If you're trying to figure out the Assassin's Creed Mirage ending, you're not alone, as it's pretty confusing spectacle, especially if you didn't play AC Valhalla. There's a lot to take in, between Basim's discoveries about himself, his relationships with Nehal and Roshan, and everything that happens to the Hidden Ones, so I've broken it down as best as I can to help you understand how Assassin's Creed Mirage ends.
Obviously, major story spoilers for Assassin's Creed Mirage and Assassin's Creed Valhalla from here on out.
Right, if you're still here, let's get into this Assassin's Creed Mirage ending, shall we?
Basim's true heritage
It all begins when Basim comes face to face with the final assassination target, Qabiha - aka the Head of the Snake. But, instead of just taking her out, she gives him chase, and eventually, they come face to face.
"Our prodigal scion has arrived, yet he knows not what he is," she says, giving the first tease of the answer to all of Basim's questions. She says he's "something more than a man" and the knowledge that he is "heir to" lies below Alamut. She's known Basim was special since her son saw Basim's touch activate the artifact back in the Winter Palace when Nehal kills the Caliph, and has been waiting for him to get close to her this entire time. Qabiha knows, way before Basim himself, that he has a connection to the ancient Isu, who ran the world before humanity arrived.
But, before he can get any more details, Roshan kills Qabiha, claiming she was speaking "poison".
"Follow the path she laid out for you, and I'll kill you myself", says Roshan, clearly with the intent of protecting both Basim and the Hidden Ones themselves.
Instead of traveling straight to Alamut though, Basim instead turns to Nehal, which is incredibly important for unraveling the Assassin's Creed Mirage ending.
"There is more to who I am," says Basim to Nehal back in their home in Anbar, and when he tries to leave her to go to Alamut, she says the following line, which ends up being pretty pivotal:
"Where you go, there I will go. Where you rest, there I will rest. I will walk behind you every step of the way. You are never alone."
Of course, when Basim gets to Alamut he finds the Hidden Ones being attacked by the Order's guards - or Tahirids. Rayhan, head of the Hidden Ones, realizes after Basim rescues him from execution that they are paving the way for Basim himself. "The Order used the Tahirids to decimate Alamut because you are their key," says Rayhan.
Basim thinks finding what's below Alamut will be the key to giving the Assassins the edge in the war against the Order. He certainly goes in with good intentions for protecting the Hidden Ones, even if eventually it's clear that he thinks he's destined for better things. What is good though, is that despite their fight, Basim doesn't kill Roshan thanks to Nehal's guidance. Later, Roshan ends up quitting the Creed anyway because of Basim's actions.
Basim and the Isu
Now, as Basim moves through the Isu temple, it's Nehal that now holds all the answers, including knowing that Basim's blood is the key to opening the door. When he moves into the center of the temple, he finds a giant, metal structure with a kind of coffin or pod. Opening it up, he finds Nehal inside and suddenly realizes that Nehal has never actually been there. It was Basim who killed the Caliph in the palace in the first place, Nehal was just a part of him.
This is where things get a little complicated. In a Fight Club-esque twist, Nehal isn't actually a unique person, but actually a part of Basim. Nehal uses the artifact from the palace to unlock a vision of sorts, where a man is seen being attacked by another older man. I assume this artifact is akin to a Memory Seal, which is an Isu device used to save memories that we've seen in other Assassin's Creed games.
Basim quickly realizes that he is in fact that person being attacked, but not as himself, but rather a former version of himself. If you've not played Assassin's Creed Valhalla, you won't know that Basim is actually Loki - the ancient Norse god of mischief and bringer of the end of the world - and was being tortured by his father, Odin. Or so that's the interpretation I've got from it, and playing Valhalla. As for who Odin eventually ends up being, that is in fact Eivor, the hero of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. I told you it was getting complicated.
Into the future
As part of Basim making peace with what he sees in the vision or memory, he confronts his jinni in the shadowy realm that has haunted him the entire game. This place is clearly the physical manifestation of the memories of Loki that Basim has only just come to understand. The jinni dissolves as he confronts it, and then back in the Isu temple he then becomes one with Nehal. It seems like this is the point where Basim realizes who he truly is, and although he is still physically Basim, his consciousness is actually Loki, which is represented by the merging of himself and Nehal.
"All my life I wrestled with who I was, who I was meant to be," says Basim to Nehal. "And there you were, all this time. The side of me I resisted. A reflection of who we once were."
"Of who we shall be once more," adds Nehal. "There is so much more that awaits us. A new world."
Of course, that doesn't bode well for Basim's future, and although he's instantly back into the Hidden Ones - now under Rayhan as his mentor as Roshan is outta there - there's a darkness to him that his eagle, Ekidnu, instantly sees. The bird scratches him on the face, leaving a trail of blood across his cheek.
With the final cutscene over and the credits rolling, you'll be end up back in Baghdad to a point just before you completed the final assassination mission, giving you the chance to continue exploring the city. Make sure you've got various collectibles like the Assassin's Creed Mirage Mysterious Shards, and the Enigmas, including the Assassin's Creed Mirage Left Behind Enigma.
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