Kaleidoscope of Death

CHAPTER 14: BACK TO REALITY

As Lin Qiushi walked straight ahead, the light grew stronger and stronger; the brightness stung his eyes, causing him to squint. Fortunately, the path beneath his feet wasn't uneven, so it wasn't too difficult for him to continue onwards.

Just when Lin Qiushi wondered how long he still had to walk, he was suddenly hit by a dizzy spell. He reflexively squeezed his eyes shut and wanted to lean against the wall, supporting his body with his hand, but he certainly didn't expect to feel an ice-cold wall. His eyes flew open at the piercing chilliness, and he was soon left gaping at the scenery before him.

A normal corridor, an ordinary household, a faint, white glow emitting from the top of the lampshade. Everything around him was all too familiar—he actually returned to his own hallway.

Was he back? Lin Qiushi was at a slight loss; he didn't know what he should do next. After thinking for a moment, he fished out his cell phone from his pocket.

Friday, July 17th, 8:00 PM. He had returned to the exact time when he'd left this world.

Lin Qiushi remembered it very clearly. On the evening of the 17th, he and his friend had plans to eat out together. He was just about to leave his house, but once he pushed open the door to go out, he instead stumbled upon an unimaginable and indescribable scene.

The very spot where his ordinary hallway was supposed to be located suddenly turned into a corridor with twelve black, iron doors. At the time, Lin Qiushi nearly pissed his pants out of fright at the sight. He stood motionless in the corridor for quite some time, and he even thought that he was hallucinating. However, the icy sensation of these doors told him what he was seeing wasn't just a figment of his imagination. Lin Qiushi surveyed his surroundings and found that all other places he could use to leave this corridor had already vanished into this air, even his own home.

He couldn't see the end of this pitch-black corridor. The deathly silence plagued him like a parasite, gradually devouring his soul.

Then, Lin Qiushi tried opening a door. However, the iron door was sealed tight; no matter how much strength he used, it was impossible to pull the door open. Lin Qiushi promptly began testing out the other doors one by one, until he finally came to the last one and tugged on it.

This door unexpectedly opened without any troubles.

The instant the door opened, a strong force dragged Lin Qiushi's body forward, and soon after, he fell through the door. In the very next moment, he appeared at that dreadful small mountain village.

But now, Lin Qiushi came back; he once again found himself in his own hallway. He stood in place for a long time, doubting whether all that he'd experienced was merely a strange dream. But he suddenly recalled something. He reached out, touched his earlobe, and then his pocket afterwards...there was a small stud earring and a white piece of paper.

Lin Qiushi finally realized it at that moment. He truly wasn't dreaming; he'd actually lived through a terrible tale that was far scarier than any nightmare.

His cell phone suddenly rang. Lin Qiushi picked it up and looked at the screen, only to see his friend's number.

"Hey, Lin Qiushi, what are you doing?" His friend's name was Wu Qi, and he was also a colleague of Lin Qiushi. "Why aren't you downstairs yet?"

Lin Qiushi was somewhat absent-minded; he finally shook himself from his daze and reacted. Wu Qi was waiting for him downstairs; the two were going to eat outside together. He looked at their chat records and discovered that only a quarter of an hour had passed—if he calculated this based on real time, he had only stayed in that village for about fifteen minutes.