Yandere Beast Cookies x Reader part 6 | Act III The Awakening of White Apathy
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This world is a cruel place and we're here only to lose.
Please leave comments and your thoughts on the chapter, they motivate me lots! Thank you<3
The snowstorms of the Dark Cacao Kingdom were merciless in their severity.
You flounder through the weather; it's biting cold shredding through your powdery wings like blades, flying is getting increasingly more difficult as you near the shoreline. The waves below rumble, crashing at rocks, then grumble back to whence they came.
The fury of these blizzards is not to be taken lightly. Therefore, you steer your course down, to the ground; magic erupts, and your wings fold in for arms and legs.
Your foothold staggers in the deep snow. You opt for simply doing the rest of the journey on foot.
The relentless wind tears at your cloak, and you shelter your face as your exhales materialise into dewdrops before you. Your feet drag through the thick blanket of white. The span of your vision is not far, but you've journeyed enough to know the approximate whereabouts of your destination.
I Shouldn't be that far from the citadel.
It took around the whole night's cycle to reach Crispia. You watched the moon rest at its summit. Its pale glow coaxing you into complacency, you shunned it. Scorned the lethargy that came over you and tugged at your movements. You can't rest.
The glimpse of dark pillars is on the horizon. You push on.
You haven't been able to rest, despite Pure Vanilla Cookie's urgency that you do. Every time you try, you're brought back. Jam-stained floors, crumbs and screams of agony.
You've come to the conclusion that it must be your retribution. Your dues for deserting Cookie life. For those whose lives you took, that can never be returned. It doesn't matter if they struck first; slaughter on that scale should've never been the solution.
Your steps reach the dark stones of the bridge crossing the Dark Cacao Citadel. I shouldn't be thinking about this now.
The kingdom's towering presence enshrouds you; diamond-carved symbols are on the cavernous doors. You flex your shoulders. Taking out a letter with a matching crest. Pure Vanilla had said they know you were coming...they know who you are.
The paper crinkles as you fold it open.
My dear friend, I hope this frantically written letter reaches you as soon as possible. Please forgive me for any incoherence, for there is simply so much I have to tell you about.
The handwriting is elegant and refined without blemishes or ink spots, its edges soft like the hands that wrote it.
I can't believe I am actually writing this...But I met White Lily Cookie here!"
Luckily, enough of the Light of Freedom remained for White Lily Cookie to return to her true self...
I wish this message only had good news, however...Dark Cacao Cookie, ancient demons called Beast Cookies roam these lands. We were all shocked to learn that these Beast Cookies were the first owners of the Soul Jam!
I know it's hard to believe, but it seems that our Soul Jams are connected to the power of these Beast Cookies. Now that they have awoken, they will attack us to reclaim their lost Soul Jams.
Dark Enchantress Cookie plans to use this to her advantage to start another war. At this rate, our Soul Jams, our Kingdoms...even our beloved friends will all be in great danger."
Your eyes roam over each paragraph with fervour, every word burning into your mind like a permanent stamp.
But it appears we have an advantage on our side...
Dark Cacao Cookie, that Cookie we encountered when we received our Souljams, the mysterious figure that protected us during our fight with Dark Enchantress Cookie. The Priest of Redemption, It's Reader Cookie!
We have faced a lot of new revelations to ponder on, but from what I can understand, Reader Cookie used to know the Beasts back when they were still Virtues and they witnessed them turn to darkness...unfortunately we have also learned that these Beasts hold, what I can only describe as an obsession toward Reader Cookie...
Despite this, they have made it clear they wish to help us stop the Beasts and will be on their way to Crispia by the time you receive this letter.
I'm sure you and the others, have a lot to ask them, yet I must ask you to please regard them with care.
Pure Vanilla Cookie...You roll the letter back up, delicately pressing the insignia back into place.
Then, with a flick of your hand, your form alters, your hair changes length, colours coat over the other, your eyes smear, and so does your dough.
The cracks are still there. they etch into your neck, the sides of your face; they creep down your arms to your hands. Thanks to Pure Vanilla Cookie and White Lily Cookie's help, the pain is dulled, luckily. Persisting only as an ache under wraps of fresh bandages.
It's bearable. You tell yourself. You've suffered worse.
Now you wear the mantle as Reader Cookie again; had it been up to you, you would dispose of the last remnants of the Virtue of Redemption. Let it perish in the soil as it takes its last pitiful breath.
No matter. That won't happen. In a long, long while, that is.
You pound on the heavy doors; the wind nips frostbite on your hands. There's a pause, the rustling of footsteps, multiple. The entrance cracks, mechanisms whirling to life.
The opening reveals Dark Cacao warriors, two of them. They vigilantly assess your presence. You can't blame them; heed is of the utmost importance in this land where the Licorice Sea spits and brings forth creatures from the deepest depths.
"State your purpose." One of them demands, a cautious one. You hesitate. A feeling churns in you. Déjà vu. It hooks into you and pulls, oxygen withdrawing from your lungs in a kick.
You suck in a hasty breath. The chill pricks your throat. "...I'm here to see His Majesty Dark Cacao Cookie; is he here?" It's unbelievable how such a simple phrase can stir unrest in you.
Maybe you're not that sane after all.
The two warriors appear jittery, you note. The grip on their weapons fastens. Posture unsure. Could something have happened? They stare at you in contemplation. A passing recognition seems to flourish. The swift of the two parts his mouth.
"ah, I remember! We were told to expect you by Caramel Arrow Cookie!" He points out.
Caramel Arrow Cookie, the first watcher of the Dark Cacao Kingdom, forever loyal to His Majesty, be it in exile or on the front lines.
The other warrior coughs. "We will bring you to her."
"New patients have arrived!" A nurse informs, rushing back and forth with logs of paper, scribbling down hasty notes.
You don't know what you expected.
You stand near the threshold with the two Cacao warriors that escorted you.
This was by far the one outcome your brain had failed to pore over. Two days had gone by, three, should you count the travel here. So how could it have gotten to this horrific impact in that small bout of time? Who could have possibly inflicted this devastation so unrestrained, so... fast? How, how, how, how?
That and more swirls your mind like a phantom scream. Deep down you know you are enquiring a question you know the answer to. Yet that doesn't stop denial from veiling your perception.
Cookies lay in beds, fever-ridden. Their dough plagued with a whiteness almost ghastly. They were coughing endlessly, flour ripping from their raspy throats.
Healers stumble past the beds in a frenzy, crushing herbs into fine residue and feeding barely conscious patients. There was a stench in the air. It loitered rancidly... like...rotting wheat flour, no one seemed to be burdened by the smell but you. It's familiar.
You'd seen it before. Years, years ago.
Whole villages afflicted with it, You'd cradled tear-eyed children in pain, their broken pleas between sobs and feverish pants beseeching their only wish, to be saved. You'd held the hands of elders, their aged faces serene as they accepted a end far, far too cruel to be fair. You'd lulled lullabies of rivier springs, and glowing dawns to Cookies unknowingly taking their last breath. You tried with the entirety of your might stop it. But while you could pacify the suffering of the sick, it was only a matter before it spread to other regions, other villages and the cycle began anew.
It was like a curse, a force to be reckoned with, you had come to the realisation much too late, the reason as to why you couldn't exterminate the sickness was because it's source came from a power rivalling your own.
"Reader Cookie." The voice that breaks your thoughts is as steady as hardened caramel.
You look to the side to the caller. A Cookie with brown dough, hair black, swirling with warm chocolate streaks. She holds herself with a unwavering dedication even as her eyes soften in friendliness.
"It's good to see you again."
You nod, returning the smile. While the occasion doesn't call for any idle chatter, she's still a trusted acquaintance. "It's good to see you too, Caramel Arrow Cookie."
Her molten brown eyes drop discretely to the cracks lining your jaw. But just as quickly does she stare back into the infirmary with sombreness. "I was told by His Majesty you'd come, he's currently away, I didn't expect the Kingdom to be in this state in mere days..."
You keep yourself composed to the best of your restraint. Your hand twitches. "I see..."
A healer rushes by and Caramel Arrow Cookie interjects their path. Her voice betrays a faint twinge of nervousness. "What's the status of the treatments?"
"We're doing the best we can, but...The Pale Ailment is simply spreading too fast!" The healer laments, scrambling to put down their equipment and tend to a patient who awakens in a fit of violent coughing.
The sick Cookie begins mumbling disjointed desperation under their breath. "I see it now, a world of pure white....Soft and radiant... and breathtakingly beautiful...This is not our time...We must return to flour...From which we once came...!"
"Is all this nonsense a symptom of The Pale Ailment as well?" Caramel Arrow Cookie asks dumbfounded.
A healer who stops in their tracks answers her. "Yes, it would seem so."
"Most of it sounds like gibberish, but it all comes down to the same thing. That we must return to flour...But please, pay it no mind. Everyone is delirious with fever, they have no idea what they're saying."
To be reduced to a shell, delirious and fatigued, it's a state no Cookie should undergo. This maltreatment of life. It makes you sick. You barely comprehend your surroundings, noise loses it's clarity, trampled under the haze of your thoughts. You hear Caramel Arrow's voice, she speaks of the absurdity of it all and the need to inform Dark Cacao Cookie.
You don't hear the footsteps that go past you — or the exchange of talk happening beyond the wooden structure of the door.
The door creaks and a Cookie steps in. Armour clicking with a simple motion. You perk up at the voice that enquires one of the healers
"...Are you certain that this is due to the Flour Storm that has blown over from Beast-Yeast?"
Your eyes snap to new arrival.
That Cookie, Dark Cacao Cookie in the dough.
He's just as your memory recalls. Obsidian hair that cascades down like the crashing waves of the Licorice Sea and woven with a streak of winter. His dough is a rich brown. His eyes were of the darkest violet. As though someone had sculpted the nightfall into his gaze. He glances at you for a second, lingering for a moment and then back at the responding healer.
"Yes, Your Majesty! A few days ago, a fine white mist enveloped the entirety of the Kingdom...Soon after, we started getting patients...The white spreading from the tips of their dough." The healer motions into room carefully at the seemingly endless rows of patients.
"And as you can see, Your Majesty...They're coughing up flour as well."
Dark Cacao Cookie kneels down, his sword serving a leverage to his stance. Resting on it's hilt is a diamond like gem. It's purple shade gleams in the brittle winter light shining through the windows. Your eyes zero in on it. Is it glowing?
The king furrows his brows. an epiphany striking him. "This is indeed... flour. But... how...?"
A patient closest to him mumbles pleas while barely hoisting themselves up by their arms. "Just let the flour take over....I just want it to be over..." The cookie coughs. "So powdery...Please make it stop."
You catch it and a new sense of anger washes over you. How can anyone be this cruel? Every life taken so unfairly was because of-
"Excuse me?" Dark Cacao Cookie regards the Cookie, the healers growing tense at the proximity to the sick.
"Don't get too close to the patients!"
Dark Cacao holds his hand up. "It is fine. Worry not. I must hear what this fellow is saying."
The patient's unfocused gaze comes onto him, they opens and shuts their mouth, as though their throat too dry to formulate words, you hide your mouth beneath the palm of your hand, the pungency in the air grows suffocating.
"Your Majesty, Dark Cacao Cookie..."
"All this time, we've worn black clothes, eaten black foods, and been surrounded by black walls...This Kingdom of ours is so cold, barren, and draining...But I have found a way out of this suffering..."
Dark Cacao Cookie Steadies himself. "Tell me the way, then."
The patient smiles, if it can be deemed such, it's hollow, devoid of any emotion that would associate itself with the gesture. Yet the Cookie's voice is almost reverent. "We must become flour once more, Your Majesty. The white radiance is free and light... It will liberate us...I shall return to flour. Free me from this painfully stiff dough...!"
You can't stand watch no longer. To be able to sense doom but be unable to do anything to save them from their fates. Magic slips up from the ground, accumulating into your hands, Your Souljam flickers brightly. Then the magic bursts in a blanket of glimmers and every patient calms, they sink down into their beds, their coughing subduing. Everyone stares wide-eyed at the outcome. The healers inspect the Cookies who now lay sound asleep, The twinkle of stars stick to their dough. "Wha?- Their dough?- They're regaining colour! And their fevers are lowering!"
All eyes go to you. "But how?-"
The magic around you cools like the day coming to veil the stars. Your Souljam dims. You take a step toward the others, But just as you pass the Cookie who had been mumbling, something grips your hand.
"That power..." The patient says, their voice more clear than ever before. "Then..you must see it to...righ- right? It's so divine...so liberating."
Your hand furls inwards. You watch in disbelief as the cracks on your hand turn....white. The pain completely numbing. You lower yourself, nearing them. "I'm sorry?" You mutter gently.
"Reader Cookie, be careful." Caramel Arrow warns.
The patient leans in, their frayed exhales is all you hear for a while. "Your soul is so burdened..." You eyes stray to the Cookie. Their wording...
"Your soul is so ridden with anger..." The Cookie laughs painfully, as though they're forcing out words against their will. Their grip tightens, and they gape you in...desperation? No, fear. "Why?"
You can't bring yourself to answer.
The patient trembles, repeating the word higher. "Why!?"
They let go, coughing uncontrollably again. Flour crawling up their throat, your magic already wearing off. The healers hurry to their aid. You sit there, frozen, you're half-inclined to believe the raging winter from outside had broken in and swallowed you in its storm. Perhaps that would better than the unfathomable dread currently seeping into your being.
"Reader Cookie." Dark Cacao Cookie speaks to you. "Could you follow me?"
You rise in one swept motion, turning around with a earnest smile. "Of course, Your majesty."
There's a halt in Dark Cacao's expression.
"I must excuse myself." He looks to Caramel Arrow Cookie, who bows. Then he bids for you to follow.
The trail was one made in silence. Passing tapestries of fought battles that illuminates by dancing torch-light. The whole innermore of the castle is muted. Colours of grey, black and purple are everywhere to be seen. You tag a few metres behind the Holder of Resolution, intentional.
Dark Cacao Cookie is warrior respected in both name and in person. Any sensible warrior knows of his strength and determination to defend that which his dear to him, his readiness to cut down any foes that stand to harm his kingdom.
If all had gone accordingly, Dark Cacao Cookie has read the letter sent by Pure Vanilla Cookie. You aren't sure on the his thoughts on the matter.
There's so been so much thrown at you with little time process any of it. You think back to the letter. The warnings ingrained in ink.
Ancient demons called Beast Cookies roam these lands. We were all shocked to learn that these Beast Cookies were the first owners of the Soul Jam!
I know it's hard to believe, but it seems that our Soul Jams are connected to the power of these Beast Cookies. Now that they have awoken, they will attack us to reclaim their lost Soul Jams.
Should you have warned them in advance? The moment they proclaimed the expedition to Beast-Yeast? There had been no reason to at the time. You couldn't have predicted the seal would break.
But should you have? You won't deny that a part of you had prolonged it out of fearfulness. If you told the Ancients and your friends, who you truly are, about the Beasts and your past with them...
Would they have shunned you? Would they have looked at you in apprehension? disdain? betrayal?
Claim it was only a matter of time before you to, abandoned your divinity in favour of sin?
The thought made terror and worry rip into your heart. You don't want to be left alone again.
Youdon'tyoudon'tyoudon'tyoudon't-
Your trip ends at a door standing proud the end of the hall. Dark Cacao Cookie opens it, and holds it wide for you, you walk inside, thanking him.
There's a round table with multiple chairs neatly tucked under it's surface. The room is cold, a window displaying the raging black tides of the sea is your right. You shiver. You can once more see your own exhales.
You take a seat nonetheless.
"Are you cold?" He asks. His voice surprisingly calm despite everything transpiring.
You brush your hands over your lap. "A bit, but it's nothing excruciating."
There's no response, just heavy footsteps. You anticipate for him to say something. But instead, something is draped over shoulders. Warm and soft. A purple coat with a wool collar. You blink. Your reply is delayed, caught off guard.
"...Thank you Your Majesty."
Dark Cacao Cookie leans his sword against the wall. You narrow your eyes at the Souljam once more. It's definitely glowing...Is it reaction to... my presence then?
"There's no need for formalities, Dark Cacao Cookie is fine, You are..." He stops himself then amends. "- a trustworthy ally." He mumbles, it brings your attention back. You nod.
Your company walks around the table, his heavy armour rustling as the only sound between you.
"I have received a letter from Pure Vanilla Cookie explaining your predicament." You have to stop yourself from getting tense. You guessed Dark Cacao's request inferred that he wishes to talk with you. Which is understandable. The contents of the letter is nothing to take lightly.
He clears his throat, perhaps noticing your shifting.
"I have no doubts that your intentions are good, and you are not on the side of these demons. Yet, I must ask, what is your relationship with these...Beast Cookies?"
You look down. Every line, every explanation you had ever concocted suddenly disappears from your mind like mist. You push yourself to half-ramble the first thing that comes to you.
"Well...We used to be friends, much like you and the other Ancient Heros." You swallow down bile. "Then at some point, they begun developing feelings...for me"
"But...Their duties, power proved too much, they strayed from the path of good and turned to darkness."
"They got rightfully sealed away for their crimes, and I was sure they would forget me...But I was proven wrong. Terribly wrong. And their...feelings have rotten over the period of their confinement and twisted into infatuation for reasons I can't grasp."
When your friends started unravelling under the pressure of their duties, they grew attached, you noticed it. You wanted to be there for them and help. You should've heeded the Pixies words when you had the chance.
"Don't you think they're getting too dependent on you?"
"I understand they care for you, My Priest, But too much affection breeds attachment, and too much attachment breeds dependency which under the wrong circumstances can corrode into obsession."
You saw the signs and ignored them. The gullible fool you are.
"I am determined to stop them, no matter the risks, If not for my sake then for Cookiekind's."
When your speech is done. The same quietness returns. What is anyone supposed to say to a confession as grave as that?
A rough sigh escapes out of Dark Cacao Cookie. "That is very noble of you. Your resolve is truly what this world needs."
"Thank you, Dark Cacao Cookie."
With that you leave with respectful bow to the king.
When the doors close, Dark Cacao pulls out the crinkled letter. There's a small paragraph on the bottom. One that had intentionally been omitted from your copy.
They have been through a lot, and are burdened with guilt and shame. I suspect Reader Cookie blames themselves for everything that has transpired, to the point that they're willing to take extreme risks uncaring of their own safety or well being to atone. The Beasts will without doubt, exploit this to try and force Reader Cookie to join them.
Dark Cacao Cookie... please keep them safe.
Dark Cacao Cookie runs a hand through his hair. "What to do?"
An unknowable amount of time passes.
Enough time for the narrow corridor to swell in footsteps and worried murmurs from dark cacao warriors awaiting the decree of their king. Enough time for you to start fidgeting, for your hands to tug at the seams of your cloak.
You've never done well in large crowds. Whispers you can't untangle, flashing glances you can't put name on. They mean no harm - You know that. Word spread fast, what you pulled was not necessarily a run-of-the-mill spell any Cookie could conjure up. It still has you feeling queasy, you distribute your weight from one foot to the other like you're standing on needles.
More warriors trickle in, another set of whispers flock in your hearing range. It's the final drop in the bucket that threatens to overflow.
You careful wring yourself through the assembly, bidding hurried apologies with every nudge and shove. I need to get out of here.
The hall gets emptier the longer you trudge down it, the voices mush into buzzing, then deplete entirely.
You have no designated destination in mind, you just walk, the walls are jagged, fortified by pillars of bittersweet stone and the air smells of cacao. You pass structures meant to prioritise safety over all. Living in constant defence takes a lot of conviction, when one has something to protect it can beat close to all odds. The Dark Cacao Kingdom is the leading example of that virtue.
An example that life endures through hardships, over and over again.
Eventually, you reach the end of the hall, no one is here, leaving you to stand in undisturbed in it's open vicinity.
The wind blow cold through a window to your left. Snowflakes trickle in and land near the windowsill.
This view permits a decent outlook onto the dark waters of the Licorice Sea. It's currents look much more amiable than when you flew over them this morning. —Scratch that, they look more calmer than they've ever been. Odd. Your gaze narrows as you near the window.
You test your conjecture by putting your palm out, there's a slight breeze. An utter contradiction to the blizzard that occurred no more than an hour ago.
You pull your hand back. How could the weather have turned over so quickly? You ruminate, even though you know the answer to the question and a thousand new ones form as consequence.
Two days, is that truly all it took?
You have little to no estimate what the next line of action will be, you have a guess. A puny, macabre guess. That all of this, the plague, the calming sea, is all a ploy. A machination with sole aim to lure in Dark Cacao Cookie. And it's going to work, because the Dark Cacao Kingdom is worth everything to him.
A part of you wants to dissuade him from that path, implore him to stay far away from Beast-Yeast. But that alternative would come at the cost of his denizens' lives. You know he would never make that choice.
You move away from the window and across the corridor.
There's a sliding door in the middle, you open it, and inside is a small room, there's a low table and put away weapons. you blink, fatigue pounds behind your eyes. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to take a quick rest.
You pad into the room, with a shift, the door slides close.
Your chest is swarming with a storm, much like the one that was outside. Your emotions are loud, frenzied and insufferable. They always are. Nothing brings a salve to your thoughts or the grace of complete tranquillity.
You think back to the patient and their words.
Your soul is so ridden with anger.
A joyless smile creeps onto your lips.
It always comes back to that persistent nagging itch of anger doesn't it? It scorches your soul, it simmers in your throat and at the tip of your tongue. There's never a moment where you're free from the unfathomable rage inside you. You hug the coat given by Dark Cacao Cookie closer and go to sit down against a wall.
You had once thought that if you just carry through with kindness, if you give without thought of return. if you extend an hand to those most unlikeliest to get one. Then surely fate would give you kindness in return. Those were the rose-tainted hopes of your younger days
Who would've thought that fate would spit it all back at you? You were naive beyond measure. That is one thing those Cookies were right about.
Tiredness starts to drape over your vision.
You wake up believing your lungs intent to burst from your chest with the severity of your coughing.
You rise unceremoniously upright. Your bed slumps, creaking too loudly. Not this again. Not —again. You plead.
Muddy light fractures between the recesses of glass. It's night, the sky is blighted with red so ferment it reminds you of jam. Your form drowns in its crimson hue as you attempt to gain back control of your posture. It doesn't work. A sweet taste crawls it's way up your throat and your coughs reduce to miserable spurts. It's saccharine, too gooey, and matching the colour painting the sky. You desperately reach for the flask of water you know you always keep by your nightstand.
You grasp it, uncork it and— choke it back up — almost like you're body is rejecting the sustenance. You try another gulp, yielding the exact same aftermath.
The bottle falls out of your hold and you leap to your feet, more jam spewing from your lips meanwhile.
Curse it all, curse it all, curse it all.—
You can barely hold together your sense of balance, using the door as feeble anchorage only does so much. You swing it open, it hits the wall with a booming echo and you stumble out into the hall.
the area is vacant, there's no ensemble of melodious giggles, or scents of flowers. There's a stagnant stench of doom, overgrown moss, shattered windows and crumbling pillars. The whole place seemingly frozen in a state of woe.
You spit out thick tar, drops of red stain your robes. You swipe your sleeves over your mouth. Your breathing is ragged, exhilarating in torn bits. Terror mounts up in your chest and hysteria starts to set in. You reach for the nearest wall to leverage yourself.
Amidst the tempest of your plight. A wallowing sound dominants through the silence.
You weakly look down the decaying hall. Is that someone...crying?
It's coming from the nave of the Cathedral and without hesitation, you move to the sound with the guidance of the structure of the wall.
Your steps gets swallow up in the quiet. In your dough you know what you're approaching, what's waiting in the heart of your dominion. So why is it you move forward anyway?
A deep-rooted concern maybe.
Just as your inhibition warned, there's a...Cookie, kneeling down onto the marble floor, hands cradling their face and sobs escaping them.
Your mouth open and parts attempting to articulate a sentence, a word, a sound, anything. Strawberry jam wets your lips. You initiate a few footsteps toward the Cookie. They strike a chord of familiarity in you. You stop. That's one of the Cookie who ambushed my cathedral...But they're...I
Wake up, wake up, I need to wake up... Of course your desperate mantra does nothing to derail the semi-reality unfolding in front of you.
You swallow, jam flooding down your windpipe. Your stance is as unsteady as your mind. "Are you...are you alright?..."
The Cookie's cries ceases abruptly. There's an suspended time pass where neither of you say a thing. Then they start up again, not as vigorously as before. The weeping doesn't fail to make you even more nauseated, this must be the equivalent to purgatory. Why won't you wake up already??
"Merciful one....Priest of Redemption..." They whisper.
"Why...Why did you do it?"
Their eyes snap up at you, their gaze completely empty compared to their intonation, they're covered in...Jam? Wait...since when was the floor soaked in jam? You don't answer the question presented to you. That twists the Cookie's face into fury.
"You were supposed to embody forgiveness, so why did you do it?!" They shriek. You notice their dough is cracking, breaking. Their voice doing the same. You shake your head, taking a step back. "I...I didn't mean to...I'm sorry..."
"No you're not!" Another Cookie...phantom? snarls to your left, their body more broken than the first. "If you were truly sorry, you wouldn't have DONE IT!..."
Tears wells under your eyes, It's as cloying as the jam spilling from your mouth. You struggle to maintain your sight. It's then something grabs hold of your leg. You met eyes with another Cookie, half their face completely unrecognisable. Their words are skewed and languid.
"You abandoned your virtue..."
Your eyes run water floods now. You stagger back, there's so many cookies on the ground, all glaring at you with hatred.
Your inflexion shakes. "....i'm sorry..I'm so sorry...please forgive me."
"The Cookie of Forgiveness begging for forgiveness?"
Another outcry behind you, they rip at the end seam of your apparel.
"How are you any different from them?!"
"You're nothing but an omen of doom, everywhere you go you bring devastation with you!"
You can't see anything past the thick layer of jam flooding your vision. The pain you feel is indiscernible to anything you've ever endured. You wipe your eyes roughly. The ruptured rose-windows allows a glimpse at your state. You abhor what you see.
You robes are tattered, filthy and drenched in jam, your hair is dishevelled and matted. There's wide cracks all over your body as well as streams of jam running down your cheeks and chin. Your eyes are jamshot and slit...and the star-shaped jewel on your chest...your Souljam...
"You're a vile demon, a Beast! Accept it!"
You shake your head at your reflection, "No no...I'm not.." You whirl around, wretchedness heavy in your voice. You cover your mouth, jam rasps out of your mouth. "Please I'm...i'm sorry, I truly am..." You break down, your demeanour not different from an wounded animal before the slaughter.
The wraiths cackle, there's no humour in them, just hollow cruelty. You put your hands to your ears, vainlessly wanting to block out the noise that only appears to accelerate the more you attempt to shun it. There's a tug at your attire to your left, at your shoulder, your foot. The phantoms demanding your attention to your sins.
"I never wanted to hurt anyone... I'm sorry! Please stop!" They don't. You squeeze your eyes shut.
All of the sudden, there's light.
It shines onto you, onto everything, it washes away everything and you feel someone gently cup your face in their hands. Your eyes open slowly, incredulously.
What stands in front of you, or rather whom, is you. No...it looks like you, your primordial form, prior to your Souljam damaging, to your semi-corruption, but more, translucent. They smile at you with tenderness. their lips open to speak, voice softer than the petals of flowers. "My dear Priest..."
Your eyes expand. There's only one Cookie who...no. It can't be.
"Light of...forgiveness?" You murmur agape.
The light says nothing, it wraps its arms around your shoulders in an gentle embrace. Your shoulders shake, your being only holding up because of the manifestation embracing you.
"...Please do not forgo the light that is within you." Your voice implores. The hold doesn't tighten, or suffocate you, it's soft and considerate. "No matter the perils that await you..."
"And then, your virtue shall be whole again."
The next time you wake up, you do so shuddering, as though you'd been thrown into the depths of the deepest ocean. The air you breathe is cold. Your heart palpitating as though it wants to break from the cavity of your chest and panic rules over your mind, anticipating to awake back in that place...
You're back in the compact room of weapons and fermented scents. Your tunnel-vision fades, the tremors beneath your dough do not. They're heavy, rushing through your entire body in shocks. You clench your hands shut and your eyes. an inhale, and an exhale. You push yourself to your feet.
How many times have you tried to acquire a good night's rest, only to be dragged into the hell of your own imagination? Forced to be eyewitness to memories meant to perish into the back of your mind?...
You've lost count. the perpetual exhaustion has haunted you for days, yet denies you the respite of its erasure. You drag your hands over your face. Your lack of shuteye is not what irks your nerves now, though.
Anger jerks at your movements as you tug off the necklace at your neck with more force than needed.
You glower down at the accursed gem, it can be a trick of your eye, but you swear it's glowing, just a tad —it's enough to prove it's liability. It fuels your indignation.
"Thousand of years, nothing...why now?" You interrogate sharply.
There's no answer, no pulse or quick glow. Your hold tightens around the rock.
"After everything..." Your voice trembles. "Why now?"
It never answered before. It never answered when the Virtues ceased to resonate. It never answered when the Cookies labelled you a demon and chanted for your demise, when you lost everything, when you pleading for guidance to a future you no longer could see. It remained still when you split it's essence to pieces and hid them away in the depths of the your old friends' domains —so that no one with a value for their own life would dare search them out, not even yourself.
So what has spurred it's will to now come forth? Is it because they have awoken?
"...Please do not forgo the light that is within you, no matter the perils that await you..."
You scoff lightly. "You remain as vague as ever huh?" You line your sights with the white shrouded landscape outside.
"...The evil polluting in the air." You whisper. "I suppose you feel it too."
Footsteps traverse down the hall, two, maybe three. There's voices, and they stop at your door. Your breath hitches, your limbs lock into place, and your brain is held captive by alarm. You brace yourself for the door to violently open and shudder through the entire room.
There's a knock and the door slides wide.
You move your necklace just out of their eyesight before turning around. There stands Caramel Arrow Cookie, with two other Cookies in tow. Crunchy Chip Cookie should you remember right. The watcher coughs before speaking next.
"His Majesty has announced an expedition to Beast-yeast."
Back in the land barren of everyday Cookie populace, void of everything that can be recounted in by the ordinary mind.
"We've finally made it to Beast-Yeast!" Caramel Arrow Cookie exclaims.
The sail over the Liorice Sea was as calm as you expected, the ship anchored southwest, this part of Beast-Yeast is familiarised by dense forests, some groves older than Kingdoms in Crispia themselves. Towering trees crowd together, their canopy block off sun rays and drap the setting in a mundane but soothing colour palette, by the moon's ascension, it's light would dance with the embers of fireflies and glowing flowers.
You know all of these things, they're committed into the core of your soul, like the roots that nurture the earth you walk on. Try as you might, you'll never forget this place.
You warily glance into the thick forest, expecting something to reveal itself from within. This crossroad you're on is the intersection between your domain and...hers.
Dark Cacao stops in his tracks, assessing the mist that creeps along the edges of the trail. "Hmm, that scent of raw flour in the air...the flour fog is thick in this area."
"Won't we be infected with the Pale Ailment if we come in contact with the fog...?" A Dark Cacao warrior comments worryingly. Your eyes travel back onto the road. It's been long since this area was so dense with fog. You answer the Dark Cacao warrior's question listlessly. "We'll be fine as long as we're not exposed to it for a long period of time."
The Dark Cacao warrior hesitates at your reassurance, not taking his eye off the mist. "Alright..."
After a moment of still contemplation, Dark Cacao Cookie begins handing out a cacao tablet. "Let's share this cacao tablet.
Our heads must remain clear, even in the fog."
The tablet passes around from Cookie to Cookie, until the entire army of warriors as gotten a piece. You pass it up with a polite head shake. At the odds of this mist, you simply don't find yourself a priority to involve. You've dealt with these circumstances before, those less fortunate to have done so, deserves the reserve more.
At your downturn, Dark Cacao Cookie speaks up. "We do not know what dangers await us here, it's important to stay heedful, Reader Cookie..."
You nod. "I will, do not worry about me."
The group finishes the Cacao tablet, although with reluctance.
"EUAAAAGH!!! SO BITTER!!! What on Earthbread is this made of?!
Not even the cacao nibs I first ate as a child were this bad!"
"I suppose they made it super bitter so that we'd come to our senses..."
"Mmm, that was good. You're all so- HIC! weak." Crunchy Chip Cookie rebuts then tries offering you some with a sour mien, to which you refuse with a snicker.
The laughter ends, when the horizon eclipses in a pale light, it washes out the road ahead and it takes some seconds for everyone to notice it's nearing proximity. A overcasting wave of flour is descending upon you like a rising tide.
"Your Majesty, up ahead! The white fog is coming right at us like a huge wave!" Caramel Arrow Cookies shouts.
Your eyes widen and you shield your face as it's maw swallows the environment, it devours shapes, voices, colours and throws you into a featureless void. A callout from Dark Cacao Cookie resounds as a last wisp of sound.
"Everyone, stay alert and do not lose your way!"
You blink and lower your arms. You look around. You're in the depths of this fog...and yet any sense of urgency is lost on you. You do not hear anyone anymore.
You thought your brain would run through all steps needed to manage this scenario. You've dealt with these circumstances before, so why isn't your mind matching the instincts your body scream at you to undertake? Your gaze lowers. This is familiar... Memories of eons ago suddenly rush forward without warning. How many times did you willingly walk into this mist, just for a thin chance that you would find what...who, you were looking for?
Tailing a monster of worry, hoping, praying she was unharmed...just to find out all times you aimlessly wandered this field of white for hours, it was an intentional doing?
If those months of helplessness and fear would have been composed into a play, then you would have been deemed the biggest fool of them all. A lesson for generations to come just like all other folktales.
If you destroy yourself piece by piece for others, then you will be left with nothing.
You did just that and now you're left with a broken shell of yourself, you can't bear to see...
Did it ever have a point?
Nothing you do will ever be enough, will it?
The Cookies even saw it fit to crumble you...would anyone ever had known you perished? Or would your existence have vanished the same as the tales of Virtues who once brought paradise to Cookiekind?
All your efforts were ultimately meaninglessness.
You never deserved to be an emissary.
You snap out of your daze. Before you stand Caramel Arrow Cookie, Crunchy Chip Cookie and Dark Cacao Cookie. At least you think so, their presences are so hazy you can only make out their silhouettes.
"We have been calling you for ages, come on, we need to get out of this fog!" The first watcher informs you, her expression is concerned...How long were they calling you? You don't see the other Dark Cacao Warriors, they must have all been lost the fog...this is not good.
"We've faced a big setback so soon!" You hear one of the warriors grumble.
"The thick fog all but swallowed up our Dark Cacao Warriors...!" Another shouts.
Dark Cacao's voice breaks through the uncertainty like a blade. "They will be close by. So do not worry—we will find them once the fog settles."
You move on, and the mist soon disappears, but so to, does any sign of the other warriors.
"We have ventured a considerable distance." Dark Cacao Cookie remarks. You all stop to retain your breathing. Your eyes move up to the overarching canopy, an aromatic smell wafts through the air...It's nostalgic.
Crunchy Chips grimaces at the specific scent. "There's something up ahead! It almost smells like... incense?"
Out from the greenery, a monument sticks out, a roof with a lustrous hue of gold. it's burnished tiles glimmer in the open sky. You tongue gets tied in your mouth. The Ivory Pagoda was only a few meters away. Your feet cement to the ground, and once more your body refuses to listen to what your mind says. The minor sight of the temple saps out your readiness.
"That pointy roof... It's a massive temple!"
"A temple in perfect condition amidst the wilderness of Beast-Yeast...?
How peculiar..." Dark Cacao ruminates "A temple of this size must have been built by someone. I must meet whoever this is."
The history of Beast-Yeast is hard to come by, there weren't many left alive to carry on it's tale.
You'd much rather never think about that interval in your life again. Unfortunately that too, has been proven wishful thinking. These last few days have unlocked sentiments you never thought to confront, you never thought existed to begin with.
All of these construct into an cacophony so shrill any rationale drowns out.
"Reader Cookie." You look to the others, they have begun to move toward the temple, toward the gold-bronze stairs just up ahead. While you stand in the muck, cold shivers cursing down your body. Maybe you shouldn't have left that coat on the ship. Dark cacao Cookie's face is steady as ever, yet it's remedied by his words.
"Reader Cookie, are you alright?"
You're not. is what you want to say. You swallow. You must make for a concerning view right now. You're not ready. You're not prepared. You're really, really not.
"Yes." You mutter, you don't delude yourself into thinking your voice sounds that confident, you force your body to react. "Let's go on."
The holder of Resolution, watches you a bit longer. "That we shall." He eventually responds.
Laughter is heard just as you all prepare to ascend the wide flight of stairs. And coming to block you are the four Dumpling Kings. Their purpose served to protect the entrance of the pagoda from unlawful intruders.
"Whathe!?-" Crunchy Chip Cookie jumps.
The Dumpling Kings hold up their respective item as their voices boom around you.
"I am the Meat Dumpling King of the East! I bless good Cookies and punish the bad!"
"I am the Shrimp Dumpling King of the West! My breath becomes the wind and blows away all evil spirits!"
"I am the Spicy Dumpling King of the South! My armor is impenetrable, and I bring all things to life!"
"I am the Chives Dumpling King of the North! I became a light for Cookies wandering in the dark!"
Dark Cacao Cookie bring up his sword in a defensive position. "Move out of my way. There is someone we must meet inside the temple."
"Ha ha ha! How dare you attempt to enter the temple,
while so tainted with the convictions of the beyond?!"
One of the Dumpling king points to both His Majesty and you.
"Far I have seen, but never ones with such a heavy hearts!"
"If you wish to enter, you must first wash yourself clean of all worldly concerns!"
"Put aside the anguish that troubles your mind!"
Dark Cacao Cookie draws out his blade to point it at the Dumpling Kings. "I have no time for idle chatter! If you insist on standing in my way, meet my sword!"
Crunchy Chip Cookie and Caramel Arrow Cookie steady themselves, you reach into your cloak, a fight was the only path here on out. It doesn't sway the Dumpling Kings, in contrast, they laugh, unimpressed by the bravado.
"He he he he! Six measly Cookies face the Four Dumpling Kings!
Will you succeed in passing the Heavenly Gate, I wonder?"
You all enter the temple victorious. The Dumpling Kings having vanished in mist after admitting defeat.
During the battle however, it was your turn to be concerned, it was impossible to miss, Dark Cacao Cookie's sword rattled, shook...no it wasn't the sword...it was his Souljam. Dark Cacao Cookie dismissed it upon asked, but you saw it troubled his mind. You fear the implications that's conjuring inside you.
A sickness overtakes you as you walk into the vast courtyard of the temple. The emptiness is imposing, every sound, even footsteps flatline, you can't help but feel like an intruder in this undisturbed realm. It hasn't changed, at all. Had someone interwoven your memories with reality, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
Caramel Arrow stares in awe at the monochrome architecture. "It doesn't feel real... to see a temple where we thought nothing would be." She murmers.
"It feels like we're in a dream...the air is so humid..." A Dark Cacao warrior marvels.
"Did we all come here to stand around in wonder?!" Crunchy Chip Cookie shouts. "Hello?! Anyone here?!"
"Cream Wolves! Over there, GO!"
"Shh! Crunchy Chip Cookie! Silence your wolves! There's no need to cause a fuss, is there?!"
You stare on amused as Crunchy Chip Cookie and Caramel Arrow Cookie bicker amongst each other, you step in once you figure they're seeing no end to their quarrel.
"Okay, stop it you two." You break it off, holding in your laugh.
You stop. That voice...could it be?
The others catch on and you approach the sound carefully. Perched on a set of small stairs, is a small Haetae, gleefully singing to himself. Yellow eyes and claws. Your eyes widen. Cloud Haetae Cookie?...
"Back in the day, Cookies would line up for miles just to see my master! But now, there's not a single Cookie here... Oh well! I'll keep myself entertained!" He lulls, skipping down the stairs.
Dark Cacao Cookie points his blade at the Haetae. "You. Who... are you?"
Cloud Haetae's eyes go wide as plates. "Ah! What are you doing, pointing your sword at me?!"
Welcome to ''All the things the Beasts have given Reader Cookie" and the first answer is, drum roll please!:
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