Death Raids A Heart

Pt. IV

As the sun began to set, Lara fought bravely as she and the warriors fought off Trinity as she stepped over bodies littered across the ground, mixed in different blood and lead melted from the bodies that were set alight or crushed by wooden scaffolding or stone and marble from the ancient structures that now laid in ruin. In their persistence, Lara and the warriors claimed the upper hand in the fight as soon enough, the helicopters were brought down in a blaze of glory. 

Loud cheering followed from the warriors as the battle still continued in the catacombs where Sofia and her people were trapped. Forming an ambush of her own, Lara slowly overcame more Trinity soldiers that blocked her entrance to the catacombs until the remaining reinforcements were disposed of. While those that died heroically, the remainder of Jacob's people mourned and gathered once more to gather ammunition and supplies from the bodies of the Trinity soldiers 

"Will you tell me more about this place?" Lara asked in a persistent manner. 

Jacob paused before saying, "You've earned that much. Come with me." 

The two made their way to the top of the tower to seek privacy to have their discussion about the Prophet. 

"In ancient times, our Prophet brought the Divine Source to this valley. My ancestors built Kitezh to protect it from the outside world." Jacob began as he admired his homeland. 

"To what end? What is the Divine Source, Jacob?" Lara asked curiously. 

 "An artefact from a long time forgotten. We believe it holds a fragment of God's soul. Legend tells us those who beheld the Source were granted immortality, but others have always been drawn here seeking its power. Trinity seek to spread their darkness across the world. With the source, their soldiers would be... unstoppable." 

"Then help me find it before they do!" 

Jacob shook his head as he spoke in a gravelly voice. "This is not your burden." 

"Of course it is! My father died for this." 

"You can't fill emptiness inside you, Lara. You can only set it free." 

"I'm going to find it. With or without you." 

Taking her leave, Lara was met by Sofia who offered her assistance in finding the map to the Divine Source. To the cathedral, Lara ventured without the company of David, Sofia or Jacob. 

"So much violence and death. Jacob's people have been through so much, yet they continue to fight. They are bound by an oath taken by their ancestors; a duty handed down from the past. But I see a people who simply want to live in peace. I believe it's time for them to let go of the past. If I can find the Atlas, it might lead to the Divine Source. I could take it away from here. They wouldn't have to suffer anymore. They could share the burden of truth with the world. But if all this leads to nothing... I don't know what I'll do." Lara thought to herself as she settled by an already prepared campfire to upgrade her tools and craft more ammunition. 

Multiple camps filled with Trinity soldiers stood in Lara's path to the cathedral. Despite the numbers and with her advantage of stealth, Lara effortlessly overcame the soldiers in her path as she climbed her way up to the cathedral in stormy weather where she discovered Ana out of Konstantin's presence but instead of guards patrolling the cathedral. Without anywhere to hide, Lara was left no choice but to expose herself as she captured Ana and held her at gunpoint at all her men pointed their guns at her when she noticed controlled explosives on the floor.

"Kill an unarmed woman? That would be cold, even for you, Lara. Then again, I know why you haven't pulled that trigger. Shoot me and my men will cut you down within seconds. It's the one thing they're better at than you." Ana grunted as she provided no resistance except by holding Lara's forearm around her neck. 

"Shut up, Ana!" Lara snapped as she devised her escape from the ambush. 

With the floor beneath them blown up, Lara relied on the rope around her ankle - the same ankle that previous got gnawed by a bear trap on her previous expedition - which tangled both herself and Ana as they were spared from a deadly descent as she instead landed on her side, causing excruciating pain as she managed to escape along a path that took her directly to the Atlas. Finding herself the target of an assault by Trinity, Lara fought off her attackers as a fire started previously began to spread. 

Hearing her communicator beep, Lara answered it, only to hear a distressed Jonah on the other end. "Lara! Lara, are you up there?! David?! Respond!"  

"Jonah, is that you?!" 

"Little bird! You're alive, I knew it!" 

"My God... Jonah, what are you doing here? Where are you?" 

"I'm up in some kind of fortress. You can thank David and Jacob. His people picked me up half-dead out on the tundra." 

"I can't believe you came after me." She said, both touched and disappointed. 

Jonah laughed. "Is that so hard to believe? I told you I got your back. I couldn't leave you two out here alone." 

"I'm on my way up to you now. Don't go anywhere." 

Lara made her way through a cave, solving puzzles that would ensure her escape before she returned to the valley with Jacob's people where her friends were patiently waiting for her as they saw her running towards them. To David, she embraced first with a hug and a kiss before greeting Jonah with a bigger hug as he held her by her arms and a nod to Sofia standing beside them. 

"You both look terrible. Terrible, but happy," said Jonah. 

"I was right, Jonah. Dad was right! The Divine Source is real. I, wish he was here to see this." Lara replied with a frown. 

"He'd be proud of you. Sofia told me what you've done for her people." 

Sofia tipped her head down at the brunette. "Lara." 

"It's good to see you, Sofia." 

"Jacob is waiting for you in the observatory." 

Producing the Atlas, David and Jonah followed Lara up the steps to the observatory where Jacob was waiting for them and handed it back to him so that they could use the ceiling light to access the map. While Jonah and David controlled the mechanism keeping the Atlas suspended up in the ceiling, Lara made the discovery of Kitezh's true location when a helicopter flew over them, breaching the observatory, where Lara was thrown outside, hanging onto a chain for dear life while Jonah and David watched armed men attempt to kill her. 

Bravely, Jonah shoved two of the armed soldiers away before he rammed a third pointing his gun at Lara, causing them to fall to their death before he got captured and extracted with the Atlas, leaving Jacob wounded. Now with a new objective, Lara tipped her head up at David, calling him to follow her so that they could embark on defeating Ana and Konstantin for good.