Tomb Raider: The Legacy

Chapter 13: Fate

The girl's face darkened. Suddenly, her legs weighed as if she'd run miles. She sat slowly on the stairs, in front of the apparition, although keeping the distances - just in case. "He told me to beware the long night." She murmured, shuddering. "He told me to beware the prince of demons."

You know what that means?

"How could I!" Anna looked at her dumbfounded. "Well, huh... I guess it means that... I'm in danger. You gonna explain to me?"

Beware of the long night. Beware of the prince of demons.

"Really?" Anna rolled her eyes.

Listen, little one. Now that you are here, I have very little time. What the warrior Heissturm, your grandfather, told you, is only part of what you should know, but it's the most important part. I've been sent back to help you understand, but I don't have all the answers, because the future isn't written, and the result will depend only on the decisions you make and the actions you take.

"That's a contradiction." Anna twisted her lower lip, thoughtful. "You warn me that I'm in danger, that Satan is chasing me or else, and then you tell me that I can change things. Either I can change them, or I can't change them. Either I am predestined, or I am not."

You're predestined, but you weren't until being conceived. Do you know how it happened?

Anna blushed involuntarily. "I know how kids are made."

It seemed to her that Loanna was smiling again. What I mean is that you might not have existed. Do you know what happened here? The Seal's story?

"Of course!" Was that ghost testing her? "I know everything, I'm not stupid! My father was the last Lux Veritatis and he faced Karel, who was the last Nephilim. They had to kill each other and disappear, to balance Good and Evil again."

But there was someone appointed to intervene.

"My mother." Anna nodded. "The Amazon."

Good and Evil are self-regulating, Anna. It's the only way in which the invisible forces of this world can work. You already know the story. The Lux Veritatis and the Nephili, the Children of Lilith, in continuous battle while She defied the King of Heaven. But that balance is readjusted from time to time. It happened once. I was the Amazon and Drakul had to father a child from me. If I had wanted him to confront the Lux Veritatis who chose to protect me, he wouldn't have died tortured in his dungeons - but I didn't choose the path of the True Option. I fled, abandoning him to his fate and, when the time came, I disposed of my life.

"I know. I'm sorry." Anna murmured, feeling silly. What that mattered, at that point?

The centuries passed, and the equation was repeated. Your father became the new chosen one, and this time, in addition, the last Lux Veritatis. The same happened to Karel. They were meant to face each other, and the Nephilim, clairvoyant, saw in Lara Croft the new Amazon. But she was willing to follow the path of the True Option. She did want to decipher the mystery. She chose.

Anna smiled slightly and glanced sideways at Loanna. "Because she was in love with my father." She giggled. "Although here between you and me, she took long to admit it."

Again, it seemed to her that the misty lady was smiling. You think so? That it was for the sake of love?

"Of course!" Anna stood up, offended. "Had not been she in love with my father, why would she choose him?"

Out of love for justice?

This time it was Anna who laughed. "I can tell you don't know my mother." She moved her hand. "Karel offered her the supreme wisdom, immortality. My father had nothing..."