On a first playthrough, the areas of the Netherworld that Ellen and Keats visit just seem to have superficial connections to the way the dead characters died. However, playing the game while knowing that this is the story of Ellen coming to grips with her past as Cecelia and the death of her best friend Herve, there is a very specific pattern to the way Ellen and Keats encounter the dungeons. The areas of the Netherworld in the first five chapters don't just reflect events in the mystery - they correspond to the five stages of grief.
Elysium is denial. It is a beautiful fairy world, by far the prettiest place the player sees in the Netherworld. Like denial, it's about trying to ignore the darker reality shown by later stages.
Warcadia is anger. The entire world of Warcadia is at war, like an entire world manifesting anger in retaliation for violent deaths.
Undersea City is bargaining. This is where Ellen has to choose whether to follow Herve or the Fairy Lord. Although this one looks like a stretch, the stage of bargaining ends with realizing that bargaining won't make a difference. When the player goes through chapter 3 with the second character, it turns out that you have to play both paths anyway. The choice was ultimately an illusion.
Endless Corridor is depression. This matches with the trick hallways that trap Messengers and don't let them leave. Like depression, this world makes it feel like it's impossible to move on.
Hellrealm is acceptance. Hellrealm is the world of judgment, where Ellen has to find out the truth of what happened in her past and deal with her feelings of guilt. The process of defeating Hellrealm is the final step of achieving acceptance.
The reason Baral is beaten so easily? Not only Ellen has just received a major upgrade from her mother, but there are multiple forces trying to access the Netherworld Core: the Faeries and Livane with her allies. and also Scarecrow.
Fridge Horror
You might not think too much about the mummified corpse spotted underneath the Henge in Ellen's prologue during your first playthrough. The Folk attached to the cloak briefly attacks Ellen and tries to suck the life out of her, but Scarecrow gets rid of it in a cutscene. Then you find out about Lulu, O'Connell's girlfriend, who has been missing for a year and had used the cloak to travel to the Netherworld. That mummified corpse was Lulu and the purple ghost that fights Scarecrow was the Folk that killed Lulu.
