Noa Kim

He who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow. This article contains spoilers, meaning it has information and facts concerning Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple. If you do not want to know about these events, it is recommended to read on with caution, or not at all. This template should be removed from the article 22 November 2023.

Noa Kim

Noa Kim (김노아) is a Korean-American descendant of the British Assassin Edward Kenway and the Italian Assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze.

Biography

Early life

Noa fighting back bullies in his school years

Noa was born in Korea to an American father and a Korean mother. When Noa was still young, his father mysteriously vanished. Returning home one night, Noa found his mother crying and asked her where his father had gone, to which she simply replied that he wouldn't be coming back. This enraged Noa, who vowed to never become anything like his father.

In his youth, Noa was frequently teased or bullied by his schoolmates due to his mixed race, which increased his resentment towards his father, blaming him for being different from his peers and unable to fit in.

Abduction by Abstergo

First Animus session

Noa kidnapped by Abstergo agents

In 2023, after using the genetic genealogy site WhyYou developed by Abstergo Genetic Research Lab, Noa was lured on a vacation prize trip to Macau. There, he was kidnapped by Abstergo agents and brought to their facility in the city, where he was forced to relieve the memories of his ancestor Edward Kenway during his time in Southeast and Mainland Asia.

During his first session in the Animus, he caused several synchronization errors due to being unaware that the events he was witnessing were someone else's memories. The first major one occured when Noa heard the story of Hendrik, who had abandoned his family to pursue riches, which reminded Noa of his own father's abandonment, but the Animus managed to resync by bypassing factual information and the simulation continued.

During the second desynchronization error, which occured when Noa tried to warn the villagers Edward had been hiding with about cholera, the Animus reacted more violently and electrocuted Noa, causing his heart rate and adrenaline levels to spike. Doctor Shimazu Sei attempted to warn Noa, but due to his stubbornness, she and her team were eventually forced to end the session.

A deal with the Templars

Noa agrees to a deal with Shimazu Sei

Noa was taken to another room where Abstergo doctors managed to stabilize his condition. Awakening some time later, he recalled Edward's memories and assumed he had been playing a VR game until Sei entered the room and informed him of the truth. After telling Noa about the Animus and Edward, including the latter's role as a member of the Assassin Brotherhood, Sei revealed what she sought: information on a Piece of Eden Edward had found in Southeast Asia.

While Noa was processing all this information, Sei told him that Abstergo had made sure no one would search for him and that it was in his best interest to be cooperative. Enraged at being told what to do, Noa pulled Sei by her labcoat collar but was quckly subdued by Abstergo security. As he was being dragged away, Noa decided to offer Sei a deal.

Admitting that he was also interested in viewing Edward's memories due to the similarities between him and his father, Noa asked that he be given free rein to do what he wanted while in the Animus, as well as his freedom once he helped Sei acquire the information she sought. Though reluctant, Sei agreed to the terms, but reminded Noa of interfering with his ancestor's history. She pointed out that constant interference could make the subject experience the Bleeding Effect and may even have Noa forget his own memories. Choosing to ignore her advice, Noa returned to the Animus to continue reliving Edward's memories.

Conversations with Shimazu Sei

Noa continued to converse with Sei during his time in the Animus, mainly on the topic of the Assassins and their actions. While Sei viewed them as nothing more than self-righteous criminals that brought chaos wherever they went, Noa remained doubtful and wished to learn the truth by viewing Edward's memories. When a later memory required Noa to remain synchronized by staying undetected and avoiding casualties, he pointed out that this did not match Sei's description of the Assassins, teasing her and jokingly saying that Edward seemed "awfully nice for a criminal."

After completing the first sequence of Edward's memories, Sei decided to deliver on her promise to teach Noa about his Assassin ancestors, and used the Animus to send him information about the most notorious of them, Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Noa then became determined to discover everything he could about his ancestors through the Animus and, thus, learn more about his roots.

Upon the completion of the next set of Edward's memories, Noa found himself stuck in the Animus' loading screen, unable to progress. He asked Sei for help, to which the doctor proceeded to tease him over his previous stubborness and refusal to be told what to do. She then brought up a journal that had belonged to a ceramic merchant in Macau who had encountered Edward, allowing Noa to use the information to synchronize with his ancestor's memories and progress to the next sequence. As he did so, he said that Sei could occasionally be helpful and addressed her by her first name, irritating the doctor.

Later, Noa began showing signs of the Bleeding Effect, leading Sei to demand that he be removed from the Animus and taken to rest. As two guards grabbed him, Noa experienced a Bleeding Effect-induced hallucination and mistook the guards for ninja, attacking them. However, he fell asleep shortly afterwards and woke up back in his room, with Sei at his bedside.

After the doctor explained the Bleeding Effect to him, Noa was excited by the prospect of becoming as strong as his ancestor. However, an enraged Sei responded that she had seen people lose their minds due the Bleeding Effect and she would not let that happen to Noa until she obtained the information she sought. Noa teased Sei for caring about him more than she let on, and deduced that her family was in trouble if she needed to rely so much on him. He then asked that he be taken to Macau, claiming to know where Edward had gone next, and Sei reluctantly agreed.

Personality and traits

The disappearance of his father very early on in his life had a profound effect on Noa, who, assuming his father had simply abandoned him and his mother, vowed to never become anything like him. As a result, he believed that family should always come first and no amount of money could make up for a father's absence. He also held extreme contempt for his father, blaming him for many of the problems he faced in his youth, such as the teasing and bullying he had to endure at school.

By the time he had become an adult, Noa had mostly left his past behind him, though he would still have an intense emotional reaction whenever something reminded him of his trauma. Even in situations that would be stressful for most people, Noa maintained his confidence and sense of humor as he would take every opportunity to tease Shimazu Sei following his abduction by Abstergo, much to the doctor's annoyance.

Noa also possessed a sharp intellect and critical thinking. He refused to believe Sei's comments about the Assassins being criminals, instead wishing to learn the truth by his own means, and realized early on that Abstergo could not achieve their goal without his consent so he was able to easily strike a deal with Sei that benefited both of them. His stubbornness and many of his beliefs were likened by Sei to those of the Assassins, indicating that Noa already shared part of their ideology, even if unknowingly.

As a result of the Bleeding Effect, Noa began to assimilate Edward's skills and several of his personality traits, such as his confidence, but also his aggressiveness. After spending an extended time in the Animus, he also began to suffer from Bleeding Effect-induced hallucinations, which Sei believed could eventually make him lose his sanity.

Gallery

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  Noa visiting landmarks in Macau
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Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple