Chapter 68

Lara's Past

Margot stumbled out of the portal, her body trembling violently as if the memories themselves had clawed at her very soul. She fell to her knees, her screams ripping through the air—a sound so raw and anguished that it made Lara's chest tighten.

"No, no, no!" Margot wailed, clutching her head. Tears streamed down her face, her cries echoing off the cold walls of the memory vault.

Lara rushed to her side, kneeling beside her and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Margot, what happened? What did you see?"

Margot didn't respond. She rocked back and forth, her eyes wide with disbelief as if she were trying to make sense of what she had witnessed.

Elias knelt beside them, his expression soft but firm. He placed a steadying hand on Margot's arm, his voice low and calm. "Margot, listen to me. You're here. Whatever you saw, it's over now. Breathe."

Her sobs quieted, but the haunted look in her eyes remained. Elias turned to Lara, his tone resolute. "We don't have much time. The portal is weakening. You need to go in now."

Lara hesitated, glancing at Margot, but Elias's gaze left no room for argument. "Go. I'll stay with her."

Taking a shaky breath, Lara nodded. With one last look at Margot, she stepped toward the swirling portal and let it envelop her.

The first thing Lara felt was heat—a suffocating warmth that clung to her skin. When her vision cleared, she found herself standing on the rooftop of a tall building. The city stretched out before her, a patchwork of chaos and destruction.

Fires raged in the distance, sending plumes of black smoke spiraling into the blood-red sky. Cars were piled on top of one another, their twisted metal frames barely recognizable. Trains lay derailed, their shattered carriages scattered like discarded toys. In the sky, planes spun wildly out of control before exploding in fiery bursts.

And through it all came the screams—shouts of terror and anguish from people desperately clinging to life. But Lara's younger self, sitting cross-legged at the edge of the rooftop, seemed unaffected. Her gaze was fixed on the chaos, her face eerily calm.

Lara stepped closer, her heart pounding as she watched her younger self. The indifference in her expression sent a chill down her spine.

"What… What is this?" Lara whispered, though she knew no one could hear her.

The sound of a door creaking open behind her drew her attention. She turned to see a woman stepping onto the rooftop—a woman she immediately recognized.

"Mom…" Lara breathed.

Her mother looked exactly as Lara remembered her: tall and poised, her strikingly colorful sundress flowing in the warm breeze. But there was something different about her. Her face was pale, her eyes distant, as if she were drowning in the cries echoing from the city below.

"You're still here," her mother said, her voice quiet but steady as she walked toward the younger Lara. "I don't think I can bear it anymore. We can't stay here forever."

Younger Lara turned to her, her serene expression darkening. "What other choice do we have? The city is a nightmare. A dream everyone prays to wake up from."

Her mother sat beside her, the lines of exhaustion etched deeply into her face. "We can't leave without a trace," she said. "Come with me to the park. Let's take one last picture. Something to remember, in case we lose everything."

Younger Lara frowned. "A photo? Mom, people are dying. How can you think about something so trivial?"

Her mother smiled faintly. "You never know. Someday, we might need it." Her voice grew softer, more distant. "I can feel it. Dark forces surround the city. I fear we won't make it out alive. And if we don't… at least we'll have this memory. Before it's erased."

The scene shifted. Lara now stood in a small park. The air was heavy with despair. A few people sat on benches, their faces hollow and hopeless.

Her mother stood at the edge of a clearing, speaking to a passerby and handing him a camera. At first, the man refused, but after some coaxing, he relented.

As the man adjusted the camera, an older gentleman approached—a neighbor, Lara realized, though she couldn't place his name. He looked weary and defeated, but when he saw Lara and her mother, he stopped and offered a small smile. "Mind if I join?"

Moments later, another figure appeared. Lara's breath caught. It was Elias.

He looked younger but still carried the same regal air, his clean, sharp features resembling something out of a painting. His presence was magnetic, drawing the attention of everyone around him. He approached the group with a quiet confidence, his piercing eyes locking onto younger Lara as he gave her a small, knowing smile.

Elias joined the photograph, standing beside younger Lara. As the camera flashed, he patted her shoulder.

The memory lingered, the moment frozen in time. But it didn't last.

A boom shattered the peaceful silence of the park. The ground trembled violently, and the air was filled with a deafening roar.

Lara watched in horror as the scene unfolded. Her younger self broke free from Elias's embrace and turned toward the source of the sound. Her mother and the elderly man lay motionless on the ground, their bodies torn apart as if a bomb had detonated between them.

"No!" younger Lara screamed, rushing to her mother's side. Tears streamed down her face as she cradled her mother's broken body.

"Stay down!" Elias shouted, his voice urgent. "Lara, don't—"

But it was too late. The memory dissolved, leaving Lara standing in darkness.

A faint light appeared in the distance, drawing Lara toward it. She now stood before a massive door, its surface etched with intricate carvings of the City's skyline. In her hands, she held two silver keys.

The whispers began, soft and insistent.

"Two keys. One leads forward, the other back."

Lara's breath quickened as the whispers grew louder, their tone filled with urgency.

"The City is a fractured place, a mirror between two worlds. Some belong here; others do not."

Her hands trembled as the keys seemed to glow in her palms.

"The photograph is a crack—a fracture in the mirror. Find the crack. Destroy the Heart before it destroys you."

The final whisper sent chills down her spine:

"The knowledge of the photograph and the silver key are the tools to end this madness."

Lara gasped as she stumbled out of the portal, collapsing to the ground. Her body shook with adrenaline and fear, her mind reeling from what she had seen.

Margot and Elias rushed to her side, their voices a blur as she clutched the photograph tightly to her chest.

"It's all connected," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "The City, the photograph, the keys… everything."

Elias's eyes darkened, his jaw tightening. "What did you see?"

Lara looked up at him, her gaze filled with determination. "I know what we have to do. We have to find the Heart. And we have to destroy it."

The ground beneath them trembled, and a low, guttural sound echoed through the room. From the walls, shadows began to seep, twisting and writhing as they crept closer.

Elias stood, his expression hardening. "Get ready. They know."