Malice was all around him, Samuel knew. Rook was slightly behind him, with Night pulling up the rear. It seemed as if Night's tome hadn't said anything else about the interior of Rabena. They were all stumbling through the darkness together. The fog smelled vaguely of old char, as if something had been burned here long ago. Slowly, Samuel followed Albion as its faint light led the way. 

Suddenly he was aware that his dragon had halted. Continuing forward, he found himself at a wall, a large black gate set in its ancient stones. As his eyes scanned the great monolithic barrier, he started to feel a prickling in his neck. A slight flash of light in the corner of his eye prompted him to look to his left. There was nothing there, but another flash turned his head again. Soon, he began realizing that there were dozens of hungry yellow eyes staring out from the wall, all staring directly at him. Never did they stay in his direct sight; every time Samuel moved his head, the eyes flitted into darkness, moving always to the edge of his view. His heart began to race and he could feel sweat rolling down his face.

He turned to inquire Rook and Night about the eyes, but he realized with a start that he was alone in the fog. Spinning, he found that Albion and Lancelot were both gone as well. [b]"Albion! Lancelot! Rook, Night! Anyone!"[/b] he called out as loudly as he could.

As if he had stepped into an anthill, his yells seemed to awaken the eyes. Suddenly he was surrounded by blurs of black and gold. Huge Yata-garasu screamed at him and raked his face with sharp talons. He cried out and raised his large arms to shield his face from the scratching Natrelmon. Unable to stand with all the attacks coming his way, Samuel fell to one knee, crying out in pain. As he struggled to protect himself, he started to hear the voices.

[i]Death is all that awaits you here. Toran was your fault. You should have stopped them. You’re no better than Galven. You couldn’t beat Takai. You will never beat Takai. You should have died there that day.[/i] [b]"Stop it, stop it, [i]please![/i]"[/b] he cried out. 

Suddenly he was aware of a warm touch on his shoulder. He yelled out in surprise and fell onto his back. His eyes uncovered, he found his Lancelot standing over him, an armored hand extended. Albion rested on Lancelot's shoulder, looking down at Samuel. Blinking his eyes, Samuel looked around. He found Rook and Night both standing there, looking at him. Glancing up, he caught sight of a single Yata-garasu perched on a stone gargoyle, its black and gold plumage framing its crimson eyes, staring down at him. As their gazes met, the Yata-garasu gave a single caw and took off into the fogs. 

Samuel pulled himself to a sitting position and closed his eyes. [i]It was only a vision. A mirage. An evil apparition that was the result of this wicked placed. Nothing more.[/i] Samuel crossed his legs, clasped his fists together, and took a deep breath through his nose, focusing on inhaling the color white. After holding it for a brief moment, he exhaled, focusing on releasing the color black. He felt a warm from within as a fell chill left his body. He repeated this twice more before opening his eyes once again. 

Standing in a swift motion, he let out a deep sigh. [b]"I'm alright. Best we carry on quickly."[/b] Lancelot gave him an inquisitive look, to which he simply nodded. Lancelot nodded in return, adjusting the grip on its longsword.