Editing Lantern (Piece of Eden)

{{Era|Technology|Isu}}
{{Spoilerhd|8 July 2025|[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]}}
{{Conjecture}}
{{Quote|This little trinket has the power to heal the mind from the effects of the other Isu artifact... More specifically all the psychic damage. I think it was originally intended to be used as a pair with the first artifact.|Noa Kim on the Piece of Eden's powers, 1725.|Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple|Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple Episode 101}}
{{Item Infobox
|name = Lantern
|image = ACFT - Lantern of Eden.png
|type = [[Piece of Eden]]
|powers = '''Separate:'''
*Illusion projection
*Power imbuing
*Negating the [[crescent amulet]]'s effects
*Access to the [[Synch Nexus]]
*Healing psychic damage
'''Combined with the amulet:'''
*Witnessing any past, present, and possible future event
|current = With [[Shimazu Sei]]
|period = *Prehistory
*[[Golden Age of Piracy]]
*[[Modern times]]
|created = [[Isu]]
|made = Prehistory
|notable = *[[Edward Kenway]]
*[[Noa Kim]]
}}
The '''lantern''' is a [[Piece of Eden]] created by the [[Isu]] alongside two other artifacts: the [[crescent amulet]] and the [[lotus disk]]. It was designed to balance out the amulet's abilities, reversing all psychic damage caused to the wielder, while also having several unique powers of its own.

For centuries, the lantern was housed in the [[Shwedagon Pagoda]], a sacred [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] temple in [[Myanmar]]. In 1725, it was retrieved by the [[British Brotherhood of Assassins|British Assassin]] [[Edward Kenway]], whose mind had been corrupted by the crescent amulet, allowing him to recover. The artifact was later returned to the pagoda, from where it would be taken again in 2023, this time by Edward's descendant [[Noa Kim]], who was suffering from the amulet's corruption and the [[Bleeding Effect]].

==Owners==
*[[Isu]] (until 75,000 BCE)<ref name="Initiates">''[[Assassin's Creed: Initiates]]'' – Timeline</ref>
*[[Scholar|Monks]] from the [[Shwedagon Pagoda]] (until 1725)
*[[Edward Kenway]] (1725)
*[[Noa Kim]] (2023)
*[[Shimazu Sei]] (2023)

==Functionality==
{{Quote|The second artifact is used to control the powers of the first.|Edward Kenway describing the lantern's purpose, 1725.|Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple|Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple Episode 96}}
The lantern was created in response to the corrupting effects of the crescent amulet. As such, its abilities balanced out the amulet's own powers. Its main purpose was to reverse all the psychic damage done to an individual's mind, [[human]] or [[Isu]], essentially "freeing" them from the amulet's control. This also allowed individuals suffering from severe cases of the [[Bleeding Effect]] to regain their sense of self.<ref name="EP 101">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]'' – Episode 101</ref>

Unlike its sister Pieces of Eden, the lantern appeared to be sentient to a degree, as it would only allow itself to be claimed by those it deemed worthy of its power. To this end, it would "test" anyone who came in close proximity with it by subjecting them to hallucinations based on their deepest fears and desires, meant to break their will. Once an individual proved themselves worthy of claiming the artifact by passing all of its trials, all the illusions conjured by the Piece of Eden promptly vanished.<ref name="EP 100">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]'' – Episode 100</ref>

The artifact could also create a [[Synch Nexus]] between individuals existing at different points in time, as it transported [[Edward Kenway]]'s consciousness to the future, enabling him to speak with his descendant, [[Noa Kim]].<ref name="EP 100" />

When the lantern was used alongside the crescent amulet, the power of the two Pieces of Eden allowed the wielder to witness events from the past, present, and even [[Calculations|possible futures]].<ref name="EP 102>''[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]'' – Episode 102</ref> If the two artifacts were further combined with the lotus disk, the third Piece of Eden could spread their power across large distances.<ref name="EP 96">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple Episode 96|Episode 96]]</ref>

==History==
===Early history===
The lantern was created at some point during the [[Isu Era]] alongside its two sister Pieces of Eden, forming a set.<ref name="EP 41">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple Episode 41|Episode 41]]</ref> After the [[Great Catastrophe]] in 75,000 BCE, which wiped out the Isu civilization,<ref name="Initiates"/> knowledge of the set, its location, and its powers was lost.<ref name="EP 41" />

===18th century===
====The Zhang Wei Union's heist====
{{Quote|Should the artifact fall into the hands of a being with impure motives, we believe it will cause much suffering among humankind. That is why we have decided it would be best given to you instead.|A Buddhist monk to Shimazu Saito, 1725.|Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple|Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple Episode 97}}
By the early 18th century, the lantern was housed within a special compartment inside the [[Shwedagon Pagoda]] in [[Yangon]], [[Myanmar|Burma]]. The temple's [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] [[Scholar|monks]] were fully aware of the artifact's existence and capabilities, and as such sought to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands, fearing that if a being with impure motives were to make use of it, it could potentially doom [[human]]kind.<ref name="EP 97">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]'' – Episode 97</ref>

In 1725, the [[British Brotherhood of Assassins|British Assassin]] [[Edward Kenway]] discovered the lantern's whereabouts after coming into contact with the crescent amulet, which made him experience [[Calculations|visions]] of the past and the future.<ref name="EP 92">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple Episode 92|Episode 92]]</ref> Edward and his fellow [[Zhawang Corporation|Zhang Wei Union]] members subsequently sailed to Yangon, where they established contact with the monks. Believing the artifact would be safer in the Union's hands, the monks helped Edward, [[Shimazu Saito]], [[John Young]], and [[Yun Pyeong-Gyu]] infiltrate the city in disguise, whereupon they were left to find a way into the heavily-guarded Shwedagon Pagoda.<ref name="EP 97" />

At night, using the [[Celestial Chariot]], a prototype {{Wiki|hot air balloon}} built by Yun, Edward and Saito flew above Yangon and [[parachute]]d onto the pagoda.<ref name="EP 97" /> They then entered the temple through a hole in the roof and found the lantern.<ref name="EP 98">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]'' – Episode 98</ref> As Edward touched the artifact, it briefly transported his mind centuries into the future, allowing the Assassin to speak with his descendant, [[Noa Kim]].<ref name="EP 100" />

After Edward assured Noa that he would keep fighting for the future,<ref name="EP 100" /> he retrieved the Piece of Eden before he and Saito left the Shwedagon Pagoda through a secret tunnel.<ref name="EP 101" /> The pair then escaped Yangong with help from the monks, just as the [[Soldier|guards]] became aware of the lantern's theft and began searching for the culprits. Edward thanked the monks for their aid and promised to return the lantern to the pagoda once he was done using it.<ref name="EP 102">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]'' – Episode 102</ref>

===Modern times===
====Recovery by Noa Kim====
{{Quote|But if you're asking me what I'm going to do with the artifact's power... then I choose freedom above all else! The freedom to walk down whatever path I think is right!|Noa answering the lantern's question, c. 2023.|Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple|Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple Episode 100}}
In 2023, Noa Kim, [[Shimazu Sei]], [[Yuki]], and [[Nathan Zhang]] discovered the lantern's location in the Shwedagon Pagoda through the [[Genetic memory|genetic memories]] of Edward Kenway relived by Noa.<ref name="EP 92" /> After traveling to Yangon, the group devised a plan to infiltrate the temple and retrieve the Piece of Eden so they could use it to cure Noa, who was suffering from the [[Bleeding Effect]] and believed himself to be Edward.<ref name="EP 98" />

While Nathan and his [[Doom Eagle]] engaged in a shootout with the soldiers guarding the pagoda as a distraction, Noa and Sei infiltrated one of the nearby temples. There, they found a secret underground passage leading to the central pagoda and used it to reach their destination.<ref name="EP 98" /> As soon as they approached the Piece of Eden, however, they were each forced to overcome a series of mental trials created by the artifact in order to claim it.

Sei was confronted by an apparition of [[Mitsuko Nakamura]], who taunted her about her work at [[Abstergo Industries]] over the years, during which Sei had indirectly killed numerous test subjects through the [[Animus Project]]. She was also confronted by apparitions of Yuki and a [[Shimazu clan]] member, representing the guilt Sei felt for turning her back on her family and losing her purpose. With the help of an apparition of Saito, who encouraged her to forge her own path, Sei overcame these emotions, but the guilt she felt for the Animus Project's casualties proved too much to handle and she was rendered unconscious.<ref name="EP 99">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]'' – Episode 99</ref>

Meanwhile, Noa came face-to-face with an apparition of [[Bartholomew Roberts]] and then Edward himself, whom he was forced to fight. Realizing that he could not defeat Edward and that this was not the purpose of the trial, he surrendered, prompting the Piece of Eden to initiate its next "test". Projecting an apparition of Noa's [[Noa Kim's father|father]], the artifact offered to help Noa solve the mystery of his roots, but he refused and declared that he would follow his own path instead of looking into the past for answers. Satisfied with the response, the lantern's illusions vanished and Noa was allowed to claim the artifact. In the process, he also got the chance to meet and speak with Edward through a [[Synch Nexus]] created by the Piece of Eden.<ref name="EP 100" />

====Safeguarded by Shimazu Sei====
{{Dialogue|Noa|The worst-case scenario here is if they manage to round us all up and take the artifact from me. That's why we need to keep hold of at least one of the artifacts, just so they don't get their hands on both. With that in mind, I'm going to leave the second artifact with you, Sei.|Sei|Understood. I'll do whatever I can to help until we've found all the artifacts.|Noa entrusting the lantern to Sei, c. 2023.|Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple|Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple Episode 102}}
After retrieving the lantern, which cured him of his Bleeding Effect, Noa and Sei escaped through the same hidden tunnel used by their ancestors and regrouped with Yuki and Nathan, who had barely managed to flee [[Sigma Team]]'s attack on the Shwedagon Pagoda.<ref name="EP 101" /> With both the lantern and the crescent amulet in his possession, Noa used the two Pieces of Eden to look into the past and witness Edward's own escape from the pagoda.<ref name="EP 102" />

After the group reached their hideout outside the city, they discussed their next course of action. As Yuki and Nathan had different ideas of what to do with the Pieces of Eden in their possession, they argued until Noa stopped them. Declaring that he would only use the artifacts if absolutely necessary, Noa decided to keep the amulet while entrusting the lantern, which had been placed in a briefcase, to Sei. The [[doctor]] swore to protect it, and the group left their hideout, heading to Yangon's harbor to flee the country and escape from the Abstergo forces hunting them.<ref name="EP 102" />

==Gallery==
<gallery position="center" widths="180" captionalign="center">
ACFT - Pieces of Eden transmitting a signal.png|The lantern combined with the other two Pieces of Eden
</gallery>

==Appearances==
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]''

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Isu}}
{{ACFT}}
[[Category:Pieces of Eden]]