Some fans rightly noted an apparent contradiction: “Chronicles of the Tomb Raider” says Lara rejected the metaphysical until Yamatai, yet she meets the supernatural earlier in Paraíso (TR Legend) & Ireland (TR V). Not a perfect fit, but with some goodwill, the book’s wording leaves room. I think we have to want it to make sense. Rewriting the classics would likely have upset far more fans than leaving things vague. What the book says:
Paraíso: The dig was “haunted by an Unknown Entity”, nothing about Lara facing it.
Ireland: Father Dunstan tells how a young Lara “had a brush with the supernatural”. His retelling, not hers.
Before Yamatai, Lara was a hard rationalist. As “Chronicles of the Tomb Raider” puts it, “she pivoted into hard science and evidence” and rejected any explanation of myths that hinted at the metaphysical.
Then Yamatai broke her worldview. For the first time, she saw behind the curtain: the world hides far more than plain sight reveals.
Nothing would ever look the same again.