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"Consequences" is the fifth chapter of the manga Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun written by Minoji Kurata.
Summary
Macau, China, 1526
Qiu Ju yells to all guards to set alight the port, and they make haste setting fire to houses and turning over oil barrels. This is witnessed by Xiao Hu, who hopes that Shao Jun was able to find his father amidst the chaos. The flames reach the slave quarters, with slaves screaming out to be unshackled and saved from the fire surrounding them. A guard refuses to let them leave the building, before Jun lands behind him and eliminates him, freeing the slaves.
As Jun continues down the fiery streets, helping where she can, she is filled with a deep amount of guilt over what is happening to Macau, and firmly blames herself for the turn of events. Her thoughts are broken by a small girl screaming for her mother, whilst circled by flames. Jun acrobatically leaps to the child, and safely brings her out to her grateful mother.
Qiu Ju, standing upon a balcony, remarks to a guard on the Creed of the Assassin Brotherhood, stating that he respects its ideals but that in the end it is not supported by power. It aims at the freedom of people, but in moments such as this, the Brotherhood cannot protect them.
Shao Jun escapes across the rooftops, and plunges into the port waters, where Wang Yangming still waits upon his boat and calls to her to get aboard. She turns to see the burning city, with a multitude of dead bodies now floating in the water. The guilt weighs heavy on her once more.
Yokohama, Japan, 2019
Before Lisa Huang leaves her Animus session, the guilt of Shao Jun's situation feeds upon her. She is struck with flashbacks to an earlier time in her life, where another girl blamed her for ruining her life, leaving Lisa crying in the Animus.
A short time later, after the session has ended, Dr. Kagami comforts Lisa, reminding her that it was a simulation and not her actual life. Lisa states that she still feels the guilt for causing the same kind of pain to a friend, and ruining their life by doing the "right thing". Kagami tells her that she can choose to follow her own right path from now on.
After Lisa leaves the building, Dr. Kagami holds a video call with her superior. The older woman requests an update on the subject, to which the doctor replies that Lisa is revealing sections of Shao Jun's memory that had not been revealed to them previously. The superior reminds Kagami what happened the last time when she worked in the Madrid facility in 2016, and not to make the same mistake this time.
Meanwhile, on the streets of Yokohama, Lisa walks home lost in thought about the Shao Jun experience she had endured that day. She is suddenly grabbed from behind by another young woman, revealed to be her cousin Mari, who is delighted to see her.
Characters in order of appearance
- Qiu Ju
- Shao Jun
- Xiao Hu
- Xiao Hu's father (mentioned only)
- Wang Yangming
- Lisa Huang
- Kaori Kagami
- Mari
