(Updated Since 25-12-2024)

Chapter 9 - Alms For Oblivion

Author's Note

Chapter 9, 10, 11 and 12 will be crossovers with canon Tomb Raider 2013's walkthrough areas of Cliffside Bunker, Research Base, Chasm Stronghold, Chasm Shrine and Chasm Ziggurat.

Unknown Realm

Unknown Time

"Rise, Lara Croft."

A mysterious but authoritative voice loomed over Lara in perfect Ecclesiastical Latin. The Countess slowly opened her eyes and saw her left hand resting on the grass ground. She barely moved her fingers before her vision faded to black.

"Rise, my child. Repent from heresy. Seize your soul. Escape this oblivion."

The majestic and divine voice loomed over again. Although harsh in tone, it was filled with infinite love and power. Lara reopened her eyes and blinked a few times. She found that she was in a sitting position with her back leaning against a boulder, bathing under the evening sun and the chilling sea wind. She was still equipped with her trusted Sacra Umbra, dual wheellock pistols, ammunition, rapier and parrying dagger. Lara slowly stood up and regained her sense of surroundings. There was no sign of Samantha and Uncle Roth so she decided to look around. Lara was sure she was still on Yamatai but something felt really off.

She was supposed to be at a midstream area near the Solarii Fortress but was now back at a cliff of the Shipwreck Beach (and Cliffside Bunker). While the geographical landmarks were the same, the abandoned buildings and shipwrecks were completely different from the original which absolutely horrified Lara. Observing from afar, there was no more Fortified Ship Breaking Hamlet. The entire complex was replaced by various alien-looking metal architecture (WW2 era radio towers, harbour tower cranes) and strange concrete buildings (WW2 era bunkers, harbour structures). Wooden shipwrecks were replaced by highly advanced and gargantuan iron-clad warships (WW2 era battleships). Their massive cannons were weapons of apocalypse. Even being long abandoned and heavily rusted, Lara could still imagine how horrible they would be in their full glory. Some kind of lost ancient civilisation must have constructed them but were obliterated by the wrath of God. However, these observations did not explain the alien constructions' complete replacement of the original Fortified Ship Breaking Hamlet. There were absolutely no Portuguese and Japanese Catholic soldiers despite having the exact same locational perimeter. It was so uncanny that everything was familiar yet completely different simultaneously. The current situation was either a bizarre fever dream or a horrendous nightmare.

Another uncanny valley was Lara's clothes and equipment. They were supposed to be soaking wet with sweat, pus, blood and water from the disgusting blood river within the Solarii Fortress. Yet, it was now completely dry and clean as ever, even with a light sense of fragrance. She was also supposed to be severely wounded after the fight with the eldritch and gargantuan energy shooting deinosuchus. Her lung literally collapsed from grievous rib cage fractures. The existing deep sharp scratch on Sacra Umbra's breastplate was a testament to the beast's horrific lethality. Lara clearly remembered that she could not even breathe or speak, eventually losing consciousness due to extreme respiratory distress and sheer exhaustion. She should either be dead or have a serious wound infection from exposure to the infectious blood river of gore and pus. Yet, there was no more tortuous agony and Lara felt completely healthy. In fact, she did not even feel equipment weight, fatigue, hunger and thirst.

Something incredibly weird was also happening to Lara. While animals could see and hear her, she had no footprints or shadows. Her weapons had no effect on the environment. Her limbs could not interact with any objects but could pass directly through them. This was the moment when Lara realised that her current existence was a supernatural anomaly. She did not have a physical body and was essentially a quasi-spirit.

Unspeakable dread erupted within Lara and a panic attack struck like seizures. Was she dead? Was she still Human? A shapeless soul? Or something in between? Why would the animals see and sense her? Was she in Limbo, Inferno or Purgatory? She tried to take a deep breath, only to find out that she had no functional respiratory system. Lara screamed and cried in horror uncontrollably. She felt weak even without the perceptions of fatigue. With no one to help, Lara fell to her knees on the spot to frantically pray to God for help. She was horrified and confused - a lost lamb who desperately needed God's guidance for answers.

As Lara prayed, time seemed to slow down and the world became quiet. God was silent but Lara felt His ever-presence. There was an invisible warmth that encouraged her to calm down and reflect on her experience. Lara was in deep meditation and quickly understood that those 2 divinely voices were God's messages.

"Rise, Lara Croft."

God spoke directly to Lara and so she woke from the void of eternal darkness.

"Rise, my child. Repent from heresy. Seize your soul. Escape this oblivion.."

"Heresy" meant a "choice" to reject the orthodox faith. God gave Humans free will to choose right and wrong, never to be bound by fate. From the time spent with Padre Sebastião Alvito, Lara had already seen the truth through various Catholic apologetics. The Anglicanism that she held so dearly was just a political ploy by English King Henry VIII to divorce and remarry. It was impossible for anyone with functional logical thinking to take this scandalous "religion" seriously. Roman Catholicism was the only one true faith and there was no salvation outside the Church. Lara knew this but she deliberately chose to ignore the truth simply because of her patriotic prejudice.

Saint Nicholas of Myra warned the crew of São Nicolau de Mira that Yamatai was an eldritch intersectional dimension between physical Reality and spiritual Hell. Perhaps it was Lara's blind stubbornness that separated her very Human existence - being neither dead nor alive. Her soul was trapped in this strange realm of oblivion as a wandering spirit for absolution, while her mortal body was presumably in a state of coma in reality. God truly worked in mysterious ways. Once fully understood the divine message, Lara immediately repented from Protestant heresy and converted to Roman Catholicism. She felt the Holy Spirit within her body sparkling again. Lara knew no doubt or fear, only the sheer determination to escape this oblivion. She had to rejoin Roth for family, Alex for marriage, Samantha for friendship and Padre Sebastião for religious guidance, as well as a formal conversion ritual.

With newfound goals and courage, Lara decided to go downhill and explore the closest concrete bunker (Cliffside Bunker) next to her, then she would go to the Shipwreck Beach. Perhaps she could find some honest souls who could help her escape this limbo like oblivion, just like Dante having Virgil as his companion.

Lara slowly walked towards her destination. She was still not used to directly passing through obstacles because her subconsciousness always told her to act like a normal human. Suddenly, she heard a strangely familiar male voice coming from a narrow cliff trail below her. It was in English but with an unfamiliar accent, "... Okay, Reyes… I'm getting close to the Endurance. What do you need exactly?"

Lara looked at the sound direction and saw… Alex! Her dear fiancé was right here! Lara was going to rush towards Alex and give him a big hug and kiss but stopped herself at the last second. Something was wrong… and very strange… Alex wore a set of outlandish clothing that she had never seen before. He wore light-weight glass of unknown materials (plastic). His white shirt was tight with black sleeves and a huge "ESC" in the chest. His trousers (jeans) were blue with unknown thick fabrics. His odd shoes (sneakers) were made of undisclosed materials. The overall aesthetic was just bizarre for Lara's taste.

Alex also spoke directly to a mysterious black hand-held device (walkie-talkie). It replied to Alex with an odd mechanical female voice, "Alex! We were getting worried. I'm going to need a breaker bar and the rest of my kit. I can't fix this boat without them."

"Alright! I'm on it.", Alex relayed eagerly in English which freaked Lara out. The pronunciations were off and the wordings were very weird but still intelligible. Lara's fiancé was a native Swiss German speaker, fluent in Portuguese, awful with Spanish and Hollandic Dutch. However, he neither spoke English nor did Lara ever teach him. They only communicated in Hollandic Dutch with Lara trying to fix his broken grammar and pronunciation every day. Therefore, how on Earth could Alex suddenly master perfect English without any Alemannic accents? Was he lying to her all along?

"Lara is heading your way. You should wait for her.", the device advised sincerely which utterly confused the eavesdropping Countess. Was the "Lara" that it mentioned actually referring to her? Or was it just another woman who happened to share her personal name coincidentally?

"Lara…? No, no I got this. I'm heading in. Going radio silent.", Alex answered awkwardly like having butterflies in his stomach. He somehow looked younger and childish without his usual dominating masculinity and authoritative aura of a veteran military officer. Lara also nearly fainted when she saw Alex having a neck tattoo. This was outrageous as only criminals or heathens in the dark corners of the Earth would have such barbaric practice.

Alex then seemed to turn off his mysterious black device and let out a long sigh, "Finally… It is my chance to shine. Lara will finally notice me…"

What the hell was it supposed to mean? She was going to be his wife after this Yamatai Exorcist-Expedition. There was thus no need to court her anymore, unless the "Lara" that both him and the device mentioned was not her but another woman. Fucking cheating bastard!

However, rationality and critical thinking quickly stopped Lara's rage and petty jealousy. First of all, why was Alex in this strange realm of oblivion? It was supposed to be an arena for Lara's heretical soul to repent. There was thus no place for devoted Roman Catholics like Alex. Even if he did, he should be a wandering quasi-spirit like her. Yet, this "Alex" was fully Human. He had weight, shadows and constantly reacted to his surrounding environment. The only logical conclusion was that the man before her was a doppelganger. Yet, Lara still felt extremely attracted to him. After all, he shared the same appealing voice and handsome face of HER Alex.

Lara had to mentally slap herself to prevent any indecent thoughts. She was only ever loyal to HER Alexander Wyss till the end of time. Lara originally planned to stealthily observe the Alex look-alike but curiosity eventually took over her action. She silently walked behind him like a ghost and greeted politely, "Excuse me, mister."

The young man jumped in surprise and instantly turned around. He looked very excited but also embarrassed like getting caught with your hand in the cookie jar. He spoke awkwardly and incoherently, "Emm… Hi Lara… Reyes just told me that you are heading my way. How do you catch up on me so fast? Anyway… emm… nice new armour… and bow scrunchie."

Lara felt a great sense of relief as his sentence just proved that he was not HER Alex. She had been wearing Sacra Umbra and bow scrunchie for months. There was thus no way in hell that Alex could not remember her iconic costumes. However, the oddity was also getting out of hand simultaneously. Why did this Alex look-alike recognise her like knowing each other for quite some time? Was he mistaking her for someone else?

"Pardon me, mister. I am afraid that I am not the 'Lara' that you are talking about.", Lara explained as she performed a gracious curtsy, "I am Lara Croft - Countess of the House Croft in Surrey, Kingdom of England."

The doppelganger just laughed, "Damn, Lara! That's a perfect Shakespearean English impression. I never knew that you are such an excellent roleplayer!"

Lara was perplexed by his lack of surprise. Even providing her full name and title, the doppelganger still believed her to be the "Lara" mentioned in the black hand-held device earlier. It could only imply that the "Lara" in this realm also shares the same voice and face as her. This uncanny coincidence was really confusing. The Countess explained, "There seems to be some grave misunderstanding. I am neither the 'Lara' of your acquaintance nor am I familiar with the term 'Shakespearean'. However, I can assure you that I am just a lost soul, trying to escape this oblivion and return to my reality."

The doppelganger chuckled, "You sound like a questing spirit in Limbo."

"Because I am."

"Wooo- Spooky Halloween. Are you gonna stick your tongue out like Boos in Super Mario?"

Lara was utterly confused by his words and was frustrated that he did not take her seriously. She was still a dangerous girl even without a physical body and right now she was losing patience. Lara simply sighed and further closed her distance with the Alex look-alike, essentially being face to face. She said calmly, "Touch me."

The man blushed hard and tried to look away from her petite but armoured frame, "Emm… Lara… This is inappropriate..."

"Just do it and you will understand."

The Alex look-alike swallowed hard and reached his hand out hesitantly. He was both nervous and excited at the same time. His jaw then instantly dropped as his entire arm effortlessly passed through Lara's torso like thin air. There was no friction or sensation. The Alex look-alike could not believe his own eye and stretched both his arms within Lara's body again and again, only to have them move through her in all directions.

"How?... How is this possible? You… You are just like an illusion!", the man panicked and shouted at her in great concern.

Lara tried to comfort the Alex look-alike by patting his shoulder. Unfortunately, her ghostly hand just went past his body. Lara gave him a sad smile, "It's ok. I had a severe panic attack when I just learned my current status. You already took it much better than me."

"Lara… What… What happened to you?!", the Alex look-alike weakly slumped on the ground. He paused for a few seconds before finally realised, "No… No… You are not THE 'Lara Croft' that I know, right?"

Lara nodded and closely sat next to him, "Yes, I am not. You seem to confuse me as her. Do I share the same name, voice and face with your Lara?"

"Yea, 110%. The only thing that could distinguish you and her is your archaic Shakespearean English."

"Very interesting… Wait… why would you call my speech 'archaic'? Also what does this 'Shakespearean' mean?"

"Well… you speak like people from the 1500s to 1600s. 'Shakespearean' is an adjective referring to the works of William Shakespeare - the greatest English playwright. His plays are the foundation for Modern English but are still difficult for us to understand. If I didn't take an English Literature summer course back in 2009, I don't think I can chat with you now-"

"Hold on a second!", Lara nervously put her hands up and abruptly interrupted, "What is the date of today?"

"25th September, 2013.", he answered after looking at an elegant glass-metal armed watch (wristwatch) on his left wrist.

Lara instantly eyes bulged in sheer shock. She was speechless for a few minutes and then facepalmed in silence. Her soul somehow travelled forward in time and was now trapped in an eldritch oblivion of reality and unreality 432 years into the future. This also explained the Alex look-alike's strange clothing, unfamiliar accent, outlandish vocabulary, mysterious device; as well as the gargantuan war machines and alien infrastructures of the surrounding area.

Concerned by Lara's uncanny silence, the man asked, "Um… Lara? Are you ok?"

"No… Not really…Things have gone very out of hand… That's all."

"Well… You can tell me if you want. I am sure we can seek something out together.", the Alex look-like gave Lara a bright goofy smile which instantly melted her heart. She returned the friendly smile, "Sure, why not? But before we start, would my new acquaintance like to introduce himself first?"

"Oh yeah, where are my manners? My name is Alex Weiss. I am from the USA. I am an electrical engineer on the research vessel Endurance. We came here to produce a TV documentary about the lost kingdom of Yamatai. We were shipwrecked and attacked by crazy cults, ya got the idea."

Lara's mind went blank for a few minutes upon hearing the answer. This man not only shared HER Alex's voice, face and now even extremely identical names. This research vessel also shared the same name as her previous privateer galleon Endurance. Everything just matched up too perfectly and there was definitely no coincidence. There was also much unknown information that intrigued her. What was the USA, electrical engineer and TV documentary? She must find all this uncharted knowledge out.

Lara extended her ghostly hand to the Alex look-alike for a symbolic handshake. He happily accepted the untouchable gesture of friendship and she eagerly continued, "It's an honour to meet you, Alex! Seems we both have much to discuss…"

After a whole hour of lengthy mutual explanation of past experience and scientific elaboration of multiverse theory and grandfather paradox, engineer Alex carefully concluded Lara's story, "So… In your timeline, you are an English Countess and historian-secretary of Endurance - a privateer galleon which was shipwrecked near the coast of Portuguese Nagasaki in 1581. You are captured for piracy but are pardoned by joining a Jesuit exorcist-expedition to Yamatai. In your reality, I am a Swiss German mercenary and your fiancé. Meanwhile, Samantha is a female samurai who loves guns. Roth is barely alive. You kill Solarii cultists but are mortally wounded during an escape from a gargantuan energy shooting crocodile. You believe that your soul is trapped by the will of God as a trial of your faith."

"That's correct.", Lara nodded and summarised the story of engineer Alex, "In this timeline, Alexander Wyss is you - Alex Weiss. You are from the United States of America, a former British colony. You are an engineer on the research vessel Endurance, a huge ironclad ship. You come here to film… a TV… documentary… which is Samantha's expertise. You are shipwrecked, Uncle Roth is dead and remaining crews are trying to survive from the Solarii cultists. You have a crush on Lara Croft - the alternate me who is an Asian Archaeological student. However, she does not acknowledge you, so you try to retrieve some boat fixing tools solo to impress her."

Alex's description of this future was confusing but absolutely fascinating. Lara was immediately attracted to the tales of various hi-technologies. She was glad that her alternate self was "best friend forever" with filmographer Samantha who somehow had Portuguese ancestry. The Countess was also devastated when knowing that the alternate Uncle Roth was killed while trying to protect archaeologist Lara from the Solarii cultists. It only strengthened the Countess's resolve to return to reality and save her beloved Uncle. Family must stand together in the face of evil.

"Yea… can you please let the latter half out. It's very embarrassing…", engineer Alex blushed so hard regarding Lara's remark like having a stroke, desperately seeking a puddle to hide his embarrassment.

Lara noticed and swiftly changed subjects, "I just don't understand this multiverse theory. How could the world have alternate realities? Why would there be alternate us in different timelines? Do world events still stay the same?"

"Hum… Since God is omnipotent, would it really be that strange if he created multiple realities and timeline? His wisdom is beyond our mortal understanding.", engineer Alex suggested thoughtfully, "Regarding world events… The past that happened in this reality may not become the future of your world. Nothing is certain because the future is always in motion."

Lara was greatly inspired by his wise words and nodded in sincere agreement, "Yea… You are absolutely right. There is no predestination but the consequence of our free-willed choices."

The duo then both fell in comfortable silence, enjoying the beautiful sunset and chilling sea wind shoulder by shoulder. Lara glanced at engineer Alex and suddenly asked, "I know this is kinda awkward to say but… would you like me to tag along with you for the time being-"

"Absolutely!", engineer Alex exclaimed abruptly without even letting Lara finish her sentence, "I would love to have your company!"

"Excellent!", Lara energetically stood up. She faced down the sitting engineer Alex and offered her untouchable right hand of comradeship, "Now, let's go get your boat fixing tools. Ya still got a girl to impress!"

Author's Note

- Chapter 9, 10, 11 and 12 aim to deliver a "what if" scenario of my alternate Countess Lara meeting the canon survivor Lara and Alex Weiss.

- Quasi-spirit Lara is visible and audible but cannot be interacted physically. She can thus pass through any obstacles, walk on water and walls, only attack or be harmed by other spiritual beings.

- Countess Lara speaks Shakespearean English. Canon Tomb Raider 2013 characters other than survivor Lara and Alex Weiss will struggle to understand her.

- To avoid charater confusion; canon survivor Lara Croft will be addressed as "archaeologist Lara", Alex Weiss will be "engineer Alex" and Samantha Nishimura will be "filmographer Samantha" in narration.

- Wristwatches already existed in the 16th century but under the name "armed watch".

- The first recorded metal boat was built in Yorkshire in 1777.

- The term "electricity" and related vocabulary were invented in 1600 by William Gilbert.

- The word "film" first appeared in the mid 1840s.