The Spire (POV)

Log 8

6th day since you left the Spire

You've been brought back to life! That doesn't seem to be the important thing, as a new problem has been brought to the table.

Your body aches like hell.

"Uz...zume...", you utter.

...At least, your body has. Your mind, however, is in serious trouble. Your memories are hazy at best. What do you remember?

You remember the cold. You remember the wind.

That was silly. You're travelling in a desert. That shouldn't be the case.

You remember...something about the sun...

A shiver goes down your spine as you realize the temperature has dropped.

Then again, maybe not.

Uzume is outside, drawing pictures in the sand with her staff. Her black dress contrasts greatly with the yellow of the sand

> You say "So... I guess I kinda died, huh?"

"Oh, um, yeah...", Uzume says nervously.

Uzume has a look of worry on her face as she stares at you, staff in hand.

> You say "Geez, that gash on my neck really did a number on your nerves"

Uzume nods eagerly.

"Yeah, yeah it did.", she says with a sigh.

> You say "And my nerves too. Seriously, it feels like I can't feel my head"

Uzume nods.

"Yeah, I can imagine...", she says.

Uzume places her hand against your cheek.

"At least you're ok now", she says

You then realize you aren't wearing your gasmask.

"Oh dear...", you say, slowly opening your eyes.

The yellowish sun is beaming down on you.

> You rush back inside the tent.

You don't want to get hit by the Sun, after all.

You slowly crawl back into the tent.

Uzume is still drawing in the sand.

"Watch out.", she says. "Don't let death make you dumber. I quite liked you the way you were"

> You put on gasmask.

"Oh...right.", you say.

You face some difficulty to get on the mask, as you still struggle to feel sensations on your head. You awkwardly slip it on.

"There."

You don't know how long you went without a gasmask when you fell unconscious, but your limbs aren't falling off yet, so you take it as an all-clear sign that you should continue to make bad decisions.

"I...guess I should start planning out next move.", you say.

Uzume nods eagerly.

> You say "What do you think we should do to get past the Shadow Guard?"

"Quick and silent, like you", she says, touching the gash on your upper arm. You chuckle

She begins drawing various symbols in the sand.

"These Shadow Guards...don't they all have magic abilities?"

> You say "I wouldn't call them magic abilities. More like immunity at this point"

"Ah, yeah. You're right.", she says.

"But make no mistake, they can be beaten. I shot them and it fell. We can do this."

> You say "But I don't think they'll stay dead, so we have to find some other way to beat them permanently."

"Oh.", she says. She goes quiet, and you can hear her drawing in the sand.

"What are you drawing?"

She looks up at you.

"This is the symbol for the sun."

> You say "I can see that. They don't seem to be affected by it though."

"You can see it?"

"Sure. I mean, I'm not a fucking psychic or anything, but even I can see the brightly shining symbol for 'Sun' in the sand if I just look hard enough."

Uzu laughs. "Then if they aren't affected by the Sun, what ARE they affected by?", she says, drawing the symbol for a moon.

"Um...I don't know. Moon?"

She laughs again, before getting quiet and serious.

You feel dumb. You just realized that the High Desert has a moon as well. If the Sun has adverse effects, then the Moon must have some as well.

You look at her and realize you've fallen for her. You didn't even mean to, it just happened...

"Hey..."

You shrug it off. You know she saved your life, but you're an agent. You take all kindness and use it for yourself. It's what agents do.

Still...you have to admit, it's a bit sad.

> You say "So what do you think the Moon does to the Shadow Guard?"

She thinks about it for a moment.

> You say "I guess we'll just have to do an experiment"

"What do you have in mind?", she asks.

"We need to get the...", you look around and raise your voice, "Shadow Guard to chase us!"

The girl seems very worried now.

"Are you crazy? You just got killed by one and now you want it to CHASE you?! That's adorable. Not funny."

> You say "Trust me, I'll be more careful this time. Plus, it's our only way to try and find out how to beat one!"

She frowns in thought.

"I don't know..."

"Just trust me!"

She sighs, getting quiet.