Chapter 551: How Strong Do You Want Me? (Patreon)

Kenway Keep — Private Dining Room — Philadelphia

"That's different."

"It really isn't."

Kassandra's answer left Alaric with very little room to defend the dignity of Phoenix Sage Mode as a substantially less dramatic name than Successor Ascension Protocol, so he did what any sensible man confronted by an unwinnable argument with his wife would have done… he reached for his tea.

Aletheia watched him through the Staff's projection with the faintest suggestion of satisfaction.

"I will begin constructing the extraction model," the Isu consciousness said, allowing the anatomical diagrams suspended above the table to dissolve into streams of golden-white data. "Before any physical integration is attempted, I need to determine precisely which portions of the conditioning architecture can be isolated without triggering succession authentication."

Alaric lowered his cup. "And Kassandra's cellular compatibility?"

"That will be modeled separately," Aletheia looked toward Kassandra. "When I am prepared, I will require blood and several tissue samples. I will also need a complete contemporary biological scan from the Staff so I can distinguish changes caused by your natural hybrid physiology from those maintained or amplified by the artifact."

Kassandra nodded. "Do what you need."

Aletheia's gaze shifted between them. "I recommend that neither of you attempt anything while I am analyzing the protocols."

Alaric raised an eyebrow. "That sounded directed at me."

"It was."

Kassandra smiled.

"Look at yoy," Alaric looked toward his wife. "Are you enjoying this?"

"A little."

"…" Aletheia's projection began losing definition. "I will notify Kassandra when the first simulations are prepared."

Golden light contracted toward the Staff.

Then Aletheia added, almost as an afterthought, "Alaric."

"Yes?"

"Do not experiment on your wife before I return."

Alaric stared at the fading projection. "I wasn't going to."

Aletheia disappeared, and the Staff dimmed.

Silence settled over the dining room.

Kassandra slowly turned her head.

Alaric noticed.

"What?"

She continued looking at him, so he waited.

Eventually, Kassandra placed the Staff beside her chair and folded her arms across her chest.

"How strong do you want me to become?"

The question caught him more effectively than she expected.

Alaric blinked once.

"What?"

"You heard me."

Kassandra's expression was not angry. If anything, she looked curious, although the curiosity carried enough seriousness beneath it that Alaric knew a joke would only delay the conversation.

She leaned back slightly.

"You discovered an ancient Isu system that can permanently strengthen someone's body, and almost immediately you decided I should have it."

Alaric opened his mouth.

Kassandra lifted one hand. "I know you were not trying to force it on me."

His mouth closed.

She continued, "That is not what I'm asking."

Her gaze remained steady upon him.

"I'm asking whether this bothers you."

Alaric's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"The difference," She gestured between them. "Between what you can do and what everyone else can do."

Alaric's expression became more thoughtful.

Kassandra had seen enough of his abilities to understand that describing him as merely powerful had stopped being useful years ago.

She had watched him control metal across absurd distances, teleport through space, create living wood from nothing, split the sea, and invoke a fragment of phoenix power that made thousands of soldiers look helpless.

What she had not seen was worse.

Madara, the Ten-Tails, a dimension hot enough to destroy ordinary life, Truth-Seeking Orbs, Cronos, the Rinne-Sharingan, the Gedo Mazō now imprisoned within him.

Kassandra did not know every detail, but she knew enough to recognize the direction.

Alaric was still becoming stronger.

"You keep finding things," she said.

"Heh…" He chuckled, smiling faintly. "That sounds accusatory."

"It is observational."

His smile widened for a moment before fading again.

Kassandra continued, "You disappear, something impossible happens, and when you return you have either learned another technique, acquired another ability, survived something that should not exist, or decided a law of nature is optional."

"That last one seems exaggerated."

"You're the one who said you stop time."

"…" Alaric paused. "Fair."

Kassandra rested one elbow against the table. "So I'm asking again. How strong do you want me to be?"

He considered the question for several seconds.

Then he shrugged. "As strong as you want to be."

That answer made her expression soften, although only slightly.

Alaric continued before she could respond. "I genuinely don't mind if you say no."

Kassandra watched him.

"You already have the Asura's Crest," His eyes flicked briefly toward her body, where the Crest had long since integrated itself into her physical condition.

It had strengthened her beyond anything she possessed during her ancient years wandering with the Staff alone, increasing strength, durability, speed, stamina, recovery, and the physical baseline from which she trained.

"And," Alaric continued, "I taught you chakra."

Kassandra's mouth curved. "You taught me enough chakra to complain that I was using too much of it for things I could already do."

"You were."

"You told me to reinforce my legs before jumping."

"You shattered part of a training floor."

"That floor was weak."

"It was stone, my love… stone."

Kassandra smiled.

Nearly two years had passed since Alaric first introduced her to the strange internal energy that neither Aletheia nor the Isu knowledge preserved within the Staff had ever properly categorized.

Kassandra had never become a shinobi.

She had no reason to.

Alaric had instead taught her fundamentals that complemented what she already possessed: sensing the internal flow of chakra, directing it deliberately, reinforcing muscles and joints, increasing striking power, strengthening her footing, controlling balance, improving bursts of acceleration, and maintaining basic surface adhesion.

Combined with the Staff and Asura's Crest, even those simple lessons had increased what she could accomplish physically.

"You can already reinforce your strength with chakra," Alaric said. "You're already enhanced by the Crest, and the Staff keeps you in absurd condition. You do not need the Successor Ascension Protocol."

"Then why did you think of me immediately?"

Alaric looked toward the windows.

The answer was not complicated.

He simply had to decide how much of it sounded reasonable when spoken aloud. "What happens if I'm not here?"

Kassandra's expression changed.

Alaric looked back at her. "What if something appears while I'm gone?"

"The Vanguard handles it."

"And if they can't?"

"Kassandra handles it," She smiled faintly.

"And if you can't?"

Her smile faded while Alaric leaned forward, resting his forearms against the table.

"Imagine something much stronger than anyone Vanguard has ever fought."

Kassandra listened.

"Not just a strong soldier or an Isu Custodian. Something that could go through hundreds of Vanguard operatives."

He paused. "Something stronger than you."

"That already exists."

"I know."

Kassandra's eyebrow rose.

Alaric quickly continued before she could decide whether that had been insulting. "I'm talking about something that arrives when I genuinely cannot be reached."

His expression became more serious.

"You have Hunter here. You have the Vanguard. William. Reuben. Thulani. Jonathan. Shakoka. The Auditore Assassin. Millions of people across Pennmere who trust that someone can stop whatever gets through the army."

Kassandra's fingers slowly uncrossed as she listened.

Alaric looked at his hands… then at her. "What if every country in this world decided tomorrow that Pennmere needed to disappear?"

She looked at him.

Alaric continued, increasingly committed to the hypothetical.

"What if Britain, Spain, France, Portugal, the Dutch, every major European power, every colonial government that hates us, every army, every fleet, every Assassin faction that disagrees with us, every Templar remnant, and every idiot who somehow acquires a Piece of Eden all unified around destroying Pennmere?"

Kassandra stared at him.

"What if they coordinated?" Alaric spread his hands. "Hundreds of warships. Armies from multiple continents. Pieces of Eden. Maybe Custodians. Sabotage inside the Commonwealth. Assassinations. Economic attacks. Everything at once."

Kassandra remained quiet for a moment… then she asked, very calmly, "Do you genuinely believe there will come a time when every country and powerful organization in the world unifies specifically to destroy Pennmere?"

Alaric froze… his mouth remained slightly open.

Kassandra waited as Alaric looked toward the ceiling, then toward the window, then at the table.

Finally, he scratched the back of his head. "…No."

Kassandra's lips twitched. "I see."

"That isn't the point."

Her composure broke and she laughed.

Alaric frowned at her, though the corners of his own mouth were already betraying him. "I was creating an extreme example."

"You created an apocalypse and then admitted you do not think it will happen."

"It communicated the principle."

Kassandra continued laughing quietly, one hand covering her mouth.

Alaric leaned back. "I'm glad my strategic concerns entertain you."

"Agapi mou, you asked me to imagine nearly the entire planet developing a shared political goal."

"A terrible shared political goal."

"Yes."

"Which makes it worse."

Kassandra shook her head as her laughter finally eased. "I understand what you mean."

Alaric's expression softened.

She reached across the table and took his hand. "You do not need me to become as strong as you."

"No…"

"You are not afraid that I am becoming useless beside you."

"No…"

"And this is not because you think I need to follow you into every ridiculous battle you find."

Alaric thought about Madara and shook his head.

"No…"

Kassandra narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Mostly no."

"Alaric."

"I absolutely do not want you fighting people like Madara if you don't need to. That's a definite no."

"Madara? Who's that?" She raised a brow as she noticed the name. "Wait… you still have not told me exactly what happened there."

"That is a separate conversation."

"Convenient."

"Extremely."

Kassandra squeezed his hand. "What you want is another layer of security."

"Exactly," Alaric turned her hand beneath his and traced his thumb over her knuckles. "If the Protocol can improve you safely without taking anything away from you, then why not?"

There was no grander ideology behind the answer, and Kassandra recognized that.

Alaric was not trying to turn her into himself.

He had simply found another tool capable of making someone he loved harder to hurt.

For him, that was often enough.

Kassandra looked toward the Staff.

The golden artifact rested peacefully beside her chair, appearing almost innocent despite everything it represented.

Then she looked back at Alaric.

"Alright."

His eyes sharpened. "Alright?"

"I'll do it."

The speed of the answer surprised him.

Kassandra immediately lifted one finger. "Provided Aletheia completes her analysis first."

Alaric nodded.

"And if she finds anything concerning, we stop…. And if the Core starts doing something neither of you understands, we stop."

"Yes."

"If I begin changing in a way I did not agree to—"

"—We stop."

Kassandra watched him closely. "And if something goes wrong after it starts?"

Alaric's expression shifted and she did not need to finish. "I rewind it."

Kassandra became still.

Alaric lifted his free hand and made a small turning gesture with his fingers.

"My ability can move your body backward along its own temporal history."

She knew he possessed strange temporal powers, but Alaric rarely explained their full scope.

"If the Protocol causes some catastrophic change, I rewind you to before the activation."

"How far?"

"As far as necessary."

"And I become exactly as I was?"

"If I target the biological state properly, yes."

Kassandra studied his face.

There was no uncertainty there.

Alaric had already demonstrated enough impossible control over time that she had little reason to assume this particular claim was exaggeration.

She nodded once. "Then that is acceptable."

Alaric smiled and nodded his head as well. "Good."

Kassandra reached for her tea.

Alaric watched her… before bus smile slowly disappeared and his brow furrowed.

Kassandra, who was still looking at him, noticed. "What?"

He said nothing.

Something was happening behind his eyes.

She knew that expression. "Oh, no…"

Alaric's head lifted abruptly.

"Aha!"

Kassandra closed her eyes. "Alaric."

"Actually…"

"No."

"You don't even know what I'm going to say."

"I recognize the tone."

He leaned forward, suddenly animated. "Before we do any of this, there's something else I could do."

Kassandra slowly lowered her cup.

"What?"

Alaric pointed toward her.

"I could rewind you."

She stared at him. "You just said that."

"No, no. Not if the Protocol fails…" His hands began moving as he explained. "I mean you."

Kassandra's expression became wary.

"Explain."

"You're more than two thousand years old."

"I noticed… kinda rude but continue."

"Ahem… biologically, the Staff keeps you young, but chronologically your body still has an enormous temporal history."

Kassandra's eyes narrowed.

Alaric continued.

"My temporal seal doesn't care about ordinary aging the way the Staff does. It can take matter and move it along its actual history."

He tapped the table. "I could rewind thousands of years from you."

"Oh?" Kassandra stared at him. "For what purpose?"

"So you wouldn't need the Staff to remain alive if you ever stopped being its Keeper."

"…"

"…"

Her expression changed, so Alaric slowed down a little.

That possibility carried a different weight, especially when Kassandra had lived with the Staff for millennia.

Its immortality had never been free.

The artifact preserved her, but it also bound her life to its possession. Giving it away had historically meant surrendering the longevity it provided.

Alaric continued more carefully.

"If there ever comes a time when you don't want the Staff anymore, I could potentially move your physical age backward along your own timeline instead of letting all those years catch up to you."

Kassandra stared at him. "You are suggesting removing two thousand years from my age."

"Chronological biological history."

"That does not make it sound smaller."

"I'm explaining badly."

"Yes."

"I see…" Alaric scratched his cheek. "But I can do it."

Kassandra processed that.

Then another possibility visibly occurred to Alaric.

His eyes widened again.

"Or—"

She held up a hand but he kept going.

"—if you don't want me messing with your timeline, there's the Phoenix contract."

Kassandra's hand remained frozen in the air.

"The what?"

Alaric smiled.

"The Phoenix contract."

"You have never mentioned a Phoenix contract."

"I've mentioned Emberis."

"That is not the same thing."

"Technically, no."

Kassandra stared.

Alaric leaned back, already thinking through possibilities faster than he could explain them.

"You could form a contract with the phoenixes… I mean, the Phoenix…"

Her eyebrows rose.

"I could teach you how to attempt Phoenix Sage Mode."

Kassandra said nothing.

Alaric became more enthusiastic.

"You already understand chakra fundamentals, and your control is actually pretty good considering you never trained as a shinobi. We could expand that, work toward senjutsu, and if you become compatible with phoenix chakra—"

"Alaric."

"—then depending on how deeply the contract changes you, immortality might eventually stop depending upon the Staff entirely."

"Alaric."

"And if Phoenix Eternal Rebirth can be extended through—"

"Agapi mou."

Hearing the name Kassandra only fave to him, he stopped.

Kassandra stared at Alaric while the latter stared back.

The dining room remained quiet.

"…"

"…"

Then Kassandra slowly pressed two fingers against her forehead.

"We were discussing one enhancement."

"Yes."

"You have now suggested an ancient Isu biological ascension program, rewinding two thousand years of my temporal existence, entering a contract with immortal fire creatures, learning Sage Mode, and potentially becoming an immortal phoenix woman."

Alaric considered the summary.

"When you say it all at once—"

"That is because you said it all at once."

"Technically, across several minutes."

Kassandra gave him a look.

Alaric immediately stopped.

She drew a long breath.

"One."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Thing."

Another pause.

"At."

Her finger tapped the table.

"A."

Another tap.

"Time."

Alaric couldn't help but smile sheepishly. "…Okay."

Kassandra studied him, making sure the flood of ideas had actually stopped.

For several seconds, it seemed to have, s she relaxed. "Thank you."

Alaric nodded.

Then his expression became thoughtful again.

Kassandra immediately pointed at him. "No."

"I didn't say anything."

"You were about to."

"I was only thinking."

"That is usually where the problem begins."

Alaric laughed while Kassandra shook her head before reaching for the Staff.

Despite the absurdity of the conversation, something warm remained beneath her exasperation.

Alaric had just casually offered multiple ways to ensure she would never again need to fear the Staff's eventual loss.

Not because she had asked, but because the possibility occurred to him.

That was how his mind worked.

Find danger.

Remove danger.

If removal created another problem, overpower that problem too.

Kassandra sometimes wondered whether the universe had made an error giving someone with that personality access to temporal manipulation.

She rose from her chair.

Alaric watched her.

"Where are we going?" Kassandra secured the Staff. "If we are actually going to begin this, I do not want Hunter anywhere nearby."

Alaric's expression became more serious. "Aletheia hasn't finished extracting anything yet."

"I know."

"Then what are we beginning?"

"Preparation," She walked around the table. "When Aletheia is ready, I want to be somewhere isolated enough that if the Staff releases energy, the Core reacts through whatever connection you establish, or I suddenly develop a problem neither of you predicted, Hunter does not see it."

Alaric understood immediately. "Fair."

"No servants."

"Easy."

"No Vanguard personnel watching."

"Also easy."

"And preferably nowhere inside Philadelphia."

Alaric smiled. "That narrows it down."

Kassandra stopped in front of him. "Somewhere safe."

"I know several places."

"That sentence worries me."

"They're safe."

"For you?" Kassandra stared at Alaric, who seemed to pause.

"…"

Alaric smiled and nodded his head as he looked winked at his wife. "For you too."

"Better."

He stood.

The two remained facing each other for a moment.

Kassandra looked toward the Staff in her hand, then toward Alaric. "One thing at a time."

Alaric nodded solemnly.

"Successor Ascension Protocol first."

"Yes."

"Then temporal de-aging?"

"Alaric."

"Later."

"Much later."

"Phoenix contract?"

She stared at Alaric, who smiled innocently.

Kassandra sighed. "We will discuss it."

"I'll take that."

"I knew you would."

Alaric reached toward her… his fingers settling over Kassandra's hand where it rested around the Staff.

She looked down at their joined hands, then up at him. "No surprises."

"No surprises."

"No deciding halfway through that you discovered a better method."

"I'll try."

Kassandra's eyes narrowed.

Alaric corrected himself. "I won't."

"Better."

His chakra shifted, and the air around them became strangely still as space folded beneath an energy Kassandra had long since learned not to mistake for ordinary teleportation.

Platinum-gold light appeared first around Alaric's fingers.

It spread over Kassandra's hand then across both of them.

Kassandra tightened her grip upon the Staff while Alaric smiled.

The dining room vanished beneath a brilliant flash of platinum gold.

By the time the light faded, both of them were gone.