Meanwhile, Raoul, Neferma'at, and Anhur-Ptah were being led down the vast corridors of the temple.
"You can tell your Pharaoh friend that the artwork here is most exquisite," said Hoularch, as they walked. "If I could find a way to pry the artwork off of the walls, I would. And perhaps, when I receive that hidden power, I will be able to. Yes, Vicomte, tell the Pharaoh that I thank him sincerely, since he is going to make me a very rich man indeed."
Sethos maintained an angry silence, though Anur-Ptah was glaring angrily at Hoularch. He searched the ground for a fragment of stone that he could hurl at the cruel man, but stopped at a warning glance from his sister.
Raoul could sense that the children were nervous and impatient; he would have to set his plan into motion soon. Timing would be everything, he realized. If he was off, even by a moment, it would mean a true disaster, one beyond even the Opera Ghost's imagination.
The moment would be arriving soon; they were nearing the corridor that would lead to the naos; but Raoul did recall from the map that there should be a diverging passageway. It couldn't be that far ahead.
"Tell me, Vicomte, have you ever seen a sight such as this?" asked Hoularch. "I suppose I am glad that you came to Egypt."
"You speak to me as though you presume that your feelings of friendship are returned," said Raoul.
"Are they not?"
"I make it a point not to befriend thieves."
"But, Vicomte, you've all but joined us!" said Hoularch. "You are about to be responsible for our rise to power! Are you sure that you wish to return to France after the task is completed? You may find life in this organization far more intriguing than attending every one of your wife's performances--"
"I thought I told you before that none of this concerns Christine," Raoul shot back.
"That's where you're wrong, Vicomte," said the thief. "But you are, in a way, correct; she does not need to be involved, unless you would like her to join you. That's right, Vicomte, I wish to have you and your beloved as honorary members of our little group. And you, Vicomte, would be my second in command… not to mention several times richer than you are right now."
"I must decline," said Raoul. "And while I'm at it, I withdraw my declaration of helping you open this shrine!"
He struck a panel of the wall, which opened, and Raoul ushered the children through it. He followed them, closing the panel behind him.
"Whatever happens, keep running until you get out of here!" Raoul instructed them.
Neferma'at let out a cry, and she pointed ahead. A large stone wall was coming down from the ceiling, intent on blocking the passageway. Its descent was slow, but by the time they reached the wall, the opening was too low for Raoul to go through. His mind raced.
"Both of you, go through right now," he said.
The children obeyed, but they paused, waiting to see what he would do.
"Keep going!" Raoul ordered them. "You can't let yourselves get captured again!"
"But how will you escape, Viscount?" cried Neferma'at.
"Don't worry about me!" Raoul answered back. "As long as you two return home, I'll have kept my promise to your mother. Don't worry about me; I'll find a way out of here."
He heard the children's footsteps run away, but now a new sound was beginning to grow louder; the thieves had opened the panel and were proceeding down the passageway. Being taken captive by them was out of the question; he would have to fight.
"Is there no other way out of this passageway?" Raoul asked, as he drew the sword in response to the approaching thieves.
"There is," Sethos answered. "Unfortunately, the panel can only be activated from the opposite side of the wall. We can only force them to retreat, or wait until someone activates the panel."
"Then they will have to retreat, for they will not take me."
"I have noted that the accused has destroyed my proclamation of the first fourteen laws he has broken," said the mysterious man, as he began the trial.
"I haven't the time or the patience to deal with this!" the Phantom said. The man had given him the water he needed, but the Phantom suspected that it wasn't out of kindness; more than anything, he expected that the man had wanted to make sure he would be conscious for this trial.
"But you must," the man replied. "You have escaped justice for far too long. Did you think that you would be able to elude Her forever?" With a mere sweep of his hand, the man moved all of the treasures and items on the chamber floor to the sides of the room.
"I still say that it is most hypocritical for you to accuse me while these thieves have amassed this great deal of wealth," said the Phantom. "Or are my petty crimes more important than this obvious sacrilege to the ancient ways?"
"You haven't the right to speak such things, Erik!" the man snapped. "For the fifteenth rule of Ma'at that you have broken was the robbery of a piece of a Pharaoh's treasure!"
"What, this?" asked the musician, indicating the regalia he was wearing. "I stole this from the thieves who stole it in the first place."
"Not those," said the man. "I'm referring to the golden statue you have so cleverly concealed within your cape!"
The Phantom cursed himself; of course, this overzealous judge would have been aware of the incident. He wasn't sure how, but he knew he should have expected it.
"I suppose it would be no use to say that I stole it to prevent it from being stolen?" he asked.
"It is useless to say that; in fact, it is most unwise, for you have now illustrated the sixteenth rule. More than once have you spun false stories and tales to deceive others, namely the girl you once considered to be your prized pupil."
The Phantom paled slightly; he suddenly knew where this would be going.
"Your life has been driven by desires, the seventeenth decree you have broken," the man went on. "You desired fame and glory. You desired wealth. And you desired the adoration of your pupil: Christine Daaé, daughter of Gustav. And to win her admiration, you deceived her, the eighteenth decree."
"I've heard enough!" the Phantom cried out. "I've since apologized to Christine; she has forgiven me."
"Those aren't the only crimes you have committed against her," said the man. "However, it is true that she has forgiven all of your misdeeds against her. But has my witness done so as well?"
"Where is your witness!?" asked the Phantom, glancing around the empty chamber. "Don't expect me to believe that Ma'at or any of the other ancient gods are standing here!"
The man crossed to one of the walls and struck it.
"The witness shall arrive momentarily, at which point the trial will continue."
"Excellent swordsmanship," commented Sethos. "Despite being boxed in, you seem to be blocking their advance."
"Thank you, but I don't know…" Raoul paused to swing the blade. "…I don't know for how long I can expect to hold this advantage. They do outnumber me, after all."
"If only I were free from this sword…" the spirit fumed.
"Vicomte, why do you insist on making things so difficult?" Hoularch called to him. "What do you owe this spirit? Why must you free the queen? What do you expect to gain?"
"I expect to gain nothing," Raoul countered, blocking another blow with the sword. "I already have honor. And I will stop at nothing to--"
He was cut off as the panel of wall next to him suddenly rotated 180 degrees, taking him to the adjoining room. Raoul glanced warily around the new surroundings, and was surprised to see a man in a white robe, surrounded by a room full of treasures and sarcophagi.
"Who are you?" Raoul asked.
"You will not speak unless spoken to, Raoul, son of Philibert," said the man, harshly. "You have been brought here to serve as the witness for the prosecution in the trial of Erik, the Phantom of the Opera."
"Trial…?" Raoul asked, quietly, and he glanced at his former rival, who didn't look at all well. "What is he talking about? What did you do?"
"Chagny, get out of here while you still can!" exclaimed the musician. "You might very well be next--"
"Neither of you are to speak to each other!" ordered the robed man. "Son of Philibert, you are to stay to give your statement. You may leave when you have completed this task."
"What is going on here…?" Raoul asked the king, under his breath.
"It is the Weighing of the Heart," Sethos replied. "If the accused is found guilty of his crimes, he suffers a terrible fate. I do not know what your companion has done to incur this, but I am afraid that I cannot stop it."
"Are you certain?" asked Raoul.
"Even the Pharaoh himself eventually faces the Weighing of the Heart," came the reply. "Though for us, it is done at the hands of Osiris and his aides. If found innocent, we are blessed for all time."
"And if the accused is guilty?" asked Raoul, glancing at the Phantom.
"I pray that you need not find out."
"I now set before the accused, the witness, and Ma'at Herself the remaining ten decrees that the accused has broken!" said the robed man. "For the nineteenth law, the accused pursued the girl in question, Christine, with a reckless heart. He caused her to fear him, he troubled her, and he constantly spied on her, instances of ignoring laws twenty through twenty-two."
"Enough, enough!" cried the Phantom, sweat and tears pouring down his disfigured face. "That was a long time ago. I've changed, and she has forgiven me, bless her. Christine has forgiven me!"
"You have already said that," said the judge. "And I countered by asking you whether or not my witness has forgiven you, as well."
"I didn't ask to be a witness…" said Raoul, under his breath. He could barely watch this; no one deserved to be forced to listen to a reading of their crimes and misdeeds, especially when they had repented.
"I'm afraid that there aren't any other options," said Sethos. "You will have to answer all of the questions put to you with the highest level of truth."
"You, Erik, tried to win the girl's heart by force, even though she loved another, breaking a twenty-third law," the man went on, his voice becoming harsher with every word he spoke. "And because she loved this man, the one standing here, you held great hatred against him, did you not? And therein is law twenty-four. But you didn't stop there; you directed your anger towards him, you fought bitterly against him, and were unbearably cruel towards him, shattering decrees twenty-five through twenty-seven to pieces!"
"I'm sorry…" the musician sobbed.
"And lastly, the final and most serious deviation from a decree of Ma'at is that you have killed, and you have tried to kill this man standing here before you!" the judge accused.
The Phantom could not reply; he merely fell to his knees in the middle of the room, shaking with silent sobs.
"And now I turn to you, Raoul, son of Philibert," said the robed man. "As my witness, I must ask you if whether or not the serious accusations I have made against Erik are true or false."
"Whatever you do," instructed Sethos. "You must answer truthfully. Do not lie, under any conditions."
Raoul was wondering what to say. It was true that the Phantom had been exceptionally spiteful towards him, but that had been in the past. And he wasn't keen on finding out what terrible fate awaited the musician if he were to be declared guilty, especially since if the Pharaoh himself did not wish to mention it. But Raoul couldn't lie, either, as Sethos had pointed out.
"Speak now!" ordered the man. "Are my accusations true or false!?"
Raoul couldn't reply; he merely glanced at his devastated rival, praying that he would find some way out of the situation.