The Ritual

The year was 1904 when the Church opened its doors to the faithful. By day, the stone chapel was a sanctuary, but when night fell, whispers grew of strange sounds echoing from beneath the floorboards, of shadows flickering in places where no candles burned. At the centre of these rumours was the church’s caretaker. Stern, solitary, and devout to a fault, he was known for his meticulous upkeep of the church. What no one knew was that his devotion was not to the God preached from the pulpit, but to something older, something buried deep in forbidden texts he kept locked in the vestry. Every night after the congregation left, he descended into the crypt. There, he carried out rituals he claimed would “preserve the church forever.” Instead, the rites corrupted him, twisting his spirit and binding it to the very stones of the church. When he vanished without a trace, the church sealed the crypt and closed its doors. For more than a century, no one dared reopen them—until now. You and your team have entered the church to uncover what truly happened here. But the caretaker’s presence lingers. The candles burn, though no one lights them. The hymns hum though no choir sings. And in the silence, a voice whispers: “Complete the ritual… or remain with me forever.”