No one ever spares a thought for what becomes of a person when they descend into the abyssal pit, but now Rudo finds himself plunged headfirst into that living nightmare. The pit is a hellish realm teeming with colossal beasts forged from heaps of refuse, and they've set their sights on him. Desperately, he attempts to flee, yet there seems to be no sanctuary within reach. To compound his misery, the fetid air makes each breath a struggle, choking his very lungs.
As he braces himself for the inevitability of death, a fleeting memory of Regto flickers through his mind. Regto is the sole beacon of hope, the one who might avenge him, and with that thought, Rudo rises, ready to face his foes. He clutches a rusty pipe and lunges at the monstrous beings, deflecting their onslaughts with makeshift valor. Every object within his grasp becomes a weapon, but his efforts seem futile against the overwhelming odds. Still, he refuses to yield.
In a fit of rage, he manages to slice one of the creatures in two. For a fleeting moment, he dares to believe he's out of danger, but his hope is shattered as the beast regenerates, continuing its relentless pursuit. Though he dodges its attack, the toxic air leaves him gasping, coughing up blood as he collapses.
Suddenly, a man wielding an umbrella steps into the fray, aggressively placing a mask over Rudo's face. He tries to hush the boy, but Rudo, confused and desperate, bombards him with questions. Frustrated, the man finally screams, warning that their voices will lure more of the trash beasts, and that ordinary weapons are useless against them. True to his words, a horde of creatures swarms them instantly.
Yet, these beasts are no match for the enigmatic stranger. His umbrella glows with an otherworldly light, transforming into a formidable weapon. It whirls with incredible speed, repelling and annihilating the beasts with each spin. Even when the largest monster attempts to unleash a torrent of explosive acid, the man is unfazed, dispatching it with lethal precision.
The man introduces himself as Enjin, a self-proclaimed cleaner. Before Rudo can inquire further, he succumbs to exhaustion, collapsing once more. In his semi-conscious state, Rudo recalls a legend Regto once told him—that objects could harbor souls if people cared for them deeply enough. This belief had led Rudo to see life in the inanimate, but his reverie is abruptly interrupted as he awakens to find himself bound by chains, with Enjin towering over him.
Rudo tries to bombard Enjin with questions, but the man remains tight-lipped. He mentions that his home is a place called the "Sphere," and that Rudo cannot return there now. Not only is it perched in the skies, but it also drifts, making its location elusive. When Rudo persists with his inquiries, Enjin abandons him, leaving him stranded in the middle of a sprawling dump.
A group of masked figures descends upon the scene, their faces obscured by enigmatic masks. They approach him, their voices tinged with a mix of curiosity and suspicion, inquiring if he is indeed a spherite. When he affirms his identity, their demeanor shifts to one of apparent camaraderie, and they swiftly untangle him from the chains that bind him. Yet, this newfound kindness is short-lived; before he can grasp the situation, they trap him inside a truck, securing him with chains that seem even more unyielding than before.
Inside the truck, the spherites nonchalantly discard their refuse, heedless of the consequences. This careless disposal breeds a host of horrors: trash beasts lurk in the shadows, poisonous gases permeate the air, and a myriad of other problems fester. It is this very indifference and the suffering it begets that fuel the deep-seated hatred the captives harbor toward the Sphere and its inhabitants.
Amidst this chaos, a plan is hatched to sell Rudo into servitude. But one among the captors takes a perverse delight in tormenting him. With a sadistic grin, he forces food waste into Rudo's mouth, reveling in the thought that the boy has likely never encountered such filth. However, Rudo, weary of being pigeonholed and labeled, seizes the moment. In a bold act of defiance, he bites down, severing the tormentor's fingers.
As memories of Regto's wisdom resurface in his mind, a surge of red energy courses through Rudo. With a burst of strength, he infuses the chains with this mystical power, causing them to shatter and freeing himself from their grasp. Enjin, observing from a distance, cannot contain his excitement. His intuition was correct; the boy is a "giver," someone capable of breathing life into inanimate objects and coaxing out their hidden potential.
The chain, now imbued with newfound life, morphs before their eyes, sending a wave of fear through the thugs. Not content with merely escaping, Rudo picks up a car wheel and, with a focused gaze, transforms it as well. The thugs are left reeling, their shock palpable as they realize the rarity of such a feat—to manipulate more than one object in this manner.
Just as Rudo is about to deliver a decisive blow to the last remaining adversary, Enjin intervenes. The transformed object crumbles to ash, and a trickle of blood escapes from Rudo's nose, a testament to the strain of his extraordinary abilities.
Impressed by Rudo's latent power, Enjin extends an offer. If Rudo agrees to join the cleaners, he will be privy to all the knowledge he seeks. But the boy, his spirit unbroken and his will unyielding, is not easily swayed by such promises.
