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..,=††£§§§ .,†            The  Spire            =†. §§§£††=,..
...,=†††£§ =†,==================================†=, §£†††=,...
.,=†*£££££ †=, Once Upon A Time, There Was A    †,= £££££*†=,.
.,=†*£££§§ †,= Benevolent Spire,  Towering Well ,†= §§£££*†=,.
.,=†*£§£@@ ,†= Above Our Tallest  Trees. It Was ,=† @@£§£*†=,.
......,†*§ ,=† Clad In White Scales, And Shaped =,† §*†,......
.,=††*£§§§ =,†      Liked   A  Mushroom.        =†, §§§£*††=,.
...==*££££ =†,      We  Loved  It  Dearly.      †=, ££££*==...
.....,=*£§ †=,==================================†,= §£*=,.....
.,=†*££@## †,= It Predated Us  By  Many  Years, ,†= ##@££*†=,.
.,=†*£§£## ,†= And We Did Not Know Its Original ,=† ##£§£*†=,.
....,,††*§ ,=† Builders.  They  Had  Used  Its  =,† §*††,,....
.,=†*££@## =,† Hollow  Body For  Many  Strange  =†, ##@££*†=,.
.....,††££ =†, Purposes  - A  Womblike Place Of †=, ££††,.....
...,,,†££@ †=, Gestation, A  Storage Of  Strage †,= @££†,,,...
.,=†*£§£@@ †,= Fluids, A Temple To Some Kind Of ,†= @@£§£*†=,.
...,†††*§@ ,†=    Arcane    Deity.              ,=† @§*†††,...
.,=†*£§£@@ ,=†===================================,† @@£§£*†=,.
....=†££££ =,†   We  Were  Grateful   For  Its  =†, ££££†=....
.,=†*£§£@# =†, Presence,  And  Honored It  The  †=, #@£§£*†=,.
.....,=**§ †=,  Only   Way  We  Knew  How:  By  †,= §**=,.....
....,†*§££ .,=       Breaking        In.        ,=. ££§*†,....
.,=†*£§£@# ...,,,††††††††††††††††††††††††††††,,,... #@£§£*†=,.
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.,=†*£§£@# .=†  This Place We Called  Our City: ,†= #@£§£*†=,.
...=†*£££@ ,†=  Wavy  And Fractured,  With Each †,= @£££*†=...
...,,†**§§ †,= Courtyard On A Different Height, †=, §§**†,,...
.,=†*£§£@# †=,  Roads  Becoming Roofs Becoming  =†, #@£§£*†=,.
.,=†*£§£@# =†, Drains.  And  Some Places, Like  =,† #@£§£*†=,.
.....,†*£§ =,† The Spire, Nobody  Had Accessed  ,=† §£*†,.....
.,=†*£§@## ,=† For Many  Years. Once Its Walls  ,†= ##@§£*†=,.
.,=†*£§£## ,†=  Are  Just Too  High,  And  The  †,= ##£§£*†=,.
.,=†*££§§@ †,= Internal Routes To Labyrinthine, †=, @§§££*†=,.
.,=†*£§§§@ †=, A  Place Among Others  Is Easily =†, @§§§£*†=,.
.....===*§ =†,            Overlooked.           ,=† §*===.....
.,=†*£§£££ ,=†==================================,†= £££§£*†=,.
.,=†*§£@## ,†= So, Basically,  That Summer The  †,= ##@£§*†=,.
.,=†*£§££@ †,= Four Of Us Snuck And Climbed And =,† @££§£*†=,.
....,,=*££ †=, Crawled For Weeks, Searching For =†, ££*=,,....
.,=†*£§£@# =†, A Secluded Place To Do Drugs And =,† #@£§£*†=,.
.....,†£££ =,†  Play  Music On Our Handhelds.   ,=† £££†,.....
.,=†††††££ ,=†  Instead  We  Found Vast  Lungs  ,†= ££†††††=,.
.,=†*££§£@ ,†=  Drained   Of  Their  Catalyst   †,= @£§££*†=,.
.,=†*£§£@# †,= Sludge, And A Birds-Eye  View To †=, #@£§£*†=,.
.,=†*££§§£ †=, Make Sense Of  Our Roamings  For =†, £§§££*†=,.
.,=†*£§££@ =†,         Years  To   Come.        =,† @££§£*†=,.
.,=†*£§£@@ =,†==================================,=† @@£§£*†=,.
.,=†*£§£@@ ,=†  A  Central  Spine,  A Staircase ,†= @@£§£*†=,.
....,=*§££ ,†=  Around It,  The Seven  Toroidal †,= ££§*=,....
..,===†£§@ †,= Lungs Stacked  Outside, And  The †=, @§£†===,..
.,=†*£§£@@ †=, Control Room On Top. The Sockets =†, @@£§£*†=,.
.,=†*£§£@# =†, For Its Eyes. The Smaller Spires =,† #@£§£*†=,.
.,=†*£§£@# =,†  For   Radiating  Consciousness  ,=† #@£§£*†=,.
.,=†*£§££@ .=†           Invitations.           ,†. @££§£*†=,.
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...,††*§££ =†, Toppled And  Eaten By Machines.  †,= ££§*††,...
.,=†*£§§§£ †=, After A While, Something New  Is ,†= £§§§£*†=,.
......=*§@ †,= Conjured  In Its Place.  It'S  A ,=† @§*=......
.,=†*££§££ ,†= Tiny Maw At First,  Shorter Than =,† ££§££*†=,.
.,=†*£§@## ,=† Us,  And  We  Let  It  Be.  Our  =†, ##@§£*†=,.
.....,=*§£ =,†  Journeys Still End At Its Feet. †=, £§*=,.....
.,=†*£§£@# =†,==================================†,= #@£§£*†=,.
.,=†*£§@## †=,  But  Then  We Are Betrayed. The ,†= ##@§£*†=,.
...=†††£§@ †,= New  Tower Eats  Us. Others  Are ,=† @§£†††=...
.,==††£§§@ ,†= Sucked Inside. New Buildings Are =,† @§§£††==,.
.,=†*£§£££ ,=† Manifested  Overnight,  Only  To =†, £££§£*†=,.
.,,=†††*§§ =,† Disappear In  The  Evening  Fog. †=, §§*†††=,,.
....==†*§@ =†,  For A While  Its  Some Kind Of  †,= @§*†==....
.,=†*£§££@ †=, Timeshare Scam. Goons Are Placed ,†= @££§£*†=,.
.,=†*£§£@# †,= Outside,  And We Get Beaten Up A ,=† #@£§£*†=,.
.,=†*£§§§£ ,†=  Few  Times,  And  Stop  Going.  =,† £§§§£*†=,.
....,,=*§@ ,=†===================================†, @§*=,,....
.....=*£§§ =,†  Iirc  It'S Currently  Owned  By †=, §§£*=.....
.,=†*£§£@# =†, Some Energy drink Baron Who Uses †,= #@£§£*†=,.
.,=†*£§@## †=, It To Hold All  His Fourty Eight ,†= ##@§£*†=,.
.,=†*£§£@@ .,=            Cars.....             ,=. @@£§£*†=,.
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