Chapter 10
The Ceremony


	As Ryu exited the cell, he saw the guard who had passed him on the stairs. The guard started to say something, then fell over dead with a shuriken. Ryu didn't worry about the other tribesmen finding his body; he thought that in a few minutes he would have killed them all. As the Ninja raced up the stairs lamented what the women in the prison cells had faced: probably rape, torture, and murder. Once he rescued Irene and stopped Xaviev's plans, he would free them. 
	When Ryu reentered the Throne Room, he could hear chanting in the room ahead, across from the staircase. Green flame torches were lit inside and the door was open. Ryu entered, maintaining his Ninjistu. His eyes quickly scanned the room. There was an altar of some kind in the back of the room, around which the Tribesmen of Chaos had formed an arc. The Tribesmen were dressed in simple, hooded white robes, but Ryu could see their green skin and pupil-less eyes; they were under Xaviev's zombie spell. The master himself stood behind the altar, to his right, Irene was unconscious and naked, shackled in chains to the wall. Despite his rage, Ryu could do nothing. He knew he could not possibly attempt to rescue Irene now; it was impossible to battle both the zombie Tribesmen and the awesome wizard Xaviev simultaneously. He had to wait. 

	Xaviev picked up a long, jagged knife from the altar. "CROMENYON, CROMENYEN, NEEAHDRU," the Tribesmen chanted in their native tongue. Xaviev held up the knife for all to see and spoke in English, "Now we will discover if she is the One." The wizard walked to Irene's broken body. She had struggled against him, but it had been a futile effort. He had made sure that she could not fight him when he sown her, but he had also made sure that none had touched her except for himself. Xaviev pricked Irene's chest with the knife. A small drop of blood glistened on its blade. Xaviev stood still.

	The wizard smiled. Again, he held up the knife. It glowed purple, and it vibrated with intensity. 
	"She is the One!"
The Tribesmen shouted in way that Ryu interpreted as cheering. Xaviev formed a small green ball of pure energy above his hand. 
	"We have no use for the others."
The ball flew from his hand and traveled to the dungeon. A brilliant flash of light blinded Ryu. He knew what that meant for Pamela and the women there.
	
	Two screaming guards rushing into the room interrupted the Tribesmen cheering. They said something to Xaviev, who then addressed his followers. 
"My children, we are no longer safe here. It is time to depart to the Temple where we shall meet The Child. I will take us there using the Maze of Darkness. Clear your minds of all thought..." 
	Xaviev transformed into pure energy, as well as Irene and the Tribesmen. Before Ryu could react, the energy spirited out of the room and through the door near the Throne. Ryu couldn't believe his eyes; he had lost Irene again. But this time, he thought, I will find her. I've been through the Maze of Darkness before; I'll do so again. But when Ryu opened the door, he found solid stone; the Maze was sealed!

	Ryu returned to the Ceremony Room. He thought that he might be able to find a clue to the location of the cult's Temple. He was surprised that the temple that Xaviev mentioned wasn't the one he was in; why bother having two, Ryu thought. Ryu walked to the altar. Instead of the long knife, Ryu saw a book, covered with the same substance that the walls were. Opening the book, Ryu scanned through it. The characters were foreign and unreadable to him; it wasn't written in English or Japanese. He had never seen anything like them before.
	A figure in the shadows saw the mysterious man at the altar. In his hand he held a long knife he had found on the floor. He thought that with one thrust, he could kill him. He moved slowly towards the altar, making no sound.
	Ryu felt a small twitch. He felt another presence in the room, another ki.  It was dangerous. 

	"UMPH!" 
	Ryu hear the sound of metal hitting the floor, as well as the interloper. Ryu retracted his fist and turned around.
	"Ryu?"
	He recognized the voice.
	"Vega, what the hell are you doing here?"
	Vega stood up groggily. "Hi, I'm happy to see you too." Vega spat out blood from his mouth. "You punch like a freight train."
	"Why did you attack me?"
	"I thought you were one of them. Anyway, I followed you. The boys should be here in a few minutes to analyze this place. By the way, where are the Tribesmen?"
	"Gone, Xaviev teleported everybody out of here. He said that they would go through the Maze of Darkness to reach some temple, but the gate into the Maze is sealed."
	"Damn. Anything else?"
	"I found this book." Ryu handed it to Vega, who immediately skimmed it.
	"Paydirt! These are the same kinds of characters that were on the stone tablet in South America."
	"Can you read them; what do they say?"
	"Yes, I studied Dr. Smith's work. Let's see... I think it's a book of prophecies, possibly the scrap of paper I showed you is from this."
	"Go on!" Ryu exclaimed impatiently.
	"Um... At the birthplace of Man Sacred Water anoints Him, the setting sun turns to Black Moon to welcome His Existence... With Holy Water He draws Himself, His invincible body is forged and powers bestowed... From the Black Void, He opens the Gate with the soul of The Ape, and He will bring EARTH to CHAOS."
	"..."
	"I'll go for doubleplusungood, but we have a definite ritual going on here."
	"What does Sacred Water and Holy Water mean? Is there a difference?"
	"Since the book uses two different words meaning 'Sacred' and 'Holy', yes, though I have no idea what Holy Water is in The World of Chaos. You can bet it's not found in a Catholic Church. If the Child of Darkness uses this 'Holy Water', we can't kill him, but he won't exist until the ritual begins."
	"Which means I'll have to eliminate him during the ritual itself."
	"Yeah, I'll translate the rest of this; you go to the cult's temple."
	"I can't, the only way was through the Maze."
	Vega gave a small laugh. "We mapped out the Maze of Darkness years ago. It only has one exit to Africa."
	"Africa?"
	"Yes, birthplace of Man. Get it?"
	"When do I leave?"
	"Right now. I'll take you to your plane. You'll have to parachute out near the Maze exit, but you've had some experience, I take."
	Ryu nodded.
	"Alright, you'll have to find their temple before sunset. And be careful, it's not the guards you have to worry about."
	And with that they left.