Chapter 7: Ritual

  Io is tired, irritable and becoming increasingly more impatient as she waits, evaluating the gang’s guard rotations. Finally, during a shift change between particularly inattentive guards, she found a moment.

  Thankfully, Kiro is in a holding cell at the edge of the encampment, making him accessible, but she knows she still must move cautiously; If she is seen, it’s over.

  She can feel the very forest watching her back, as she uses the thick tree line as camouflage.

  Still in her lioness form, she sneaks her way to Kiro’s cage.

  Who is this girl? She wonders, simultaneously considering where that question is coming from. Not jealousy, right? No… couldn’t be.

  Without question, Kiro looks at Io directly into her eyes, despite being enveloped in shadow. Wait… He can travel through shadow, so who knows what’s possible for the kid. Very unnerving…

  “So, there is no hiding from your mind’s eye, is there, Kiro?”

  Jak is surprised to hear the quiet voice coming from the shadows, but also pleased by what she just learned. “So, your name is Kiro…”

  “What’s the plan, Kiro?” Speaks the mysterious voice.

  “Honestly, I’m a bit curious about this ‘ritual’ they have planned for Jak.”

  “The princess!?”

  “Nice to meet you, mysterious voice,” greets Jak with a cheeky smile.

  “Your target’s name is Sage… he is the leader of this gang, which are mercenaries for hire. They do everything from drug selling and smuggling to obviously slave trading and sex trafficking. You picked a good one. I can sense in his gaze the sheer quantity of souls he has reaped… Stay hidden and wait for your moment to strike,” orders Kiro. “Now is not the time to make a move. Use the energy of the eclipse to stay hidden and watch. Allow the ritual to play out a bit. You’ll know the right moment when it arises.”

  “Understood,” says Io, before disappearing once again into the forest.

  “Who was that?” Asks Jak.

  “That was my slave.”

  ***

  The night moves painfully slow, for not many can sleep with the sky tearing open, releasing a fury of aura density.

  The animals can feel it. Something is coming. What exactly, Kiro doesn’t know, but he does know he cannot allow this ‘Hero’ to be released from death.

  Kiro knows very little about him, but the stories he does know tell of genocide, violence and extinction. Kiro knows the type. He is dangerous.

  He doesn’t know how this ritual will go, but Jak’s life is in jeopardy. Kiro is surprised to find that he actually cares. Her presence stirs a curious feeling of weakness within his heart. It must be a weakness. What else could it be?

  The rising sun casts its long shadows, as the forest wakes up to a new day. Jak had Shifted into her panther form last night and is curled up at Kiro’s feet, keeping him warm. Kiro pets Jak’s fur, as Sage suddenly manifests at the gate of the holding cell. Kiro sizes his aura density up for a moment to see what horrors lie before Io in her vengeance, although he knows Sage is masking the full extent of his being. He is a monster in many ways.

  “Let’s see if you remain as tough as you have been after seeing this fucking cult’s hero… Is she ready to be sacrificed?”

  “Are you ready to go fuck yourself?”

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  This angers the felina, but he quickly calms his mind before unlocking the door and paving the way for them to withdraw from the cell.

  With a loud yawn, Jak stretches, before her glowing blue aura coalesces around her body and she Shifts back into her humanoid form.

  “It’s to early for talk of sacrifice and ‘going to fuck yourself.’” She says, forcing Kiro to hold back laughter.

  The cult members have been up all night, preparing for the arrival of Xero Canin by cleaning away nature’s foot print on the pyramid to make it more ‘holy’ and ‘divine.’ Ancient Ria Lima hieroglyphs written in gold run all the way up the side of the extensive pyramid, reflecting the morning sunlight. Kiro wonders what they say.

  Eyes are glued on Jak, some going as far as bowing in her presence as she passes. What’s the point in worshipping a sacrificial lamb?

  As they cross the threshold into the tomb, the world shifts, as if the pyramid houses its own ecosystem and its own natural energy separate from that outside it. The dead rule this place. Kiro hates ghosts; his body reacts with goosebumps, standing hairs and clouded thoughts. The air is spiritually concentrated and potent. Kiro can tell it is making it hard for Jak to breathe as her anxiety peaks.

  As an experiment to discover true strength, Kiro uncharacteristically grabs ahold of Jak’s hand, his calm energy slowly swaying her angst.

  “Thank you,” says Jak with a teary eyed grin.

  “How does this make me stronger?”

  “We are together in this. No matter how horrible this ritual becomes, we are stronger together in the face of horror.”

  Before reaching the tomb, Kiro looks to Sage, and asks, "What is my role in this little game you are playing?”

  “Your blood shall be the gateway.”

  Kiro doesn’t know what that means, but his blood has unique properties, so there is a chance this all goes very wrong.

  Kiro hopes it does. Regardless of his nature, he doesn’t want Jak to die. She has taught him something. Something only those that live in the light can see.

  What else could she teach him?

  Then, the world opens up to the glory of the reclaimed tomb of a hero. Kiro watches as a tunnel of light breaks through the ceiling of the tomb, and slowly begins to snake downwards, making its way to the altar. It is perfectly aligned to the location of the solar eclipse, which should occur at any moment.

  Simon stands before the altar, arms open in a welcoming gesture, as he says, "Welcome, my friends! I assume you enjoyed the show last night! I know I couldn’t sleep! Too excited, anyway. Far too excited, indeed!”

  Jak and Kiro are led up to the platform next to the altar, as the cult members mumble prayers and organize themselves around it.

  As the sun rises into position, the world’s ferocity penetrates everyone’s minds, their senses screaming for them to stop and run away.

  Yet, all remain. The world’s order is in turmoil, for the dead shall rise and shall walk the earth. Kiro wonders if that’s what the writing that litters both the inside and outside the pyramid speaks of. He may never know.

  The stimuli of Meta’s vibrational frequency pulls at Kiro’s sanity, yet his razor sharp focus remains, as his target comes within reach.

  Kiro senses Simon’s heartbeat, the perspiration upon his skin, the breath in his lungs. He can almost feel the sensation of a blade carving through Simon’s flesh and envisions blood flowing from his neck.

  Kiro’s bloodlust becomes so potent that everyone becomes paralyzed with fear, as if the eclipse wasn’t enough. Simon’s eyes lock upon Kiro’s before Simon opens the book and smiles. The bloodlust is immediately overpowered by the energy produced from this book of the dead. What is this power?

  As the cult members begin chanting hymns in unison, spirits gather around the sarcophagus, bowing row by row. Kiro feels them. They are powerful warriors from a time long before the present age.

  The moon begins its ascent through the sun’s path, causing Jak to have a seizure and collapse. Kiro leans in to inspect her, before he looks down and realizes that his wrists are slit, the blood moving with a purpose down his arms, dripping off his fingertips to collect at Jak’s body. Suspended in the air, the mirror radiates a blue glow as its surface begins to fracture, sending fragments falling to the ground as the eclipse continues its steady pace across the sky.

  Kiro can’t tear away his gaze as Jak’s body lifts as if she were tethered by string, like a puppet, attached to the mirror.

  Then, Kiro sees it. Thin, blue ethereal wires lead up into the reflection, each wire connected to the finger of a ghostly hand coming through the looking glass. A menacing spirit inhabits that mirror. Could it be?

  “For I beseech you,” reads Simon from the book. “For I command you. I will you into this body, yours for the taking. Blood red, your nourishment.

  Kiro has to stop this. This is wrong. Taboo, even.

  Kiro hyper excels, manifesting behind Simon, gripping a broken piece of glass so tightly, it’s cutting deep into his own hand.

  Kiro stabs through Simon’s back repeatedly, yet he keeps reading, ignoring the life threatening injuries,”…Through blood you have risen. Through blood you shall rise again! Come forth, Xer-“

  Kiro slashes Simon’s throat, ending the man for good, yet he dies with a smile on his face, for he has succeeded in summoning a behemoth of power and evil. This being could be confused with a demon, for his aura is dark, thick and resembles flames. Slowly, he makes his way out of the mirror, and gradually a whirlwind of aura density encircles Jak’s unconscious body, entering her mind and bending her spirit.

  So, that’s the play…

  The room becomes so cold that breath becomes visible, while uncontrollable shivers overtake even Kiro.

  Then, she opens her eyes, now glowing blue.

  “H-Hello, X… Xero,” greets Kiro, through chattering teeth.