....~=*&&£ £&&*=~....
.....~=*&& &&*=~.....
......~=*& &*=~......
.....~=*&& &&*=~.....
....~=*&&£ £&&*=~....
...~=*&&£# ...~~~::::::::::::::::::::::::::::~~~... #£&&*=~...
..~=*&&£## .~: 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..... ~=. ##£&&*=~..
.~=*&&£### ...~~~::::::::::::::::::::::::::::~~~... ###£&&*=~.
..~=*&&£## ##£&&*=~..
...~=*&&£# #£&&*=~...
....~=*&&£ £&&*=~....
.....~=*&& &&*=~.....
......~=*& &*=~......