The Human is a ball of pure pain, stricken with impressions of being submerged in water

The Human is a ball of pure pain, stricken with impressions of being submerged in water and something drastic about to happen. He gradually gains consciousness, sensation by sensation. At once, he makes the decision to open his eyes and discovers that he is in a strange, dreamlike world with different, oddly-colored sky pockets and no buildings in sight. He suddenly hears a horde behind him, chasing him, and so he breaks into a sprint and arrives at the edge of a cliff. The Human sprints along the top edge of the cliff and eventually spots a small, decrepit building. Desperately seeking refuge, the Human opens the door, rushes inside, and flings it shut; the sounds of his pursuers are still audible outside. Gathering courage, the Human peers out of the building's window and finds that his pursuers are nowhere to be found.

Suddenly, a voice breaks the silence in the room. The Human turns around to find an almost shapeless thing wearing a cloak seated at a table, smoking a cigarette. The thing explains that there's been a rumor going around with regards to the Human's return to this place; rumors that he is going to change things. The thing eventually removes its cloak, revealing that it resembles the Human. The Human's doppelgänger reveals its name to be Allen, and angrily tells the Human that an event called the Conflagration is set to begin now that the Human has returned, and the two have some things to discuss before Black John and his Numbers - the Human's pursuers - return. The Human has no idea what the Conflagration is or what this strange world is, but, at Allen's prodding, realizes that he has vague memories of being in a world where things made sense before something went horribly wrong. Allen antagonistically teases that he has all the answers - teases that the Human needs him. Before fading into thin air, Allen reveals to the Human that in order to make it home, he must find the House of Gold and Bones before the Conflagration begins.

Thoroughly infuriated and puzzled, the Human exits the building and sets out along the cliff's edge, seeking a way down. While walking, he surveys the landscape and finds a forest in the valley below as well as a giant, crimson city on the horizon. He gets a strong feeling that House of Gold and Bones will be found in this city, so he makes this his destination. He eventually happens upon a set of large, steep stone stairs seemingly carved right down into the valley below the cliff. Cautiously, the Human makes his way down these stairs, and eventually reaches the bottom. Very suddenly, he hears a mob behind him once again. After a moment of hesitation, the Human becomes infuriated and turns around to face his pursuers. He finds the Numbers - a horde of zombie-like people - gathered around him, boxing him in, with a large, fierce leader - Black John. Black John asks the Human "RU486?", which strikes the Human as nonsense and serves to infuriate

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