Yami Yugi, along with Malik and Kaiba, materialized in a dark hallway. The walls and floor were made of dark grey stone, and torches lined the wall. It looked like the inside of an old tomb, and smelled just as musty.
"Where the hell are we?" Kaiba announced, looking down at his body. He wasn't sure how, but he was covered in blue armor. "What happened?"
"I… I don't know." Malik also looked down at his hands. A reflection of his helmet shined back at him from the yellow gloves.
Yami Yugi looked around.
"I know what's going on." He stated calmly, running his gloved hand along a stone wall. The uneven stone scratched a thin line in the metal.
"What?"
"We're inside his soul room."
Malik stared at him for a moment. Kaiba just rolled his eyes.
"Soul room? You have got to be kidding…"
Kaiba's disbelief was interrupted by a squeaking door at one end of the hall. Yami Yugi walked over, pressed the thin wooden door with his hand, and it creaked open a little bit more.
The light coming from the small room was so bright, that it lit up the entire hallway. Yami Yugi squinted to see inside. Given the two possibilities, it must have been Ryou's room. It was completely white, and appeared completely sterile, to the point that it almost resembled a hospital room. The source of Ryou's affliction didn't seem to be in there. This appeared, instead, to be a sanctuary from it!
Ryou, however, was not inside.
"Do you see anything?" Malik asked, walking over to the pharaoh.
"Ryou's not there." He answered. "And that's a good sign."
"How exactly is that a good sign?" Kaiba growled, still rather annoyed that he was suddenly standing in a tomblike hallway dressed as a blue knight. Though, he toyed momentarily with the idea of setting up a virtual scenario of a similar sort, and putting it on the market before the next holiday season.
"It means he's still conscious."
Malik looked at the second door as Yami Yugi let the one to Ryou's soul room swing closed. It was a thick metal, and it appeared to be rusted over.
"Is that…"
"That must be where the spirit of the ring resides." The pharaoh answered, not even letting Malik finish his question.
He walked up to the door, and attempted to open it, but it would not budge. Something, most likely someone, was preventing him from opening it. The door itself was laced with a natural barrier.
"Is the source of the curse in there?" Malik asked, studying the metal door.
"I doubt it." Yami Yugi replied. "If it was, the tomb robber would have alluded to it when I spoke with him."
"You believe him?"
"This time only, yes." The pharaoh quickly replied. "His host body may die. That is enough of a reason for him to be truthful. And before you ask. No, I don't think the likes of him would come out of there to help us."
"I don't know what we're standing around here for, then." Kaiba inserted. "What we're looking for obviously isn't here. And if time is really of the essence, I'd suggest we start moving."
The other two paused for a moment, and nodded.
Kaiba turned, and strode quickly down the hallway. The light started to dim. Suddenly, a black hole appeared beneath his feet, and he fell straight through the stone floor. His scream echoed as he continued to descend.
"Kaiba!" Malik and the pharaoh shouted in unison, running after him.
The hole grew, and quickly engulfed the two of them as well. Their screams joined the CEO's, echoing painfully against the lifeless grey stone.