After Meteor fall, Midgar was destroyed, almost uninhabitable. Instead, a new city was built to accommodate the refugees, called Edge. The new disease spread, slowly leaving black spots on the skin of those infected, making them suffer from intense pain when at its peaks, which happen randomly.

Rufus was at Healing Lodge. He had also contracted the fatal disease, for now without a cure, called Geostigma. The place could accommodate a good number of patients.