After Memory 5

In this chapterAl Mualim has taken the Apple and used it to control the people of Masyaf.

Al Mualim has used the Apple of Eden to control the minds of the Assassins. Altaïr fights his way to him, and in a final duel kills his former master. With the Apple in his hands, Altaïr discovers that it contains a map of the world, showing other artifacts. He chooses to keep it, and the map becomes a lasting legacy.

Al Mualim's plan is the logic of the Templars in the Assassin's form: eliminate free will to end conflict. His justification, that peace is worth any price, is the series' recurring argument. Altaïr's victory is moral as well as physical. He recognises that his old beliefs were manipulated, and his decision to keep the Apple is the beginning of a new path.

The map implies a world of hidden history. The Apple is only one of many, and the Assassins and Templars will fight over them for centuries.

In this chapterVidic reveals that Abstergo is a modern Templar organisation seeking Pieces of Eden.

At the end of the memories, Vidic tells Desmond that Abstergo is the modern face of the Knights Templar and wants to find the Pieces of Eden. A rescue attempt by the Assassins fails. Vidic wants Desmond dead, but Lucy persuades him to keep him alive. In his room, Desmond discovers cryptic drawings in blood on the walls, left by a previous subject, which warn of a coming disaster.

The final scene turns the story from a historical adventure into a thriller about the present. The Templars are real and powerful, and Desmond is a key to their plan. Lucy's role is deliberately ambiguous. The audience suspects she is an Assassin mole, and her actions give Desmond a chance to survive.

The blood drawings are the series' first mystery. They suggest that the world is about to end, a theme developed in the later games.