Chapter Text
As Mystic Flour meditated within her chamber at the center of the great ivory pagoda, she pondered something. Was there any meaning to friendship? To a true sense of belonging? She wasn't sure. All she had for friends was the other beasts, and only Eternal Sugar could be called that if only because she could tell her personality was not in contrast to the apathetic beast's own. She decided for herself that Friendship meant nothing. The world, and all within it, are none of her concern. She has herself, and herself is all that matters in her eyes. Selfish, yes. But hardly an Uncommon viewpoint to find, if you look hard enough.
Whether she was like everyone else or not didn't matter. What mattered was what she was doing now. She cared not for the world, so she wanted to do as she please. For this, she needed the completed soul jam of Volition. The power to enact one's will or not. Right now, she had only the apathy half. The indifferent half, that cared little for anything. And up until recently, she had no idea where the other half, Resolution, may have gotten to. For all she knew, the witches cast it back into the oven, never to be seen again. If that was the case, Mystic Flour would've continued on without so much as a single complaint.
But now, she knew of Dark Cacao. She knew that he held the soul jam of resolution. And now, she was going to take back what was once hers. It may have been created after she was originally sealed by the witches. But it was made out of Volition nonetheless. Thus, it was as much a part of her as the dough that built her. That built so many others. For indeed, Mystic Flour is the common ancestor to practically every cookie in existence. You might be able to make a cookie without Sugar, without Salt, without milk, without spice. But you cannot create a cookie without the Leavening Agent, Flour.
Regardless, she set in motion a plan to secure the soul jam half. Once upon a time, she conducted a ritual. Sealed within a simple glass jar of nothing more than ordinary flour. But by a stroke of the luck, the ritual had summoned forth the Pale Horse. And the flour became the Pale Plague, or Destined Death as it's true name known to Mystic Flour only. When all was said and done, she looked up at the pale horse. And its rider's name was death, it had no face, no way to tell if it even was alive or had some form of being. Perhaps it was sentient and this was all a divine prank. Or perhaps not. It matters little, the outcome was the same.
In the present, Mystic Flour took the jar and cracked it open just a pinch to let out this most fatal of blights. She thought of the cacao kingdom, of the warriors she heard were created there, and imbued it to the fragment of the Pale Plague. Then she cast the fragment out into the world, and waited. The spider that never need hunt for food is the Patient one. For its prey will unknowingly walk right into the web and be helpless as they are consumed as the Spider's Meal. And Mystic Flour always had a fascination with spiders and others arachnids. Patience was a virtue, and she was quite virtuous.
Yes, indeed. For many months she watched, she waited. Until one day, she opened her eyes and spoke. "Mine senses reveal intruders. The Warrior King, and his band of misfit warriors. Finally, it is within the grasp of my palm. Thou art but a fool, Dark Cacao. For you have been led to this spider's inescapable web." She quietly whispered to herself, with only the spiders roaming in the Cracks and Crevices of the Temple as company. Destined Death had worked it's magic without fault, without flaw, without wasting any time. Not that it was important. As far as she was concerned, Mystic Flour had all the time in the world.
Thus, she waited more. Instead of immediately charging the Warrior King, she would let him in. If any of the idiotic worshipers or that damned haetae manage to stop them, then her work is already done for her. But if they should make it to her, then she will simply defeat Dark Cacao but let him retreat. Overwhelm him, physically and mentally, so that he breaks. And when he is broken, only then will she take the Soul Jam of Resolution. Only then will she leave and begin a new reign. One ruled by a cookie that chose whether to care or not and made that power manifest into reality.
But these were merely grand ambitions. One that might not even come to fruition. So for now, Mystic Flour watches the Progress of Dark Cacao. His warriors included two peculiar additions. A long haired archer with some extra spring her step, and a short haired beastmaster with more hot air than brainpower. She pondered again. Clearly, the King cared about these two. So why risk their lives coming here? Such questions would be answered later, if they would even get an answer. But in the wake of these sudden appearances, Mystic Flour saw opportunity. A chance to truly play games with the Warrior King. To utterly and decisively crush him.
But as she always knows. The Spider does not anticipate a catch. Merely capitalizes on those it has prepared to ensnare. So that's just what she did. In the meantime, Dark Cacao was talking to Crunchy Chip and Caramel Arrow cookie. They volunteered to come with after the onset of the pale plague ravaged the entire kingdom. "We're here. Beast Yeast. Somewhere, beyond this impenetrable fog, lies our quarry. The one who cast a terrible blight upon our fair kingdom." Dark Cacao Solemnly said, readying his greatsword for any foe. Crunchy Chip and Caramel Arrow nodded in agreement and followed behind.
For many hours, they fought and fought their way to the temple upon the Peaks of Apathy. It wore them down, slowly but surely. Dark Cacao grew weary even if he remained strong to spur his warriors on, knowing the price of giving in while his subjects were watching. As he, Crunchy Chip, and Caramel Arrow looked upon the door of the great temple, they felt as though their journey would be at an end. That the pale plague would be stopped and the kingdom saved. Little do they know, Little do they wonder that this temple would become the final resting place for the Dark Cacao Kingdom, in due time.