Young Rudo remembers seeing a criminal dropped into the Ground. He overhears people talking about the “impure tribespeople” and wonders—why is everyone so obsessed with punishing the criminals, but no one ever thinks about what it’d be like if they ended up down there?
In the present, Rudo’s running from Trash Beasts in the Ground, still trying to figure out what they even are. He finds a skull buried in the junk and curses the Sphereites for throwing him down here. He crashes into a pile of trash, struggling to breathe—the air feels like it’s killing his lungs. He’s out of energy and about to give up, but when he sees Regto in his mind, he pushes himself to fight.
Enjin to the rescue, kinda
A mysterious guy is watching him from a distance, wondering if Rudo’s actually going to go through with it. Rudo manages to land a hit on one of the Trash Beasts but freezes up right after. Before the monster can finish him, the guy steps in—opens an umbrella and makes the thing explode.
Rudo wakes up and sees the man, who gives him a mask so he can breathe. Rudo starts asking questions, but the guy tells him to shut up. Rudo keeps talking anyway, and the man finally snaps—telling him they’re not underground. They’re above ground, standing on trash the Sphereites dumped. Their yelling gets the Trash Beast’s attention.
Enjin wipes out the trash beasts with his umbrella attack, “Umbreaker Octashredder.” Rudo’s stunned and asks who he is. Enjin takes off his mask, says he’s a humble Cleaner named Enjin, complains about the smell, and puts the mask back on.
Everything has a soul if you care for it
We get a flashback: as a kid, Rudo got beat up for saying objects are alive. He tells Regto about it. Regto patches him up and says everything has a soul if you care for it—even Rudo’s gloves. Rudo promises to treat them right.
Back in the present, Rudo’s chained up and being taken somewhere by Enjin. Rudo says he wants to return to the Sphere, but Enjin tells him it’s not possible. Rudo demands answers, so Enjin decides to give him a “lesson” on what life on the surface is really like.
Enjin drops Rudo off at a shady truck stop. A group of guys approaches — they think he looks like a Sphereite. Rudo confirms it, and they get excited, even unlock his chains. He thinks they’re better than Enjin… but nope — they’re human traffickers.
Rudo can bring objects to life
Rudo gets tied up in the back of a truck. Turns out, they hate Sphereites and plan to sell him. They tell him he might get tortured or dissected. Before that, they feed him garbage. Rudo snaps, bites off one guy’s finger.
Angry at how Sphereites are treated — on the Ground and in the Sphere — his Vital Instrument activates. The traffickers are shocked. A human with the power to bring objects to life? He’s a Giver. Rudo fights back, taking them down. He’s about to finish off the last one — but Enjin stops him. Says there’s no point in killing. Rudo’s confused. Enjin admits it was all a test — to see if Rudo had powers. In exchange for info about the Ground and his ability, Enjin wants him to join the Cleaners.
Rudo refuses.
