A long time ago, an evil magician named Madame Paveau rose to power in the underworld of New Orleans using her dark magic and sacrificing humans. The underworld became synonymous with fear, and only with the aid of a powerful, benevolent magician could people rise up against her murderous control. After a mob broke into her mansion and burnt it down, the evil magician was destroyed. Her body was shattered upon jagged precipices on the bottom of a nearby cliff.
People believed they were safe from Madame Paveau and her devilish ways, but they were not aware that one of her apprentices had survived. He performed an ancient rite by her broken body and captured her soul in a sacred container. The minion began his search for a suitable body and the proper spells that would bring his master back to life.
In a dark antiquities museum, Lara Croft witnesses the theft of a powerful sword from the museum. In the confusion and chaos of the theft, Lara is cut by the sword. Her blood on the blade makes hers the body that is needed for the ritual. The minion sets off to gather the remaining objects needed to transfer Madame Paveau's soul into Lara's body.
Lara starts pursuing the cult, hoping to save her soul, eventually tracking them down to The Bahamas. Lara succeeds in retrieving the sword and breaks it in two, preventing Paveau from resurrecting.
