^=,.......                                          .......,=^
*^=,......                                          ......,=^*
%*^=,.....                                          .....,=^*%
£%*^=,....                                          ....,=^*%£
@£%*^=,...                                          ...,=^*%£@
#@£%*^=,.. ...,,,^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^,,,... ..,=^*%£@#
##@£%*^=,. .,^            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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