####&**~:, ,:~**###
####&**~:, ,:~**###
##**::,,,, ,,,,::**##
####&**~:, ,:~**###
#&**~,,,,, ,,,,,~**
####&**~:, ,,,:::****************************:::,,, ,:~**###
####&**~:, ,:* 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. :~, ,,,,,:~*
####&**~:, ,,,:::****************************:::,,, ,:~**###
####&**~:, ,:~**###
####&**~:, ,:~**###
#&*~,,,,,, ,,,:::****************************:::,,, ,,,,,,~*
###**~:,,, ,~* 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. :*, ,:~**###
####&**~:, ,,,:::****************************:::,,, ,:~**###
##&*~~:,,, ,,,:~~*#
####&**~:, ,,,:::****************************:::,,, ,:~**###
####&**~:, ,:* In Twenty fourteen, The Tower Is *~: ,:~**###
####&**~:, ~*: 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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####&**~:, ,:~**###