Every single member of the Trinity army that once came to hunt the Prophet died without exception. The scrolls they left behind indicated that the Prophet truly seemed to possess foresight—he always departed when his pursuers were only a day away, brushing past them by mere hours. One Trinity hunter, once camped by Lake Svetloyar, requested shelter from a village. But the villagers, having listened to the Prophet's teachings, refused. That very night, while the hunter slept by the lakeside, a young man bearing the Prophet's crude symbol tried to kill him. Yet not all of the Prophet's followers managed to flee. Inscriptions left behind on stone monuments revealed that many local converts were caught and slaughtered by Trinity.
Lara had every reason to believe that the Prophet's followers lived here for a long time. Even the Soviets had taken advantage of the ancient reservoir system they built, using it to regulate water levels and prevent melting snowcaps from flooding the prison. The engineer behind this project had also been a local follower of the Prophet. Many perished in Trinity's hunt—including this engineer's family. Lara found a letter he had written to his wife, still hoping that someday they would be reunited.
Trinity's exploration of the region seemed to have stopped at some point, only to be revived once Lara confirmed that the Divine Source was located in the fabled lost city of Kitezh. Because of their earlier expeditions, Trinity's progress far outpaced Lara's. However, Trinity's military force was entirely outsourced—contracted mercenaries responsible for everything from weapons to logistics. The operation was led by a man named Konstantin, who delivered a rousing speech to his hired soldiers. To any normal observer, Konstantin appeared completely deranged. His troops operated more like a cult than a military unit. Coordination was nonexistent—petty matters caused massive delays, evoking the bureaucratic inefficiency of British civil service. Considering Trinity's origins and current scope, Lara wouldn't be surprised if some of its members held positions on Downing Street or in Parliament.
But this ridiculous thought did nothing to amuse her—because she had been captured while trying to infiltrate Trinity's command post. Captured along with her was her stepmother, Ana. Bound to a chair and visibly confused, Ana looked like she didn't fully grasp the situation. Since the attack on Croft Manor, Lara had been consumed by the search for the Divine Source, completely forgetting about her family's safety. Now, seeing Ana again, a crushing sense of guilt surged within her.
"I'm so sorry, Ana. I didn't think they'd come after you. This is all my fault."
She struggled violently against her restraints, which bit into her skin as she moved.
"Who? Who are they? What do they want?" Ana asked.
"The same thing my father was searching for."
"Oh God, Lara! I told you not to do this! You can't end up like Richard!" Ana's face twisted in pain. "Whatever they want, just give it to them!"
"It's not that simple, Ana."
The handcuffs cut into her wrists, raw pain pulsing as she struggled. Her palms were slick—likely from torn skin. The pain—both physical and emotional—battered her relentlessly. "Hold on. I'll find a way to get us out of here... I promise, Ana. I promise."
But no matter how hard she fought, the leader of Trinity did not stop. Konstantin, a scarred man with a cruel face, held a garrote in his hands and looped it tightly around Ana's neck.
"Tell me," he hissed. "Where is the Divine Source?"
Lara watched as Ana's face contorted in agony.
"Let go! You bastard!" Lara roared like a lioness, wrenching her body against the restraints, fury blazing in her eyes. "Let her go!"
"Where is the Divine Source?"
Ana coughed violently, her face turning blue. But Konstantin didn't stop—as if, unless Lara gave him the answer he wanted, he would strangle Ana to death. The fear of losing her only remaining family consumed Lara, igniting a fury in her so intense it could have incinerated Konstantin where he stood.
"Enough," Ana croaked. "Looks like she really doesn't know anything."
Konstantin released the garrote and crouched down to unfasten Ana's restraints. Lara felt like she had plunged into a frozen lake again—unable to breathe, her mind frantically reassembling past events. Who had known she returned to the manor? Who had tracked her movements? Only her stepmother—Ana, the person she trusted most.
She had been betrayed by her own family.
"I can't believe it, you treacherous bit—"
Konstantin struck her across the face, a brutal slap that ignited every last ounce of rage in Lara.
"You just don't know when to give up, do you?" Ana said coldly, unshaken.
"What do you want?" Lara demanded.
"There's no need to be angry. We're after the same thing. Someone like you could be useful to us. You want your life to mean something—join us, Lara."
"Just like my father?" Lara snapped, her voice rising. A more terrifying possibility dawned on her. "When did you join Trinity? Before, or after?"
"I loved Richard," Ana said, standing tall. "But he was blinded by his ideals. You know how those ideals destroyed him. And you, Lara? What would you do with the Divine Source? Reveal it to the world? Restore your father's honor? You're still that same naive little girl—desperate to be great like your father, but paralyzed by fear."
Lara spat at Ana.
Konstantin stepped forward and kicked her to the ground.
Pain flared through her shoulders and wrists as she cried out. The force of the impact nearly knocked the breath from her lungs. The room's blinding lights blurred her vision into swirling halos.
Konstantin aimed a pistol at her.
"Then there's nothing left to say."
"No—not yet," Ana said, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Maybe it was the years they'd spent together. Maybe she just couldn't bear to see Lara die like this. Either way, she stopped him.
She turned to Lara.
"We can still be on the same side. Think it over, Lara."
At the doorway, a guard slowly withdrew his hand from his sidearm.
His codename was C-A1—a deceptively simple designation. The intelligence department of the Immortal City had constructed a new identity for him and placed him among the mercenaries Trinity had hired. He silently watched as Konstantin led Lara toward the cells. When he tried to follow and assume control of the situation, he was naturally denied. Konstantin shot him a cold glance and walked off with Lara without another word.
C-A1 shrugged and strolled casually away.
"Agent Hand, Lara Croft is unharmed," he whispered into his comms. "Do you want me to extract her?"
"No," Victoria Hand replied.
Before her, a private number from the Immortal City was lighting up. That number belonged only to her superior.
The aircraft carrier fleet drifting in the Pacific Ocean shifted course, heading toward a remote island in international waters.
"Someone else will be taking over this operation."
"Who?"
"Big Boss."
------------------
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