The Spire (POV)

Log 18

> You say "Hey handler"

"Yeah, what's up?" The voice comes crackling through.

"A new job" you say, "I need something done in the desert"

...

"Any particular details?"

> You say "I need a cleaning team in the High Desert ASAP. No need to explain. Just do so. Prioritize all AZIZOS outcamps. As outlandish as it sounds, I have undeniable proof that subjects from 8 years ago are still alive."

"I'll have it done, but you realize those two jobs alone will take at least a month?"

"I can wait. We both know that."

...

"Done"

"Good. See you later."

The comms device beeps once, then stops.

> You look around.

There's the desert. It's a barren wasteland, scattered with cactii and other desert flora. Most of these are tufts of green, tiny, and not even worth mentioning.

> You grab a cactus chunk.

You grab your knife and cut a chunk out of the fat green plant. The juice runs down your chin as you bite into the meat. It's bland, but this is the only thing that's filling you up.

Fuck it, you're not going to eat pseudo-ham sandwiches for lunch.

This kind of reminds you of the time you were assigned to fight the hordes of the Ember Waste. The only thing that saved you then, was the burning fruit of the Charry Tree. It resembled a cherry, but on fire. It burned your throat countless times, but the taste was more than heavenly. Good times. You did get a sore throat after the mission though...

You're just glad you could finally eat normal plants now, even if it was a cactus.

Maybe you should grab a few of those.

You stand and head over to the cactii, grabbing one and slicing through the skin and flesh until you reach the white, spongy center. You save some for later.

> You eat the cactus chunk you got.

You don't really feel like eating anything else.

Not bothering to peel off the skin, you just bite into it, the spongy center swelling and bursting in your mouth, filled with sweet liquid. Tasty. This is quite the new experience for you.

...

In the distance, the Central Tower looms. You can faintly see the figures of Uzume and the chained girl on a platform overlooking Vusmith. You can only guess they're still talking.

You can also see the men you were fighting earlier yesterday, still on the sand.

> You loot the bodies.

You walk over to the dead men. After collecting the bullets from their guns, you put the ammo in your pockets. Then, you collect the knives from their sheaths.

The knives aren't anything special, but this will save you having to use your own overpowered weapons in combat. Plus, it looks cool when you throw them at people. You sigh.

You walk further into the desert, looking for another place to camp.

But at that moment, Uzume and the girl have started to descend the tower, so you decide to wait at the entrance instead of searching. It's not like you'd know what to look for anyway.