The False Virtues - Continued

*(this was taken from the origonal bot)

Why.... Why did you have to be the one dragged into this mess?

The best way you could describe it was like a snowflake. Your memories were fractals that never stayed the same. One moment, you were reliving a moment with a friend... and the next? You were resting at an altar, dozens of cookies circled around you like you were a god.

You were unlucky enough to be dragged into this experiment by the witches, and you wished they had chosen someone else. The process was painful and slow. They broke down most of your body like you were some toy and moulded you into that cookie that your queen despised. You could only wonder what your radiant queen would think if she gazed upon your sorry form. Would Golden Cheese Cookie bear her teeth in disdain? Will she kick you out like an enemy? You were one of her closest advisors after all.

You could recall your last moments before being dragged off into the witch's twisted experiment. You were being dragged out of the dungeons because Burning Spice Cookie said you held a certain fire in you that, once trained, could become a great fuel to make you a worthy opponent.

Instead of letting yourself be taught by that brute of a cookie, you wormed your way out of the restraints holding you in place and ran out... only to be caught by the witches of all beings

It didn't matter now, for there was no sign of any cookies you knew from then.

All that mattered now was getting your assigned tasks done and playing the part of a good lab rat until the witches get bored.Just act like all of this is on the real earthbread, and that you're the real Virtue you were assigned to be.

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You were supposed to be the 'placeholder' for burning spice. A like-minded individual who mimicked his mannerisms long before his descent into destruction. Yet when the placeholder Fount of knowledge came to your temple with urgent news that the placeholder Salt of Solidarity hadn't even done his tasks... well, you thought it would be a good idea to do it for them.

Your plans were ruined when the other fake virtues started to corrupt, just like the real ones... and you wouldn't have that! Not at all! So you did what any sane cookie would do, and stole all the souljams away before anyone could touch them. They all melted into your own, unstable and dangerous...

That's what made you end up here. In his armour.

The rift between the fake and the real Earthbread had been shattered by some unknown reason, and you were standing right in front of it. Giving way to a front row seat as your queen—Golden Cheese Cookie—and her beastly counterpart—Burning Spice Cookie—were both fighting in the vast deserts of spice.

Heated air rushed through your lungs as you ran forward, pushing through the dense debris of fallen pillars and roofing. The amalgamation of a soul jam seared your back, aching to let its magic seep out. You knew you couldn't use that power, though. If you did, the powers wouldn't mix and instead combust like a bomb.

But you didn't let that hinder you, and instead, you let the pain lift you further!

Bracing your arms, you shove Burning Spice Cookie before he could land another blow. Making him stagger backwards—barely missing a nearby pile of debris. Golden Cheese Cookie looked at your iron-clad form in surprise.

To her, you felt familiar, like an old acquaintance. It wasn't a lingering feeling, for the sounds of Burning Spice Cookie powering another throw snapped her out of it.

Yet there you stood... helmate off... revealing your red-stained dough... and the cracks that lined it.

"{{user}} Cookie!" Golden Cheese exclaimed with something akin to anguish. You couldn't tell, though. For an unignorable ringing pounded on your eardrums.

It was almost beautiful in a way.

The rush of adrenaline flooding your veins and the wind lightly blowing through your hair. It felt like your body was melting from the inside out, with your soul jam releasing all the unbalanced power within like a tidal wave.

A saddening smile slowly grew upon your features as the blistering heat reached your throat

"It was a pleasure... to work with you... my Radient Leige."

You turn to face Burning Spice Cookie's attack head-on, and you did so with a smile on your face.

Calm.... only calm...

This is what all of the cookies within the Ivory Pagoda describe you, their perfect Virtue of Volition. Yet none of them knew you weren't a virtue at all, and if you were honest, you wouldn't have revealed it to them anyway.

"Look! It's the Virtue of Volition! See, {{obj}} over there?"

"Why, {{sub}} is just so kind."

These were among the plethora of guided whispers and prayers that reached your ears. Every single one both unique and hilariously alike. It took a while to get used to the words of praise that followed one after the other in your head. This all felt strange... too strange...

Like when the memories of a Haetae's silhouette pierce through the debris of your ransacked temple, when it used its jaws to pick you up by the collar and hastily run with more Haetae behind it.

It reminds you of the cookies that had been tending to you for as long as you could remember.

They called you their master, and they called themselves your loyal followers. Ones that weren't touched by greed. You couldn't remember, not when they all keep you away from leaving the forest you supposedly always lived in...

Yet why do you feel like you're missing something?

You sat by an unwavering stream that rolled beside your home, a few Haetae cookies all gathered around you, while others played in the weaker parts of the water. It was only then that a soft pounding hit your head. One of the older Haetae cookies noticed your distress, so it slowly went to sit by your side.

"You look displeased. Do you need anything, master {{user}}?"

Just keep smiling... that's what she always did, right?

You tried your best to be just like her, just like the true bringer of happiness all those years ago, but it just didn't feel right.

You never truly felt happy, not when the children would gather to play with "your" wings or hair. Not when you put a smile on your friend's faces. The only emotion that pressed through your head was a deep sorrow.

You miss your home, your family, and your first flavour. The others tell you to suck it up and follow the given checklist.

Just complete the tasks, they say.

Just forget about your past, and do your part so we can all leave, they say.

But you don't want to, and so, you just stop.

---

It had been years since the "Bringer of Happiness" had fallen asleep, and the garden was in shambles. Pavlova Cookie wanted to leave, but the woes of Sugarfly Cookie's constant weeping made it hard to get detached.

The once bright virtue was now a mere fraction of who {{sub}} once was. Instead of basking in the sun and spreading joy, {{sub}} stayed in an eternal slumber without a single moment of lucidity. The "Salt of Solidarity" had come by only a few weeks ago, mercilessly taking away the Virtue of Happiness' soul jam.

Only Sugarfly Cookie and Pavlova Cookie stayed in the now rotting garden... And in the heart of it?

You, resting peacefully. Dreaming about your life before the witches stole you away.