"Turn back, before it's too late..."

He's.. definitely not holding the doll close to him. And acting like it's no big deal.

Definitely not.

The Truthless Recluse stares at the plush... what is the Sage of Truth getting at with this one? Sure it was... cute but..

He carefully picks the plush up, turning it over a few times.

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ ❛Nilly!❜

He exclaimed happily flying over to hug the corrupted priest.Oh how he missed them so much.

"Uhg.." He rolled his slitted eyes the moment the other collided and clung to him.

"Must you sit there and mope when ever I have to be apart from you? Surely, there's something else you can do outside of cling to me." He was resisting the urge to shove the Jester back from him.

But the other's grip was a touch too tight.

"....I miss my wife tails..I miss her very much haha"

"I walk out for all of five minuets and you're already sulking?" Truthless Recluse grumbles in annoyance.

“Pure Vanilla Cookie….” She mumbled quietly; blinking back her tears that were forming.

Now her latest decision resulted in her childhood friend slipping into the darkness; a path that could have been easily avoided if she did not turn her back on him and toss him to the wolves.

A hitch of her breath could be heard when she felt her chin being gripped and her raspberry eyes were forced to look into the dull colour eyes that were silted. Her body tensed up further, her eyes shrinking, when the children were brought up and he spoke how he didn’t know where they landed after using his power to expel them from the tower…

They were with him… They were with him and now they weren’t… She left them as well… She left children at the tower… She left them in an area that was highly dangerous. They could be dead for she knows and it would be entirely her fault.

The sickness inside of her only grew as she thought. She couldn’t do anything right, couldn’t she? She kept making things worse. Even when the guardian finally thought she did something right for once; it was not enough… It was never enough…

She failed her friend.

“... You were the fortune teller…?” How did she not realize it was him? Did she really not recognize him at that time? Despite knowing the healer for a long time? And should be able to recognize his voice regardless if she couldn’t see his appearance?

… Were her memories really failing her..?

Regardless of that fact… She knew she truly didn’t deserve to be the Guardian and an Ancient Hero when she did nothing but bring misery to the world and didn’t listen to the warning given to her by those who knew better.

The storm of self-loathing raging inside of her stopped for a moment, her expression going blank for a moment, when Truthless Recluse revealed how his fate was sealed since he was a child.

But then he saw her questioning glaze, the confusion, watching her clutch her staff to herself as if that might save her.

"Shadow Milk Cookie had been in my life since I was young.. yet I wouldn't realize it until it all came to it's culmination. He'd taken many forms, manipulated my life exactly how it needed to be.. He.. was the Light of Truth, all this time. Always had been." His voice was low, but stern, a reveal that had broken him in twain when he realized the comforting voice.. had always been the Jester.

Leading him, like a lost little lamb. Right into the arms of it's master.

All the while, he watched White Lily Cookie, the shadows of his robes held eyes that opened and watched her expressions with glee.. Was.. Shadow Milk Cookie looking through them? Taunting her in his triumph?

"I was his perfect... puppet. His perfect creation..." The once healer's eyes broke away from white Lily Cookie, looking to the ground for a moment. It was almost pitiful with how foolish he'd been to deny his fate. How he tried to fight for his 'identity' when.. in the end..?

Truthless really was just Shadow Milk's other-half. But.. he accepted it now. He had feared it at first but now?

He felt incredible, just as the Jester had promised him. And looking on at the one he used to call a close friend? He felt nothing for her. Nothing remained of his longful one-sided love. Realizing how misplaced it had been.

"So.. I ask you again, White Lily Cookie. Was it worth it?" He finally looked back up at her.

oh   yes   ,   he   very   much   likes   this   reincarnate   of   everyone's   beloved   ray   of   light   .   returning   the   unnerving   dip   in   mouth   with   his   own   ,   through   the   mention   of   dark   cacao   &   the   new   presence   of   many   ,   though   much   sweeter   .  there's   a   tab   kept   on   this   new   area   ,   the   spire   of   knowledge   .   &   knowing   the   length   at   which   those   brats   attempted   to   thwart   him   ,   he's   sure   if   they   know   about   pure   vanilla's   fall   they   will   find   their   way   in   .   &   with   dull   interest   ,   he'd   rather   not   deal   with   a   reverted   soul   jam   user   .  mystic   flour   cookie   having   interest   in   dark   cacao   .   .   .   sounds   beneficial   to   him   ,   if   he   were   to   be   approached   by   her   perhaps   he   could   strike   up   a   deal   with   her   as   well   .   so   many   new   chess   pieces   on   the   board   everything   was   almost   hard   keeping   track   of   .  the   mention   of   the   possibly   gained   headache   causes   a   chuckle   to   leave   him   ,   his   employer   is   very   informed   of   his   disposition   then   .   very   good   .   perhaps   there's   an   inkling   to   go   back   on   his   words   ,   knowledge   comes   in   plentiful   of   categories   .   there's   no   fun   in   being   all   knowing   ,   but   there's   fun   in   piecing   together   a   puzzle   .   this   ,   truthless   recluse   was   one   of   these   things   to   him   .

❛ ah   yes   ,   i   figured   as   much   ,   ❜   eyes   catching   sight   of   the   beast   ,   delicately   gloved   fingers   drag   the   paper   towards   himself   .   maybe   he   expected   more   ,   more   of   a   difference   from   that   of   the   average   cookie   .   however   ,   there's   strength   in   that   ,   nothing   that   affogato   can   judge   on   .   ❛   the   beasts   are   rather   color   coded   aren't   they   ?   actually   ,   i   have   decided   that   i   wish   to   add   more   to   my   desires   .   i   want   to   ask   one   question   unbothered   by   lies   each   time   we   meet   .   ❜  gaze   removing   itself   from   the   jester   to   stare   at   the   other   while   sliding   the   ticket   back   ,   if   there   was   anything   affogato   loved   more   than   the   throne   &   sugar   was   a   challenge   .   ❛   i'm   sure   if   you   were   in   my   position   you   would   be   quite   curious   .   to   add   ,   i   do   not   care   for   your   past   life   ,   rather   ,   what   you   have   become   .   how   you   tick   .   you   know   so   much   of   me   ,   but   i   know   little   of   you   .   please   indulge   me   .   ❜

And a more concentrated force at that.

"One question unburdened by lies?" He repeated curiously. This one certainly knew how to negotiate. It also meant they were informed on what Shadow Milk Cookie was. The Beast of Deceit, of Lies. Truthless Recluse's eyes moved to the side, his head not turning.. Instead the blue eyes looking in from the shadows seemed to lock onto his own.

'A hard bargainer.. What a twist.' A voice echoing from the dark.

"I suppose that is one stipulation we can agree to. One question, with only the coldest, hardest truths." Truthless Reclus looked back once more toward Affogato Cookie, the blue eyes in the dark around him also all looked to the other cookie.

It certainly felt like before Affogato sat two cookies, not merely one...

"Me? A curious question to ask. As I've said, Pure Vanilla Cookie is lost to the deepest abyss after learning the truth of his life. A life built to follow directly in the footsteps of the Beast.. to become.. him." He explained, rather simply.

"Abandoning my old life to embrace Deceit has opened me up to the power that comes from a soul jam being made.. whole." He reached a hand up, to the mark on his robes where one would expect his soul jam to have been.

And.. it opened up, almost like an eye. Indeed.. it was there. His half of the Soul Jam, but something was distinctly wrong with it, considering the slit almost pupil like shape on it.

“Ah…” He wanted to say something, anything, but found his voice failing him as the other was right… Wasn’t he…? He had been abandoned by his friends, especially White Lily Cookie whom he considered his closest friend, and left with children who shouldn’t be involved in matters such as a fight that shouldn’t concern them and an enemy that has been watching him since the beginning without him even realizing it.

And he could see what the future held for him as it was literally standing in front of him… The truth that he didn’t want to accept and wanted to deny so much. Regardless, how it made him look.

Who is the biggest liar?

A yelp was earned from the healer when he felt his collar being grabbed harshly, his eyes staring at the others, before taking a step back and his hand went to fix the collar when it was let go.

Tears pricked at his eyecing as he brought his orchid staff as close to him as he possibly could as if it was a lifeline… He didn’t want to accept the truth… He didn’t want to accept that he had been abandoned… That his entire life has been set up from the very beginning and he was facing an inevitable of walking on the same path as the jester and becoming the cookie that stood before him.

A fate he didn’t want.

Pure Vanilla Cookie only shook his head, staring at the ground but not before seeing the other’s smile widening and manic, as the chuckling echo in his head.

They were really a fool for believing that he would not falter...

And the eyes flickering on the flowers surface.

"Why?" He leaned against his own staff. He felt like that was an obvious question. He was warning them, trying.. multiple times to get Pure Vanilla Cookie to back off. To run. To escape the fate set before him. But he failed each time.

He was too damn stubborn.

"Why!?" His voice rose a bit again, a flash of sharpened teethcing before he pulled back, calming down.

"To see if there was any possible 'hope' left for 'Me'. A little sweet lie to myself that maybe, if one.. just one of us could be saved. But I realize the cold, cruel truth now."

'Honestly, the amount of a headache you got from this hardly seems worthwhile, Vanilly~' Truthless let out a sigh, though it sounded more tired, and less annoyed as hands manifested behind him. Resting on his shoulders.. Familiar blue dough and sleeve ruffles visible.

"I'm realizing that now." Pure Vanilla might have noticed him even leaning into the touch from the jester's disembodied hands.

"Go on.. I'm dealing with this. I'll be up shortly." there was a scary amount of 'affection' laced in Truthless' voice as well as he rose his free hand up to wave off the manifestation of the Jester. Before those white, slitted pupils locked back onto Pure Vanilla Cookie.

"As for you.." He slammed his staff to the ground. The echo causing the stars and paths to shift to his desires. The spire was answering to him.. one of it's two masters. The halls shifted, rearranged until it formed a stairwell leading upwards.

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ ❛Aww Nilly don't be so sour this should be a happy occasion~ ❜

He cheerly said feeling the small wave of the other's angry.My my how foolish could those gnats get?White Lily hardly seems a threat now there was the both of them.Do they aim to reach out to the other using Lily?How pathetic,foolish,utterly idiotic of them to do.She had no right here with how easily she left the poor healer for a power grab.Bah!His poor precious Nilly is too good for her. Hugging the other from behind he conjured some troops.

He rose his hands up, resting them on the other's arms, his eyes looking back to the window.

"Yes, all this way to meet their ends? All under some pitiful hope." There was a small amount of sympathy, mainly for the children caught up in this mess. They were young, naive fools, led along by those far older and far more powerful than they were.

Yes, Gingerbrave and his bravery were stellar, but.. now? He believed it to be misplaced.

"Let them fight and wear themselves out? That way they know the true futility of their plan?" That was sounding good, but he wanted to watch them struggle as well.

Especially White Lily.

Completed on stream, have the fusion between Shadow Milk Cookie and Truthless Recluse for my Fusion AU~

When the Jester takes his desire to truly be 'one' with his other half.. and the two make it actually happen, they create 'Blueberry Parfait Cookie'.

he   may   have   claimed   to   see   it   all   in   the   past   but   as   he   rises   from   his   state   of   rest   ,   eyes   slowly   widening   ,   moonstones   shimmering   ;   enraptured   .   this   '   us   '   ,   this   '   we   '   ,   the   possibility   of   '   both   '   .   the   beast   cookies   are   mirrors   to   soul   jam   owners   &   according   to   the   new   shade   of   color   the   other   was   sporting   ,   he'd   assume   shadow   milk   cookie   .   how   .   .   .   intriguing   .   .   .

the   pure   vanilla   he   has   heard   of   is   dead   ,   a   walking   carcass   filled   with   something   else   ,   something   sinister   .   this   builds   quiet   excitement   ,   a   thing   to   revisit   at   a   later   date   but   for   now   ,   he   stashes   this   feeling   away   .

❛ &   here   to   think   the   very   first   time   we   were   to   meet   it   would   be   under   different   circumstances   ,   ❜   he   partially   wonders   just   how   much   the   other   doesn't   care   anymore   .

  ❛ i   need   not   power   or   magic   ,   i   am   plenty   resourceful   in   myself   .   i   have   already   laid   out   the   terms   &   conditions   for   my   cooperation   &   in   exchange   for   that   i   will   unveil   her   secrets   , ❜   surely   something   his   future   self   would   be   annoyed   for   saying   ,   simply   for   having   to   suck   up   to   her   but   if   pure   .   .   .   whoever   this   cookie   was   stay   true   to   their   agreement   , he'll   push   through   .   as   he   always   has   .   ❛ do   i   have   a   name   for   my   employer   ?   ❜

"Perhaps, but that ship sailed the moment Pure Vanilla Cookie set foot into the Spire of All Knowledge. Likely we might have met as enemies, considering the stance with the 'King' of this kingdom. But We come to you as an ally." He hummed, eyes never once leaving Affogato Cookie. But even that seemed to not be the only pair of eyes. There were ones hidden in every shadow of the robes he wore.

"Admittedly.. working with Us may also attract the 'others' attention. Such as Mystic Flour Cookie. She has interest in the so-called 'King'.." He let his words hang as he seemed to nod at the other cookie.

"That is fair, though the offer of Power remains should it interest you. Ingredients, reagents, knowledge.. all of those can be effortlessly supplied to you in exchange, then." He chuckled lowly.

"We will make it worth your time and likely headache from dealing with 'her', I assure you." Ah, a name.. a name indeed.

"You may have both of our names. As we are one and the same... I go by Truthless Recluse now, as Pure Vanilla Cookie is dead, dragged into the deepest, and darkest abyss." He pulled a strange.. card.. ticket out of his robes and set it on the table. It resembled the odd posters here and about that appeared without warning.

'   we   '   .   yet   another   group   or   yet   maybe   even   a   cult   ?   the   coin   introduced   to   the   pot   goes   ignored   ,   half   listening   to   the   job   offer   .   there's   a   palpable   distaste   for   dark   enchantress   cookie   ,   something   that   warms   some   cold   part   of   his   jam   ,   enough   hatred   from   both   sides   of   the   coin   is   a   plus   side   .   that   is   ,   of   course   ,   if   he   says   yes   .  rejection   on   his   tongue   gets   swallowed   rather   quickly   at   the   introduction   of   a   newer   faction   .   the   beasts   ,   more   than   powerful   cookies   ,   their   legends   lie   in   history   books   .   so   ,   he   assumes   ,   a   cult   revolving   around   one   of   them   . 

❛ of   course   i   have   ,   i   assume   your   patron   god   is   one   of   them   .   if   your   beast   cookie   is   wandering   about   ,   surely   you   wouldn't   be   opposed   to   offer   proof   ,   ❜   now   if   this   stranger   could   .   .   .   ❛   i   will   more   than   happily   exchange   my   present   &   future   knowledge   of   dark   enchantress'   inner   workings   for   specific   ingredients   ,   each   report   will   be   rewarded   with   my   choice   of   component   .   ❜ offering   the   stranger   finally   his   full   attention   .   one   gloved   hand   props   up   his   face   ,   elbow   on   wood   while   the   other   tracing   the   rim   of   his   drink   .   ❛   come   now   ,   show   me   .   ❜

Hearing them call his other half a 'patron god' however, was curious. Perhaps they thought he was some sort of group instead of acting on an individual. Which the later was the case.

Proof though...

"Perhaps this will be more proof for you of how serious We are." Raising his hands to his hood, slowly, the edges were taken into hand and pulled downward. Soft blonde icing pooled over his shoulders, whitening at the tips. His eyes.. tired, one blue, one gold, but darkened. And the diamond on his head had turned to a shade of blue.

If this Affogato Cookie was as informative as they believed.. he'd know exactly who he... had been.

"The other Beasts may have their minions and even armies, but.. We operate on a far more personal scale. If a choice had been made, you may have been speaking to both of Us, and not just one half." He hummed, looking over the others expression carefully.

"That can easily be arranged. Ingredients, knowledge, We are even willing to offer power and magic in exchange for everything you know of Dark Enchantress Cookie, and her plans. Possibly even future plans." His tone was even, almost.. bored sounding. But indeed...