Lin Fan couldn't breathe. He struggled to move. His right hand was bleeding but the pain was not enough to replace the fear he felt. He dared not look back. He could hear the high-pitched voices of the demonic beasts come closer. He kept running, trying so desperately to save his own life, lest he be eaten up and have no trace left. He couldn't see the end of the dark, nor find the nearest ruin.
He glanced up. There was a fog so thick in front that he feared could contain an even more dangerous demonic beast. He, however, had no choice but to still try and reach it. After all, if he was going to die anyway, he might as well go out knowing he did all he could. The demonic beasts were merely a few inches away when he entered the fog. Then, they were gone.
Lin Fan stopped running. He could not see them anymore. He knew the monsters were just beyond the fog but he could not see them anymore. He turned his head forward. There, covered in dust was a huge temple, with fifty steps leading up to it.
"Is this a ruin?" he thought. Ruins are the only regions where the demonic beasts that come out at night cannot enter. People usually lived in ruins. They were the only safe spot, after all. No one left villages at night, lest they want to meet a grueling demise at the hands of the demonic beasts. He however had strayed too far during the day and was unable to get back to the village on time.
He climbed up the steps to the temple and entered. He decided that he would stay there during the night to rest up and return to the village the next day.
The moment the doors were opened, torches that were lined up on the wall of the temple ignited, illuminating the path. He walked in, mesmerized.
"What is this place?" he said aloud, probably to reduce the silence that sent shivers down his very spine. He walked closer to the wall. They were crafted so magnificently, almost as though made by thousands of the most skilled artisans of the world. He walked along the hallway until he noticed that something was off. Up front, there were torches that, although glowing brightly, could not pierce the extreme darkness in the front. Seeing this, he dared not go further.
He found a place to sit and rest. Now that the adrenaline had died down, the pain from the wound on his arm started to come at him. He could feel the region scratched at by those monsters. Though humanoid in form, they possessed sharp claws and teeth that could kill any body they came across. He was only lucky to escape with a scratch on his arm.
He turned onto his left side to sleep. In the distance, he saw a bell. Unlike everything else, no dust had accumulated on it, as though too holy for the dust. He reached for it with his right hand, still bleeding but mobile. He brought it closer to him, right before examining it.
'What is this? It seems odd," he thought. Suddenly, he felt his heart beat rapidly, causing intolerable pain. He clutched his chest and rolled around screaming. Then, he saw black.