Ritual

*All that glisters is not gold, often have you heard that told...**This article is about The Dark Pictures Anthology's first installment,* ***Man of Medan***
***.***

## Both Cuts

### Location(s)

Lower Deck
Cargo Hold 2

## Chapter Guide

**Ritual** is the seventh chapter of Act 2 in *Man of Medan* and the fifteenth overall.

The player controls Fliss as she finds herself in a strange and ominous ballroom. The chapter can be played fully only in Theatrical Cut.

## *Lower Deck*

After the door suddenly closes, Fliss tries to open it, but to no avail. With no other way out, Fliss is forced to walk down the corridor. As she reaches the corner, Fliss hears Brad's voice behind her, and then sees his ghostly version, leaving the hallway. Fliss is following him when someone's hand grabs her leg from a puddle.

* If Fliss fails the first QTE, she will fall down and have to perform a second QTE, which doesn't matter though. The face of an undead soldier comes out of the water and Fliss can either stab it with a knife (if she picked it up earlier) or perform a QTE (which will still be followed if Fliss didn't use the knife).
	+ If Fliss fails the last QTE, the hands will drag her into the water and the screen will go dark. However, right after that it turns out that Fliss is unharmed.
	+ If Fliss completes the last QTE, she will run out of the corridor, but will be startled by ghostly Brad, causing Fliss to keep running.
* If Fliss completes the first QTE, she will break free and try to escape, only to encounter a horde of undead soldiers.
	+ If Fliss fails one of the two QTEs, she will be overpowered, but the undeads will suddenly dissipate into water.
	+ If Fliss completes both QTEs and Brad was with her, she will see him captured by the undeads and asking for help. Fliss can save Brad or leave him.
		- If Fliss chooses to save Brad, she will pull him out, only to be frightened by his ghostly version.
		- If Fliss chooses to leave Brad, she will go to the next room while Brad screams.

## *Cargo Hold 2, 2:48 A.M.*

Fliss barricades the door with the closet and, examining the place, realizes that she is in a ballroom. Here she can find:

* A piano.
* A fountain of blood.
* A book about occult rituals.
* A closet. Depending on what Charlie did in the prologue, there may be one of two outcomes:
	+ If Charlie was hiding in the closet, Fliss will find a Jolly Jack. If she puts a quarter in it, the doll will laugh maniacally and bang its head against the glass. There will be a mannequin next to it.
	+ If Charlie approached the figure, the box will be empty and instead of a mannequin there will be a pentagram with two skulls inside near the fountain.

Fliss can go to the room near the stage, where she can find a picture and the lever. By pulling the lever, Fliss lifts the curtain, behind which, she can find the blood coffin and the door to the balcony. If she opens the coffin, a hand will reach out to her, but Fliss dodges it. Once out on the balcony, Fliss will stay there for a while and return to the ballroom, only to see Cargo Hold 2 instead, where:

* The coffin will be replaced by boxes of Manchurian Gold.
* The piano will be replaced by a jeep.
* The blood fountain will be replaced by a pair of twisting wires.
* The Ritual Book will be replaced by a cargo ship manual book.
* The box will be replaced by a closet.
	+ If Charlie hid in it, then Fliss will find his corpse.
	+ The pentagram/mannequin will be replaced by Joe's corpse.

*Note: After entering the balcony, a 5-minute timer will start, during which time Fliss will start seeing hallucinations again, if Brad still hasn't appeared.*

After 390 seconds or when Brad jumps down in Shared Story, Fliss is frightened by a falling platform from the upper floor.

*Note: The following segment is skipped in Curator's Cut.*

* Fliss didn't go out on the balcony
* Fliss went out on the balcony

Fliss will see the Grim Reaper.

* If both are unarmed, Fliss will run away to the upper floor in a panic.
* If Fliss is armed, she can attack the Grim Reaper by stabbing them with a knife. After Fliss escapes, it will be revealed that she killed Brad.
* If the Grim Reaper is armed, Fliss has to complete QTEs to dodge their attacks. Otherwise, Fliss will be split in the head.
* If both are armed, Fliss must first dodge the reaper's attacks and then can decide to attack back.

Fliss will see Brad.

* If Brad hasn't dispelled the hallucinations and is unarmed, he will run to the upper floor while Fliss runs after him.
* If Brad hasn't dispelled the hallucinations and is armed, Fliss has to complete QTEs to dodge his attacks. Otherwise, Fliss will be split in the head.
* If Brad has dispelled the hallucinations, he will recognize Fliss and after a brief dialogue, the duo will go looking for the others.

## Collectibles

### Secrets

*Note: To obtain all of these secrets, Fliss has to dispel the hallucinations by going to the balcony.*

* Chemical Leak - Can be found instead of a coffin with blood.
* Broken Wires - Can be found instead of a fountain of blood in the left side.
* Cargo Ship Manual - Can be found instead of Ritual Book in the right side.

### Pictures

* Keelhaul - Can be found in the room where Fliss can push up a lever to open the curtains.

## Deaths

### Determinant

Brad

* If Fliss doesn't dispel the hallucinations, is armed, and chooses to attack the Grim Reaper, she will stab Brad in the stomach. (Theatrical Cut)
* If Fliss doesn't dispel the hallucinations, is armed, and Brad fails to dodge her attacks, he will be stabbed in the stomach. (Curator's Cut)

Fliss

* If Brad doesn't dispel the hallucinations, is armed, and Fliss fails to dodge his attacks, she will be split in the head. (Theatrical Cut)
* If Brad doesn't dispel the hallucinations, is armed, and chooses to attack the undead soldier, he will split Fliss's head. (Curator's Cut)

## Trivia

* During Shared Story, both this chapter and Echo/Finding Friends are played at the same time.
	+ In Theatrical Cut, the chapter is played in full and occurs after Echo/Finding Friends. Also, the chapter begins when Fliss is locked in the corridor.
	+ In Curator's Cut, the chapter ends right after the upper platform collapses and occurs before Echo/Finding Friends. Also, the chapter begins when Fliss finds herself in the ballroom.
* This is the first chapter, along with Echo and Finding Friends, in which Brad and Fliss can die.
* If Fliss goes outside too quickly, she will begin hallucinating the ballroom again.
* If Fliss and Brad didn't recognize each other, there will be the chapter Plunged after this one. Otherwise, it will be preceded by Pressure.