Hello! I've finally plucked up the courage to become more active here and post something. So here it is, my version of what happened after the game Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness. I'm aware that the beginning is not very interesting, but it should hopefully change with later chapters. The first chapter was inspired by the last part of AOD teaser.

Note:
I'm not a native English speaker, so I apologize for possible mistakes.

Acknowledgement:
Here I would like to thank gyikhu for help (especially for beta-reading, advice and encouragement). THANK YOU! :D

Disclaimer: All rights (Lara Croft and Tomb Raider) belonged or belongs to Core Design, Eidos Interactive, Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix. I do not own any of the characters and plots from Tomb Raider. I make absolutely no profit from this fanfiction. (Except from fan's happiness.)

Prologue

Unbearable pain. It was all they both could feel at first. Luckily for the Lux Veritatis warrior and the pretended member of Cabal it lasted only for a short moment because their suffering was so intense that it was impossible for them to stay conscious. This was something completely new to the biblical creature, but an unpleasantly familiar feeling for the man.

Almost at the same time, only in a different place of the same large, mostly underground complex, the cold darkness released them both, the human and the Nephilim, from the agony.

Chapter 1: Lost In The Light

The light was everywhere. Nothing else. Only the bright white glow was embracing him now together with complete silence. He was lying on his side on the floor and couldn't move.

Where am I? Is this even real? Is this the end?

Many confused questions and thoughts was swirling in his head but something was preventing him from thinking clearly. The man had no idea how he had got there or for how long he had been there like this. Maybe for a few minutes, maybe for hours.

But after a while something changed. It was not just that white nothingness all around him anymore. Kurtis Trent saw something black in the distance, strongly contrasting with the surroundings. At first he wasn't able to tell what exactly it was because his vision was very blurry and hazed. All he could say was that the object wasn't static. It was moving.

The picture started getting clearer after a little moment. There was standing a person clothed in a long black cloak with a hood in front of him. He could see just a dark silhouette which looked something like a materialized shadow.

It looks like Death. Only the scythe is missing... Just great, he thought sarcastically, not loosing this part of his personality even in one of his darkest moments. So he finally got me after so many unsuccessful attempts... I've always known Grim Reaper is a poor loser.

Even thinking so, he didn't feel fear. Kurtis himself didn't exactly understand his feelings in that moment. He didn't want to die, but on the other hand, he had somehow known he's not coming back after finishing the business with Eckhardt. He just knew it.

So that's it.

The silhouette was just standing without doing anything for a minute. In his eyes it appeared like, whoever it was, was watching him intently. Then the person put the hood down and right after that took the whole cloak off. It fell on the ground without making any sound and then disappeared. It almost looked like the piece of clothing fell into the invisible pit that had been never even there in the first place.

It was a woman.

A very nice beginning... he commented in his mind lightly, ...or better said, the end, he added bitterly, reconciled with his fate. But his senses sharpened right at the moment the cloak hit the ground level so he could see the whole figure. Even though Kurtis could still see just her shadow, the woman immediately reminded him of someone he knew.

"Lara..." only that one word escaped from his lips.

Was it a distorted reality or just a twisted memory? Kurtis couldn't say for sure.

Maybe somewhere in a different universe my life could have completely changed thanks to her... Sometimes I almost feel sorry I don't believe in those things.

Somehow he managed to reach out his hand for her but she was way too far for him to touch her. Then Kurtis started slightly more realizing what had been happening earlier. His thinking got a little clearer.

Feeling absolutely no pain after being pierced right through the chest by that stupid overweighted bug woman... Yeah, I'm surely hallucinating. But that can mean only one thing... I'm not dead yet. Maybe I can still... he thought and wanted to stand up but couldn't, no matter how hard he tried.

She is somewhere out there with Eckhardt... I must find her and help her...

The Lux Veritatis Warrior even tried to call his beloved Chirugai to him with all his left might but it felt like something was holding it back, preventing it to be delivered into his ready outstretched hand. He lost his weak connection with the discus like blade weapon right after the first and at the same time the last try, feeling loosing his last bits of remaining energy by it.

Darkness started overcoming him again. He got very tired all of a sudden, feeling a great exhaustion he had probably never felt before. His eyes started slowly closing. Kurtis was desperately trying to overcome it but his efforts didn't seem to have a slighest effect.

No. Not yet!... Not now...

And then against his will, everything darkened completely and he was once again swallowed by the deep darkness.