The screams of the two Scavs, I had wrapped up, lasted hours. The Mox knew how to make things hurt and knew how to drag it out.

Occasionally there were words mixed in with the screams, answers to questions I couldn't hear. Their agony distorting every word.

I didn't care, much as they didn't care when their victims were on the operating table. Their suffering wasn't real to me, while I was focused inward dealing with the turmoil left there.

As I once again became aware of my surroundings, I found I was okay with whatever the Mox wanted to do to them. I probably wouldn't have tortured them myself, but I'm not a hundred percent certain of that either.

I was certainly okay with ending them, even before I knew about Sinn.

Why did her death hit me so hard? I barely knew her. A couple of dozen hours of questions and a few life stories mixed in.

Was it because despite every other factor, she seemed human to me? Real in way a lot of the people roaming this city were not, at least to me.

Or was it because I was too soft for this place? Sympathetic in ways the City strips from people living here while they are growing up.

After all, what was one more body in Night City?

In that moment, I could almost feel the spirit of the City pulsing with the need for more souls to feed on. A dark maw that would never be satisfied.

It was like it was a void of life trying to fill itself with whatever it could fit. Whispering dreams of money, power and status to fatten folks up, before sucking it all away.

How do you "save" such a place? Burn it to the ground? Sure, I've joked to myself that the city needed to burn, and I've heard others that live here do the same.

Even if that happened would the tormented spirit of this metropolis be freed?

Or would the people who inevitably rebuild on the ashes find the city's soul even emptier. Hungrier.

My meditations ended with no real answers, no sense of peace or even a direction to strive towards.

I felt empty inside, maybe the city had already broken another mind, another soul.

This is when my mind, my subconscious rebelled, for lack of a better term.

It started talking to me.

It snorted. Stop being so dramatic. It serves no purpose.

You are not a philosopher. You are a tradesman, you work with your hands.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Build your solution!

When things go to shit, repair them as best you can and work to keep things in order going forward. Or tear it down and build a new path.

Look at you. Take a long look at where you are and what you have.

You have magic, you have new technology. Surely, somewhere in all of that there is a answer.

This wallowing in emotion will not help anyone, especially yourself.

Yes mourn, yes feel, but understand that action will do more to bring these troubles to their proper rest.

Having your own thoughts chastise you for going emo is a surreal experience. I couldn't recall that ever happening before.

I shook myself off and cast a Cleanse without thinking about it, thankful that none of Moxes present where paying any attention to me.

I didn't trust them enough to explain my abilities to them. Yet.

The screams stopped.

I walked over to Sinn's body, honestly surprised they hadn't moved it.

"May you find peace, whatever that means to you." I spoke with a odd cadence like I had done this before.

Jitters and Buzz bumped against me, I could tell it was a gesture of support.

I absently patted them.

The Moxes started moving from where they had been questioning the Scavs in the shack with all the Scavs' cutting tools.

Rita and a lady I guessed was Susie, came to talk to me.

"You okay? You seemed really out of it there Ryan." Rita asked. A genuine concern.

"No, I'm pretty fucking far from okay." I shook my head, and waved a hand nonchalantly, "But I'm getting there. What did you find out? Any clue why she was out here?"

Susie stared at me like she wanted to put me on the table with the Scavs.

Rita started to speak but Susie cut her off.

She stepped into my space and poked my chest with her finger. She snarled at me, "We got nothing, other than she was poking around, looking for someone or something. Maybe you?"

She asked that like she was certain that was the reason. She had already made up her mind. I was guilty, and she wanted a piece in payment.

"Sinn knew I had a place out in the badlands. If she was looking for me, she wouldn't have done it here." I stared at her flatly, about two seconds from killing her, consequences be damned. Her attitude was understandable but unwelcome, and I was too raw to be reasonable.

Rita got between us. I noticed she was actually pushing Susie back but was only holding her hand towards me. "Hold up. No reason to fight here." She turned to Susie, "Ryan and Sinn talked a few times, no reason for her to be searching for him. She didn't have feelings for anybody as far as anyone knew."

Susie grunted, "Alright, then who or what was she looking for?" She looked away. Guess I wasn't getting an apology.

"All I know is that she had been out here several times before. Several of her boots had mud from out here. Obviously, the Scavs nabbed her while she was searching. I'll hunt around, see if I can find where she was searching. Maybe that'll give some answers." I addressed the last to Rita. I wasn't doing shit for or with Susie.

The Probes had scanned her, they could sniff out her trail, so to speak. It would give me something to do, maybe help put this all to rest.

"We'll take care of clean up here." Rita cut in over something Susie was going to say, "Let me know what you find."

I nodded and started walking back to my van.

As I was leaving I hear Rita arguing with Susie, "Ryan's been solid in all this, and you jumped down his throat. You have to stop getting in peoples' faces like that, he was about to flatline you and I couldn't have stopped him in time."

I was too far away to hear Susie's reply, I didn't care about it anyway.

My time of dealing with the Mox was over. They had nothing I needed, nothing I wanted. Rita was alright, but she wasn't anything like a friend. If I found out what Sinn was hunting for I'd let her know.

I had a feeling that when I really started making my moves in NC, we'd end up on opposite sides.

If that day came, I'd have to see if I still cared enough to try a diplomatic approach.