22- The Lost Dominion

There was a strange atmosphere in the camp. Gunderson's men and the group of archaeologists had all gathered at the edge of the cliff. Karel and Rouzic were on the alert. Lara's eyes met Morgau's, who looked stunned. The adventuress threw the sanglyph at her, then climbed up onto the rocks to join her.

"I need my weapons," she said to the sentry as she barely caught her breath.

The girl stared at her without blinking.

"If your master wants me to go to the other side, I'll need weapons, ammunition and a minimum of equipment. And I'm going to need one, maybe two long ropes."

Morgau nodded to the guard standing next to her. After a moment of hesitation, the man turned and hurried back up the cliff. The two young women watched the camp come alive above them. After several long minutes, a few soldiers came back down towards them, their arms full of supplies.

Lara retrieved her backpack and stuffed what she could into it. She had kept some torches and a first aid kit. She hung up her belt and holster, into which she slipped her 9mm. Next to her, Morgau was doing the same: after exchanging a few brief words in Russian with one of the soldiers, she was gathering some things and firmly blocking her spear behind her back. Lara gave her a questioning look.

"It seems that Miss Universe is entitled to her own personal escort," she finally said under the adventuress's insistent look.

"Does Karel know what's on the other side?"

The girl shook her head gently.

"I don't think so. But he's counting on us to tell him, obviously."

The adventuress did not answer. She merely turned her head away and glanced at the lake. The water had gradually calmed down, and the hole left by the portal was now clearly visible. It was dark, and she could not see anything more from where she stood. For a fraction of a second, she couldn't help but compare this image to that of a huge mouth ready to swallow them in the deepest darkness. She had a bad feeling.

"Don't tempt fate, Miss Croft."

Karel's deep voice echoed in her back. She looked up at him and let out a cynical laugh.

"What do you want me to do, Karel? Do you think I'm going to run away?"

The Nephilim laughed.

"Indeed..."

He suddenly snapped his fingers. Some men rushed at Kurtis and grabbed him. The young man struggled as his arms were locked. Before she could react, Lara saw the Nephilim grab a knife and stab the Lux Veritatis in the abdomen. Dilara let out a cry of surprise.

"NO!"

Lara tried to rush towards him in a desperate move. Vasiley stepped forward, threatening her once more with the long spear. The mercenary fell to his knees with a cry of pain. A large red stain formed all around the knife still stuck in his stomach.

"... but I'd rather make sure you come back in any case."

Karel gave her a satisfied and unhealthy smile as he grabbed the knife and pulled it from Kurtis. The young man seemed to lose consciousness for a fraction of a second. The young woman looked up at him in despair.

"You bastard..."

The Nephilim just stared back at her, his evil smile still frozen on his face. She swallowed with difficulty, and looked away. For a brief moment she just stared at the water below her. Behind her back, she felt the gaze of Karel and everyone on her. She heard Kurtis give another groan of pain. She took a deep breath to try to calm down.

Lara violently grabbed the rope that one of the guards was holding in his hands. She worked to wrap it around her waist, and tied it in a tight knot. She held out the other end to the man, who looked at her without understanding.

"Fix it somewhere, preferably on something solid."

She couldn't help but take another look at Kurtis, who was watching her from the top of the cliff, closely guarded by Gunderson. Her eyes then crossed Karel's again. She felt trapped. All her thoughts were running at speed in her head in all possible directions. She felt completely destabilized, as if she was slowly loosing a part of herself. But she knew she had to go on.

She felt Vasiley moving beside her. She had shed her long cloak, which revealed her slim body, trapped in this strange metal corset. The adventuress noticed that part of her arm was made of this strange alloy, halfway between a robot and armour.

"I'm a very good swimmer, if that's your question."

Lara nodded slowly. She fought hard to refocus, strongly disturbed by what had just happened.

"Considering the geological formation of the canyon, and from what Dilara explained to me, there is probably an underground lake or river..."

She took several more deep breaths to calm down.

"... there should be empty cavities, and therefore air, all along our route."

"We'll see."

The girl's icy tone cut short any discussion. Lara refocused. She took one last look at Kurtis, who was still on the ground. Dilara was trying to support him, and was compressing his wound with a large piece of cloth. The mercenary managed to look up at her. He was losing blood, but seemed determined to hold on. He nodded to her in encouragement. Lara turned away and jumped into the water. Morgau readjusted the spear stuck in her back and followed her.

As she had feared, the tunnel that had opened was pitch black. They had no way of knowing how many meters they would have to advance before reaching the other side. Besides, the Englishwoman tried to push away the idea that they did not know exactly what they were supposed to find, nor what awaited them. She relied mainly on her instincts, which for the moment were no more alarmed than usual.

Lara began with a quick inspection of the opening. Then, having noticed nothing alarming, she went back up to find Morgau. The girl unhooked herself from the wall she was clinging to and followed the adventuress.

They moved slowly, sometimes groping in the darkness, guided only by the small torch Lara held in one hand. The stone walls were much steeper and chiselled, the space was small and confined, almost suffocating. They swam for about ten metres before they saw the first cavity. Lara was the first to go up to discover that it was only a tiny dome dug into the rock, which barely gave them room for two to catch their breath.

After a short pause, they dived again, and travelled another ten metres or so down what looked like a corridor. Another air bubble appeared above their heads. However, when the Englishwoman wanted to go back up, she was pushed by a powerful current. Next to her, she felt Morgau struggling slightly and amplifying her movements to fight. The adventuress grabbed her by the arm.

If it's what I think it is, we have to let ourselves be carried

Lara felt the sentinel come to a stop. She crossed her fingers inwardly that her strategy was the right one, and that the current carried them where she hoped. After a few meters, the current intensified a little more. Her lungs began to tighten seriously, and she felt Morgau's apprehension as well.

They let themselves be carried for another ten metres or so, before the movement of the water eased. The narrow channel they had been in until now began to widen at last, and finally opened out into a space that strongly resembled the cavity where the lake they had left behind was. The sky on the surface suddenly cleared. Lara gave a strong impulse to go up.

The fresh air felt like a caress, although her lungs protested badly. Morgau drew in a deep breath, her breathing wheezing. Lara glanced around quickly: they had just entered a sort of cave, or what looked like a large cavity carved out by the water. The stream of water now resembled a river and seemed to continue its way deep into the rock. On their left, a passage opened up, carved into the rock and leading into the depths of the canyon.

They came to a bank, which they pulled up one after the other without difficulty. After checking their belongings and equipment, Lara untied the rope she had around her and went to hang it around a nearby stalactite. When she turned around, Morgau was already about to rush through the passage they had discovered. She rushed to stop her. The girl looked at her with an evil expression and released herself from her grip with a violent blow of the shoulder.

"I'm not stupid," she said coldly.

Lara gave her a reproachful look, before focusing on the passage they were about to enter. To her surprise, the tunnel was relatively short, no more than a dozen metres. It seemed to lead to another, much larger cavity. Again, a continuous thud echoed around them and against the walls. There was obviously still water somewhere, perhaps even another waterfall.

Lara took the first step, taking the lead. She drew her 9mm as a precaution, though she didn't notice any deformation in the rock around them that might indicate a trap. Vasiley followed her silently, spear in hand. Her pale eyes darted in all directions, watching for any sign of trouble.

The earth crackled under their steps. Lara skidded several times on small unstable stones. The waterfall noise intensified. They finally reached the end of the passage. They could go no further, the ground suddenly cut into the void. They were on the edge of a cliff several metres high.

They could not contain their surprise: in front of them was a cavern so immense that they could hardly see the end of it. Again, the rock formed a huge, irregular vault above their heads. Some holes, undoubtedly caused by the wear of time, pierced it in places, and let in a few timid rays of sunlight. In this immense void, far below, were the beginnings of hundreds of small houses and buildings also built in the rock. They were spread out on different sections of rock and at different heights, which reminded Lara of some lost cities she had visited during previous expeditions, especially in South America. At the centre of this underground city was a huge pyramid-shaped building with unstable and threatening protective turrets. The stream in which the two young women had been following flowed into an impressive waterfall. The water then continued below and meandered until it disappeared behind the city.

"The Lost Dominion," Morgau murmured.

Lara glanced at her. The girl's pale eyes met hers. A strange expression had frozen on the sentry's face.

"That's what he calls it, anyway."

The adventuress just stared at her in silence, before Vasiley finally looked away, almost embarrassed. The two women remained for a few moments contemplating the city in silence. Then Lara went to check the strength of another nearby stalactite before tying the second rope around it. She checked the knot she had made several times, and threw the rope down.

"Don't you think we should get back and get some help?", Morgau interrupted her as the Englishwoman was already tying herself up to climb down.

"I'm not stupid either, Vasiley. It's obvious that this place is full of dark magic, but I have no doubts about your abilities and powers-"

"Just stop that, you're going to make me blush," the girl told her in an icy voice.

"... what I meant is that I imagine you'll be the first to sense if something is wrong, won't you?"

"In this case, my radar is just telling me that we are getting into troubles."

"I thought you were braver than that," Lara said wryly.

"Being a hothead and rushing in to danger is not what I personally call being brave or courageous."

Lara could not hold back a slight laugh.

"That's funny because you definitely don't look like a reasonable and temperate person. I would even say that you are a hothead yourself. Contrary to what you are trying to make yourself believe, we are not so different."

The adventuress saw a glimmer of anger in the girl's clear eyes, but her face remained smooth, inexpressive. They stared at each other.

"Have you always been that angry?"

"Why do you care?", replied Morgau in a strangely calm voice.

"I don't, indeed. I was just wondering."

She detected a new gleam in the young woman's eyes, who continued to stare at her in a strange way. She thought for a moment of what Karel had done to her, and no doubt Eckhardt before him. A whole life wasted. The sentry's mouth twisted into an ironic and mysterious smile. Lara realised Morgau was reading her mind at that very moment.

"Do you know what Karel intends to do with the archaeologists?"

Morgau was silent for a short moment, then nodded her head slowly.

"Nothing good."

"Am I to understand that you intend to sacrifice them cowardly?"

The girl simply stared at her without a word.

"So that's what Rouzic's book is for? It's a grimoire, isn't it? I imagine that your dear master must be planning a whole ritual..."

"It could be."

Lara could feel the anger seizing her. Morgau interrupted her before she could answer.

"It's a bit ironic when you think about it, isn't it? In the end, all the Nephili want is to survive. And what could be more human than wanting to serve one's own interests? What could be more human than vanity and the desire to survive? But between us, who wouldn't be ready to make any sacrifice to survive?"

"Karel will destroy us all," the Englishwoman replied coldly. "There will be nothing left of this world, I don't see any good in that..."

Morgau shook her head in disagreement. Her tone was still strangely calm.

"It's not that simple. This is not only about choosing between what is right or what is wrong. Everything can't be either black or white, and I think you know that, Miss Universe."

"I think this is all about choices," Lara told her.

"Who says a choice has to be made?"

The silence fell between the two women. The buzzing sound of the waterfall gradually brought them back to reality. The adventuress stood for a moment watching the sentry, whose expression she could not make out. In front of her insistent silence, Lara finally looked away. She looked down at her feet and the edge of the cliff, then considered the distance they had to abseil. She thought briefly of the mercenary.

I don't know if you can hear me, but we found it

She didn't expect an answer. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. Under the inquisitive and almost mocking gaze of the sentry, the adventuress gripped the rope a little tighter, and let herself fall into the void.

The descent was relatively quick, and they reached the foot of the cliff without difficulty. The ground was strangely sandy here. The water ran thickly a few meters away, and cut off the access to the city. The access was by a small bridge a little to the right, as if the lost city was perched on a sort of island.

They slowly resumed their advance. The stone bridge was partly in ruins, but still passable. Two huge statues of lions flanked it, almost menacing on their high pedestals. The city was just beyond. Lara glanced at Morgau, who suddenly seemed on the lookout. The sentry slid her fingers along her spear, before gripping it firmly. She shook her head as her eyes met Lara's.

It doesn't look good

They walked carefully over the small bridge. They had to walk around a huge hole that had formed after a collapse before they reached the threshold of the city. They took a moment to observe the mostly ruined houses and buildings before them.

Apart from the continuous sound of the water and the waterfall, the place was incredibly quiet. They moved cautiously through the ruins, but Lara did not feel confident. Strange shadows were looming all around them. She had a strange feeling, as if this place was permeated with something.

Like a taste of death and desolation

They climbed a little higher into the ruined houses, before heading back to the main shrine. Its giant staircase climbed dizzyingly towards the ceiling of the rock. At the top, Lara saw some sort of opening, which she imagined to be the entrance to the Nephilim temple.

She began her ascent to the top of the temple, without bothering to ask Morgau. She heard the girl muttering incomprehensible words under her breath, but she made out something like 'fuck that shit'.

But she didn't pay attention to the girl anymore. She was concentrating on her own footsteps as they climbed the impressive staircase.

The stone under her feet was extremely smooth, devoid of any decoration, unlike the gate they had opened. The sand and earth crunched under her soles. She glanced around warily. It took a few minutes before they reached the top. From there they had a full view of the city. On the cliff opposite, Lara recognised the passageway they had come through, not far from the waterfall, which was pouring down in great gushes.

When Morgau finally joined her, Lara turned towards the entrance to the building. For a brief moment she was disturbed by the great resemblance to pyramids she had seen on the other side of the world. The entrance to the shrine was marked by a simple square structure, which bore some inscriptions. After a closer look, Lara realised they were symbols like those on the portal. She entered.

She couldn't see much, it was too dark inside. She grabbed a torch and went down the stairs which went into the depths of the pyramid. Morgau grabbed her by the arm.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Miss Universe."

"I'm not a beginner. I just want to have a look around."

"How do you know the place isn't infested with monsters or whatever?"

"You tell me."

In front of the sentry's impassive expression, Lara resumed her walking. The air there was almost cool under the earth and the rock. They descended several dozen steps, before the space suddenly widened before them. They had reached what looked like a large underground chamber, but the range of the torch did not allow her to see more precisely. A few metres ahead of them, however, she could make out some kind of large stone.

An altar

That doesn't look good here either

Lara crossed Morgau's gaze and shook her head. She turned away. Of course, she would have liked to continue and deepen her research here, but she felt like they could not progress under such conditions.

They turned back. They quickly retraced their steps to the great staircase, and soon found the abandoned city again. As they reached the last steps and were about to get back to the ground, Morgau suddenly stopped, her spear held up before her. Something had moved.

The ground suddenly began to move, like a wave approaching at high speed, ready to wash up on the shore. Lara suddenly remembered the monsters in the canyon.

"Golems!", she shouted.

The huge monster suddenly emerged from the ground, its arms outstretched towards them. She fired. Although she had no memory of what had happened with Kurtis in the canyon, she instinctively aimed for the face. One by one the bullets pierced the stone, which crumbled. But, to her surprise, the monster did not disappear.

Morgau leapt up, her spear brandished before her. With a mighty cry, she brought it down on the Golem, which this time collapsed in a heap of dust. Lara looked at her without understanding.

"Golems are beings made of dark magic. The only way to destroy them is to erase the inscription on their forehead."

The Englishwoman raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"They were the Nephili's bodyguard, and of course they only obey their master. They are there to defend the sanctuary."

"I had understand that," the adventuress replied bitterly. "You were talking about an inscription, what exactly is it?"

"They have the Hebrew word Emet, truth, engraved on their foreheads, which becomes the word Met, death, when you erase the first letter."

A loud screech interrupted them. Two more golems were coming at them.

"Okay, let's say it's time to put it into practice."

On Morgau's advice, Lara started to fire at the huge monster that was coming towards her. However, the heavy and imposing beast managed to protect its face with its arm. Its huge stone fist rose in the air, ready to fall on the young woman. With an agile movement, she rolled to one side to dodge. The monster continued on its way for a few meters, carried away in its momentum. Morgau then threw herself on top of the monster and with a sharp blow, planted her spear in its face. The golem flinched slightly, before collapsing.

They didn't have time to catch their breath when the second one was already coming at them. This time, Lara managed to shoot directly into its face, and the monster collapsed into a pile of stones, raising a thick cloud of dust around them.

Silence fell, but the two women remained on the defensive. For a moment they did not detect any other suspicious movement. They exchanged a steady glance.

"Let's go back to the camp," Lara said.

The climb back to the camp was relatively long and arduous. Both young women lost a lot of energy when they had to swim against the current and back to the gate and the lake. They arrived exhausted, when the daylight had already disappeared.

The whole camp was abuzz with movement as they suddenly resurfaced. As when they left, the archaeologists and Gunderson's men formed a compact group at the edge of the cliff, waiting impatiently for them. Karel was the first to move towards them when they reached the camp.

"We have found a passage, and we have found the sanctuary," Lara announced, still soaking wet.

The Nephilim merely smiled at her in response. Then, without another word, he turned his back on them and walked away. Understanding what was happening, the adventuress could not help but call out to him.

"It might be safer to wait until dawn to get back to the other side. If the whole camp has to be moved-"

"At what point did you think you were calling the shots, Miss Croft?", the Nephilim replied as he turned and walked back to her.

She glared at him, beside herself.

"Master, it's already too dark, we won't be able to make any progress in such conditions. It is useless to take risks for so little," Morgau intervened, to Lara's great surprise.

A black fury crossed Karel's damaged face. Before he could approach and strike the girl, the adventuress took a step towards to stop him and get his attention.

"Besides, I prefer to face my enemies in broad daylight, the place is infested with Golems. But you already knew that, didn't you?"

An almost imperceptible smile appeared on the man's face. Without a word, he finally turned his back on them.

"Enjoy these last few hours of rest," he said over his shoulder.

He disappeared a little further into the camp. Around them, Gunderson's men closed in and surrounded them. Morgau was escorted back to her tent, and Lara was escorted a little further. On their way, she passed Dilara, who had managed to get out of the archaeologists' tent. Her face lit up when she saw the adventuress. Before Lara could even open her mouth, the young Turk was already walking towards her, under the wary eye of the guards.

"He's fine," she said in a low voice. "They kept him prisoner in his tent. I didn't get to see him much, but he's better. The wound is clean, and quite regenerated, even if he is still weakened."

"Thank you," Lara answered with a smile. "And how about you? The others?"

Dilara nodded quickly, only to be interrupted by Gunderson's men. One of the soldiers pushed Lara forcefully forward, and she reluctantly abandoned the young Turk.

She was awakened at the first light of dawn. When she was led out of her tent, Lara found out the camp was already on the move. Gunderson's henchmen were busy gathering the bulk of their belongings and weapons. She noticed her and Kurtis' belongings were held under heavy guard. The archaeologists had been gathered in the centre of the camp. Dilara was helping as best she could her colleague Adem, whose leg wound looked seriously infected. The man was struggling to keep up and was extremely pale. Not far from them, Kurtis was sitting on the ground, concentrating. He seemed to be getting better indeed, although the wound in his stomach was still red and wide open.

The adventuress retrieved some cotton wool from a bag lying nearby and rushed to him. She lifted his shirt slightly to gain access to the wound and compress it.

"It'll be only one more..."

The young woman gave him a questioning look.

"...a scar."

He discreetly stroked the hand that was compressing his wound. They exchanged a smile. It was the first real moment they had been alone since the young woman had come back from death.

"There's a whole city, and a shrine on the other side," Lara murmured. "There are Golems too, and probably other things."

"For the Golems-"

"Morgau explained, yes. They protect the shrine."

"And I guess they only obey Karel here," the mercenary said quietly.

Lara shook her head gently.

"We'll have to be extremely careful," the young man said, glancing briefly at the soldiers around them. "My powers allow me to sense certain things here, there's an extremely powerful form of energy all around us... so powerful that I can't sense it in its entirety, or know what it is exactly..."

"Is it the one he used to bring me back to life?"

Kurtis nodded his head in agreement. He waited for the group of soldiers passing by to move away before continuing.

"As soon as we have crossed, Karel will start the resurrection ritual," he said in a whisper. "Rouzic holds the documents and the grimoire that contain all the Nephili formulas for that."

"The book he never lets go of."

"They have sheltered the Sanglyph. I don't know where the sword is though."

Suddenly footsteps came towards them. One of Gunderson's men grabbed the young woman by the arm and forced her to her feet. The men began to move, and started their descent towards the lake shore and what remained of the gate. Karel, Rouzic and Gunderson were already at the bottom. The archaeologists set off in their turn, closely watched by the soldiers. Lara and Kurtis closed the way, escorted by Morgau and some guards.

"Morgau, you go first," said Gunderson when they had all reached the edge of the lake.

The girl did not hide her surprise, let alone her contempt for this decision. Without a word, she adjusted the spear fixed to her back and dived for the rope that had been fixed by Lara to mark out the path. A handful of henchmen, loaded with equipment and belongings, followed her. Karel and Rouzic, who felt visibly uncomfortable, disappeared into the water too. Then came the first archaeologists, some of them looked terrified. They disappeared in turn through the gaping hole left by the portal, as if swallowed by the darkness. The two adventurers saw Dilara trying to help her colleague Adem, whose leg was in excruciating pain and who was clearly struggling to move. The weakened man remained frozen at the edge of the lake, unable to move. Dilara tried to convince him to come with her, but the man was petrified. Lara and Kurtis saw Gunderson suddenly get angry and pull out his gun. He pointed it at the archaeologist. The young Dilara tried to intervene, also in panic.

"Gunderson!", Lara called out to him. "Stop that!"

She walked towards the two archaeologists. The mercenary looked at her from head to toe with contempt.

"Either he moves or I shoot him."

"No!", Dilara shouted. "I'll take care of him, I'll carry him to the other side if necessary."

She felt Lara's hand rest on her gently.

"I'll do it, Dilara. You go. I'll take Adem with me and come back for you," she said, this time addressing Kurtis.

Without waiting for Gunderson's approval, she urged the young Turkish archaeologist to dive, and helped Adem down into the water. The young man could not hold back a grunt of pain as his damaged flesh met the icy water. Lara did her best to stay afloat, as the poor man clung desperately to her. They joined Dilara.

"Follow the rope, and don't let go. It's not a very long crossing. You'll be able to breathe again in a few feet, don't worry. As soon as you feel the current pushing you, let it carry you, don't resist. It will take you back to the bank. Okay?"

The young woman shook her head sharply. Lara sensed her apprehension, but she looked determined.

"Is that good for you Adem?", she then asked the archaeologist who was clinging to her.

He shook his head gently, his lips pursed. He was stressed.

"Okay, let's go."

Dilara moved relatively easily ahead of them. She was soon ahead of them. Lara found herself alone with Adem, who was struggling to swim with his injured leg. They stopped in the very first cavity to get some air, but the young woman had trouble convincing him to keep going. After one last deep breath, they dived again, and after a final panic from Adem, they finally reached the other side. His colleagues rushed to help Lara pull him up on the bank, under the almost amused looks of the soldiers and Karel.

She quickly made the way back. When she reached the starting point, Kurtis was waiting for her on the edge of a rock. The few remaining soldiers and Gunderson were also ready to close the march. Gunderson tried to intercept Kurtis as he was about to jump into the water.

"Certainly not, asshole."

Lara swam towards the rock and pulled herself up on it. The guards pointed their riffles into their direction.

"I'm taking him with me."

"Who said you could negotiate?", the mercenary replied with a cynical laugh. "You go and we'll follow you."

"That's non-negotiable. Either he goes with me, or you kill us here."

Kurtis felt his heart clench at these words. He knew Gunderson too well to know that he would be able to shoot them both. He could see from the hard, dark look in his eyes that the idea had indeed crossed his mind. One of the soldiers came up behind Gunderson. He stopped him with a movement of the hand. He drew his gun from his holster and pointed the barrel at the young woman's forehead. Lara did not flinch and kept her gaze on his.

"You shouldn't tempt me, you bitch."

Lara gave him a cynical smile.

"I imagine that if we are still alive, it is because Karel potentially needs us. And I can perfectly imagine his face when he will discover that the bastard you are has allowed himself to kill us, and what's more, that you gave yourself the privilege of killing the last Lux Veritatis knight."

She saw the doubt briefly cross the mercenary's eyes, which were boiling with rage.

"So you're going to let me go down and cross with Kurtis, because all you risk now is that we drown."

Gunderson lowered his weapon. The adventuress grabbed Kurtis by the arm and they went down into the water.

"That's pretty reassuring…", Kurtis whispered to her as they stood above the opening.

His azure eyes met the adventuress' large hazel eyes.

"Are you ready?"

"That depends."

He felt the young woman put her arm around him and squeeze him hard.

"Just don't let go."

The young man could not hold back a smirk.

"That's not going to happen."

After one last look, they took a deep breath and dived in.

When they reached the other bank, the group had already been back on the move. Morgau, Karel, Rouzic and most of the archaeologists had already gone ahead and were heading down to the city. Two soldiers were waiting for them, and escorted them to the cliff. Kurtis could not hide his surprise when he discovered the cave that appeared before them. A strange feeling ran through him: a kind of wonder at the beauty of the place, a strange feeling of pride but also of frustration at the idea that he would undoubtedly be the one and only Lux Veritatis to know the Nephilim cradle. And the apprehension of what was to come.

They waited for a long time before they could descend the cliff and join the rest of the group at the foot of the stone bridge. They were soon joined by Gunderson and the remaining soldiers. Lara could not contain a feeling of disgust, almost nausea at the expression of perfect satisfaction that had frozen on Karel's face. Rouzic, for his part, seemed relatively nervous, and couldn't help looking in all directions. Morgau, on the other hand, was already climbing up the high sanctuary, the periapt sword stuck in her back with her spear.

They crossed the bridge in silence and passed the two huge lions. Then something happened when Karel stepped into the very entrance of the city. The ground literally seemed to come alive and twist under his feet. The two adventurers had the impression the Nephilim suddenly projected a kind of energy into the old buildings, which circulated in the ground. The Nephilim's skin, until then relatively light and human-looking, seemed to mutate and turn greyish. He walked triumphantly out of his domain.

A strange atmosphere had taken hold of the procession. Everyone seemed both impressed and terrified by the place. The archaeologists walked hesitantly ahead, closely followed by Dilara, who was supporting Adem as best she could. The man was limping badly. Lara and Kurtis stayed close together, on the lookout. They both felt the heavy shadow of Gunderson at their backs.

Suddenly, as Lara had feared, parts of the houses around them began to move. Large blocks of stone broke away to form a monster with a vaguely humanoid shape. Before anyone could react, five or six golems were hurtling towards them. The first one, extremely fast, attacked the group of archaeologists: under the shrill cries, some were propelled a few meters away, one or two others were suddenly swallowed up and disappeared in the ground, like Lara in the canyon.

The group panicked. The two adventurers wanted to react, but they remembered they had no weapons with them. They watched helplessly. The chaos lasted only a few seconds, but it seemed like an eternity. Karel stepped forward to face the groups of golems. With a slow, almost aerial gesture, he simply held out his hand in front of him, and the monsters stopped at once, as if frozen. The two adventurers watched in amazement as the monsters stood back, submissive to their master.

Calmness returned difficultly to the group. Two of Dilara's colleagues had been carried off, and a guard was badly injured. Gunderson tried to regroup his men and bring the group together. Under the blank faces of the golems, they made their way back to the shrine in a heavy silence.

As they reached the first steps of the temple, Adem suddenly collapsed to the ground. His leg had not withstood, and had bent under his own weight. Dilara and some of the young women tried to help him, but the man was exhausted. He could no longer stand up. The whole group stopped.

"That's enough."

Gunderson suddenly pushed the two adventurers aside, almost shoving them, and stepped forward, gun in hand. He brutally pushed back Dilara who was standing in his way and pointed the gun at the Turkish man. Without the slightest hesitation, he fired. The poor man had no time to realise what was happening, as the bullet pierced his temple with a sinister sound. Blood and bone splattered on the sand, before his body collapsed forward.

"NO!", shouted Dilara.

Several of her colleagues screamed. The young woman stood still, staring at the body of her dead friend. She let out a loud sob, but Lara couldn't tell if it was because of the shock of her colleague's murder, or if she was just exhausted.

Karel and Rouzic didn't even bothered to turn around. The two adventurers saw them enter the sanctuary main staircase. Morgau was waiting for them a little further up.

Dilara did not move. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, but her eyes were lost in the void. Her big eyes finally turned to Lara and Kurtis. Time seemed to stand still for a moment between them. Dilara looked at them without a word, as if petrified.

The adventuress understood what was going to happen just when she saw the young woman rushing to the nearest guard. With a cry of rage, the young Turk kicked the soldier hard and snatched his rifle from his hands. She turned the gun on him and pulled the trigger.

The man fell to the ground, dead. Dilara then turned around and fired. She fired into the group of soldiers flanking them without really aiming. Several fell to the ground, badly hit.

There was total confusion around them. Lara stopped thinking and turned to rush at the guard behind her. She snatched his gun and shot him in the head. Before the others could react around them, Kurtis had also grabbed a gun and opened fire. He shot down some men, and rushed to the dead man who was holding their stuff. Kurtis then got back to Lara and urged her to follow him. She grabbed him by the waist for support and help, and they started to run towards the abandoned houses. Behind them, the bullets raged. They heard several screams. Some of the archaeologists tried to return fire, but were immediately cut down, unable to cope. They heard Gunderson shout.

"Get them back!"

The two adventurers managed to shoot down the few soldiers who were running after them. The golems came to life and began to chase them. Lara and Kurtis were able to kill a few of them before running into the maze of the city's streets. When Lara turned around, Dilara was still trapped in the middle of the ambush, holding the assault rifle firmly in her hands. She suddenly pointed at Gunderson, who was striding towards her. She was wounded in the leg, but she held on. With a final cry of rage, she pulled the trigger, and managed to wound the mercenary in the arm. He grunted, but did not collapse. He pointed his gun at the young woman and fired.

She had always been used to firearms, but the sound of the shot sounded like the crack of a whip inside her. Lara felt her heart clench in her chest as she saw Gunderson's bullet pierce the young Turkish's skull. Her head went backwards with the impact, and the weapon she was holding fell with a crash to the ground. Dilara's lifeless body then collapsed heavily in the sand, next to some of her colleagues.

Silence suddenly fell back in the city. Lara wanted to lunge forward, but she felt Kurtis' hand holding her back. The mercenary managed to shoot down another Golem that was about to bring its rock fist down on them. They were blown away by a dusty wind as the monster's body hit the ground.

She didn't want to run away. She wanted to throw herself at this bastard and kill him. This had gone on long enough. Karel had already disappeared into the sanctuary. Gunderson was badly beaten up and there were now only about ten soldiers and four or five archaeologists left alive.

Another golem was already after them. Kurtis put an arm around her waist, and forced her to follow him. They disappeared into the shadows of the ruins.