Here we have John experiencing Cheriongoski for the first time. In this chapter he meets Natasha, that informs him the city will enter an everlasting dark age unless he prevents it.
This ties in a lot with my own return from deployment. I did not realize my own experience with it until I exited the military. My comrads were still present that helped me get through, but my nightmares were vivid and threatening. Once the belonging to a team was no longer present in my day to day life the downward spiral began. It was slow at first, realizing the different triggers that jolted a memory to my reality to relive my experiences.
The concept of the chapter was to present the aspects of war on the mind. John's recent experience manifests in a nightmare.
*The reader may think there is a misspelling when Waya says, "Holly shit." I assure you this is not the case. However, the reason toward Waya's intention will be revealed later on.