Chương 8: Chapter 8

'It's so cold,' thought Lara as she walked along the path in the Siberian mountains. She paused to take in the view. "It's beautiful," she said, gazing at the snowy landscape that looked straight out of a dream—or a nightmare, considering the raging blizzard.

Arriving at the ice-covered wall of the mountain, Lara took out her axes and began climbing. The axes penetrated deep into the hard ice. 'Adamantium is really good,' she thought. She had also used these axes to practice at Gourdston, and they didn't cause any damage whatsoever.

For some reason, Lara felt that something was missing in this expedition to destroy the Divine Source. "Oh, Jonah," she muttered as she climbed. 'Does he even exist? When I met him, he was a cook on the Endurance. I could try to find him when I go to Yamatai after I also find Samantha. He would make a good sidekick and friend.'

Arriving near the summit, Lara sensed something was wrong—the climb had been too easy. As she maneuvered to the right, her hand struck an unstable patch of ice that began to crumble beneath her feet. "Fuck!" she exclaimed, her heart racing. She glanced around for a safe spot and spotted another section where she could make a jump. 'Fuck it,' she thought, leaping and successfully driving her ice picks deep into the ice. "Easy," she muttered with a satisfied grin.

Climbing a bit higher, Lara paused to admire some ancient ruins nestled among the snow. "Pretty cool ruins, Byzantine style," she remarked. Before she could linger, a deafening roar echoed through the mountains. The ground trembled as an earthquake struck, and an avalanche thundered toward her. "Really motherfucker?" Lara shouted before sprinting down the treacherous path.

As she ran, she sprinted past a World War II-era plane partially buried in snow. "Nice plane," she commented, noticing a connected rope dangling nearby. Without hesitation, she grabbed the rope with one of her axes and swung herself onto it, striking an icicle that shattered and sent her sliding down a cascade of ice.

Slowing her descent, Lara leapt onto a narrow ledge and continued running as rocks and ice cascaded behind her. She attempted to climb a vertical wall of ice using her adamantium ice picks, but the relentless avalanche surged forward, sweeping her off her feet.

After several brutal falls that would have been fatal to a normal human, Lara struggled to her feet, her body battered but unbroken. She looked around to find herself in a dense, snowy forest. Gasping for breath, she whispered to herself, "That was intense, but it fucking hurt."

"Did I lose something in the fall? Axes? Check. Pistols? Check. Bow? Check. Ropes? Check. Backpack? Check. Shotgun? Nope." The shotgun was a Benelli Supernova 10 Gauge that Lara had brought with her for hunting animals like bears and dealing with the deathless one in the city of Kizeth. "I can do without it. Now I should go to the Soviet installation and see if Jacob is there."

Jacob is the deathless prophet who used the Divine Source to inspire religious movements but was persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church and Trinity. Lara also had a feeling that in this universe, it wasn't just them—maybe even Hydra was involved. Jacob and his followers fled Constantinople and settled in Siberia, founding Kizeth that is right now under the glacier.

Lara wanted to find him, save him, and obtain the location to Kizeth entrace. If he didn't cooperate, she would contact Tony Stark to provide her with some of Stark's explosives to blow up the glacier to heavens, or do the boring thing and drill through it.

After checking everything, Lara started wandering through the Siberian wilderness. There were rabbits, deer, and birds around. As Lara was walking, she heard voices. Spotting a dense bush, she hid inside and waited as two men walked past.

One of them said, "Don't be distracted. It's not just us trying to find the Divine Source. The boss said the Soviets have sent some of their KGB agents and even the legendary Black Widows. Another organization called Hydra is also looking for it, but I heard the boss is trying to make a deal with them to fight against the natives and the Soviet Union."

The other guy replied, "Yes, I know. Don't fill my head with your chatter," as they walked by.

'Black Widows,' thought Lara. 'Hope Natasha is also here. And Hydra… bad news. If they want to team up with Trinity, those fuckers, I need to learn which cell they're from,' she thought.

Hydra is not a united organization; they're fragmented into factions fighting for power. The most notable ones are the cell of Baron Strucker, whose power and influence extend to Eastern and Western Europe, America, and East Asia.

Then there's Baron Zemo, who considers himself the heir of German legacy and looks down on Baron Strucker, even though he was chased out of Germany by Strucker. Zemo's influence is in Poland and the Balkans.

Whitehall's power lies in Canada and Northern Europe. Then there's Viper, whose influence spans the oceans, the Philippines, and Madripoor.

There are other cells, but they're too small compared to the ones above. There's also A.I.M., but they've started operating independently of Hydra, doing their own crazy shit.

After the men disappeared, Lara emerged from the bush. Carefully navigating the wilderness and dodging a few Trinity soldiers, she eventually arrived at the mouth of a cave. Stepping inside, she moved slowly and stealthily, her senses heightened.

As she entered a large chamber within the cave, she froze. In the dim light, a massive bear stood in the middle of the room, its eyes locking onto hers. With a deafening roar, the bear charged.

"Alright, big guy," Lara muttered under her breath. "How about I show you some delicious Trinity guys outside?" But the bear wasn't interested in bargaining. It lunged at her with surprising speed.

At the last moment, Lara dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding its swipe, and slashed the bear's foreleg with one of her adamantium ice picks. The beast roared in pain, its massive claws tearing into the ground as it turned to face her.

Snarling, the bear swiped again, its claws a blur. Lara ducked, narrowly avoiding the blow, and countered with a vicious slash from her other ice pick, cutting deep into its shoulder. The bear growled, enraged, and lunged forward with its jaws wide open, aiming to bite her in half.

Lara reacted instantly, leaping onto the bear's back by stepping on it's head. She landed firmly on its shoulders, gripping its thick fur for balance. The bear roared in frustration, bucking and thrashing, trying to throw her off.

"Stay still, big guy," Lara hissed. She adjusted her grip, positioning herself above its neck. With all her strength, she drove her adamantium ice pick into the base of its skull. The blade pierced through the bone, sinking deep.

The bear let out one last pained roar before collapsing heavily to the ground. Lara leapt clear of the falling beast, landing in a crouch as its lifeless body hit the cave floor with a dull thud.

"You could've just taken the Trinity guys," she muttered, wiping the blood from her ice picks on the it's fur before heading deeper into the cavern.