Day 19. Aztlan
Lara slides through a sandfall. She manages to hold to an edge by the grip of the climbing axe. She's in a big, big cave, akin to the one she found at Cozumel. She sees the floor within rappel distance. So she descends, and winds up standing atop a structure in the cave. She's standing over a blue blocky structure. Besides her, a red one. She throws a flare into the abyss. It rolls down a staircase. "Water and war, the two main elements of the Aztecs," Lara says. "Huichilopoztli and Tlaloc in a big, big cave. Could this be…?"
Strange noises echo across the pyramid in the cave. No mortal soul may set a foot in this realm without offering blood. Such is the price of returning to the origin. Humanoid, beastly, masked warriors throw spears at Lara. She's the new sacrifice for the sun, like the year before. There's no possibility of negotiating peace here. Fight or die. So she descends from atop Tlaloc's shrine, and starts giving away leather to the ones enslaved by the Gods. Soon, the spooky noises are replaced by obsidian grinding the rock, and shotgun blasts.
And so Lara Croft descends the stairs into the heart of Aztlan, a system of seven caves with seven temples. But what matters most always lies at the center. But how will she cross? A big flame lake surrounds the central island. And on it stands a red and blue eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus. One that shines like the Torch of An. A bird sculpted out of a meteorite rock, capable of deforming animals into beasts.
The fire lake of Aztlan is insurmountable for Lara Croft. Her shamanic powers have brought her this far. But now, the meteorite rock at the center is more powerful than the mere fragments Lara has obtained in her long journey. Only a godly creature could find the way into the center. One that would make Lara bow. And so, a strong gust of wind makes Lara kneel, and also puts the fire down.
An asian woman dressed in white who resembles Lara's best friend, Sam, stands in the center of Aztlan and picks up the meteorite eagle, Huichilopotzli. The Queen of the Rising Sun marrying the God of Sun. "The one who brought down my precious Stormguard," Himiko says. Lara can't believe it. Her friend is gone. For how long now? Was the meeting at Kyoto a simple mischief? Has she been lurking in the shadows all this time? Lara can only think of one thing now. Emptying those 9mm in the face of that bitch. "You should have fed your army better," Lara jokes.
Himiko summons a big fireball above her, akin to a sun, from which fire whiplashes attempt to kill Lara. Croft has no other choice but to dodge them. She's certainly running out of bullets, and has no opening that she can attack, as Himiko strikes with great precision. Yet a Queen doesn't equal a God. An inferior entity should be humble and prostrate before the Gods. Such an excess of pride can only lead to blindness, which is the effect that Himiko is suffering now. She's lost control of her own fire, of her own sight, and of her own insight.
Lara has also the challenge of avoiding debris falling from the top of the cave, out of the mayhem caused by Himiko. But soon, an opening appears, and a single arrow headshot puts the Queen of the Sun to an end. The Eagle of Huichilopoztli falls to the floor and shatters into meteorite sand, as the amount of power invoked by Himiko has surpassed the limits of the ancient artifact. Now, it's just a girl mourning over the loss of her best friend by her curiosity and hand. The rite of passage has been completed, and a more detached, no nonsense Lara Croft is born. And so, three bitter yet adventurous years pass by...