Chapter Text
The battle was much longer and far more arduous than it felt, but it was over. Golden Cheese could see the beast make a final effort to reach out and grab her, even as the temple crumbled on top of him, but there was no stopping the large stone fragment that dropped on top of him, the rest of the building with it. The last she saw of him was the look in his eyes, the way they widened with true terror, and then weren't visible at all.
The force of the crash shook the ground, kicking up dust and debris on impact. Golden Cheese’s ears were ringing, and amidst the smoke and rubble flying through the air, she barely even realized when she had lost consciousness.
Opening her eyes was the easy part. Getting up was not. Golden Cheese took the moment she was in place to glance around. The ground was cold and hard, and her body ached as she tried again to stand. She was trapped in some kind of dungeon, and for a moment wondered if she was back where she started- if defeating the beast of destruction was just a hopeful dream.
A yelp from across the space reassured her otherwise.
The room was separated in two by a row of metal bars, and on the other side of this barrier, Burning Spice was face down on the floor, motionless. He was bruised and his wounds looked painful, but he wasn't paralyzed.
Cautiously, she watched him roll onto his back with a pained groan, rubbing his forehead and grumbling.
“… You were crushed in the wreckage.” Golden Cheese was in disbelief. “I saw you.”
The beast looked up and over to her at the sound of her voice, clumsily pushing himself to his feet and stumbling over to the bars- he seemed to have a limp of some kind. “Birdie! You're alive!”
Instinctually, Golden Cheese stepped back, even despite the bars that separated them. He was uncharacteristically excited to see her, that alone putting her on edge.
“I was starting to think you'd never wake up! I can't break these bars or anything, and the door is on your side of the cell, and nobody is outside because I tried yelling and I tried smashing the walls but the stone is too thick so we have to be underground and it could've been days before anyone came to rescue us-”
She cut him off. “How long was I out?”
Burning Spice blinked at her. “Uh… Dunno. I've been the only one awake for a long while though.”
A part of Golden Cheese wondered if he was lonely. She rationalized that it was only because she was his ticket out of here, but it seemed almost like he had been dying to have someone to talk to. Speaking of their predicament though…
“You woke up here too?” Her tone was still cautious.
“Yeah, after the temple collapsed.” Burning Spice was unphased by the casual tone of the conversation. “I think there's some kind of riddle on the wall over here, but I haven't bothered to look at it since you have the buttons.”
True to his word, there was writing on the far wall across the bars, far enough that Golden Cheese couldn't make it out from her side of the cell- and on the wall next to the door, a series of colored buttons. Purple, red, blue, pink, and white.
“It's a puzzle.” She observed.
“Yeah, half a puzzle.” Burning Spice groaned, already sounding impatient. He hobbled around his side of the cell in an approximation of pacing, leg turned outwards strangely.
She grimaced. “You should stop walking on that. It has to be broken.”
Again, Burning Spice looked surprised to hear her voice as he looked over to her, lips curling into a toothy grin. “Aw, Birdie’s worried about me?” He teased.
“If you put too much pressure on it, it'll never heal right. You'll need braces and crutches for the rest of your life.” Golden Cheese huffed in response, turning her head.
“It'd be different… Probably something neat I could do with those…”
“Don't consider it!”
Golden Cheese frowned at his hearty laughter. How could he be so carefree at a time like this? How long had she been unconscious for?
The last things Golden Cheese had heard from her friends before she left for Beast Yeast was Pure Vanilla’s letter informing her of the situation, and Dark Cacao's letter confiding in her about his own. In the letter, Dark Cacao recounted being trapped in an underground cell with the beast that had opposed him, and the conversations they had before their escape led him to bring her back to his kingdom with him.
If this situation was the same, she worried what Pure Vanilla may be in for.
Still, Dark Cacao was not a trusting person, and if he believed the beasts could be redeemed, someone of this… Monster’s strength could be useful in rebuilding her kingdom.
“What are you planning to do if you leave here, anyway?” Golden Cheese asked, raising a brow in suspicion. “You don't have a temple to return to.”
“The spices are no longer loyal to me, but they trust General Nutmeg Tiger Cookie. She will bring them back to my side.”
“Really?” Golden Cheese was incredulous at the notion. “You claim to have followers, but they trust your general more than you? How can you rule a land you didn't earn of your own merit?”
“What does it matter?” Burning Spice shot back, his tone changing. “They'll die eventually, anyway, and I’ll have new subjects. I can't keep ‘earning their merit’ every time a new generation comes about, how would anything get done?!”
Despite the solemn anger he tried to display, Golden Cheese almost marveled at the unmistakable hurt in his tone. Loss is not a foreign feeling to immortal beings, and for all his childishness, it's easy to forget that Burning Spice is much, much older than her, and has had much, much more time to lose things once dear to him. Golden Cheese dreaded the idea of experiencing the loss of her kingdom a second time, let alone several.
“You're an awful liar.” She decided as her response.
“You don't need to believe me.” Burning Spice dropped into a sitting position, trying not to wince in pain.
“I’ve lost my kingdom before.”
“I know. And then you made a fake one, and you destroyed that one yourself.” He answered, looking directly at her now.
“Is that what you think happened?” As much as Golden Cheese wanted to be offended, she felt that familiar desire that spurred most of her actions- and right now, she desired to know where the hell he was going with this.
“Duh!” Burning Spice tossed his hands out in front of him, gesturing like a frustrated teenager. “And here I thought we had something in common! Having half of my soul jam means we’re supposed to be similar! You're supposed to get it!”
Golden Cheese's eyes trailed to the hole in his chest. It looked painful, the edges irritated from the rubble that came with the collapse. “You thought I'd understand why you destroy everything you touch?”
Burning Spice glared at her. “If I’m meant to live forever on Earthbread, my only options are to find something worth doing in the meantime, or get someone to kill me.” In an instant, his expression turned from annoyance to exhaustion. “You were supposed to do one of those, at least.”
Golden Cheese did not like the stir in her chest. His admission gave her a strange discomfort. “You have a lot of assumptions about what's ‘supposed’ to happen.”
“I’ve been around too long. Cookies are very good at noticing patterns.”
For a moment, Golden Cheese thought back to the story she read while escaping the temple. Boredom was supposedly his motivator. That's all there was, right? He became this ‘destroyer’ on a whim.
Pure Vanilla once told her she had a difficult time with nuance.
“You're too pitiful like this.” She grumbled. “I want to get your leg fixed up, too. It bothers me that you keep walking on it when it clearly makes the injury worse.”
Burning Spice looked up from where he had been tracing patterns in the dust, raising a brow.
“Let's get out of here. I’ll at least get you medical attention, so we can have a fair fight.” Golden Cheese didn't wait for his reaction, turning around to investigate her cell. “Come on then, let's figure out what's going on. Read me the riddle, will you?”
After a few moments of shuffling behind her, Burning Spice’s voice reached her ears. “… I can't read this.”
“Wh- What do you mean you can't read it?” Golden Cheese turned around, squinting at him.
“I don't know this language!” Burning Spice tossed his arms up, beginning to hobble away from the inscription. “It was probably invented after I stopped bothering to learn the new ones!”
Something clicked in that moment. “Is that why all of the stories in your temple were told through murals?
“‘Course it was. Languages are invented and abandoned all the time, art is universal.” Burning Spice crossed his arms proudly, and to his credit, it was a fairly intelligent statement.
“You'd like the galleries, then.” Golden Cheese hummed. “In its prime, my kingdom was brimming with artists. I have a lot of the paintings displayed to this day- I’m still impressed how many survived the war.”
“The war?” Burning Spice blinked.
“The Dark Flour War. It was about a thousand years ago, now.” It was beginning to dawn on Golden Cheese just how much history and technology the beasts had missed while trapped in that tree.
“And the paintings… Are still there? Thousands of years later?” A part of Burning Spice didn't sound like he believed her.
“Of course they are! I’ll show you them once we get to my kingdom.”
“Your… Kingdom…?”
Only then did Golden Cheese realize that she hadn't actually offered to take him back with her yet- but the radiant queen was known for nothing but her tendency to double down(a habit Mozzarella had poked fun at her for countless times when betting).
“O-Of course!” She answered quickly, eager to save face. “It's not like I’ll let you stay with the spices. You're a terrible leader.”
Burning Spice didn't respond, frowning at her. Had she said something wrong?
Regardless, Golden Cheese simply turned back around. “At least try to get something out of the riddle, will you?” She hummed, listening for the sound of the beast shambling back over to the wall. “Hmm… There seem to be some inputs here, maybe-”
Interrupting her musings, Burning Spice shouted, “THIS PUZZLE IS STUPID!” The declaration followed by scraping and crunching.
“Ah?- What on Earthbread are you-” Golden Cheese turned again, only to see the one formerly held as a ‘great destroyer’… Attempting to chew through the metal bars.
Considering herself a merciful queen(merciful to his future dentist, that is), Golden Cheese marched over to the bars and pinched the bridge of his nose until he released the bar from his jaws.
“Aah-! I stopped! I stopped!” Burning Spice stumbled backwards, snarling. “You didn't have to do that.”
“And were you going to stop if I simply told you to?”
“… There are arrows under the inscription. That's all I could gather.”
Golden Cheese could work with arrows.
Turning back to the buttons, she wiped away the thick layer of dust atop them. Wherever this place was, it had been abandoned for a very long time. The buttons, at the very least, had an order to the colors. Furthest to the left was the white button, then the blue one, then the pink one, then red, and furthest to the right was the purple button.
“Is there an order to the arrows?” Golden Cheese asked, trying to gather the objective of the puzzle.
Burning Spice grumbled in thought behind her. “Down, up, down-right, down-left, right.”
“Down-right?”
“Some of them are diagonal.”
“Hm…” Golden Cheese ran through everything she knew about this place. “There are five arrows and five buttons, so each arrow clearly corresponds to one of the buttons.”
“The buttons are different colors, right?” Burning Spice asked, a lilt to his voice that indicated he had an idea.
“Mm? Yes. There's White, blue, pink, red, and purple.”
“White, blue, pink…” Suddenly, Burning Spice yelped. “I’ve got it! They're directions!”
“Directions?”
“The colors represent the beasts, and the arrows are the directions of our homes from the center of the continent!” Burning Spice was practically bouncing in place when Golden Cheese looked over her shoulder, and his excitement at solving the riddle was almost contagious.
“Alright, so the first one is down, then.” Golden Cheese offered, trying to get them on track.
“South of center is the Spire, that's Milk’s place! Press the blue one.” He instructed, and Golden Cheese began to excite as well as the button clicked into place.
“The next one is up, then?”
“That's purple, the flatland is Salty’s territory.”
Click.
“So down-right means Southeast, which would be…”
“That's Sugar’s garden! It's pink!”
Click.
“Southwest?”
“Flour's mountains, white!”
Click.
“And right is-”
“That's mine! That's red!”
Click.
As the energy in the cell reached a crescendo, the bars separating them retracted into the floor, leaving the cell as a single room.
In his excitement, Burning Spice cheered and bounded towards Golden Cheese, leaving her only time to do little more than panic for a moment as she was lifted into the air, grabbed into… A hug?
Burning Spice spun her around in his arms, only setting her down to make his own way towards the buttons with glee.
“I couldn't see it well from the other side, but it's all of us!” He commented, pleased with the accomplishment.
Golden Cheese took the moment he was distracted to gather her bearings. Burning Spice had gotten so excited he hugged her- he hadn't even considered continuing their fight where it left off. It was strange, imagining him more affectionate than violent, but as she watched him poke and prod at each button like a curious child, Golden Cheese began to wonder if the nostalgia was part of it.
Burning Spice was not always the great destroyer- nor was he always a beast. This riddle corresponded to each of the beasts, but with the age of the room they had been trapped in, it was possible the riddle was constructed before even their corruption. These beasts were once his friends, as dear to him as Golden Cheese’s are to her. A sadness crept into her chest as she briefly wondered whether he had ever overcome a challenge like this, and hugged his friends the way he had hugged her.
Burning Spice had been the beast of destruction for a very long time, and a life only seeking strength, violence, and more strength sounds like a very, very lonely one.
These realizations were cumbersome, and Golden Cheese busied herself with reading the inscription. It was a very, very old dialect of the modern common tongue, but she could decipher the majority on her own.
Skimming past the portion of the puzzle they had already solved, Golden Cheese was intent in finding the portion of the riddle that told them how to open the door.
“Did you find anything new?” Burning Spice was peering over her shoulder, and Golden Cheese instinctually lowered her wings out of his reach.
“We solved the hard part already. Opening the door seems pretty straightforward from here, it just requires two people.” She explained, looking over the inscription again. “We simply have to press the two buttons that are furthest apart at the same time.”
“But the buttons are still stuck down from the first puzzle.”
That's right, the buttons stayed down when she pressed them- presumably, they would all return to normal position if she had pressed one out of order for an easy reset.
“Well, since we already have the solution to the last puzzle, we’ll be out of here as soon as we can get the buttons back up.” Golden Cheese stood upright, gesturing for him to follow her. “Come on. The bars might come up again if we release the buttons, and we'll have to re-do the puzzle from the start if you get stuck on the other side.”
“You were serious about taking me back with you, then?” Burning Spice asked, a hopeful sort of glimmer in his eye.
“The door won't open unless we both press the buttons.” Golden Cheese repeated flatly. “But… Yes. I’ve already made up my mind, and I don't change my mind once I’ve come to a decision.”
Golden Cheese tapped at the buttons investigatively, to no avail. “Hm, maybe we need to-”
Burning Spice punched one of the buttons. They all popped out at once.
“… Do that, apparently.”
Golden Cheese took her place in front of the purple button, watching Burning Spice move to stand in front of the white one.
“We need to do this at the same time.” She reminded him, stern in her tone. “On three. One…”
Golden Cheese watched the beast intently, their fingertips hovering in front of their buttons.
“Two…”
Their palms came to rest on the smooth, painted surfaces.
“Three!”
Click. Swoosh.
The door swung open in time, sunlight flooding the room. Both of them scrambled out the door, relief flooding their nerves.
As their eyes adjusted to the light, they appeared to be somewhere in the spice deserts, Golden Cheese could see the ruined temple on a faraway mountain. The Kulfi village was a shorter distance in the other direction.
Burning Spice tumbled to the ground behind her, hissing in pain.
“I told you not to overuse that leg!” She scolded the beast, begrudgingly tossing his arm over her shoulder and standing him up.
“It felt better inside!” He argued back, but did not comment on the assistance.
“I want to find Smoked Cheese Cookie before we leave. Is there anything you want to bring with you, any goodbyes?” She asked.
“Nothing that wasn't destroyed in the collapse.” Burning Spice shrugged, surprisingly nonchalant.
“And goodbyes?”
“It's… It's better the spices believe I’m dead. Nutmeg Tiger Cookie will make a good ruler in my absence.”
Golden Cheese blinked at him, surprised to receive the admission.
“What?” He grinned. “Like you said, I’m a terrible leader.”
Golden Cheese finally found the companion she had arrived with at the Kulfi village, and Burning Spice agreed to hide a small distance away while she retrieved him. Not like he could walk on his own, anyway.
He sat on the warm sands, feeling the grains beneath his palms while he waited for her return.
Goodbyes, huh…? This would be the last time he would rest upon these sands. Perhaps the sands in the Golden Cheese Kingdom were just as warm, but they would not be the same sands. Perhaps the sun would be just as hot, but it would not be upon the same seat.
Burning Spice already felt the churning homesickness, and he hadn't even left yet. He simply tried to remind himself that it was better this way. The spices, lesser and wild, would all be better off. This kingdom- or at least what remains of it, would finally begin to prosper again. He had that much trust in-
“Burning Spice Cookie?”
The beast opened his eyes. He didn't remember shutting them. Standing in front of him was Nutmeg Tiger, a mix of terror and relief hidden beneath her ever-brave expression.
Burning Spice, once a great destroyer, no longer had it in himself to hide his fond smile. “You need to hide your eyes if you don't want me to know what you're thinking, General.”
“S-Sir?”
Nutmeg Tiger’s family had served him as the great destroyer for generations. An ancestor of hers was once a close companion of Burning Spice, and he could see the old hag in the girl even now, thousands of years later.
“I’m leaving the spice plains, General.” He told her finally. “If I'm ever going to get stronger, I can't do it here.”
“B-But, Great Destroyer, sir-!”
Burning Spice chuckled dryly. “You call me that like it still means something.” He let his eyes fall shut, feeling the warm sun on his face. “An ancestor of yours was once my second in command. That was a very, very long time ago. I don't think you'd be able to comprehend how long ago, if anything. And yet… I can still see her in you. You're so much like her.” Burning Spice couldn't remember the last time he had smiled so genuinely. “Maybe some things do stick around, after all.”
“G- … Sir. The wild spices won't accept your disappearance.” Nutmeg Tiger’s voice wavered, no matter how she tried to remain firm.
“Then don't tell them I’m disappearing. They all think I died when the temple collapsed. Let them.”
“But who will rule the spice plains? If you're not here-”
“You will.”
Burning Spice grinned, unable to hide his amusement as he met her shocked eyes.
“You're a great General. Have I ever told you that? You're organized, responsible, strong… You command respect, just like I do, but you have the credibility to back it up.” The honesty spilled from him, allowing the weakness to take him over for a moment, feeling this was something that needed to be said. “You will make a great leader.”
Nutmeg Tiger did not respond, sitting in front of him silently. Burning Spice could see the emotion swelling in her eyes, and a part of him he never truly allowed himself to express before patted the ground next to him. “Sit with me. This will be the last time I rest upon these sands.”
Wordlessly, she moved to sit next to him, leaning back against the pillar of rock behind them. She could not hold in her tears when he patted her head affectionately, and he did not comment on them.
“I had a child, once. It was before I was sealed. He probably has descendants out there somewhere. Maybe I’ll run into one.” Burning Spice mused, watching the trees of the oasis on the hill in front of them sway in the afternoon breeze. “I'll be around forever, and you're still young, so make sure to visit me at some point. I’d like to see you again before you move on. I'd like to hear how well you did as a ruler.”
Burning Spice did not comment when she rested her head on his shoulder, continuing to voice whatever thoughts came to him. “It's been a long time since I’ve visited the Kulfi village. They looked well, from where I was hiding. I wonder who the elder is now.”
To her credit, Nutmeg Tiger was a very quiet crier, and he didn't realize she had stopped until he heard her quiet snoring. The birdie hadn't returned with her lackey quite yet, and so Burning Spice allowed himself to shed a few tears of his own. Only a few, of course. For his temple, the few possessions dear to him that he lost in the rubble. For his sands, the home he spent his entire life in that he may never see again. And for Nutmeg Tiger, who he had come to see as a daughter in her own right. Perhaps every parent feels this way when they finally have to let their child grow up.
“… So he really is coming back with us.” Came Smoked Cheese’s tone of disbelief, and Burning Spice quickly dried his tears. “Is the… Is the General coming too?”
“No.” Burning Spice responded, firm and level in his tone. “She found me herself.”
“She fell asleep?” Golden Cheese sounded just as surprised, keeping her voice down.
“It's been a long day.” He excused. “I don't know the modern script, you know. Help me write her something before we leave.”
Nutmeg Tiger woke alone, the sun setting over the horizon. The great destroyer was gone, and the rock they had sat against was just cooling from his absence. The only thing left in his place was the emblem he wore on his waistband, acting as a paperweight for a letter.
Nutmeg Tiger Cookie,
I have lived a very long life. I have seen countless civilizations rise and fall. I spent all my time living by the philosophy that nothing lasts forever. When you live as long as I do, time doesn't feel like a factor. Things change so quickly compared to my life, that it never felt worth getting attached to anything.
The first time I destroyed a civilization myself, the first time I crumbled a cookie with my own hands, it was the first time I had ever felt in control. The world was going to change over again anyway, but it felt good to have at least a say over when.
Your family served the great destroyer for generations spanning thousands of years. An ancestor of yours was once the closest thing I had to a best friend. You have always been strong and prideful cookies. If there is any constant in this world, it is the strength baked into your very dough. You will make a good leader. I want to hear of your deeds one day.
Time passes very quickly for me. I may never see you again in person. Make the world praise your name, so maybe one day I can hear it.
You're in charge now. Do what you do best, great one.
Nutmeg Tiger stood shakily, determined not to cry again as she fastened the emblem to her belt and tucked the letter safely into it. The rock where he sat was cooling, but still warm. He hadn't left too long ago.
Before she could rationalize her own actions, Nutmeg Tiger took off. She ran as quickly as she could, as quickly as her legs would carry her, to the cliffs that met the eastern seafront.
There was a gilded ship on the horizon, still visible as it sailed away. Amidst the golden surfaces, she could make out a crimson figure seated on the upper deck.
As loudly as she could, with the most powerful breath she could take, Nutmeg Tiger whistled into her hands- a sendoff cry. It was tradition amongst the spices, when new crumbs blew in the winds after a gruesome battle. It was a goodbye of honor. She whistled as loud and as long as she could manage, only stopping when her chest began to burn and her throat ached for air.
As she took a shaky breath in, she heard him whistle back- and swore she could see the tiny red figure waving at her in the distance.
Nutmeg Tiger stayed on the cliffside, until the ship disappeared beyond sight and the sun dipped below the horizon, before she finally turned to the valley below her.
He had left on his own adventure, and she was in charge now. The only thing left for Nutmeg Tiger to do was what she did best.