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Chapter 125: Time Storm
Everyone rushed into the tomb chamber, which was as bright as day, illuminated by a dazzling light emanating from a bright spot in each of its four corners. In the center of the stone chamber stood a tall, handsome blonde man in a well-fitted suit.
Laura, who was exceptionally talented in archaeologyâor rather, adventureâquickly noticed the extraordinary nature of the light.
Although she didn't know what advanced technology the man was using, she instinctively decided to protect herself first as Powell and his group rushed ahead. She slowly retreated to a stone pillar by the entrance.
Alex, who was closely monitoring Laura, also pulled back to another pillar, trusting her instincts.
George had already sensed their arrival, but the mechanisms in the chamber fascinated him more. He also wanted to shake off his followersâconstantly being tracked was getting old.
"Two more minutes, sir," Monday reminded him through the earpiece.
Powell, laser-focused on finding the key, ignored the strange lights entirely. He raised his pistol and barked, "Who are you? Hand over the clock!"
His subordinates followed, weapons drawn, aiming straight at George.
"Mr. Powell, right? There's one minute and thirty seconds left. Please wait a moment," George replied, completely unfazed. He turned to walk toward the mechanism opposite the stone statue.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Gunfire erupted. Bullets sliced through the air like hail.
George extended his right hand calmly. Space rippled outward like water. The bullets froze mid-air.
"What?" "Oh my God." "What the fuck?!"
Powell and his men stared in disbelief.
George let out a sigh. "You people are exhausting. I tried to do this cleanly."
He flicked his hand. The bullets turned, suspended mid-air, and reversed direction.
"Here's a little gift back to you."
Before anyone could reactâ"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Every one of Powell's armed men dropped, groaning, blood spreading beneath them. Only three remained unharmed: Laura, Alex, and one curly-haired guy in a floral shirt who hadn't drawn their weapons.
Powell clutched his arm, bleeding from two clean shotsâone to the hand, one to the leg.
"One more minute, sir," Monday reported.
George looked down at Powell. "Impatience is expensive, Mr. Powell."
Then to Laura, "And as for you, Miss Croft, I have something for you. You'll appreciate it."
"You know me?" she asked.
"Of course. Lady Laura Croft. Just wait a moment there with your ex-boyfriend."
Laura blinked. He knew who she wasâand about Alex. Now she was definitely curious. And after what she saw him do? No way she was rushing in to challenge him.
"Ten seconds left," Monday said.
George dismissed the Mirror Dimension and inserted the key.
Click. Click. Click.
Gears spun. A wooden striker above the chamber loosened and began to swing.
Powell watched wide-eyed from the ground.
George moved away just in time.
The striker stopped short of hitting the glazed jar in the eight-armed statue's arms. George waved, and the striker tapped the jar perfectly.
Water sprayed. The jar flashed with blinding light. A wind howled from nowhere.
"Pure light, fire, water..." Laura muttered.
The scattered light converged onto the large glazed disk on the floor. A beam shot down from the ceiling, blinding everyone but George, who stood unfazed.
Two seconds later, it faded. The wind stopped.
The disk was gone.
A hole in its place began to pour mercury into the air. Floating. Defying gravity. Half of the Spirit Light Triangle surfaced.
George calmly lifted his hand. The artifact flew to his palm.
Mercury began flowing into grooves in the floor.
George raised his hand againâthe key returned to him.
"If I were you, I'd leave," he said to Laura, Alex, and the other man.
"Why?" Alex asked.
"Curiosity kills the cat," George said. He dropped the triangle and clock into his space. Then he turned.
"Wait! That's my clock!" Laura shouted.
Alex and the floral-shirt guy helped Powell up. The others? Left groaning.
Stone statues began to move. They stepped forward with weapons raised.
"AHHHâ! HELP!"
The statues slaughtered the fallen.
Laura spun. "They're coming!"
"Run!" George called. He looked back, waved, and summoned a golden barrier over the tomb's entrance.
Outside, he slowed. He'd studied the statues earlier. Flashy, yes. Tough? Not really. He could've dismantled the triangle setup earlier but waitedâno need to provoke time magic unless it was safe.
Eventually, the others caught up.
"Alright," George said, turning to them. "Time for your gift, Ms. Laura."
"What is it?" she asked.
"The truth about your father. Powell knew him well. In fact... Powell was the one to kill him."
Powell's jaw dropped.
George looked at Laura. "You can ask him more later. Let's call that my trade. You get that truth. I get the clock."
He turned to Powell.
"I should kill you. But I won't, so you be grateful."
Then to everyone: "Don't follow me again. I'm taking the Spirit Light Triangle."
"Who even are you?!" Laura shouted.
George didn't turn. "A traveler Ms Laura and no, we won't meet again."
â
He remembered the second half of the triangle was hidden in a meteorite crater in the Arcticâa machine-dead zone, forbidden and ancient.
After resting in Cambodia, George flew toward the Arctic edge.
At the ruins, a massive ice wall blocked his way.
George placed a hand on it.
Crack!
The wall shattered. He stepped through.
As the darkness deepenedâ"Lumos."
Light hovered around him. He walked deeper.
An enormous mechanical sphere filled the space. Planets hovered in suspension.
The Time Storm.
Monday reported: the nine-planet alignment was thirty minutes away.
No Lara. No Illuminati.
The solar eclipse began. The instrument activated.
George approached the central Sun-sphere. At its base, the all-seeing eye marked a keyhole.
He inserted the clock.
A suction force pulled him in.
He driftedâweightless, timeless.
The second half of the triangle floated beside him. He reached for it.
Another pull. He was outside againâholding the full triangle.
He threw the clock into the Time Storm's center. It shattered.
From it, he extracted a glowing light grain.
He placed it between both triangle halves. They fused instantly.
An energy blast knocked him back. The triangle hovered, shining.
The chaos pearl in his mind pulsed.
George followed instinct and stored the triangle in Chaos Space.
He returned to reality.
Then, threads of light from the Time Storm reached his forehead.
Contact.
Darkness.
Time passedâor didn't.
He opened his eyes. The storm was gone. The instrument spun silently.
"Monday, how long was I out?"
"An instant, sir."
George blinked. "...Incredible."
He teleported out.
â
In a hidden cave, George set up formations and meditated.
The chaos pearl floated calmly. But this timeâtiny blue arcs flickered inside.
He tried to access the Chaos Space. Failed. Same as when he first got the Tesseract.
He redrew the teleport circle and vanished.
There were still secrets in that worldâbut George wasn't interested. As he said: curiosity kills cats.
Let Lara deal with Pandora's Box. That was her next story.
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BONUS CHAPTERS ARE NEXT.