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Chapter 20: Into The Crypt

My mistakes caused much pain. But I never knew that they would affect that war so considerably. I'm a mortal but I have seen things that not even a god has. I have felt the essence of death beneath my skin. I'm a witness of a damned war. This used to cause me pain. But it doesn't anymore. I've become stronger, I can feel no more pain. I've become emotionless. I won't care if I kill someone that has helped me in the past. I've lost my compassion towards people. Every human part of me has faded away. I've become cold and tough just to survive this war. There was no other way. I had to let go of everything that used to remind of Lara Croft…

Lara Croft

Lara gained her consciousness. She woke up but she couldn't move. As soon as she did, she felt an unbearable pain that made her scream in agony. She felt that she had broken her legs and possibly her ribs too. The pain became more piercing. She couldn't move and defend herself in case an enemy approached.

The potions, she remembered. Saphira had given her two. She searched her backpack and found one of them. She opened it and drank it at one gulp. It left a bitter taste in her mouth. She hoped it would work. After a while, she took the risk to move her legs again. She closed her eyes to bear the pain but she felt nothing. She moved her legs in a more lively manner and was glad to realise that the potion had worked. She had been cured.

She stood up vigorously and decided to explore the place and hopefully find a way out. The place reminded her of her old life as a restless Tomb Raider. She would kill to raid one more tomb, just to get this feeling of excitement again.

As she was walking, the place was becoming darker. Fortunately, she found a torch, its fire illuminating the corners of this godforsaken place. She took it from the wall to enlighten her way. Sparks of its fire were annoying Lara's eyes but she tried to ignore them.

She walked for about five minutes. Then she noticed that the ground became a little flooded. The water was a little lower than Lara's knees. She continued her search when she found a wooden door.

"I hope this won't get me into trouble" she spoke to herself.

She took her gun and with a sudden kick, she knocked it down and aimed threateningly. The sight in front of her made her gasp in surprise. She just couldn't believe her eyes.

It was Abraham Cornelius, lying on the watery floor, dead. His blood had changed the water's colour from transparent to crimson. She approached the dead body and touched his skin. It was very cold. The blood seemed to be there for several days. It wasn't fresh.

"He didn't die recently. But how's that possible? I spoke to him not long ago".

She tried to solve this mystery. When she found the answer, she looked at her reflection in the red water sorrowfully.

"You were a pawn all along" she said to her reflection.

~Revelation III~

"He's already-" a strong clatter interrupted him. Wild screams could be heard from outside the door.

"Go, Miss Croft. Get out from the back door" Cornelius ordered.

"What about you?" Lara asked him.

"Don't worry about me, young girl. Just go. You're our only hope" Cornelius told her.

"But-"

"Go, I'll be fine. Your life is more precious than mine" Abraham insisted.

Lara grabbed her cloak and searched for the back door.

She found it and got out of the building.

Suddenly, the banging stopped. The howls silenced. Cornelius had now turned into a totally different form. It was a blond man with strange symbols on his pale skin…

~End of Revelation III~

"It was Karel…" Lara whispered to herself.

She stared at the carcass a little longer than she intended to. Then she turned and walked out of the room. She closed the door behind her and marched away.

She was checking her equipment while she was walking. Suddenly, she realised that the Crystal Shard wasn't hanged on her belt anymore. After a while, she remembered. It was dropped when she fell into the void and it fell beside her partner. She hoped that Kurtis would take notice of the Shard and would prevent it from falling into the wrong hands… again… She checked her backpack. She had one more potion left.

Out of the blue, she heard a creepy howl behind her that caused a pain to Lara's ears. She turned rapidly and faced a horrid monster. With the torch on her left hand, she tried to frighten it by using its fire but it didn't work. With her right hand, she took her pistol and aimed at it. It was still screaming, ready to attack her. She shot it several times but the bullets didn't cause any damage.

"Damnit!" she cursed. She fired at it again and again but it rapidly assaulted her and she fell. The torch was dropped in the water and its fire was extinguished. Consequently, the place became darker. Lara stood up, taking her second pistol with her left hand and kept shooting until the monster finally fell on the ground.

"That was too easy!" she said proudly but then she remembered what happened to her beloved partner when he underestimated his enemy. Just in case… she wisely thought. She took a knife hidden in her right boot and stabbed the monster three times to make sure it was dead. She washed it in the water and she put in back in her boot.

After a lot of exploration, she found some stairs. She climbed them up and they led her to a big, marble door. She pushed it with all her strength but it wouldn't budge. Then she noticed the symbols on it. There was a map on the door. She studied it carefully and it led her to a corridor right next to the door. The corridor ended up to a wall which had a rope getting out of it, its edge on the ground. She pulled it and heard a noise like a big object was slouched. She returned to the door and saw that it had opened.

With a smile on her face, she exited the crypt.