and the window.
He seed… different from anyone who had ever stumbled upon this place before. Not driven by greed or a lust for power, but by... curiosity?
She descended silently, using hidden handholds and ledges known only to her and Aletheia, closing the distance until she was only a few ters behind the tall, blonde man who stood contemplating the heart of her sanctuary.
She readied herself with her hand near her sword hilt, preparing to confront him.
Just as she was about to speak, his voice echoed softly, startlingly, in the vast chamber, though he hadn't turned around.
"It's rude to sneak up on people, you know..."
'W-what!? How did he...' Kassandra froze, her eyes widening slightly. He hadn't turned and hadn't shown any sign of noticing her approach.
The man sighed dramatically and turned around slowly. Kassandra found herself looking directly at him, close enough now to see the details of his face, the startling blue of his eyes. 'Now that I'm up close...' she thought, montarily distracted, 'he is handso. And tall... taller than , even.'
"W-Woah..." The man's own eyes widened slightly as he took her in, a flicker of surprise crossing his features before being replaced by a calm assessnt.
They stood there for a mont, simply looking at each other, the ancient demigod and the impossible anomaly. Kassandra broke the silence first, her voice regaining its wary edge, her hand tightening on her sword. "Who are you, stranger?"
The man seed lost in thought for another second, still looking at her with an intensity that was unnerving.
"Is soone as handso as you," Kassandra pressed, tilting her head, "a part of the Order of the Ancients? Perhaps their predecessors?"
'He's silent...' she thought quickly, 'So that confir-'
Her thought was cut off as the man blinked, seemingly snapping out of a trance.
"Ah... no," he replied smoothly, offering a slight, charming bow that seed oddly out of place in the ancient Isu chamber. "No Templar affiliations here."
He straightened up, eting her gaze directly. "I am Alaric Jonathan Kenway... may I know the na of the legendary misthios I have the honor of addressing?"
Kassandra's eyes widened again, this ti in genuine shock. Misthios. That title... it hadn't been used for her in centuries, not since... "How do you know that na?"
'Is he trying to push my buttons?' she thought, her glare hardening.
The man remained calm. "It is not a na," he replied evenly. "It is a title, is it not?"
Kassandra didn't buy his casual explanation. She drew her sword, the blade shimring into existence in her hand. "A witty one, are you?"
"Fine then... how do you know of that title? And how did you get in here?"
The man, Alaric, raised his hands slightly again. "Woah now, careful with that sword... you could hurt soone."
Kassandra kept the sword steady, glaring at him.
"Be careful, Keeper..." Aletheia's voice echoed urgently in her mind. "I can sense that he is human... yet there is sothing more. Sothing... potent. Dangerous. I cannot read his intentions clearly."
'Dangerous?' Kassandra thought back, keeping her eyes locked on Alaric. 'In what sense? He's tall, perhaps strong, but I've faced far worse...'.
"No..." Aletheia insisted. "It is more than that. His mind... it is shielded sohow. I cannot read him as I can others."
Kassandra pushed Aletheia's warning aside for the mont, focusing on the intruder. "You break into this place, bypass defenses that have stood for centuries, and you expect a nice greeting?"
The man's smile widened slightly, infuriatingly. "Did you perhaps talk to Aletheia just now? Did she warn you about ?"
Kassandra widened her eyes once again, stumbling back half a step in shock.
"WHAT!? How does he know my na!?" Aletheia's ntal voice shrieked with disbelief and alarm, mirroring Kassandra's own reaction.
Kassandra's grip tightened on her sword until her knuckles were white. This man knew far, far too much.
"It seems you know far more than you should, stranger," she said, her voice dropping dangerously low. "I should just question you again when I break your legs… I have been civil enough."
With that, they fought.
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