611 In a World of Pain

When Der opened his eyes, he realized that he was not floating in open space anymore, but he was standing on a small pathway made out of stone slabs. His surroundings were foreign to him, but not completely, for while he did not recognize the place, he felt some sort of underlying familiarity with it. One that had been buried in the deepest recesses of his mind, as if happily forgotten.

This feeling of familiarity, he thought, was not a pleasant one. Not by a long shot.

All around him was a blurry expanse of buildings whose exact architecture he could not fully make out. Only two details were clear for him to see. A gray wall, and a wooden door, behind which noises of odd nature played out continuously.