......^-:$ $:-^......
.......^-: :-^.......
........^- -^........
.........^ ^.........
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.......... ...^^^::::::::::::::::::::::::::::^^^... ..........
.......... .^: The Spire -:. ..........
.......... -:^----------------------------------:-^ ..........
.......... :-^ Once Upon A Time, There Was A :^- ..........
.......... :^- Benevolent Spire, Towering Well ^:- ..........
.......... ^:- Above Our Tallest Trees. It Was ^-: ..........
.......... ^-: Clad In White Scales, And Shaped -^: ..........
.......... -^: Liked A Mushroom. -:^ ..........
.........^ -:^ We Loved It Dearly. :-^ ^.........
........^- :-^----------------------------------:^- -^........
.......^-: :^- It Predated Us By Many Years, ^:- :-^.......
......^-:$ ^:- 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 -:^ $:-^......
.......^-: -:^ Years To Come. -^: :-^.......
........^- -^:----------------------------------^-: -^........
.........^ ^-: A Central Spine, A Staircase ^:- ^.........
.......... ^:- Around It, The Seven Toroidal :^- ..........
.......... :^- Lungs Stacked Outside, And The :-^ ..........
.......... :-^ Control Room On Top. The Sockets -:^ ..........
.......... -:^ For Its Eyes. The Smaller Spires -^: ..........
.......... -^: For Radiating Consciousness ^-: ..........
.......... .-: Invitations. ^:. ..........
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.......... ...^^^::::::::::::::::::::::::::::^^^... ..........
.........^ .^: In Twenty fourteen, The Tower Is :-^ ^.........
........^- -:^ Toppled And Eaten By Machines. :^- -^........
.......^-: :-^ After A While, Something New Is ^:- :-^.......
......^-:$ :^- 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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