[Setting: Leo and Lara's London Apartment, Three Months After Yamatai]
Three months had passed since the Endurance survivors were rescued. The world had moved on, classifying the events of Yamatai as a tragic tale of shipwreck and survival. But for Leo and Lara, the ordeal was merely the prologue.
Their small, shared London apartment—a chaotic mix of expensive research equipment, archaeological texts, and military surplus—was the command center for their shared, consuming obsession. The storm had died, but the threat of Trinity and the lure of the occult had only grown stronger.
Leo sat hunched over a laptop, surrounded by maps of Siberia and Constantinople. He looked healthier, the burns long-healed, his muscles dense from constant physical training. He was focused on the System interface, which had been dormant since they left the island but was now glowing faintly, eager to begin the Tier 3 phase.
His Level 13 Attribute Points were burning a hole in his character sheet.
Current Stats: Strength 14, Dexterity 17, Stamina 12, Mind 16.
He needed to prepare for the inevitable shift to cold-weather traversal and high-tech enemy traps. He channeled his points into a mix of Endurance and Precision.
[Attribute Allocation Log]
* +2 Points to Stamina. Rationale: Boosting cold-weather resistance and general endurance for the Siberian wilderness.
* New Stamina: 14
* +1 Point to Dexterity. Rationale: Maintaining peak precision for Tier 3 traversal and combat under harsh conditions.
* New Dexterity: 18
[Attribute Allocation Complete! New Base Stats: Strength 14, Dexterity 18, Stamina 14, Mind 16]
[Skill Points Available: 1]
Leo had a Skill Point to spend on the Tier 3 SABOTEUR tree. Given the shift to intelligence gathering and complex enemy fortifications, he chose a skill that maximized his tactical resources.
[Skill Point Allocated to SABOTEUR Tree!]
* Advanced Resource Scavenging: (Significantly boosts the yield and quality of high-tech Trinity salvage, providing specialized components for explosive and technological traps.) Rationale: Essential for crafting the more complex Tier 3 weapons needed to defeat Trinity's highly armored forces.
"I found it, Leo."
Lara's voice, quiet and intense, cut through the silence. She stood at the large oak table, surrounded by dusty, centuries-old scrolls retrieved from a contact in Istanbul. Her hair was pulled back, a smudge of ink on her cheek, but her eyes held the familiar, fierce spark of discovery.
"The Prophet," Lara said, tapping a section of a weathered scroll. "The man who fled Constantinople before the Crusades. The one who established Kitezh. Trinity is looking for his tomb, and so is everyone else."
"Where is it?" Leo asked, instantly moving to her side.
"The scrolls are fragmentary, but they lead to one confirmed location," Lara whispered, tracing a rough map with her finger. "A place of pilgrimage, mentioned by Byzantines and early Crusaders before it vanished from maps: The Tomb of the Prophet of Constantinople, located deep in the Syrian desert."
Leo's Mind (16) instantly aligned the information with his meta-knowledge. Syria—the introductory level of Rise of the Tomb Raider. The initial confrontation with Konstantin and the race for the Divine Source.
"Syria," Leo confirmed, grabbing the Trinity file labeled 'KONSTANTIN.' "That tracks with Trinity's intelligence reports. They believe the Prophet's final resting place is the key to the legendary city of Kitezh—the source of eternal life."
Lara leaned back, running a hand through her hair. "They're fanatics, Leo. They believe in the Divine Source—the key to immortality. They think they can weaponize it."
"Then we beat them to it," Leo said simply. He put his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to meet his gaze. "We stop the storm, we stop the cultists, and we stop Trinity. That's the script, remember? But we do it together."
Lara nodded, her fear tempered by their shared bond. "I'm ready for Syria. But first..."
She glanced at the massive pile of old, dirty plates in the sink—a testament to their weeks of research-induced neglect.
"We have time for one last normal thing before we chase immortality across the desert," Lara said, her lips curving into a tired, playful smile. "We need to address the fact that our kitchen looks like a plague ship."
Leo threw his head back and laughed—a genuine, loud sound that felt wonderfully out of place in their serious apartment. "A plague ship! That's excellent! Fine. We'll clean the plague ship, then we'll fly to the Middle East and deal with the global conspiracy."
He grabbed a dish towel and playfully snapped it at her. "You wash, I'll dry. And then you can explain to me exactly why the Prophet of Constantinople was obsessed with an Arctic fortress."
As they engaged in the mundane, shared chore, the easy banter and teamwork masked the intense gravity of the file on the table.
Later that evening, after the kitchen gleamed and the Trinity file was meticulously packed, Lara was securing her climbing pack. Leo was watching her, leaning against the door frame.
"I still don't understand how you instantly knew that Byzantine text was referring to the Prophet's escape route rather than his birthplace," Lara admitted, still marveling at his uncanny historical knowledge.
"Well," Leo said, walking over and wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Some of us spent our childhoods not just climbing monuments, but reading the extremely specific video game wiki about them."
Lara chuckled softly, leaning back into his embrace, finding comfort and strength in his sheer presence. "You're infuriating. But effective."
"Effective enough to remind you that before we leave for the desert..."
He turned her around, meeting her eyes. They didn't need to say anything else. The shared moment—a kiss that was less about passion and more about solidifying their pact against the encroaching darkness—was the final preparation they needed.
"Syria," Lara whispered when they broke apart. "The beginning of the end."
Chapter End.