*Boom*

*Boom*

*Boom*

*Shatter*

*Shatter*

"Not long now… no second thoughts?" Matthias asked Lara and Richard.

The explosions in the distance vibrated through their bodies, each explosion deeper and stronger than previous versions.

Mathias, Lara, and Richard were currently at the historical location of Himiko's tomb. There was a small chance that both Lara and Richard had miscalculated the location, but Mathias thought differently.

Richard's grimacing face was all the insurance Mathias needed to confirm they were in the right place.

Though a couple more explosions were needed to unearth the tomb, everyone could already discern the formations associated with ancient human tools.

The unique curvature of nearby landmasses demonstrated that at the very least, there was once something built at the location they now operated.

Seeing that Mathias was staring at her father, waiting for an answer, Lara decided to reply.

"None," she replied dismissively.

Lara was more concerned about the feeling of being watched that constantly plagued her mind. She wanted to destroy the tomb before Zeel had the opportunity to locate, ambush, and assassinate them.

For all she knew, he could be watching silently from the jungle, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. It was just like Zeel to strike only when the right opportunity presented itself.

That was one of his most disgusting traits to Lara.

Little did Lara know how right she was.

∞∞∞

Zeel was propped up within a random tree in the jungle. He had no need for special goggles since his eyes could adjust to different wavelengths with just a thought.

Zeel watched the dancing colors of the electromagnetic spectrum while absorbing the radiation into his body. He would not usually absorb such a primitive energy, but currently, he was weakened due to energy deficiency.

From the tree, Zeel watched as Mathias led the operation to unearth Himiko's tomb. Zeel watched, waited, and took notes of the expression on Lara's face.

Still, he didn't mind her betrayal, after all, he wanted this betrayal to happen so he could easily get access to the tomb. As far as Zeel was concerned, Mathias and his crew were doing his job for him.

Judging that everything was within his expectations, Zeel eyed Mathias more interestingly. There was a brief idea that attracted his thoughts.

"Can you access outside databases from this island?" Zeel asked after reverting his eyesight to the peak-human range.

"That would prove difficult, but with enough energy, I can send a ping through accelerated burst techniques using TCP Protocols and 6th Generation LTE," The Red Queen answered.

"I don't speak human technology," Zeel replied annoyed.

Of course, he could understand what The Red Queen was saying, but he felt it an insult to his intelligence to learn human logic and technology.

"I can access the information and send a command through human networks given a large enough burst of energy. However, we do not possess such energy at the moment," The Red Queen reported slowly.

Zeel thought it was funny that The Red Queen would explain things to him in a way that he would explain to all those lesser than himself.

"How much energy we talking," Zeel asked then added "Use human analogies,"

The Red Queen materialized on the nearby branch and gave Zeel a quizzical stare.

'Weren't you just the one complaining about using human standards in my explanations?' She thought but did not pursue the matter.

Her Sentient nature meant 'Do as you're told and nothing more'.

"You would have to restraint yourself from intense physical activities for about three days to accumulate enough energy for a one-second burst,"

Zeel frowned "You should be able to complete all operations in 1 picosecond at most. Are your processes slowing?"

The Red Queen originally would have admitted that her sentient core was injured from the battle with Alice and Elizabeth a decade ago, but thought it unwise to reveal the matter at this time.

Luckily, she had the perfect secondary excuse that was Zeel's fault.

"When you got struck by Heavenly Lightning after killing Alexander, the nanites processes were reduced by 5% permanently. Luckily, through various methods, I have managed to restore 3% Nanite efficiency. I require more energy due to this,"

Zeel frowned but did not doubt The Red Queen for a moment.

"Get it done in 2 nanoseconds or I will force you into relative-hibernation," Zeel replied.

The projection of The Red Queen virtually shook, demonstrating her surprise at his judgment. Relative-Hibernation for Sentients was like telling a human to sleep for a thousand years, leaving behind all family and friends.

The world she went to sleep from, would not be the world she woke up to.

Zeel smiled amusingly staring at the shocked expression on The Red Queen's face. Zeel noted that the Sentient of The Red Queen was gravitating towards a loli-human type approach.

She mentally projected herself as a 10-year-old girl, and therefore, expected him to treat her as such, instead of the highly intricate Homo-Superior tool she is.

"You disagree?" Zeel asked.

The Red Queen shook her head immediately "I can get the time down to 5 picoseconds given enough energy,"

Zeel nodded then resumed his spying on Mathia's encampment. Of course, Lara was his subject of observation, something about the girl just felt off at all times.

∞∞∞

"We found it!"

"We found it!"

Inside the tent, Richard, Lara, and Mathias Vogel heard the shouting of the men outside. They scrambled to their feet, rushed outside the tent, and onto the nearby hill to get a better view of the tomb.

Once there, Lara was appalled at the complex structure of the entrance. Richard and Mathias were also awed by the unique, ancient feeling of the tomb's entrance.

The entrance of the tomb was filled with strange ancient symbols that gave off an eerie feeling. Several interlocking mechanisms could be seen on the tomb, obviously a puzzle of sorts to open the entrance.

However, Lara felt something more than her father or Mathias could perceive.

The moment the tomb was unearthed, Zeel, in the distance, felt his energy take another huge hit. His divinities were agitated for a moment, but due to their sealed state, he didn't suffer any other effects.

However, the energy within his body gained from eating, resting, sunlight, cosmic rays… all these types of energy absorptions were halved the moment the tomb was unearthed.

Zeel immediately surmised that entering the tomb would possibly render him as helpless as any other regular human entry.

This tomb was obviously built with the intent of stopping supernatural beings from ever gaining access. Luckily, Zeel was a technologically-based evolutionary species and not a fully supernatural being.

Lara, not aware of Zeel's plight, also felt the state of her body become slightly groggy. It was not a weakening sensation but more like a reversion phenomenon. She felt like the loss girl she was before she ever met Zeel.

Her body felt normal, stamina normal, vitality normal, sex drive normal. Most importantly, she didn't feel as disgusted standing next to Mathias and her father.

Lara couldn't tell if that was a blessing or a curse, but she still reveled in the feeling. For the first time in months, she didn't feel the intense need to see Zeel or hear his name. It was refreshing.

Mathias noted the complexity of the tomb's entrance and had doubts about Lara's and Richard's capabilities.

"Can you open that?" He asked.

Richard and Lara eyed each other and both nodded their heads simultaneously. The tomb wasn't difficult to open; the issue would appear after entering.

If the legends were any indicators, it was like walking into the gates of hell, yourself.

After all, nobody would willingly condemn themselves to hell.

"Let's get to it then," Mathias said, guiding Lara and Richard off the hill and toward the tomb entrance.

The work immediately started, lifting and moving rocks, Lara and Richard studied the symbols on the tomb and rearranged the interlocking mechanisms into the correct pattern.

Mathias surveyed near the tomb, remaining alert in the worst-case scenario.

*Click*

*Click*

The ground shook, lightning raged in the skies above, everyone could feel their blood tremble briefly. Then, the tomb entrance sank into the ground, revealing a pitch-black chasm that was as dreadful as it was inviting.

It was the type of darkness you would explore for mere curiosity, hoping beyond hope that it was just another dark place, but somehow you knew that it wasn't.

Mathias walked forward and flashed a light inside the pitch blackness, highlighting the inside for all to see. And with that, everyone's heart was set at ease.

They no longer dwelled in the fear of the unknown like previously; however, Richard had a completely different reaction. He trembled and fell to his knees, only missing injury because Lara caught him in time.

"What's wrong?" She asked anxiously.

"This tomb is cursed Lara," Richard replied shakily.

However, nobody had time to think about the dangers of the tomb since Mathias had already selected everyone who would join him in the tomb expedition.

Twenty minutes later, everyone had their respective weapons and survival gear. The tomb was uncharted territory so Mathias thought it wise to prepare for everything, even if it meant that their speed of progress was less than stellar.

He had already made a call on the satellite phone and found out that the transport would not arrive for at least another five hours, so there was no risk of staying inside the tomb for too long.

"Ready," Lara said striding forward, but the next instant she froze and tackled her father to the ground.

*Pop*

Nobody knew how, nobody knew why, but one of the expeditionary team member's head just popped like a balloon. There was no splash of blood, just the sound of a falling body.

Mathias, as a former soldier, knew better than to make himself an easy target.

"Ten people stay behind and guard the tomb, the other four come with me," He yelled as he grabbed Lara and Richard, leaping into the darkness of the tomb immediately.