The World Below / Hell (The Forgotten)
Ruler: The Silent One. An entity whose true name and form are incomprehensible. It does not actively rule with laws, but with its mere, crushing presence. Its power manifests as entropy and oblivion. The 72 demons are its "children" or lesser fragments, delegated with the task of influencing and corrupting other worlds.
Structure and Atmosphere:
The Submerged Cities: What little remains of Hell are ruins. There is no fire or brimstone, but a perpetual, cold, dense, dark purple mist. The structures are cyclopean monoliths of black obsidian, submerged under a "sea" of thick, silent mud.
The Forbidden Archives: A library is said to exist where the forgotten history and names of all worlds are written in ink of sorrow, guarded by the highest-ranking demons. It is the source of their limited knowledge.
The Freedom of the 72: The 72 Demons are not trapped; they are free. Their exile gives them the advantage of invisibility to the modern mind, allowing them to sow doubt and chaos in the terrestrial world. Each is an embodiment of a sin, a concept, or an uncomfortable truth (e.g., Mammon, greed; Bael, tyranny; Stolas, forbidden knowledge).
Connection to Other Worlds: It is the source of corruption. The entities of Hell do not need portals; their influence filters like a disease into the collective subconscious of the terrestrial world, manifesting in human cruelty and outbreaks of madness.
2. The Terrestrial World / Reality
Ruler: The Shadow Council. It is not an individual, but a network of ancient secret societies and world governments that have historically worked to maintain ignorance of the fantastic. They are failing miserably.
Structure and Atmosphere:
The Era of 'The Late Awakening': Humanity has entered an era of global panic. The monsters did not attack medieval villages; they attacked the cities of Tokyo, New York, London. The chaos is broadcast live on television. The reaction was late because their only weapon, science, is impotent against magic or the fantastic.
The Black Zones: Abandoned metropolitan areas where creatures have settled and established their own ecosystems, impregnable to conventional armies.
The Forgotten Resistance: Dispersed groups (mystics, hunters, and those who never stopped believing) emerge from the shadows, using archaic methods and ancient knowledge to fight. Their greatest challenge is to convince the rest of the world that faith or fear are as real as a bomb.
Deterioration of Customs: The most valuable concept that was lost was Reverence. People stopped fearing the unknown, replacing the fear of gods or demons with the fear of a nuclear bomb or economic crisis. This indifference caused the "wall" between Reality and the Infernal/Oneiric worlds to weaken.
3. The Oneiric World (Dreams)
Ruler: Hypnos, The Architect of Rest. He does not rule with authority, but as the maintainer of balance. His presence is the deep calm and necessary oblivion after a bad day. His power is focused on the stability of the mind, not on action.
Structure and Atmosphere:
The Domain of Dreams (The Citadel of Morpheus): A landscape of pastel colors and structures that shift according to the dreamer's will (Escherian architecture). It is a place of Illusory happiness because the happiness is borrowed, dependent on the sleeper. Entities like Succubi/Incubi feed on the energy of the dreamer's will and desire.
The River of Oblivion (Negen): A constant flow that separates the Dream zone from the Nightmares. It is the boundary, and contact with it temporarily erases the memories and identity of the entity that crosses it. Negen is the guardian of this river.
The Abyss of Nightmares (The Territory of Moros): It is not the end, but the Foundation of the Oneiric world. Nightmares are the dark side, necessary for processing traumas. It is a land of shadows, broken mirrors, and repeating loops. The demons of Hell have easier access to souls through the Nightmare Gate, as negative emotions (fear, despair) act as a beacon. The fear of the Dream inhabitants of this place is founded, as there one confronts one's own shadow.
Hierarchy: The Dreams are the visible part; the Nightmares are the foundations. The world would not exist without the purging of negative emotions provided by the Nightmares.