A/N: Hello, and welcome to my attempt at a non-Legend of Zelda story!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Assassin's Creed franchise, or any characters created by Ubisoft. I do, however, own all of my OCs. This is true for every chapter in this fan created fiction.

In a world where power is the ultimate goal in every man and woman, there is bound to be corruption. People look to seize their power through any means necessary, and do not hesitate to step on others to get there. Each person stepped on seeks revenge, and then steps on others to get it. The cycle continues in a never-ending wheel of betrayal and hate. When one man or woman becomes too powerful, another cuts them down, so that they may take their power. Then they too, will be cut down. The game goes on forever, never halting for anyone.

There are few who do fight back, but only for their own selfish whims and hopes. As they only hope to pull themselves higher in the ladder of power, only to fall into the circle. That circle, full of bloodshed and betrayal. Only does failure bring about peace, but it also brings chaos. If one man falls from his place on the ladder, then he is sure to grab those below him. Lies and slander bring about the failures of many, and then are used to pull others of the ladder.

Forever will this circle exist, pushing and pulling Man in its own direction, men and women alike being thrown around in the circle towards the destination of failure. Man can only do so much to combat this circle or power, but they can do something. Man can do one thing against the Circle. Pull men out of it. But no one man or woman can do this, you need many to fight corruption. Only those that haven't been fully corrupted can be saved, while others must be thrown out of the circle in the most forceful way possible.

However, these groups do meet resistance, as others feel the Circle to be the way of humanity. War will break out between these two parties, secret skirmishes all around. Even those who want to stop corruption meet resistance by corrupted. Those they feel are corrupted by false beliefs and hopes, clinging to the ways of old. This in itself will continue forever, becoming a never-ending loop. Hope will be found, lost, and found again, forever.

But, in these circles, relief can be found. As one group falls, the two parties separate and do not feud for a time, remaining hidden from one another. These groups become more and more secretive, slowly falling out of the loop and letting the Circle run its path, only to reappear later to begin chipping away at the Circle. These groups continue to work in secret in their never-ending loop. Only to fall back again into their, only to hide again. This becoming another never-ending struggle for peace and prosperity.

The sky was dark and cloudless, leaving the land a shadow. All around him were faceless specters, watching with no discernable emotions. His clothes were heavy but loose, weighing him down but empowering him. He suddenly felt large, on top of the world. As if he could handle anything life threw at him. The feeling soon gave away to dread and fear, leaving his gut to churn uncomfortably. His eyes burned and sulfur invaded his taste buds. The faceless figures were now standing, forming a ring around him, their white faces watching him silently. Ahead of the crowd of faceless specters was a glowing figure. It gave off a golden light, revealing some form of facial structure within the glow.

His feet moved of their own accord, leading him towards the golden figure. He put a hand on his side, pulling something from his hip with a sharp tug. He held the item before him, seeing it to be a polished, golden-hilted, one-edged blade. He pointed it at the golden specter threateningly, slicing the air before him. A deep, throaty laugh echoed through the otherwise silent room, seemingly shaking the walls. He opened his mouth, but found it was not his own voice that fought its way through the silence.

"Hai offeso questo mondo, malign. In modi non si capisce. Per questo, is punizione è la morte!"

Suddenly, he lunged forward, plowing through the faceless specters with ease. He raised the one-edged blade, bringing it down in a swift motion. The golden figure rolled out of the way and drew its own weapon. Once more, he jumped at the golden figure, bringing down his blade. The figure raise its knife-like weapon, parrying the attack and landing a punch on its attacker's back. The attacking man spun, driving his palm into the golden figure's stomach. The figure coughed, then moved its hands to its abdomen. It then fell over, its glow diminishing.

Ken…

The soft, powerful voice came from an unknown origin, causing the walls of the building to shake and crack.

Ken …

Everything began to fall away, leaving him standing in a black abyss. Floating in nothing but with solid footing.

Ken…

"Ken? Ken … Ke~en. I know you can hear me. C'mon wake up!"

The sing-song voice rang through his ear, breaking the boy from his semi-unconscious state. But, it soon quieted down, leaving him to once more slip into-

"KEN!"

The boy jumped, rattling the desk he was seated in loudly. He quickly looked around the room, finding it almost completely void of any inhabitants, save for himself and the young girl before him.

"What-"he started, only to be cut off by the girl again.

"Bell already rang, you slept through it."

"I slept through the bell?" he asked, confused.

"Yeah, even I don't do that. What's up man? You've been looking more and more tired every day!"

He broke the short gaze, adverting his eyes from hers. He did not plan to give a straight answer, instead choosing to give her the run-around he had been giving his family for the past few months.

"Nothing, just not sleeping well."

She narrowed her eyes at him, obviously not believing his generic answer. She thought to press him for more information, but was quickly cut off as he jumped up and grabbed his backpack. He stuffed his textbooks inside and begin marching down the hallway, quickening his pace as a second set of footfalls begin to echo throughout the halls. He slipped the single strap of his banana-bag around his torso in an attempt to distract himself from the girl calling his name out behind him. But his hops were short lived as he felt a small hand upon his shoulder.

"Ken … we're all worried about you. You've been falling asleep in class, letting your grades slip, and avoiding all of us all week."

He attempted to ignore her pleading tone and gentle voice, instead thoroughly inspecting his shoes. He refused to look into her eyes, knowing they were her strongest asset in getting him to spill his secrets.

"Look, it's just- nothing. Don't worry Jess."

She narrowed her eyes, inspecting his face for any signs of honesty- or therefore lack of. She sighed and diverted her gaze to the floor. Ken looked up and wrapped her in an embrace, suddenly guilty for causing her so much worry.

"Don't worry Jess, one good night's sleep and I'll be fine."

Sighing again, she returned the embrace before speaking.

"Just, try and get back to normal. I don't like tired, raggedy Ken."

He chuckled, breaking the embrace and stepping back.

"Well, I'll try. Hey, I'll see you tomorrow Jess."

He turned from her, raising a hand in farewell as he walked away. He quickened his pace as he rounded the corner, attempting to push his way through the after-school crowd flowing to the buses and various cars. Ken never rode a bus though, instead opting to walk the mile to and from school. The walk never bothered him and, because most of the town was on level ground, he always made good time.

He rounded the corner-store, moving into one of the back alleys. He usually took this route when he was extremely late or in need of exercise. Today, however, was just from sheer boredom. The route covered the multiple rooftops and landed him on the fire escape of his apartment. He tended to frighten his parents, but as of late he couldn't care less.

He dashed at the brick wall, planting his foot on it and using the momentum of his run to push himself higher on the wall. He grabbed the alley light, planting his feet on the doorframe. He pushed off of the frame, plating his left foot on the alley light and using it to gain more leverage. He grasped the top of the wall, using what little momentum he had to help haul himself up. He ran across the gravel covered roof, jumping over the cement walls used to separate property lines. He ran at the wall ahead of him, once again using the momentum of his sprint to gain leverage by planting his right foot onto the wall. He grabbed onto a fire escape window sill, using it to push himself onto the building's air conditioning unit. He made one more leap, this time grasping the railing to a back alley fire escape. Pulling himself over the rail, he began jumping from fire escape to fire escape. Finally arriving at his apartment building, he climbed up the ladder stairs and into his bedroom window.

He closed his window and let the blinds fall, leaving his room bathed in a faint light. He tossed his bag down and dropped onto his bed, kicking off his shoes as he fell. He just lay there, watching as the light on his ceiling slowly dimmed. He used the now-found quiet to think over the last few day's events.

He had been having odd nightmares, all similar in a few distinct ways. First, the dark is somewhat comforting, then a sudden feeling of urgency. The dark then would hold a feeling of discomfort and anxiousness. He would suddenly feel energized and be surrounded by faceless phantoms. One in particular would glow a golden color. They would stare at each other for a moment before one attacked the other. Sometimes Ken took initiative and sometimes it was the golden figure. It always ended with Ken slaying the figure in some way, shape, or form. Then the dream would end, just as mysterious as it started.

At first, the dreams seemed normal. They wouldn't reoccur and they wouldn't end in a painful death. But soon, they lasted longer, sometimes enveloping his entire night. They left him fatigued and sore. Now, the visions invaded while he was awake. People would emanate some kind of white light, others blue, and a few red. It only happened every now and then, but was often accompanied by a migraine. A few times, the faceless specters would walk on the streets and then disappear as if they never were. Ken was beginning to get less and less sleep, often causing him to doze off in class. His grades were falling fast and he couldn't focus without odd visual hallucinations.

Ken peaked over at his clock, finding it to already be seven o'clock. He had gotten home at four o'clock, meaning he had dozed off for three hours. He didn't feel entirely sleepy, but not fully awake either. He glanced at his school bag, considering catching up on some study. But, he didn't feel like getting a migraine or seeing letters glow and flash. So, he instead opted to lie back down and close his eyes, letting the darkness pull him into blissful unconsciousness.