Returning from the Third Crusade, Dante arrives home to find his servants slain, his father dead and his beloved fiancee Beatrice dying of a stab wound to the stomach. As she dies, she turns into a spirit and begins to ascend into Heaven. However, a shadowy Lucifer plucks Beatrice from the sky and into the gates of Hell. Dante gives chase and follows them into Hell.
Dante fights off and slaughters a mob of creatures, but is captured by a score of serpent-like arms which sow a red cross into his chest and torso - a living tapestry detailing his greatest sins in life. Virgil appears and offers to guide him through Hell; Dante, invoking his faith, tears open the gates and enters...