"Your time is not over, my son. This is just the beginning."
Desmond Miles opened his eyes to see the familiar face of someone he thought he'd never see again. The man was dressed in gray robes, and the unmistakable scar on his upper lip stood out in the dim light.
"Ezio? What... How are you here?" asked Desmond, with a confused expression. "I thought I sacrificed my life...?"
"You are dead, Desmond. But death is only the beginning," said Ezio.
They were in some kind of sewer system. Rock walls stood about ten feet away from Desmond on either side. He was sitting in water, and Ezio pulled him up and led him to the narrow walkway attached to the wall on the right side.
"What is this?" asked Desmond, but Ezio raised a finger to his lips. Squinting, Desmond looked behind him, down the dim, candle lit tunnel, to see a figure further down. He was dressed in a revolution-styled hooded suit, and held a bow in front of him, ready to fire.
With a twang, an arrow sliced through the air towards the two.
"DUCK!" yelled Ezio.
Desmond did as he was told, and heard the arrow swish overhead.
"RUN, DESMOND!" shouted Ezio, and Desmond did so without hesitation.
Together, ancestor and descendant, the two sprinted down the walkway in the opposite direction. Desmond made a right as Ezio fired a shot from his wrist gun behind him.
Out of nowhere, another white robed man leapt from the sewer waters and onto Desmond.
Holding him down, the figure slowly released a hidden blade from the gauntlet on his arm.
"Altaiir?" gasped Desmond, just before the assassin was tackled and stabbed by Ezio.
"Get used to it," said Ezio, throwing down a smoke bomb. "This hasn't even gotten weird yet."
Desmond got back up, and crept with Ezio to the end of the tunnel. They had reached an old wooden ladder, and Ezio began to climb. When he reached the top, about ten feet up, he slid a board away, flooding this part of the tunnel in light. Ezio climbed up, and gestured for Desmond to follow.
Desmond began to climb, when a gunshot filled the air.
He turned around, and saw another one of his ancestors, Connor Kenway.
The assassin of the American Revolution reloaded his pistol as he sloshed through the sewer water, his expression grim.
Desmond began to climb faster, and reached Ezio just as Connor had finished reloading.
Quickly, Ezio replaced the board, and wiped a bead of sweat from his brow.
They were now in an old, sandy shack. Sand lay in piles around the floor, covering the chairs around the table that sat in the middle of the room. Bright light shone through the boarded windows.
"Where am I? How are we all here together?" asked Desmond.
Ezio brushed sand off of a seat and sat down. "You have lived the lives of your ancestors. This is not a natural feat."
"You don't say," retorted Desmond, sitting down across from Ezio.
"You cannot die in peace without justifying who you are. The human mind is only meant to handle one life, where you have handled multiple lives in your crusade against the Templars."
"I know. But I thought we already fixed this back when I was in that coma! I had to finish your life and Altaiir's in order to wake up! So now you're telling me that was for nothing?"
"That was to return to the land of the living," said Ezio. "But now, as you take your last breaths, you must prove that Desmond Miles is the dominant life that you lead."
"How am I supposed to do that?" said Desmond irratably.
"By dominating over the others. This place... is a simulation, of sorts. An arena. You must survive the perils of your lineage, and when you do, you can finish this. The life of the Assassin will be completed for you."
Desmond scratched his head, angered. He had done so much. He thought that it was finally over for him. But he was wrong.
"When do we get started?" asked Desmond.