Chapter Text
The mist was thick and dense, a gray shroud that weighed upon the ground. Shadow Milk Cookie staggered until he leaned against a rock, panting, his legs uncomfortably shaky. Ah, he hated walking—floating was much easier. But he didn’t have the power for that right now, not after his Soul Jam had been so vilely stolen by that usurper.
He had lost track of how far he had run. All he knew was that Candy Apple and Black Sapphire had given him this respite, urging him to hide while they distracted any potential pursuers— If he were being honest, what a humiliating situation. His current power felt like a mockery of what he once was.
But they hadn't accounted for him.
Because, speak of the devil—
“…You.” Shadow Milk Cookie’s voice came out in a broken whisper as he saw the golden silhouette of Pure Vanilla Cookie emerging from the fog. He was alone, without his ‘friends.’ And that could only mean one thing to the beast of deception. “So, this is it?” His laugh was brief, dry, devoid of humor. “You’re going to finish me off in secret to protect your stupid saintly reputation?”
Maybe his erratic behavior was influenced by his lack of power, by that disgusting feeling of vulnerability and incompetence trapping him. He no longer had the confidence that power once gave him—the control.
Vanilla didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he stepped forward, allowing the soft glow of his staff to illuminate the scene. His expression showed no fury, no contempt. There was no hatred in his gaze. And, for some reason, that disgusted him even more.
“I can’t let you roam free, Shadow Milk.”
The air suddenly felt heavier.
“And what? Are you going to crumble me to pieces?” Shadow Milk’s voice trembled, but he masked it with a grin, trying to reclaim some sense of control. “How convenient for you. Let me kneel first so you can feel so disgustingly superior.”
He hate that—hate being inferior. And his venom-laced sarcasm was a clear sign of it.
“No.”
Shadow Milk blinked. “No… what?”
“I’m not going to destroy you.”
There was a second of silence before Shadow Milk laughed again, but this time, it was louder, more forced, as if he were trying to drown something within himself.
“Don’t say such nonsense!” he spat between false laughter. “I’m a threat, remember?! I’m the Beast of Deception! Weak or not, my lies will continue to spread! What will you do then, oh Virtue of Truth?!”
He was still himself, still Shadow Milk Cookie. He could still use lies, he still had power over people. He wasn’t defenseless. It wasn’t just his power, it was his cunning, his intelligence, he—
Pure Vanilla looked at him with the same unwavering serenity.
—“We are one and the same, you said it before.”
You wanted more than just the Soul Jam. You wanted me, by your side. So why are you running from what you desire?
Shadow Milk blinked a few times. “And what…? You expect me to—just because of those empty words—?”
“You are my responsibility. What you have done… are my mistakes, too.”
Shadow Milk’s jaw tightened.
He wasn’t some child that needed to be cared for and corrected. If this stupid cookie felt some kind of guilt for not stopping him, that wasn’t his problem. If the Soul Jam still connected them in some way, that wasn’t his problem. If the power he now wielded made him feel responsible for protecting other pathetic, wretched cookies, that wasn’t his problem.
“No, it isn't.”
“It is a part of me, and that—”
“NO!” His shout echoed against the stone, through the fog, through the empty space between them. He was still a beast, after all, still a proud creature.
—“Don’t put me on the same level as you!” he spat, eyes burning with fury, wanting to lunge at him but being painfully aware of his current situation. “Don’t try to carry what isn’t yours like some kind of martyr! Don’t make me look like some lost, wretched thing, don’t do this—this thing you always do! It’s infuriating!”
He saw his compassion as pity, pure and simple. As if he were looking at a wounded animal instead of a cookie, instead of a real being.
He looked at him as if he didn’t even know what he wanted.
As if he were lost.
Pure Vanilla didn’t avert his gaze.
“Come with me, I can—”
“No.”
“You don’t have to keep running.”
“You… you really don’t know anything!” Still exhausted, he stomped the ground, baring his teeth. Feverishly wanting to attack the traitor standing right in front of him, he could almost feel the pain in his fists from clenching them too hard. “Running?! HA! I’m just buying time to make you regret your damned words!”
Shadow Milk Cookie cursed him fiercely, as if he truly wanted to cast a hex of misfortune upon the wise one.
But what the Sage of Truth saw was not just a tantrum. No, he felt what was truly being expressed in his mind—frustration, resentment, and offense. Telling the truth could wound, and the dethroned cookie was no exception.
Because the Soul Jam told him—showed him just how hurt the beast truly was, how resentful he was of the way he was seen; as if he still believed he could be saved, as if he were a broken thing to be repaired. And that… that was what he hated most.
The cookie was done talking, fed up, pushed to his limit.
Not like the sage would use force, right? He was too compassionate for that, wasn’t he?
The dry leaves crunched beneath Shadow Milk Cookie’s erratic steps as he walked away, determined to leave, breathing heavily under the weight of his erratic, overloaded rage. His emotions were beginning to cloud his cunning and wit, and that was even more frustrating.
But no matter how much he tried to distance himself, Pure Vanilla Cookie’s voice followed, soft, unwavering.
“You don’t have to make this difficult. You can finally accept it.”
Shadow Milk froze. His eyes fixed on the other cookie with contempt, fury stirring in his chest like a smothered fire.
“No…” His voice came out low, filled with spite as he dragged out the words. “Don’t start with that.”
“You can stop being the Beast of Deceit,” Pure Vanilla continued with the same calmness, as if he couldn’t feel the bitterness in the other cookie. “You don’t have to be alone. I’m here for you.”
You’re so alone, yet you deny it so vehemently, you bury it deep within yourself.
I know, because I felt the same. That’s what you wanted in the end, wasn’t it? You wanted me to understand—you wanted me to understand you.
Shadow Milk felt his patience hanging by a thread. “Shut up.”
“You have another chance. I’ve forgiven you. If you come with me and atone for your actions, you can redeem yourself.” Vanilla took a step forward. “You don’t have to keep living like this.”
“I SAID SHUT UP! YOU—FILTHY TRAITOR!”
Shadow Milk’s scream tore through the air, reverberating through the thick fog. His eyes burned with desperate rage, and before he even realized it, his body was already moving.
He lunged at Pure Vanilla Cookie with every ounce of strength he had left, fingers curled into claws, teeth clenched in a snarl of fury.
But the moment he tried to reach him—an invisible force stopped him.
It was as if his own body refused to move forward. His speed plummeted in an instant, his energy drained like sand slipping through his fingers, and a second later, his knees hit the ground with a dull thud.
The punishing magic that coursed through his body felt familiar—like the sensation that had once run through his soul when the Soul Jam was his. As if the remaining fragments of his Soul Jam simply faltered when he tried to use them.
As if trying to use his power hurt him in ways he didn’t understand.
His breath came out in ragged gasps. His limbs trembled.
Too weak.
Too weak for his own good.
Why now? He had been fine just minutes ago… sure, the fatigue from that humiliating defeat still lingered in his body, but time had passed, and with it, some of his strength had returned. And yet, the moment he tried to use a fraction of his power to harm the sage, it crumbled.
What? Were his own powers conspiring against him now? Was the Soul Jam that kept him alive reprimanding him for trying to hurt its new wielder?
Ah… what a disgustingly treacherous little thing, taking his side despite originally being his. It felt like his own dog had bitten his hand and torn it apart completely.
He looked up and saw him standing there, imposing in his serenity, not even lifting a hand to defend himself. He hadn’t even made an effort to dodge.
“…Arrogant.” The word slipped from Shadow Milk’s lips in a whisper. He staggered, trying to get up, but his body no longer responded.
Pure Vanilla Cookie leaned down slightly, his staff glowing with a soft light.