Confusion. Bewilderment. Distress.
You feel like you've experienced them more times today than you have in your entire, uneventful life so far. You question your perception of this city, of your world, of what's real and what's false.
The enigmatic rebels and their attempts to sabotage NAGA. What drives them? What are they trying to achieve? Do they not realize they are lashing out against the very force that created Neo One Han City from rubble?
The peacekeepers, the Viper Guard, the bureaucrats upholding the order and enacting NAGA's will. You've never heard of any conflict till now, and yet you were lucky to survive a bomb going off in the middle of the city. Judging by the simulation you just saw, that wasn't just an isolated incident, either. Why are they concealing everything?
As you lie in bed pondering all of this, you can't imagine falling asleep tonight.
But the next time you know, you open your eyes, and it's no longer 'tonight'. Just like that, a new day has begun. Your fatigue didn't wait for you to sort out your feelings, and neither did the world. It just kept on turning.
You go through your morning routines automatically, your mind in a haze. Aimless, you head out and get on the first train to arrive at the metro station, without caring where it will actually take you. It's not the line you usually use to move closer to the city center. This one heads south, towards the city's outskirts.
You stare at the window but your eyes don't register a thing as you're deep in thought. The situation within the city seems to be getting out of hand. Just yesterday, you thought the rebels who picked you up were just a tiny, ragtag band of lunatics who would never amount to anything. But if Fu Ji's simulation is anything to go by, the balance of power is nothing like you imagined it to be, and the insurgency is a real threat to NAGA.
Before long, an announcement that the train has reached the final station and will head back in 5 minutes brings you back to your senses. As good a place as any to get off.
You've never been in this part of the city. Never had a reason to head here. You know the outskirts are populated by outcasts. Those who could never make it in the Soul Shrines, those who could but were forced to move here due to their addictions or out of sheer paranoia, the illegals, the have-nots, the lost.
It looks nothing like the districts you're used to, so much that it's hard to believe it's even part of the same city. You can see the gray sky clearly, with no skyscrapers and holoboards blocking it. The concrete buildings look old and run down to the point where they don't look safe to live in, and those are some of the more luxurious quarters. The further you look to the south, the more slums you notice. These are clearly man-made, unlike everything downtown that was either renovated or built from the ground up by NAGA controlled machines. You head deeper into the slums, and at some point the city ends, just like that. No more buildings beyond it, just a barren landscape.
As you look back in the direction of the city, one structure sticks out like a sore thumb. Everything about it feels off. It's walled off and stands all by itself, as if there were a force field around it. Then there's the way it looks. Parts of it look a little reminiscent of Soul Shrines, yet different in a way. You've never seen anything like it. And it feels old. Not in the way some of the local concrete buildings do. Much, much older. Even though it was a little bit removed from the path you took, it's hard to believe you managed to miss it.
Your legs take you closer to it, as if you were drawn by its magnetic pull. You head up the short flight of stairs cut out of stone and down the path towards the building.
You start looking around. The structure doesn't look abandoned. It's showing many signs of age, but just as many details point to it being taken care of regularly. As you turn around one of the corners, you stop mid-step, spotting two people sitting on the ground in a weird cross-legged position. You can't see their faces, but they aren't moving an inch. You observe them for a moment, and you start to think they might just be statues.
'A visitor?'
A sudden voice from behind your back makes you literally jump up. It's gentle and quiet, but it scared you to death. A young girl with orange hair is standing right in front of you. Where did she come from? You didn't hear her footsteps at all, even though her legs look mechanical.
'A fallen leaf carried by the wind? ... No, this isn't a coincidence. You're like a salmon heading upstream, towards a long forgotten place, but for you, it can be none other. A most curious fate.'
'... What?'
She's definitely looking at you, and you're the one she's talking to, but none of this babble makes any sense.
'Your karmic ties... Fascinating. Tangled in contradictions. It's like your soul has been sewn back together from torn pieces. The ones who fight, blinded by their hatred. The ones who think themselves smart, yet they are the ones being controlled and deceived. Even the vile Convergence. And yet, you're not out of place here. Who are you?'
That's your fucking question. What the hell is she talking about? The what ties now? Soul? As in Soul Shrine?
Then it suddenly dawns on you. NAGA hasn't really outlawed it, but it's looked down upon, as are all forms of superstition. You're starting to see what she's talking about.
Religion.
'Welcome, visitor.'
You turn around to yet another voice. One of the statues is missing, or rather, standing in front of you now. A pretty yet androgynous person wearing robes. Their mouth is covered and their voice is somehow distorted, which makes it even harder to tell their gender.
'Pardon the High Priestess, the visions she sees make it hard for normal people to follow her train of thought. What brings you here?'
The High Priestess? This young girl? She's actually kinda short.
'That's...'
That's a good question, actually. What does bring you here?
'I wish I knew. What is this place?'
'Ah, I see. That's how it is. Where do I start... We call ourselves Anawrahta. We've decided to live here in relative seclusion, dedicating our days to meditation in search of enlightenment. The Four Noble Truths lie at the base of our worldview. They are the truth of rigged haipai, the truth of rigged ippatsu, the truth of rigged ura, and the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering. Though nowadays few understand what these really mean... and the look in your eyes tells me you're no different in that regard.'
Unlike the so-called High Priestess this androgynous, robed person is at least speaking in coherent sentences, but you're just as lost as when you were listening to the former. Rigged haipai? Rigged ippatsu? Rigged ura? What does 'rigged' even mean here? Is it not random? Why would it be rigged? And what causes them so much suffering? Though with the turmoil you're going through, you can't help but have some interest in something that will soothe your mind.
'This one is different,' says the priestess before you can answer. 'Their mind is that of a hazy city dweller but it cages a strong soul that knows the Path and yearns for it. He can reach a state of Void even while playing.'
More of this cryptic garbage. Perhaps it's fitting. People who live on the city's outskirts have this sort of reputation for a good reason. She's just not sound of mind, this poor girl.
... And yet there's a weird feeling you can't shake. You've had plenty of opportunities to hear people out yesterday, and you haven't made good use of that at all. Then you spent all the Jade on the data from the informant, but that gave you no answers and ended up making you even more confused.
Maybe now is the time to listen?

A: No, this is a waste of time. These people are lunatics, feeble of mind, and might even be dangerous. It's time to split.
B: Fine, we can talk, but you're gonna talk to the sane person. Forget the High Priestess. Ask the robed person to continue their explanation.
C: You can't make sense out of what the High Priestess is saying but it somehow resonates with you, deep down, below the rational parts of your brain. Ask her about the 'fate', 'karmic ties' and 'Void'.