Board Thread:Lords of Shadow 2/@comment-216.170.54.18-20140301115207/@comment-24689054-20140315193627

Everything would have made perfect sense had it not been for that point in the story when Dracula lured Nergal to his castle. Had that part not been there, we can assume with moderate confidence that the castle is simply Dracula hallucinating as he is torn apart by grief, guilt, confusion, and amnesia. He's basically battling his inner demons in a literal sense, seeking redemption while also regaining his memories and abilities. Trevor and Marie were never real (though Marie claims otherwise), being simply manifestations of Dracula's conscience and humanity. Family = good side, inner Dracula = dark side. The castle, being a physical manifestation of Dracula's chaotic psyche, remains in the state it was before the great explosion, with everything in there, from the Brotherhood members to the dungeon dwellers, being where they were supposed to be at that time.

And yet, Dracula was able to lure Nergal to this place, suggesting that it is more than just Drac tripping on psychedelics. Zobek was also unable to detect Dracula, noting that his presence completely vanished whenever he went to the castle. This seems to suggest that the Castle is indeed in a pocket dimension, separate from our own.

Combining the information above, I suppose we can say that the castle is a pocket dimension created from Dracula's subconscious. This, of course, would imply that Dracula is immeasurably powerful, being able to warp reality when he's not even trying. Everything in the castle is indeed completely made up, yet they are real in the sense that Dracula wills them into existence. Dracula has so much unused power-power that he has forgotten or yet to regain after centuries of sleep, and that built up power needs a safety valve to release itself. It inserts itself into a separate slice of reality, creating this inner castle. This is my theory, anyhow.

Ooooor maybe the game was just cut short near the ending, and the developers ran out of money before they could explain the castle's nature. The final confrontation with Satan was a massive letdown, after all. The boss fight wasn't bad, but who did not expect more from Satan at full power?