The air was heavy with a damp, nauseating stench and enclosed in darkness was a figure.

A nameless figure.

Bloody and messy, the nameless figure let out a light grunt.

_ _ _ __ _

My eyes slowly flared to life, bearing witness to the endless darkness that existed all around me.

"Where am I?"

I struggled to get to my feet, a weird chilling sensation running down my spine.

I glanced back, and all i could see in sight was still the same- endless darkness.

I soon tried to remember how i had arrived at such a place.

Where was i coming from, and most importantly:

"Who am I?"

I rubbed my temples in an attempt to get the answers i desperately craved for.

...But the more i tried to remember.

"Aaargh!!"

The more mind-wrenching the pain became.

I felt as though needles were being stabbed right into my brain.

I clutched my head tightly, trying to at least fight back the intense pain that had suddenly taken over me.

The pain was overwhelming.

It was painful.

It had to stop.

But my efforts soon proved to be futile and useless.

My eyes slowly lost their usual glow, and then

...The cold hands of the endless darkness soon stretched forth to claim its prize.

'W-hat the fuck!'

I couldn't believe i was going to pass out.

And the reason being that i had attempted to run through my memories.

'Do I even have one at this point?'

I couldn't help but think.

Confusion and desperation slowly creeping in.

Those were the last thoughts on my mind before i slipped into a slumbering darkness.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

I woke up once again.

I f-elt disoriented.

Not knowing the difference between my left and my right.

That disorienting feeling... It was beyond hard to explain in words.

I soon found out that i was covered in grime.

Staggering to my feet, my eyes darted to the left and then to my right. I don't know why, but i had t-his odd feeling that a cold pair of eyes- of sorts was watching me from a distance beyond.

At the thought of this, i laughed lightly.

Perhaps in an attempt to shake off the dread slowly settling into my bones. I shook my head, removing such crazy thoughts from my mind.

'...Who in the four corners of the world would be so jobless to stalk me?'

Soon, i considered another attempt at remembering, or at least figuring out one or two things about myself, irrespective of the pain that i had to go through to get them.

At the very least, i should at least know who i am.

Determination flashed in my eyes and with clenched hands and hardened resolve, i carefully closed my eyes.

Terrifying pain shot through me. Spreading through every fiber of my being. Yet...I held on. Gritting my teeth as i winced in pain for what seemed like a long while.

And then, after what felt like a-lifetime, my eyes shut open.

Although it was nothing compared to what i was really after. Nevertheless, i still got something.

I got my name- Dean.

'But... isn't it so funny? Waking up and finding myself covered in dirt. Next, the only thing i remember about myself is my name.'

'...My fucking damn name!'

A self-depreciating laughter escaped my lips, my legs trembled ever-so slightly, as frantic thoughts slammed onto the walls of my mind.

They were hard and fast!

Brutal and unforgiving even.

I tried to stay on my feet, i tried to be a man- despite the mere teenager i was.

...Yet i lost.

I lost to the despair slowly settling within me.

My legs soon gave in and i collapsed on my butt, my eyes staring into the darkness above.

Staring into the endless darkness, i felt a cold, chilling wind running down my back.

...A cold shiver running down my spine.

A long unending moment of eerie silence easily clocked by as i sat on the floor. I don't even know how to describe my current self. If i could describe my current state of mind in one word- it would be: soulless.

...I felt as though my soul had elapsed me.

Soon, i began to ponder...and wonder:

'Who am i?

Where am i?

Why can't i remember anything?

What happened here?

How did i end up here?'

I pondered hard to so many questions yet unfortunately enough i had answers to none.

'Isn't it so funny.'

...And as if to make matters worse, the only single thing i remember is: my name.

...My damn name!

And what could that do for me. Give me a sense of purpose to live for?

...What exactly was i to do with that?

I thought hard on it, yet i wasn't able to find a reasonable answer to cling on to.

Something that i could use as a balm against the cold pain that seared through every fiber of my being.

Compared to the other questions that gnawed at the walls of my mind. My name seemed less important. Heck...it wouldn't even be of any use to me. If it had been my first name, it would have been for the best. Perhaps i would have had a purpose to live for. I would have had a family to search for.

Yet it wasn't and worse, I had no idea about where i was.

My eyes soon grew moist, bloodshot veins tracing their way through my sclera.

But... thinking about it.

I knew i couldn't continue to wallow in despair and frustration.

I should probably head for somewhere else, at least out of this odd place.

Perhaps someone outside might know one or two things about me.

I soon came to this conclusion, nodding my head in affirmation.

Strengthening my will and resolve.

I rose to my feet before moving towards the nearest door i could find.

'Well...what was i supposed to do.'

Not even knowing where i am or where i was heading for. It made sense to me to move randomly and see where fate leads me to.

...Of course that was while hoping it wasn't somewhere horrifying.

But still, i trusted in my luck.

'...I mean...how bad can my luck probably be?'

Calming my racing mind.

I stumbled forward, my feet dragging across the gritty floor as i sought a way out- a way out of this desolate surrounding.

The heavy silence pressed in, broken only by the occasional scream of unseen doors in the distance. I flinched at each sound, my heart hammering in my chest.

Just the wind.

I told himself, even as i knew better. There had been no wind here- no movement of air, no open windows or cracks in the walls. Still, the doors creaked.

I didn't need to be told to know something… someone was out there.

With a deep breath, mostly done to calm my agitated mind. I moved towards the nearest door, my fingers trembling as they brushed the cold metal handle. I hesitated, fear locking my joints, but i couldn't afford to freeze.

Not now.

Whatever was out there, waiting in the dark, was better than staying here, right? I questioned no one but myself, and perhaps, the endless void within me.

CREAAAK!!!!

The door creaked.

And my heart skipped a beat as i jumped up in fright. I could almost swear that i saw the door move by itself. I tried to convince myself that it was perhaps just the wind. But so far, so good- i hadn't felt a strong rush of wind ever since i woke up all covered in grime.

Which means there isn't any source of passage for breeze or air to pass through in order to create such a level of disturbance. At least none that i had seen so far.

Hence, i was more tempted to believe something or perhaps someone is behind the door's movement.

But who or what could it be?

What does said person want?

Or am i just thinking too much?

I tried my best to convince myself- to remove those horrifying thoughts away from my mind. However the more i tried to wave it off, the more reasonable it seems to become.

Soon, my heart tightened.

Chilling coldness creeping down my spine.

Before i knew it, sweat drops slowly dripped down my forehead.

Sighing lightly.

I forced down the unease settling within me.

And then, i mustered the most melodic voice i could muster- perhaps that would please the unknown beings.

"Hey, uh… ghosts?"

My voice was unsteady, pathetic even, but it was all i could muster.

"I don't really mean any harm. Just passing through, you know?"

Calming my rapidly beating heart, i soon proceeded:

"I'll be out of your hair soon enough."

The door groaned in response, a sharp grating sound that made my heart jump into my throat.

Without even thinking, I bolted, sprinting through the maze of corridors as if the very walls were chasing me. I didn't care where i was going- I just needed to be somewhere else.

Anywhere else.

My lungs burned, every breath a desperate gasp, but then, my legs soon began to give way.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, i finally stopped running- mostly because i was too weak to move an inch further.

I leaned against a wall.

...My heart slamming furiously against my ribs.

"What am I running from?" I soon muttered, glancing over my shoulder. The door- the air- it had been nothing, probably.

B-ut my hands were shaking, and no amount of self- reassurance could stop the gnawing sense that something was wrong.

Deeply wrong.

I couldn't really be blamed anyway. All humans do the same thing. In the face of something horrifying, they had rather accept and hold on to the belief that it doesn't exist than see the truth for what it truly is.

'Though i am still confused. Where exactly is the wind coming from? If I'm able to figure that out. Perhaps...'

The air suddenly shifted around me. A low, eerie groan cutting through the silence. A loud, shattering crash echoed behind me.

And then... my heart almost stopped beating.

My mind whirled, fighting for a logical explanation.

There was no such thing as ghosts, I told myself. But then, how did i even know that?

I pondered hard on it yet i couldn't come up with a logical explanation. Except for the fact that it just seems to be a normal thing to know of.

That would explain why there was no splitting headache in my memory's attempt to feed me with the general knowledge on this so-called ghosts of a thing.

Which means ghosts do exist.

I mean… what else can explain all this weird scenarios and everything that has been happening so far.

I don't even know. I really don't know.

I just feel as though i have been thrown into a sea without a boat to sail ashore.

Such a feeling left me frustrated.

I stood rigid on a spot for a couple of second.

At some point, my eyes soon turned blank.

I seemed to be slowly losing it.

I don't even know why i am running.

What am i running from? How did i end up in this weird building. And most importantly, why have i forgotten everything?

I had so many questions, yet unfortunately enough, i had answers to none.

I was frustrated.

In despair.

I f-elt aggrieved.

Irked out even.

...Such a feeling was painful, and frustrating to say the least. It was extremely despairing, and I hated it… I hated it to the core of my being.

At this point, i don't even know what to do.

Whom to call.

Where to even go to… and most disturbing of all:

"Where the fuck am i!"

I voiced my mind, my eyes turning extremely moist. Crackles escaping my lips as i trembled continuously, tears threatening to drop from my eyes.

Although i don't know where i was, something within me screamed and yelled at me:

'Run! Run!'

I knew i definitely shouldn't be here.

Which got me quite confused as to why i had even decided to make it to this weird place in the first place.

I thought hard on it, yet due to the loss of my memories- i wasn't able to come up with a logical explanation.

Despair.

Confusion.

...I was in despair.

...I was confused.

I- I felt...hollow.

Like a shadow existing without light.

But then, after a long while. I took in a deep breath.

Soon, i exhaled sharply.

'...I just have to take things one step at a time.'

That was the thought i came up with- the thought that would lessen the despair and dread slowly settling within me.

'Pathethic right?'

I questioned no one but myself and perhaps, the endless void within me.

And then, i took another step forward, but this time around. My eyes widened to a crazy extent.

I suddenly found myself in another place entirely.

And judging from my surroundings, i could be certain that i was most definitely in a source of water.

"Wait... wasn't i previously within a room or some-?" I muttered, my hands trembling in fear.

My body soon joined in the trembling.

Realizing i was now inside a source of water. My mind raced fast and hard, perhaps to the extent of moving at an inhuman pace. Yet i wasn't able to come up with any logical explanation.

Of course, except for one:

"Hahaha… I am probably just hallucinating."

'Yeah. This is all just an illusion.'

I tried to convince myself, laughing lightly to lessen the dread that had gripped me.

I blinked and for for a second there, a weird stench assaulted my nostrils.

It was pungent and suffocating.

But my eyes were closed by then. And all i could feel around me was an endless darkness- and...multiple pair of eyes staring at me from the darkness beyond.

By the time i opened my eyes once again.

The water remained in sight, and I was still floating in it.

A direct slap to my face.

I thought, my expression darkening as my body trembled lightly.

I was still inside water, but now, it was with a little difference:

I was now surrounded by strange fishes. Fishes with humanoid heads, sticky tongues, sharp maws, and demonic faces.

My heart thumped violently, my mind overwhelmed by various thoughts that threatened to swallow me whole.

I- I felt like i was going crazy.

I mean...what else can explain all this?

Yet, it seems the fishes could be less bothered about my thoughts.

They writhed against my skin, prompting me to run away from them. But i soon realized a fact that chilled my bones to the core. The faster i ran from them, the more abound they became. If that was all, i wouldn't have really minded and would have done everything in my feeble power to get away from the horrifying monstrosities.

But, i soon realized something that didn't really sit well with me. I took in a gulp of saliva as more monstrous, terror-inducing fishes started to appear at a breathtaking pace.

Now… something was definitely off.

"What the hell is happening?"

I couldn't help but murmur in shock, my voice, a mix of disbelief and anxiety, pierced through the water, creating circlic bubbles that floated across the water.

"Wait…how am i even able to speak under water."

"What is going on!"

"AARGH!!!"

I was frustrated.

I was in despair.

I was confused.

And just as i was lost battling with a chaotic fusion of internal turmoil.

Just when i thought i was really loosing it.

...The water suddenly rumbled!

It surged, and trembled violently.

Slowly, the fishes frantically receded into an endless darkness.

I never saw how they had appeared, and i certainly never saw or knew how they had suddenly vanished into thin air.

Well, at least on the bright side of it all, they are finally gone.

I heaved a sigh of relief, clearly relieved by the sudden turn of events.

But all this changed when a dark pair of eye suddenly emerged in the endless darkness.

Coldness.

...I felt an untold magnitude of a chilling coldness creeping into my spine.

The cold pair of eyes stared down at him.

Its cold gaze made me feel strange, weird and uncomfortable.

My heart nearly came to a stop.

...And then, my heart soon started to skip a beat.

My entire body screamed:

For me to run!

Swim!

Run!

Fuck it! Just do anything to get away from this monstrous entity.

What the entity is… I didn't know.

Is it even a thing… this- I also didn't know?

But there was something i could remember, something i definitely couldn't forget. Something etched into the deepest parts of my mind.

Just somehow… I knew. This was it…them… it.

This was the thing that has been haunting me. And strangely enough, this doesn't seem to be our first encounter.