Earth, 2025 A.D.
The world Roland lives in.
The Sun
Five years before the beginning of the game, the Sun, God, went mad. No longer yellow, the sun now burns merciless and black in the sky, turning all those who don't have the power of Atma and expose themselves to its rays into stone. The disease is called the Cuvier Syndrome and has reached pandemic proportions. To protect themselves, people either live under the Society's dome, or underground.
Karma City
For the elite, the smart, and pretty much everyone ready to embrace the vision of Madame Cuvier, there is Karma City. Built under a dome that protects it from the deadly rays of the black sun, this modern city buzzes with life, all centered around the Karma Society tower and the Cyber Shaman who will allow them to live despite God's wrath. It even contains the last remaining park—complete with trees!—on Earth. It also seems that people, even the soldiers, are relaxed enough out in the streets that Roland, Fred, and the Embryon walking around the park or the shopping district is either not unusual or disturbing enough to cause a commotion.
Underground City
The Lokapala's city is located deep underground. The people living there survive how they can on apparently scavenged or stolen things and try to keep the Society at bay, but it seems it's only a matter of time before they are all processed into canned food to feed the Karma City inhabitants. The people of Underground City are armed and ready to fight, but, until the Embryon arrive, they lack a strong leadership and a direction to take to effectively fight the Karma Society government living above them.