Several days passed, quickly turning into weeks. The endless corporate drama and intense legal warfare slowly faded into the background as the most highly anticipated day of the year finally arrived. Today was the official release of Assassin's Creed.
On the agricultural planet of Obelia II, the sun had already dipped below the horizon, casting a peaceful, deep purple twilight over the endless fields of crops.
Inside his cozy, tech-integrated farmhouse, Ewron had just finished uploading his latest farming vlog to his Stellarcast channel. With his work entirely done for the day, he settled comfortably into his plush living room couch to do what he always did to relax: play video games.
Curled up right beside him was Lulu. The little hound puppy he had adopted months ago had grown significantly larger, her long legs and thick frame now taking up a good portion of the cushions. Ewron was currently deep in the tall grass of the Kanto region, heavily invested in a grueling shiny hunt. While Lulu did not actually play the game in any real capacity, Ewron strongly believed she was his ultimate lucky charm.
As Ewron paced his digital character back and forth, the screen suddenly flashed, signaling a wild encounter.
"Oh, oh," Ewron whispered, nudging his dog. "Lulu, paw!"
Lulu lazily lifted her large front paw and batted clumsily at the heliopad screen. The encounter transitioned, and the wild Pokémon slid into view. It was a Ponyta, wreathed in brilliant, blazing blue flames. A cluster of sparkling stars erupted around it.
Ewron let out a massive, triumphant roar. Even though Lulu had previously patted the screen for hundreds of regular encounters with absolutely zero success, this one single shiny was all the proof he needed to validate her magical luck.
"Yes! Good girl, Lulu!" Ewron chuckled loudly. The hound wagged her tail, visibly happy just to see her owner so excited. Ewron happily fed her a premium jerky treat while he carefully focused on lowering the blue Ponyta's health bar without accidentally making it faint.
Another hour of peaceful gaming passed. Just as he was organizing his newly organized PC boxes, a sharp alarm chimed from his wristband. A small holographic text box popped up over his wrist: [NEW GAME RELEASE].
Ewron gasped. He quickly saved his Pokémon game and opened the Heliostore, navigating straight to the Round Table Studio developer page.
There it was. Assassin's Creed.
Ewron looked at the purchase button, and his eyes widened slightly. The standard galactic AAA price tag of 45 credits was crossed out. In its place, the store displayed a heavily discounted price of exactly 30 credits.
Ewron stared at the regional pricing, feeling a sudden twinge of guilt. The Void system algorithm automatically registered Obelia II as a medium-income farming planet, automatically adjusting the price to help struggling agricultural workers afford the entertainment.
However, as a highly successful Stellarcaster, Ewron personally made significantly more money than the average farmer in his sector. Taking advantage of RTS's generosity felt entirely wrong.
He tapped his chin, quickly formulating a plan. He decided to purchase the game for himself, and then he immediately bought twenty extra digital keys at full price.
He would host a massive giveaway for his loyal subscribers later in the week. It was the perfect way to ease his conscience and support his favorite studio.
For now, though, it was time to play.
Ewron initiated the download. He jumped up from the couch and headed to the kitchen to prepare the ultimate gaming setup, grabbing a large bowl of chips for himself and another handful of treats for Lulu.
By the time he returned to the living room, the installation was complete. Ewron cast his heliopad display directly to the massive holoscreen mounted on his wall and picked up his wireless controller. He took a deep breath, his heart pounding with raw excitement, and tapped play.
The bright room went pitch black. A single, heavy metallic sound echoed from the high-fidelity speakers.
A beautifully rendered, gleaming broadsword plunged downward from the shadows, stabbing violently into a thick wooden table. The hilt and blade of the weapon acted as the 'T', perfectly completing the bold text of the Round Table Studio splash screen.
Ewron leaned forward, completely captivated. And just like that, the legendary story of Ezio Auditore da Firenze had officially begun in this universe.
…
"AYO!! What the fuck! Where is this gaggle of guards keeping coming from?!"
Roric's panicked scream echoed through his streaming room as he violently mashed the dodge button on his controller. On the screen, Desmond Miles was currently sprinting through the sterile, maze-like corridors of the Abstergo facility, desperately following Lucy Stillman.
A squad of baton-wielding corporate guards rushed them.
The chat was completely merciless, bombarding his peripheral monitor with a wall of rapidly scrolling text.
[GamerGuy22]:Yo, Lucy is handling herself pretty good.
[Void_Watcher]:Yeah, unlike our boy Roric over here, LMAO. Stop button mashing!
[StrategyKing]:Roric is actually getting carried by the NPC.
Despite Roric's panicked flailing, the combat engine was an absolute revelation to the galactic gaming community. Unlike the clunky, point-and-click combat of traditional Accord games, this felt viscerally real.
Every time Roric pressed the attack button, Desmond threw a desperate, heavy punch. The player could physically feel the brute-force endurance in Desmond's fighting style. It wasn't elegant, but it was powerful and incredibly responsive.
What the players didn't know was that this specific, heavy combat weight was achieved because Dorian had personally worn the motion-capture suit while aggressively sparring with Ares, the God of War.
Roric finally managed to land a heavy haymaker, knocking the last guard out cold. They reached the parking garage. Lucy quickly popped the trunk of a blue sedan and gestured for Desmond to get inside.
Roric blinked, staring at his screen in disbelief. "Are we serious right now? We are escaping a multi-billion-credit evil corporation in the trunk of a dinky ancient car?"
A short, tense cinematic later, Desmond and Lucy arrived at a massive, hidden warehouse hideout. As they walked through the dimly lit space, Lucy began to explain the terrifying reality of their situation. She detailed the true, world-dominating objectives of the modern Templar Order, and the mythical artifact they were desperately searching for: The Apple of Eden.
Roric absorbed the heavy, conspiracy-laden lore, completely captivated by the vibe of the narrative. He leaned toward his microphone.
"So, chat," Roric summarized. "This Templar group really doesn't seem good for us. They literally want to brainwash the whole planet into total obedience."
[LoreNerd99]:Wait, maybe they are the good guys and we are the bad guys? Order sounds better than chaos.
[DownBad_99]:I think I will just follow Lucy and whatever she says is good enough for me.
[StardewSweat]:Mods, ban that horny guy!
Inside the hideout, the game officially introduced two new core characters: the sarcastic, sharp-tongued historian Shaun Hastings, and the energetic tech-genius Rebecca Crane. Desmond was immediately led to a glowing, red-lit medical chair. It was the Animus 2.0, or as Rebecca proudly called it, her "baby".
"Wait," Roric muttered as Desmond laid back in the chair, the screen fracturing into digital code. "Is this a new genre of games inside of a game, chat?"
[TryHard_88]:Focus, Roric. Let's see how good this simulation actually is.
The digital white void violently collapsed, bursting into a breathtaking, sun-drenched Renaissance Florence in the year 1476.
Roric was suddenly in control of a much younger, more vibrant protagonist: Ezio Auditore. And he was instantly thrown into a massive street brawl on a stone bridge against a rival noble named Vieri de' Pazzi.
As a seasoned gamer, Roric's jaw literally dropped. He instantly noted the brilliant, revolutionary approach to the tutorial. Usually, AAA Accord titles forced players into a boring, featureless 'white void' to practice button inputs. With this bridge brawl, Round Table Studio had flawlessly integrated the combat tutorial directly into the narrative.
And the combat itself was staggeringly different from Desmond's. It was incredibly fluid, yet deeply impactful. Roric could feel the immense, satisfying weight behind every single one of Ezio's dodges, grabs, and haymakers.
When the brawl finally ended and Vieri fled, a prompt appeared on the screen, allowing Ezio to bend down and search the pockets of the unconscious thugs.
"Oh, sweet," Roric grinned, immediately pressing the button. "Free money."
[Void_Watcher]:YOOO the return of Roric the Loot Goblin!
[GalacticFarmer]:Oh no... the Stardew Valley looting instincts are taking over all over again.
[SleepyFrog]:Hide your valuables, Sela! Roric is coming for your pockets!
Roric instantly stopped smiling, deadpanning at the camera as he collected his twenty-three florins.
The story progressed. After a cutscene detailing Ezio's charming, carefree lifestyle, the sun rose on the next day. The very first thing Ezio did was get caught sneaking out of a beautiful noblewoman's bedroom, resulting in her furious father and a squad of city guards chasing him through the streets.
"Hah! Women," Roric laughed, expertly guiding Ezio down an alleyway. "He is just like me, chat."
[SavageTruth]:Roric's delusional tendencies are acting up again.
[GamerGuy22]:Bro, the only woman you sneak away from is your digital Stardew wife.
Ignoring the merciless roasting, Roric held down the sprint button and pointed his joystick at a sheer brick wall. To his absolute shock, Ezio didn't just smash into it. The young noble seamlessly ran up the bricks, grabbed a wooden ledge, hoisted himself up, and fluidly vaulted onto the terracotta rooftops.
"Whoa!" Roric gasped, his eyes lighting up.
As the parkour sequence progressed, Roric smiled wider and wider. The physics engine was a masterpiece. It felt profoundly satisfying. Every jump, every climb, and every precarious balance on a wooden beam felt utterly grounded in reality.
Eventually, he reached the synchronization point on a towering cathedral. The objective marker appeared far, far below him, hovering directly over a small wooden cart filled with a clump of hay.
"Alright," Roric muttered, trying to gauge the dizzying height. "I guess that is the endpoint. I probably just have to climb down carefully."
But as he nudged the joystick forward and pressed jump, Ezio didn't grab the ledge below him.
Instead, Ezio threw his arms out wide and dove headfirst into the abyss.
"AHHH!" Roric screamed, physically recoiling in his chair.
But as Ezio plummeted, the game's audio completely dropped out, replaced by the piercing, majestic screech of an eagle. The camera dynamically shifted into slow-motion, capturing the sheer, terrifying thrill of the Leap of Faith.
Ezio plunged perfectly into the center of the haystack, the soft impact masking his presence entirely as the confused guards ran past the cart, completely losing his track.
Roric sat frozen in his chair, his hands gripping his controller tightly. Slowly, a massive, awe-struck smile spread across his face.
After evading the city guards, Roric successfully guided Ezio back to the Auditore palazzo. A cinematic cutscene triggered as Ezio entered his father's study.
Giovanni Auditore stood behind his desk, his face set in a stern, deeply disappointed scowl.
"Do you think I am blind?" Giovanni reprimanded his son sharply, his voice echoing in the opulent room. "I know all about your little street brawl with Vieri de' Pazzi last night. And then, this little midnight visit to Cristina! Your behavior is absolutely unacceptable!"
Roric winced, leaning back in his chair. "Oof. We are getting grounded, chat."
Giovanni sighed heavily, rubbing his face. "It... it... it reminds me of myself when I was your age."
The sudden, entirely unexpected comedic shift completely broke the tension. Roric burst into loud, genuine laughter, slapping his desk.
"Oh my stars!" Roric wheezed. "The playboy genes are strong, huh? Like father, like son!"
The chat instantly erupted into a chaotic mess of scrolling text.
[GamerGuy22]:LMAOOO DAD IS A W.
[StardewSweat]:Wait, are we really just playing a historical fuckboy?
[DownBad_99]:Well, if the daddy is a fuckboy... does that make him a fuckdaddy?
[LoreNerd99]:What are we even talking about right now?! Stop!
[Void_Watcher]:Auditore bloodline goes crazy.
Following the lighthearted reprimand, the story seamlessly transitioned into introducing the rest of Ezio's family. Roric spent the next hour completing simple, mundane tasks around the city. He beat up a cheating fiancé for Ezio's sister, Claudia. He collected eagle feathers for his sickly little brother, Petruccio. He even helped his mother carry paintings from a brilliant, eccentric young artist named Leonardo da Vinci.
It was a masterclass in game design. Through simple mission after simple mission, the players were organically familiarizing themselves with the controls, the city layout, and the deep, loving bond of the Auditore family.
But then, the narrative took a sudden, violent shift.
Ezio returned home from an errand to find his house completely ransacked. His father and brothers had been dragged away by the city guards in the middle of the day.
"What?!" Roric shouted, sitting up straight, his relaxed posture instantly vanishing. "Prison?! The fuck do we do?!"
The story propelled forward with brutal urgency. Roric expertly free-climbed the towering walls of the Palazzo Vecchio under the cover of night, reaching the high barred windows of the prison cell where Giovanni was being held.
Through the iron bars, Giovanni gave Ezio a desperate final mission: return home, open the hidden chest in his office, and deliver the documents inside to Uberto Alberti, a close family friend and the Gonfaloniere of Justice.
When Roric navigated Ezio back to the hidden chest, he didn't just find documents. He found a gleaming, masterfully crafted sword, a hidden blade, and a set of heavy, white-and-red hooded robes.
As Ezio put the Assassin clothes on, pulling the eagle-beaked hood over his face, a profound sense of completeness washed over Roric. This was the man from the trailer.
Ezio immediately rushed to deliver the sealed documents to Uberto Alberti. The magistrate warmly took the papers, swearing on his life that he would get Ezio's father and brothers released the very next morning.
Roric narrowed his eyes at the screen. "Chat... I don't know. Something is off. I suspect this Uberto guy."
Sure enough, the next morning brought absolute devastation.
Ezio pushed his way through a massive crowd gathered in the Piazza della Signoria. Up on the wooden gallows, with their hands bound, stood Giovanni, Federico, and little Petruccio. And standing before them, reading their death sentences, was Uberto Alberti himself.
The man who had sworn to save them was the exact same man accusing them of treason. He had destroyed the documents that proved their innocence.
"I am innocent! We are all innocent!" Giovanni roared to the crowd.
"I execute you in the name of the city of Firenze!" Uberto yelled back, raising his hand.
Then... Drop!
A sickening, heavy snap of rope echoed through Roric's headphones. Just like that, without any grand rescue or heroic intervention, Ezio's father and brothers were dead, hanging lifelessly from the gallows in the morning sun.
Ezio screamed, drawing his sword and charging furiously toward Uberto, completely blinded by rage.
The chat was in a state of absolute, unadulterated panic.
[StrategyKing]:WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED?!
[Void_Watcher]:KILL HIM! KILL HIM NOW!
[StardewSweat]:DEATH TO UBERTO AND HIS ENTIRE LINEAGE!
[GamerGuy22]:Fack man... his dad was so cool...
But the game did not want them to fight. A swarm of heavily armored guards surrounded Ezio. The mission objective urgently flashed on the screen:
[ESCAPE. CHECK ON YOUR MOTHER AND SISTER.]
Roric's heart was hammering against his ribs. He instinctively turned and began sprinting away from the gallows, aggressively shoving civilians out of the way as he parkoured up the nearest wall to escape the pursuing guards.
"It's alright, chat!" Roric yelled, his voice laced with genuine, rising panic. "We need to check on Mom and Sis! We have to get them out of the city!"
And so began the true story of Ezio Auditore da Firenze. He was no longer a carefree noble playboy. He was a man consumed by anger, grieving the horrific loss of his blood, and deeply, dangerously reckless.
The entire galaxy was now a captive witness to where this dark path would lead. But for now, they just had to survive. Ezio's mother was left in a catatonic state of shock, Claudia was utterly devastated, and the warm, loving family they had spent hours getting to know was permanently broken apart.
…
Meanwhile, lightyears away from the digital rooftops of Florence, Dorian was finally enjoying a rare, incredibly well-deserved moment of absolute peace.
He was sprawled comfortably on the massive sofa in the Kepler estate living room, letting out a long, exhausted yawn. A beautifully vibrant, freezing-cold Articuno rested elegantly on the backrest beside his shoulder, serving as a perfect, living air-conditioner. Down below, his newly evolved Charmeleon was snoring softly, its heavy, warm head resting directly in Dorian's lap.
It had been a while since he could just be a lazy young adult.
With a relaxed sigh, Dorian raised his hand and mentally summoned his Creator interface to check his profile. The glowing blue screen materialized in the air before him. Right at the top of the Gacha menu, a brand new entry appeared to celebrate the global release of the new game.
[Profile: Prince of the Renaissance]
Dorian checked the point conversion rates, letting out a heavy breath of relief. Thankfully, it was nowhere near as financially devastating as the mythological weapons of Hades or the living, breathing bio-weapons of Pokémon.
[Stardew Valley Banner]:
1 Point for 1 Pull,
10 Points for 10 Pulls,
100 Points for 100 Pulls.
[Assassin's Creed Banner]:
100 Points for 1 Pull,
1,000 Points for 10 Pulls,
10,000 Points for 100 Pulls.
[Hades Banner]:
1,000 Points for 1 Pull,
10,000 Points for 10 Pulls,
100,000 Points for 100 Pulls.
[Pokémon: FireRed Banner]:
10,000 Points for 1 Pull,
100,000 Points for 10 Pulls,
1,000,000 Points for 100 Pulls.
Dorian had plenty of resonance points accumulated from the massive influx of Nazir, Briane, and other Percival's composed songs.
Armed with his working theory regarding the system, Dorian knew all he had to do right now was wait. The quality of the Gacha pulls was directly tied to the collective progression of the player base.
If he pulled right now, while everyone was just starting the tutorial, he would likely just get basic throwing knives, some items, or useless Renaissance-era velvet cloaks. He needed the players to progress deep into the story, to synchronize with the Assassin Brotherhood, and to uncover the Pieces of Eden before he started rolling.
Besides, everything else was finally stabilizing. The aggressive counter-suits Raja had filed against the AAA publishers were proceeding flawlessly. They had already won several early settlements, and the massive influx of corporate credits easily paid off all the previous court fees and funded their ongoing development.
All in all, everything was coming together perfectly.
Just then, Lyra walked into the living room, aggressively stuffing datapads and textbooks into her heavy academy backpack.
Dorian looked up. "Hey, Ly! Heading to Astra Nova?"
"Yeah," Lyra sighed, adjusting the strap on her shoulder. "Mid-terms are coming up."
"Want me to fly you out?" Dorian offered, gently lifting the sleeping Charmeleon's head off his lap and standing up.
Lyra paused, a small smile breaking through her stressed expression. "Sure."
Dorian grabbed his favorite jacket from the coat rack, and the two siblings walked out to the private landing pad where the Millennium Falcon was parked.
Once they were strapped into the cockpit and the Falcon had safely engaged its hyperdrive, Dorian immediately transformed back into the insufferably nosy older brother that he was. For the entire duration of the hyperspace jump, he bombarded her with questions. Was she eating enough real food at the cafeteria? Were her grades slipping? Were any of her classmates bothering her?
Lyra just rolled her eyes, groaning and deflecting his rapid-fire interrogations with the practiced ease of a teenage sister.
After a while, the swirling blue tunnel of hyperspace collapsed into starlight, and the Falcon smoothly approached the glittering orbital campus of Astra Nova.
As Dorian powered down the primary thrusters and locked the ship onto the designated academy docking ring, Lyra unbuckled her harness and popped the airlock seal.
"Careful out there!" Dorian shouted from the pilot's seat. "Study properly!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Lyra called back dismissively, not even looking back as she waved a hand and stepped out onto the bustling academy terminal.
Dorian smiled, leaning forward against the control yoke to watch his sister safely walk through the crowds through the cockpit's viewport.
But as his eyes tracked her movements, he suddenly noticed a disruption in the flow of the students. A boy in a sharp, senior-level uniform had stopped completely dead in his tracks. The senior was staring openly, almost nervously, at Lyra as she walked past him toward her designated classroom block.
Dorian's easy smile instantly vanished. He narrowed his eyes, a dark, heavy, and intensely protective aura suddenly filling the cockpit of the Falcon.
It was the exact same senior boy who had been staring at Lyra up in the VVIP stands during the Percival concert. Of course, Dorian didn't know that specific context, all he saw was an older teenager looking at his little sister.
'I need to tell Dad,' Dorian thought, his jaw clenching with strict, overprotective brotherly instinct. 'It's too early for Lyra to be bringing any boys to the house.'
Dorian reached out with his resonance, his mind briefly touching the divine tether to Olympus. Should he call Hermes? The God of Speed could easily stalk the boy invisibly and get a detailed background check on him.
Dorian tapped his fingers against the control yoke, considering the abuse of his Creator authority.
'Nah,' Dorian decided, letting the divine connection fade. 'That might be an overreaction. I'll just keep his face firmly in mind... for now.'