Noa Kim's father

I wanted to ask you something. Which is... what's your name? This article title is conjecture. Although the article subject is canon, no official name for it has been given.

"Did you know that your father was one of us? A bona fide Assassin, I mean. [...] It's a tale as old as time. We leave behind those we love because it's the only way to keep them safe."

―Nathan Zhang to Noa Kim, about his father, c. 2023.

The father of Noa Kim was an American member of the Assassin Brotherhood and the Zhawang Corporation in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Biography

Leaving his family

At some point, he moved from the United States to South Korea, where he lived for some time alongside his Korean wife and their young son, Noa. However, when the Templars initiated their Assassin purge in December 2000, Noa's father, like many Assassins, was forced to abandon his family for their own safety and go on the run. Noa was not made aware of the true reason for his father's sudden disappearance, which led him to resent him for most of his teenage years and early adulthood.

Noa's search for the truth

"My entire life I thought I had to fill the blanks in my existence no matter what it takes. But not anymore. I don't care who you are, dad."

―Noa to the apparition of his father, c. 2023.

In 2023, Abstergo Industries kidnapped Noa, seeking to use his genetic memories to further their own goals. When the Zhawang Corporation learned of Noa's abduction, the Assassin Nathan Zhang and his criminal organization Doom Eagle were sent to rescue him in Cebu. However, seeing Nathan as nothing more than a criminal, Noa refused to leave with him, forcing Nathan to fight him. During their fight, Nathan informed Noa of the truth about his father's Assassin affiliations and the reason for his disappearance, though Noa was hesitant to believe him and ultimately chose to remain with Abstergo.

Later, Noa decided to ask Shimazu Sei whether what Nathan had said about his father was true. Sei claimed that Abstergo had no prior knowledge of Noa's Assassin heritage when they decided to kidnap him, and that given the large scale of the Templars' purge against the Assassins, it was impossible to determine whether his father had been among the casualties.

Noa eventually managed to escape from Abstergo with Sei's help, and the pair sought out a Piece of Eden that could cure Noa of the Bleeding Effect he was suffering from. While attempting to retrieve the artifact from the Shwedagon Pagoda, it subjected Noa to several illusions to test his will and determine if he was worthy of claiming it. One of these apparitions was of his father, and the artifact tempted Noa by offering to answer his life's biggest question: the mystery of his family's roots and what had truly happened to his father.

After several moments of consideration, Noa refused, claiming that he no longer cared about who or what his father was and that Edward Kenway's memories had taught him that he could forge his own path in life. This answer satisfied the Piece of Eden, which allowed Noa to retrieve it.

Behind the scenes

Given Noa's rich Assassin ancestry, being a descendant of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Edward Kenway, and Ratonhnhaké:ton, and the fact that his father was also an Assassin, it can be inferred that Noa's father was a descendant of Altaïr, Ezio, Edward, and Ratonhnhaké:ton. This could possibly make him closely related to Desmond and William Miles, but this has yet to be confirmed.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple (hallucination only)