The Phantasmal Backstory

[Ash]

You are John Hope, a washed-up Private Investigator who has ended up working in Hong Kong for reasons you can’t even remember any more.

In 1980, your Aunty Jackie arrived from England determined to set up a mission from her church. You didn’t know her well, but she’s always had a reputation for being as eccentric as she was religious. She arrived in HK with nothing but 100 Hong Kong Dollars, but with her plucky determination she soon found the poorest, most squalid area in the city: the Kowloon Walled City.

Being extremely insular, it was a miracle and a testament to her tenacity that she was able to find a job as a primary school teacher within the City. Soon she had even set up a rehabilitation centre for heroin addicts. Despite the constant danger of triads and the hostile environment, her centre thrived.

You weren’t close to her, but you admired her altruism. She kept in touch sparingly, and you assisted indirectly as much as you were able.

In the last few years she started mentioning some kind of cult emerging. Several of the worst addicts began showing up with strange hastily applied tattoos and idols, muttering about the “One who Sleeps”.

Intrigued, your Aunt began to investigate. She mentioned some of her findings to you, but during the few times you saw her, you dismissed it as more drug-addled fiction from the addicts.

As the 1990s approached and the official demolition of the Kowloon Walled City loomed, you noticed your Aunt becoming increasingly obsessed with the cult. The last few times you saw her, she looked dishevelled and exhausted.

You notice coincidentally around the same time you start experiencing nightmares and headaches. The image of an immense tentacled creature seems to dominate many of your dreams. You put it down to too work and stress.

Finally one evening you get a call from one of her assistants (a former addict) who says your Aunt has gone missing for several days without a trace. The police department isn’t interested in following up - they are more concerned about evicting the last of the residents. The government is far more concerned with the handover of the city back to Mainland China.

You get in touch with her former assistant who sneaks you into the Walled City and guides you through to her former hovel on the rooftops. You find a page from her notebook, and just at that moment the floor collapses and you plummet several floors. When you regain consciousness you are deep within the Walled City where it seems most of the residents have already been vacated.

You slowly get up and try to find your way out…

[Ash]

For those of you who haven't seen the latest updates - the story is much more fleshed out in the main game now via comic strips, journal notes, and voice overs from Joe Kelly.

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