...
Whispers echoed in the back of his mind and incomprehensible colors twisted around him in a mad dance as he fell through the space between nowhere and everywhere. He had been advised by the Investigator not to look at the colors for too long, so the man closed his eyes. This wasn’t the first time he had traveled through the void, and most likely, it would not be the last. He grasped tighter at the revolver in his pocket, steeling his will and driving away the incessant voices. He had a purpose, A target, and he would not fail to take them down. Soon he would arrive at his destination, the city of Oppia, where he would find his target.
...
Something was wrong; His momentum changed, the colors around him shifted in an unexpected way.
Next came a sudden lurch, a feeling not unlike that of missing a step when walking down a stairway, followed by the natural consequence of such a misstep as he was unceremoniously thrown down a flight of stairs, landing face-first on the cobblestone alley below. The man rolled on his back and gasped in the hot, dry air, cursing at the sharp pain in his left leg.
He laid there breathing until the world around him had stopped spinning and the last notes of indescribable colors had dissipated from his field of vision. He stood up, brushed off some of the ash that stained his clothes and looked around: He was standing in a tight alleyway surrounded by tall stone buildings, everywhere around him, large flakes of ash rained down, covering the ancient cobblestone like fresh snow. There was a faint smell of sulfur in the air, and echoes of distant screams occasionally broke the oppressive silence. Far in the distance, towering above the rest of the city, he saw the massive red-hot iron walls, whatever there was beyond them obstructed by the giant cloud of steam rising from the boiling river surrounding them.
All hair in his body stood up, he felt his heartbeat quicken, and despite the warmth of the air surrounding him, the man shivered. It was as if his body instinctively knew that he was now in a place that was not for mortals to tread, the realm of the Dead and the Damned: the Underworld.
...
The city of Dis, to be precise, he recognized it from the Investigator’s descriptions on various locales of the plane.
He had arrived quite the distance away from Oppia. Something – or someone – must have had tampered with the voidways and sent him here. In frustration the man cursed at this unknown actor and kicked at a nearby skull, sending it hurtling down the alley where it shattered on impact against stone. Having calmed down a bit, the man checked his pockets. The gun was still there, along with some bullets, as was his wallet. Good. He had the key and 32 of the octagonal coins in the other pocket, enough to pay for four more portals. Perfect, the void had not taken from him more than he had offered. However, now it was clear that someone with the ability to alter the voidways was aware of his movements. A setback, but not anything that would prevent him from finishing his goal. Hope calmed his nerves, and having now regained his determination, the man chose a direction and started walking.
...