Assassin's Creed: Renaissance

Chapter 59

He remembered that the secret door was hidden on the right side of the pattern, where the woman carrying the firewood was.He leaned forward, examined the painting carefully, and finally found the very inconspicuous outline.Then he carefully examined the details on the left and right sides of the woman in the painting.Near her feet, a child was drawn raising his right hand, and at the tip of that finger, Ezio found the button to open the secret door.After the secret door opened, he walked in lightly, and was not surprised to see it quickly close behind him.Anyway, he will not consider any retreat now.

It seemed to him that he was in the long corridors of the catacombs, but when he advanced cautiously for a while, the rough walls and earthen floor gave way to flat stone walls and marble floors, as luxurious as a palace.And there was something supernaturally dim about the walls.

The wound left him weak, but he still pushed himself forward.The scenery on both sides made him fascinated, and the awe in his heart was greater than the fear, but he still kept his guard because he knew that Borgia passed through this road.

The last passage turned into a large room.The walls here were as smooth as glass and glowed with the same iridescent blue light he'd seen before, only stronger than before.In the center of the room is a pedestal, above which rests an Apple of Eden and a papal staff on a bracket apparently designed for this purpose.

There were hundreds of evenly spaced holes in the wall at the back of the room, and the Spaniard stood there, slapping the wall in despair, oblivious to Ezio's presence.

"Open it, damn it, open it!" he yelled, frustrated and angry.

Ezio stepped forward. "It's over, Rodrigo," he said. "Give it up. There's no point."

Rodrigo turned sharply to face him.

"Let's stop playing tricks," Ezio said, unwrapping his wrist blade and throwing it to the ground, "and stop using ancient relics. And weapons. Now... let me see your Be patient, old man."

A smile slowly appeared on Rodrigo's face that was pale with lust. "Okay—if you want to play like that."

He took off the heavy robe and wore only a tunic and breeches.His body is fat but powerful, and from time to time he can see small lightning flashing by - that is the power given to him by the scepter.He stepped forward and threw his first punch - a vicious uppercut that caught Ezio in the jaw and made him dizzy. "Why can't your father mind his own business?" Rodrigo said sadly, lifting his boot and kicking Ezio hard in the stomach. "He just won't let it go, and yet...you are like him. You assassins are like a swarm of annoying mosquitoes. If only that idiot Alberti had hanged you and your family 27 years ago."

"It's not us who are evil, it's you, you Templars," Ezio retorted, sticking out a tooth, "you think the populace - decent ordinary people - are your playthings, you think Do whatever you want."

"But my dear friend," said Rodrigo, punching Ezio in the ribs, "that is what they are for. Scum is to be ruled and used. It has always been so, and it will always be so."

"Forget it," gasped Ezio, "this quarrel is meaningless. We are fighting to the death. But tell me first, what do you want to do with the crypt behind this wall? Haven't you already Have you got all the power you need?"

Rodrigo looked surprised. "You don't know what's inside? Doesn't the great and powerful Brotherhood of Assassins know even that?"

Rodrigo's tone made Ezio pause. "what are you saying?"

Rodrigo's eyes lit up. "It's God! God himself lives in this tomb!"

Ezio was too surprised to say anything for a moment.He knew he was dealing with a dangerous madman. "Look, do you really think I'm going to believe that God lives under the Vatican?"

"Oh, wouldn't it be more logical than a kingdom in the clouds? 'Surrounded by singing angels and cherubs'? It sounds charming, but the truth is far more interesting than that."

"But what is God doing here?"

"He wants someone to set him free."

Ezio took a deep breath. "Assuming I trust you—what do you think he'll do if you do open the door?"

Rodrigo smiled. "I don't care. It's not his approval I'm looking for, of course—it's his power!"

"Do you think he would be willing to give up his power?"

"No matter what is behind this wall, it cannot resist the combined power of the scepter and the apple," Rodrigo paused, "They are used to kill gods—no matter what religion they are."

"But our God is supposed to be all-knowing and all-powerful. Do you really think two ancient relics can hurt him?"

Rodrigo gave a haughty smile. "You are ignorant, child. To you, the image of the Creator comes from an ancient book—a book written by men, I remind you."

"But you are the Pope! How can you deny the central writings of Christianity?"

Rodrigo laughed. "Are you really that naive? I became Pope just to gain power. It gives me strength! Do you really think I believe a damn word in that ridiculous book? It's all lies and superstition. Just Like every religious book after humans learned to write!"

"Some people will kill you for your words."

"Maybe. But I won't lose sleep over these thoughts." He paused, then added, "Ezio, it's because we Templars understand human nature that we treat it with such contempt!"

Ezio was speechless and just continued to listen to the Pope's yelling.

"When my work here is over," Rodrigo continued, "I think the first thing I will do is to disband the church, so that those men and women will finally bear the consequences of their actions and be properly judged!" He said Show a happy smile. "The beautiful new world of the Knights Templar - ruled by reason and order..."

"Your whole life has been one of violence and immorality," Ezio interrupted. "What right do you have to talk about reason and order?"

"Oh, I know I'm not perfect, Ezio," the Pope said with an artificial smile, "and I'm not going to try to pretend. But you see, morality won't do you any good. You should hurry up Everything you can get—by any means. After all," he spread his hands, "you only have one life!"

"If all people lived by your code," Ezio horrified, "the whole world would be swallowed up by madness."

"Exactly! But the world has long been swallowed by madness!" Rodrigo pointed at him, "Did you doze off in history class? Just hundreds of years ago, our ancestors were still living in the mud , ignorance and fanaticism ruled them—fear of everything, even shadows."

"But we've long since moved on from that era, wiser and stronger."

Rodrigo laughed again. "What a dream! But look around you. You're living in reality. There's killing and violence. And the chasm between rich and poor—a chasm that's widening." He stared at Ezio eyes, "Equality will never come. I've accepted it. You should too."

"Never! Assassins will always strive for the improvement of human nature. Maybe it is an unattainable goal, like utopia, like a paradise on earth, but every day, we will continue to struggle and continue to stay away from the quagmire."

Rodrigo sighed. "You are astonishingly innocent! Forgive me, but I've had enough of waiting for humans to wake up on their own. I'm old, I've seen a lot, and I don't have many years to live now." He suddenly thought of something, sinisterly Laughed: "Who knows? Maybe the tomb can change this fact, can't it?"

The Apple of Eden began to glow, and grew brighter, until its radiance filled the room and blinded them.The Pope fell to his knees.Blocking the light as much as possible, Ezio saw the map from the ancient tome projected onto the hollowed-out wall.He stepped forward and grabbed the Pope's scepter.

"No!" Rodrigo clutched the air in vain with his skinny hands. "You can't! You can't! This is my destiny. Mine! I am the prophet!"

Faced with this undeniable truth, Ezio realized with horror that his fellow Assassins had seen what he did not want to admit, many years earlier in Venice.The Prophet is indeed here, in this room, and is about to fulfill his destiny.He looked at Rodrigo with almost pity. "You have never been a prophet," he said, "you pathetic and stupid man."

The Pope sat back on the ground, looking old, bloated, and pathetic.Then he said in a helpless tone: "The price of failure is death. At least let me die with dignity."

Ezio looked at him and shook his head. "No, you old fool. Killing you won't bring my family back to life. Neither will anyone who died either from defying you or from your incompetent leadership. As for myself, I've Enough of the killing." He looked into the Pope's eyes, which were now milky white, frightened and old, their former aggression gone. "Nothing is true," Ezio said, "everything is allowed. It is time for you to find your own peace."

He turned around, raised the scepter toward the wall, and poked its points into the holes in the specific order marked on the map.

At this moment, the outline of a gate emerged on the wall.

(End of this chapter)