"You want to play games, huh?" I snort, taking one more look at the voucher before folding it away into my coat, "I'm down with that."

Whomever placed that voucher underneath my serviette in Bar Boggs most likely had some inkling of my condition. The fact that I had been seeing things no one else could see. And the voucher was a transparent attempt by this mystery person in baiting me out. But that's fine. If whoever's pulling the strings has some answers for me, I'm more than willing to jump through a few hoops. Despite the ominous message on the voucher, I didn't actually need to solve any riddles to work out where the sender wanted me to go. Because the voucher had an address printed right at the bottom.

Zircon district. The Sensorium.

Everyone who lives in Crossroad City knows about the Sensorium, even if they might not have ever visited it. One of the first buildings constructed when the city was founded, it was, and I suppose still is, the home of a religious order. As Crossroad City grew, the order moved in the opposite direction, becoming increasingly reclusive. Eventually the sensorium became a monastery, with the monks residing inside dedicating themselves to whatever monks do. An entire self contained society of NEETS and recluses.

Unfortunately, that gave rise to a problem. How was the monastery going to support itself if no one ever came out?

Stepping off the bus, I open my mouth wide to air it out. Visiting the Sensorium with whiskey breath wasn't going to make me any friends. I had managed to leave the party at Bar Boggs early by making up some excuses and that's a good thing. Despite being officially open to visitors at all hours, the Sensorium was not a place you wanted to visit in the dead of night or drunk out of your ass.

"Here goes nothing." I grimace and approach the neon clad abomination. Once a stately cathedral with its own grounds, the Sensorium of today is garishly illuminated with clashing lights. The grounds, which once held a sprawling garden, had been torn up to build a massive roofed extension to the Cathedral. A pair of cassocked monks stand at the gates, welcoming the line of students and burned out salary men marching inside.

Alright, I'm not too late. The real sketchy crowd hasn't arrived yet. I join the queue and soon stand right in front of the ushers.

"Seeker, I greet you." the monk says, "Your first time here?"

"Yeah." I agree, waiting for an ambush to be sprung from the darkness.

"Then these are the rules of the Sensorium." the monk continues, "We do not preach here. We don't care whether or not you subscribe to our beliefs. On your part, as a guest of our home you will respect our ways and customs. Do you agree?"

"No problem." I nod.

"Then be welcome, Seeker." the monk ushers me through the gates, "Feel free to peruse the wares we have on offer. May you find enlightenment along your path."

I walk through the gates into the Cathedral's extension, and am immediately assailed by a riot of noise and light. Market stalls have been set up as far as the eye can see, each manned by a monk. So yeah, Crossroad City respects freedom of religion. And as a house of god, the Sensorium is free to conduct its business in the manner it sees fit. And the monks took that rule to mean assisting others into finding "enlightenment".

"This way lad! The finest amphetamines our master chemists brewed up! You'll not only be able to stay up late to study, you'll actually remember what you read!"

"Step right up! Organically grown ganja everyone! No chemicals, no genetic alteration!"

"Yes, I understand good sir. This performance enhancer increases hardness and firmness. Yes, it lasts easily the whole night ..."

Almost everything sold in the Sensorium breaks some law or other. But as long as its transacted inside the grounds, the cops won't interfere since its ostensibly "religious practice". Once the monks realized that they had a license to peddle drugs legally, they quickly shifted from selling home brewed wine to home brewed wine laced with LSD. You might get nabbed by the law after leaving the Sensorium, but this place remains the easiest way to get whatever fix you're hankering for.

The Sensorium attracts a variety of clientele. Its still early enough for the respectable crowd to be out shopping, but the people this place draws can get much, much nastier. I wanted to get my business here done as soon as possible. Unfortunately, I have no idea what that business is. I have not been accosted or attacked. There's been no mysterious stranger trying to get my attention.

I'm lost, plain and simple. My only option is to wander about and hope to find some kind of clue on how to proceed. As I wind my way through the maze of commerce and junkies, I spot a stall that bears the sign "AWAKE" in bold letters. Good enough place to start my investigation I suppose.

"Hello there." I greet the monk manning the stall.

"Seeker." the monk intones, "You want to be awake. You do not wish to sleep."

"Uh, yeah. That sounds about right." I agree. Looks like I'm getting warm.

"I have what you need." the monk spreads his hands, encompassing the offerings of the stall.

"So what do I need?" I put the question to the monk.

"You need caffeine tablets." the monk immediately holds up several bottles bound in plastic wrapping, "The Sensorium has a buy five bottles get one free offer this month."

"Uh, no." I shake my head, "I don't think so."

"I understand. You need something stronger." the monk nods and reaches to another item on the stall, "Ecstasy. Tailored for increased energy. Seeker, take one tablet and you will not need to sleep for a week."

"No, I don't think so." I quickly deny, "And isn't this shit addictive?"

"You wish for relief without addiction." the monk muses, "I have just the thing."

He then proceeds to take out a wooden box from behind the stall. The monk reverentially opens the box and retrieves a rod wrapped in silk which he slowly begins to unravel.

"What is that?" I ask, curious at the ritual being performed.

The monk finishes unwrapping the rod and brandishes it in my face.

"Modified cattle prod." he explains, "An electrical shock delivered to your nervous system will rouse you to full alertness immediately. There are no addictive effects. And it only costs thirty credits per shock!"

"What?" I take several steps away from the lunatic, "NO!"

"I understand this is an unorthodox approach," the monk insists, "but it does meet all your requirements, Seeker."

"Look," I pull out the voucher and present it to the monk, "I just want to redeem this coupon here. Can you do that for me?"

The monk frowns the moment he sees the voucher and immediately hands it back to me. He then pulls out his mobile and begins a hushed conversation with someone on the other end of the line. After a brief discussion, the monk hangs up and regards me with a flat, guarded expression.

"Another brother will be taking over your case, Seeker." the monk says.

"Is there a problem?" I ask cautiously.

"No. Not in the least." a voice answers from behind me, "Its just something unexpected."

I turn around and behind me, sure enough, is another monk. But this guy is desperately skinny and outright malnourished. The newcomer smiles, turning his face into a death's head grin.

"Please, follow me Seeker."

"Uh, what's going on here?" I query, mentally mapping out the route we were taking. And if I'm not wrong, the skinny guy is leading me to the Cathedral itself.

"Of course, introductions. How rude of me." the skinny man replies and extends a bony hand, "I am Breath. Pleased to meet your acquaintance."

"Everett." I shake the skeletal hand, "You said you were Breath? Mr Breath?"

"Just Breath is fine." the monk answers as he pushes aside a pair of wooden double doors, "I have no need for a name, not ever since I ascended."

Both of us pass through a stone corridor, our footsteps echoing in the darkness. Looks like we've entered the cathedral proper.

"You what?" I dumbly repeat. Breath seems friendly, but talking to him is like an out of body experience.

"Ascended." Breath repeats patiently, "You are a wielder, are you not? You possess the power of a class."

"My uniform makes that obvious." I point out.

"Then this should be easy to explain," Breath keeps going in his relaxed voice, "like you, I absorb and wield the power of the cosmos."

"Power of the -" I shake my head, "Look, let's make it simple. What class are you trained in?"

"None." Breath placidly states, "The Sensorium teaches that the cosmos must be seen as a whole, not a fragmented part."

"So, when you say you've ascended," I hazard a guess, "it means that you're what, a first class monk?"

"I am Breath." Breath smiles lightly, "I breathe and live. Every breath I take merges me with the glory of the cosmos."

"OK." I sigh, already getting a headache and giving up on the conversation, "So where are we going then?"

"To the Holy of Holies." Breath now sounds surprised, "That's why you're here, are you not? Though I don't see what good visiting the inner sanctum will do you."

"The Holy of Holies." my mind is sent spinning again, but I keep a straight face, "It might have the answers I seek."

"No doubt." Breath agrees, "But, well, you'll understand once we get there."

Breath and I finally reach an iron door which has been chained shut and guarded by a pair of monks as emaciated as my guide. The duo look up in surprise, clearly not expecting any visitors.

"He has a voucher." Breath explains to the guards.

"The voucher is useless." one of the guards demurs with a shake of his head.

"Let the Seeker see with his own eyes." Breath insists, "At least this way his heart can be satisfied."

At this prompt, both guards reluctantly nod and begin to remove the chain from the door. With that done, a gentle push from one of the guards is enough to send the door creaking open.

"Go in peace, Seeker." the guard says, "But you'll find only disappointment within."

"I'll decide that for myself." I frown at the presumption.

"Come." Breath gently directs and we enter the inner sanctum. Its a storeroom, lit up with guttering candles. Our footsteps stir up the dust on the floor, causing me to cough. Breath is however unperturbed, his walk as steady as ever. He then comes to a stop, pointing to a large confessional in the center of the room.

"The Holy of Holies?" I mutter and Breath nods in confirmation.

I pull at the door of the confessional and quickly discover that its locked tight. By the side of the door is a thin slot, just large enough to accept the voucher. I excitedly attempt to feed the voucher into the slot, but nothing happens. The slot doesn't even bother recognizing the voucher.

"Of course, the machinery is not turned on." I slap my forehead and run to the rear of the confessional to look for a switch.

And what I see there takes my breath away. Its an entire control panel for monitoring vital signs and in particular brain waves. There's even a series of controls marked as "Rift Emulator".

"Nothing can emulate a Rift." I murmur disbelievingly.

"Not anymore." Breath purses his lips sadly.

My eyes land on the area right below the Rift Emulator controls. The exterior panel of the device had been removed and a large chunk of internal circuitry crudely torn out.

"The Holy of Holies was desecrated. Several years ago." Breath explains, "We've had no way of repairing it since then."

"Mr Everett, I fear you were sent here on a wild goose chase," Breath continues.

"Or more likely, as part of a bad joke."