Chapter Text
PART I: In Silent Solidarity
“Those— those witches!”
The Fount of Knowledge slammed hard onto the wall of the Silver Tree… if you could call it that. He and the other Fallen Virtues had been sealed inside the center tree in the Faerie Kingdom. Currently, they were floating in a void of dark nothingness that stretched out for miles, somehow.
They could will themselves to stand on different planes, which made it difficult to know whether they were facing up or down. The Fount’s jester outfit was ruined, dirt and grime mixed with the fabric.
“They… sealed us! They and that wretched Elder Faerie sealed us away!” the Fount seethed, banging on a willed wall before he phased through, and he was sent flying, though it didn’t take long for him to land. “Can you believe it?”
“My garden! My citizens! My happiness!” the Sugar of Happiness wailed, clutching her curled pink hair as tears streamed down her cheeks. “What will they do without me—without the power of my Soul Jam?! The garden will crumble, and my cookies will leave me!”
“Bah! Those witches—weak! They captured us when we were off guard instead of fighting us like true deities could! If they have to resort to surprise, then they don’t deserve all their power!” the Herald of Change roared out, fire flaring from his eyes.
The Flour of Volition said nothing, floating through the cool air whilst meditating calmly. “Of course they did, they feared us. Without the limitations we once had, if we combined our power, we would be sure to win. The only things holding us back now are our emotions… and this cursed tree.” She finally spoke, cleaning off the dirt from her robes.
“We sacrificed so much for Earthbread, and what do we get in return? Oh, I know! An eternal imprisonment in this stupid tree!” the Fount screamed, his hair moving uncontrollably. But in an instant, it all stopped as the deceitfully knowledgeable turned to his friend.
“So, Salty,” the Fount started, hopping towards the armored immortal that once held Solidarity. “What’s your opinion on all of this? You’ve been awfully… silent!” He asked, playfully nudging the Salt of Solidarity in an effort to get him to speak some words since they’ve been sealed.
“I am… disappointed in all of you,” the Salt of Solidarity managed to get out, holding his arms to restrain himself from hurting his companions, if he even could. “You’ve all lost your Virtues! You’ve all succumbed to Deceit, Sloth, Destruction, and Apathy! This wasn’t what we were baked for—”
“And like you’re one to talk,” the Fount of Knowledge interrupted. “You lost your Virtue too, y’know? If you didn’t, then you wouldn’t be here with us, would you?” He pointed out, venom hidden deep within his words.
“I only fell because of you four! Your citizens invaded my domain and slaughtered my knights, along with many innocents! I would’ve never fallen if not for your commands to attack my Kala Namak knights!” the Salt of Solidarity countered, twisting around to glare daggers at the Fount. Even with his armor, the Fount could still feel his eyes on him. “I could tear all of you apart and it wouldn’t even come close to what I had witnessed… what I had done!”
With those last sentences, the Fount looked puzzled. “‘Commands?’ I don’t know about the other three, but I never commanded my kingdom to attack yours,” the Fount said truthfully, genuinely confused by what the Salt said. “After my… fall, I fled my kingdom, leaving full power to Sour Blueberry.”
“After mine, I let Sweet Jam take over while I went out to find old cookies that had left my garden…” the Sugar of Happiness sputtered out, taking breaths between her sobs. “I would never allow myself, nor the citizens in my garden, to hurt another cookie…!”
“My reason is similar to Sugar’s.” The Herald crossed his arms, leaning as he looked at nothing. “After I corrupted, I left my kingdom with a few of my citizens that shared my ideals to find worthy competitors to fight and defeat! But while I was away, I left Nutmeg Tiger and another in charge. I can’t remember the name of the other one… not like it matters.”
“And as for me, I left Wheat Grain to spread enlightenment while I meditated to suppress my emotions,” the Flour of Volition said in a monotone voice, her emotionless words striking deep in Salt’s heart.
“Despicable… at least tell me why. Why have you four forsaken your Virtues? Why have you turned away from its other half?” the Salt asked, wanting to understand the reason why his friends had changed so suddenly.
“Those cookies don’t deserve our help. They don’t deserve our time, our power, nor our kindness!” the Fount said bitterly, the thought of his life before his descent leaving lingering anger. “Well, why don’t I tell you a story? I’m sure you’ll be entertained!”
Some time ago, in the continent of Yeast, the Fount of Knowledge happily jogged across the dirt path near his Spire of All Knowledge. He waved politely to his residents in the Blueberry Village, giving them kind smiles which they returned with just as much energy.
But just then, a group of kids ran up to the knowledgeable cookie, wearing excited looks on their faces. “Dear Fount of Knowledge! We seek the truth!” a kid said, his smile infectious. “May you please grant us the information we are looking for?”
“Oh, but of course! What is my purpose if not to spread knowledge across Earthbread?” He replied, crouching down to their height. “What is it that you wish to know?”
“Why are cookies baked?”
“That’s quite simple! You see, when a male and female fall deeply in love, they decide—” As the Fount talked, he was quickly interrupted by another kid, who sported a bit of an annoyed expression.
“Not that! We already know about that stuff! We meant… why are cookies baked? Is there a reason why we were created?” a second child asked, crossing her arms. “Why are our bodies so fragile? Why is our strawberry jam so deliciously sweet?”
At the end of her question, the Fount looked genuinely puzzled. He knew everything on Earthbread from the moment he was baked, but this… it confused him. While this wasn’t the first time he’d been short on knowledge, this question felt different.
“Oh… well! Unfortunately, that’s one question I cannot answer. I’m truly sorry,” the Fount apologized, giving the kids an apologetic smile. Instead of understanding, the kids’ expressions turned to anger.
“What?! But you’re the Fount of Knowledge! You’re supposed to be smart! Don’t you know the answer? You live in a spire full of books!” a third kid asked angrily.
“I am! I just—”
“If you don’t know this, then can we really trust what you say? You could be lying to our faces, and we just… believe you!” the first kid pointed out, doubt evident in his voice.
“Of course you can! Just because—”
“What are you even good for if you can’t even answer this? Knowledge—hah! You’re probably… erm… Cluelessness! Yeah, Fount of Cluelessness!”
“I…” Those words hit deep within the Fount of Knowledge; who knew kids could be so cruel? What was he good for if not to spread Knowledge? Was he even good at anything besides spreading knowledge? If he was bad at that, did he even deserve his Soul Jam?
Clearing his throat, the Fount pushed those thoughts deep down and gave the kids a forced smile. “Tell you what, I’ll go back to the Spire of All Knowledge and do some digging, and tomorrow, I’ll host another lecture. If you come, I’ll discuss the answer!”
With those words, their angry expressions turned eager and bright, but after what they had said… the Fount wasn’t in the mood to deal with their antics anymore. “Now, why don’t you head on home?” Using his magic, he flipped them around and gestured for them to walk away. “I’m sure your parents are worried about you three! Goodbye!”
It was clear they wanted to talk more, but they didn’t want to disrespect the Fount any more than they had, so they slowly walked away until they were out of eyesight.
“Great…” the Fount sighed, turning back to the direction of his Spire. With a flick of his staff, the Soul Jam of Knowledge pulsed, and a portal of blue and gold appeared in front of him. “Time for another day of captivating knowledge!” He stepped into the rift, and instantly he appeared in the library inside his Spire.
“...Then, to sum it all up, I didn’t find any answers, none whatsoever! The day of the lecture, I explained that I didn’t know anything about the subject, and then those cookies chased me out of my kingdom! Can you believe it?” the Fount scoffed, crossing his arms. “That was when I realized, ‘Cookies don’t like my truth, they only care for sweet, sweet deceit! If they wanted lies, then I’d give them lies!’ So I stormed back in and corrupted their mindsets, making them loyal and deceitful servants of mine!”
The Fount of Knowledge pushed himself up before shooting himself behind the Salt of Solidarity. “Well? So what’d you think of my story? Amazing, I know!”
“You’re not telling me everything, aren’t you? Only half-truths,” the Salt logically deduced. “You, the Fount of Knowledge, weren’t able to find the answer you sought? No, I know you did. Especially since…”
“Enough about me!” the Fount interjected, clearly bothered by this subject. “Why don’t we go to Sugar instead? I’m sure she has a great story to tell as well!”
They all turned to the Sugar of Happiness, who was drying her tears on her dress. “I… suppose I could try. I’m not the best at storytelling without a book like the rest of you, though.” She said.
As the Sugar of Happiness started to tell her story, a sense of guilt washed over the Salt of Solidarity.
Did he make the right choice? Was he correct to seal him and the Fallen Divine Emissaries into the Silver Tree?
***
The Fount of Knowledge gasped in horror, his staff falling on the ground beside him, the Soul Jam flickering violently. This wasn’t what he’d expected—he didn’t think…!
He had to get out of here; he couldn’t be around them, not after what he’d just witnessed.
How could he explain this to his people? Perhaps…
A lie would work much better?
***
“Bored! So bored…!”
The Herald of Change—No, Burning Spice complained, throwing a virtual manifestation of his into the air before it disappeared. It hadn’t been long before the Fallen Virtues had figured out that they only held half their Soul Jam, which angered them. And it seemed like they were able to use their power in the Tree, but they weren’t able to do anything to harm it; it was too strong.
“We know, Spice,” the Fount—Shadow Milk groaned, leaning back on a chair he had made, which disappeared almost instantly. They couldn’t create things out of nothing, so they had to get them from somewhere. But when something entered, it wasn’t long before it teleported outside, since it was a foreign object that hadn’t been sealed with them.
“It’s been so long since I’ve seen my garden…” Eternal Sugar sighed wistfully before she had a thought. She ran to Burning Spice, a smile etched on her face as she asked, “Spice! Tell me, do you still have your… virtual illusions? I forgot what you called it.”
“A virtual reality,” Burning Spice corrected, pushing the Beast of Sloth away from him. “But no, I don’t. I lost that power when the Witches split my Soul Jam; it belongs to the imposter who must wield Abundance.”
“What would use mere illusions be? It’s been many years, I’m sure you’ve already forgotten what it looks like, not that it matters,” Mystic Flour stated, her veil fluttering in the air.
“Of course not! I remember my garden as I did when we were… sealed,” Eternal Sugar said, her voice a mere whisper at the last word. She didn’t like talking about their imprisonment—none of them did.
There was only silence between them for a long while until the black void around them suddenly flashed red, like an alarm blaring when there was an emergency. This startled them all; it hadn’t happened before, so what could it mean?
“Haha! Yes! Finally, something interesting!” Burning Spice cheered, happy to finally have something new happen.
“Oh~! It seems like the Witches’ Seal is finally weakening! I bet if we all combine our powers, we’ll be able to escape!” Shadow Milk summoned all his magic, focusing it into one blue flame, strong enough to destroy anything. “Yes…! Our time is nigh!”
Using all his strength, he shot it forward until—CRACK!
Silent Salt paled, shock flooding through him. He didn’t think the Seal would weaken this badly, just enough for Shadow Milk to create a rift in the tree, albeit it wasn’t big enough for any of them to fit through. He hoped Elder Faerie could fix this in time.
“It worked, it really worked! Come, my friends! If we fuse our power, we’ll be sure to leave this wretched tree!” Shadow Milk squealed, powering up for another shot.
“At long last, I’ll be able to spread my happiness once more!” Eternal Sugar held out her hands, a heart-shaped ball of pink fire materializing.
“I knew this would happen! Change is inevitable! Destruction shall ravage the land!” Burning Spice stated with manic glee, wisps of fire swirling around him, forming into a blazing ball of fire in front of him.
“Without this tree keeping us chained, enlightenment shall be cookiekind’s,” Mystic Flour said, pale white clouds forming around her, lifting her hair to make her seem more majestic. Around her arms, particles that resembled flour circled her.
“And I… shall see my Elder Faerie again,” Silent Salt quietly said, his Soul Jam pulsing a dark purple as its aura covered him. But unlike the other Beasts, his was weaker—most likely because he didn’t want to break the Seal.
In the time he spent in the Silver Tree, Silent Salt gradually realized that everything that happened could’ve been prevented, but the loss of his knights blinded him with fury. If only he had tried to find the truth before resorting to imprisonment, maybe he could’ve changed their minds.
He didn’t want to lose their friendship, because, despite how corrupted they were, they were his family. They were the last strands of Solidarity he had left, and he couldn’t lose them as well, but he knew he couldn’t doom cookiekind for the sake of his friends. And he couldn’t doom his friends again for the sake of cookiekind.
He was in a stalemate.
“The seal has already split so wide…” a feminine voice remarked in horror, a voice that Silent Salt did not recognize.
“We must use the strength of silver to stop it!” a masculine voice ordered, one that could’ve only belonged to the Guardian of the Silver Tree: Elder Faerie.
“Everyone, fight with me…!” the same female voice commanded. Then, unexpectedly, Silent Salt felt a familiar power resonate with his. Yes, this lady… held Silent Salt’s other half! She had the other half of Solidarity, like him!
“Ugh, seems like the butterfly just doesn’t know when to quit!” Shadow Milk scoffed, anger boiling in him with only the mere voice of the Guardian. “But who’s the girl? She seems… oh, so familiar!”
The ex-Fount shook his head, remembering what they had to do. “No matter! Everyone—it’s time to tear down this stupid tree!” Shadow Milk shouted, shooting a blue beam at the crack. The others joined him, shooting red, white, pink, and a flickering dull purple beam at the tear, respectively.
But before it could land…
“Now, White Lily Cookie!”
In an instant, everything returned to normal. The girl—White Lily—raised her staff high, summoning vines to cover the crack, sealing them once again. The Beasts’ beams landed on nothing, eventually disappearing into nothingness. The red lights abruptly stopped, and the Fallen Virtues felt their power fade like their beams.
“No—NO!” Shadow Milk zoomed to where the tear was, feeling nothing but air. His breaths grew erratic—this couldn’t have happened; they were supposed to be free. That girl, he hadn’t met her, but Shadow Milk could tell he didn’t like her. But he felt something else, a perk he kept from his time as the Fount. He could sense her unwavering drive to find the truth, a truth that led her to the Silver Kingdom.
But what truth was she hoping to find? Could it be…
“That girl! Her strength is mesmerizing! If only I had the chance to escape and spar with her!” Burning Spice admired, laughing to himself about the thought that could’ve been.
“She is strong, yet I loathe her for keeping us imprisoned here for… who knows how long,” Mystic Flour coolly said, returning to a tranquil state.
“Such a beautiful lady~! One as powerful as her must have suffered so many hardships…! Yes, I’ve decided!” Eternal Sugar chirped, flying around the void. “Once we are freed, she deserves a place in my garden! Power won’t matter for she’ll be free of all her worries!”
Shadow Milk scoffed, still seething from their quick defeat. “That is if she’s still here by then,” he said. “She came here to find the truth, but when she does… I wonder if she’ll return whole!”
“Don’t be such a brute! To wish pain upon others…” the Bringer of 'Happiness’ glared at the deceitful deity, who laughed as if it were a joke. It probably was for him. “You're taking a page out of Spice’s book.”
“And is that so bad?” Burning Spice asked.
“Of course!”
As both Beasts bickered, Shadow Milk watched in complete enjoyment while Mystic Flour stayed silent, meditating to repress the anger that had started to simmer inside her. Silent Salt, on the other hand, slowly walked away, needing to take time away from his friends.
Using the power in his half of the Soul Jam, he conjured a photo of Elder Farie and him, when he was still remembered as the Salt of Solidarity. Though it didn’t stay forever, for the next moment, it silently disappeared. But there was something different this time; it had remained for a second longer.
“Strange,” Silent Salt commented, turning back to the Beasts, his eyes flickering between them and where the rift once was. White Lily may have been able to save the day today, but the Tree is weakening, and it’s only a matter of when it’ll finally wither and free him and his friends.
***
The Fount of Knowledge ran fast down the steps of his Spire, removing his monocle and throwing it on the ground, which shattered it upon impact. He didn’t care. He just didn’t care anymore.
“Sir Fount! Wait!” Sapphire Grape called out, trailing behind the virtue. While he wasn’t as powerful as the Fount was, he knew his spells; he had learned from him directly. Using his floating carbon microphone staff, he cast a spell to increase his speed, easily catching up with the Fount.
“Sir, what seems to be the matter? You just—”
“Get away from me, Sapphire,” the Fount ordered, his voice devoid of any kindness. “Those cookies? Ungrateful brats! They don’t deserve my knowledge, none of them do! They don’t know what I had witnessed for one answer that didn’t matter! If they can’t handle the truth, then I’ll give them bitter lies!”
Sapphire Grape’s expression creased, clearly uncomfortable with the idea. “But, sir, I’m sure they didn’t mean it. To be told you were meant to be eaten… it is expected that they would be in denial.”
“That, I understand.” Both of them reached the bottom of the Spire. “But to call me a fake, a liar, unworthy of my title?! They have some nerve to belittle me! What have they done on Earthbread to warrant insulting me! Me! A virtue created by the Witches, who, by the way, probably treat us as some… science experiment!”
The Fount of Knowledge halted, and Sapphire stopped beside him. He gripped his staff, his Soul Jam flickering between his bright blue and a dark indigo. The Fount swiftly turned and aimed his staff at Sapphire Grape, magic swirling around the crystal. “Sorry, Sapphy, but I’ve decided!”
Sapphire Grape backed away, gripping his own staff tight as he prepared to try and defend himself. Behind them, citizens were exiting the tower, angry and annoyed. “Sir, please, you’re not in your right mind.” He backed away slowly, wisps circling his staff.
“I may not be, but soon, you won’t be as well!” the Fount screamed, digging his staff into the ground. Waves of Dark Moon Magic radiated from the source, pushing Sapphire Grape away as he defended himself.
Dark Moon Magic swarmed around the Fount of Knowledge, corrupting the Virtue. His hair changed rapidly, eyes appearing on the inside of his hair. His appearance changed; his usual robe turned into an outfit akin to a jester's. The Soul Jam of Knowledge freed himself from the staff, resting on his chest, with the diamond in the center morphing into a slit.
Green Apple hurriedly ran towards to commotion, worry, and paranoia plastered all over her face. “Fount of Knowledge!” she screamed, the fear evident in her voice.
The Fount didn’t respond; instead, he aimed his changed staff at her, and suddenly, Green Apple Cookie was no more. Not in the traditional sense, at least.
“Green Apple Cookie!” Sapphire Grape rushed to his friend’s side, her form changing as rapidly as the Fount’s was. As citizens dispersed in fear, Sapphire didn’t move, checking Green Apple(?) for any injuries, for she was knocked out cold.
But since he was defenseless, the Fount of Knowledge took that opportunity to strike Sapphire Grape as well, inflicting on him what happened to Green Apple.
***
After their failure to escape, the days blurred into each other. Some days, they had fun like they used to; others, they were as silent as the wind, not daring to speak to one another due to a fight that had happened.
Mystic Flour became more detached; she truly was becoming a paragon of apathy.
Eternal Sugar turned tired, for her longing to see her garden again would never change.
Burning Spice grew bored of the endless and repetitive days, often striking up fights just to please his boredom.
Silent Salt stayed silent, always brooding or mourning his doomed love life with Elder Faerie.
And Shadow Milk? He never missed a chance to catch up on the world.
Small rifts have been appearing around them, allowing him to take a peek at the outside world. Fortunately, they weren’t so big that Shadow Milk could interfere with them, only allowing him to watch.
It seemed that Shadow Milk’s hunch was correct; White Lily was hoping to find the truth of why they were baked, and she paid the price!
She was Silent Salt’s other half, holder of the Light of Freedom. During her time in the Silver Kingdom, he was able to obtain valuable information about their other halves.
His other half, the Auspice of Truth, was Pure Vanilla, king of the Vanilla Kingdom. He was described as kind, giving help to all who needed it, making sure all were fine… pathetic, really! Nothing more than a charade was what it was; no one was that kind.
Burning Spice’s other half, the Soverign of Abundance, was Golden Cheese, queen of the Golden Cheese Kingdom, which was located in a barren desert; a strange place for a kingdom. She was made out to be a greedy bird, gathering valuable treasures to share with her citizens. Shadow Milk wondered what would happen if you just… destroyed it all?
Then there was Eternal Sugar’s other half, the Berry of Passion, Hollyberry, the ruler of the Hollyberry Kingdom. An adventurous cookie she was, always marching straight into battle with her shield raised high, passionate to protect her friends from danger.
And finally, there was Mystic Flour’s other half, the Ruler of Resolution, Dark Cacao, the founder of the Dark Cacao Kingdom, found in a tundra near the Licorice Sea. He was able to stop the many-day-long battle between the White Dragon of the South and the Black Dragon of the North by imprisoning them in his sword! Maybe he’d be able to strike an alliance with them if he’d ever freed them!
Also, it seemed like his hunch about White Lily was correct! She’d come to “Beast-Yeast” to find the truth of the Witches, which ended badly for her, given the fact that the Moonstone that Elder Faerie gifted her had transported her, comatose, back to the Faerie Kingdom.
He didn’t know what happened to White Lily exactly, but whenever he could get a bit more magic than usual outside, he’d been able to deduce that her soul had been split into two, like how their whole Soul Jams had been split into two halves, one pure, one corrupted.
So Shadow Milk had reason to believe that the corrupted part of White Lily was causing mayhem on Earthbread, probably starting a war or whatever, he didn’t care, because in every possible outcome, they all led to one thing…
Freedom!
Ironic, wasn’t it?
From the short time she lived in the Silver Kingdom, Shadow Milk learned that White Lily had an insane drive to find the truth, and she had gone through about everything to find it. If she had corrupted, then her sense of freedom would’ve twisted, and with her drive, she would’ve aspired to rule the desert to give “freedom” to its inhabitants.
But the other Soul Jam Bearers wouldn’t let that happen, of course not! So using their combined power, they would try and stop her, and since she clearly outnumbered, she needed help.
He was sure that Elder Faerie had told her about the origin of the Beasts, so with that knowledge, the corrupted White Lily would eventually free them from their prison so that she could gain power!
Too bad that, in the long run, she wouldn’t win.
And so, they waited… and waited… and waited… until finally, there came their second chance. Without a White Lily to seal the tree, they were as good as freed!
Another rift formed between the void and the physical dimension, one that was twice as big as the first one.
“Finally~!” Shadow Milk sang was delighted to finally have a guaranteed chance of freedom. “No time to waste! Come, we must unite our power so we can finally escape!”
Each of the Five Beasts powered up once again, shooting a beam of their color towards the rift. It was big enough for them to escape, but Shadow Milk forgot to remember that they could just jump through.
Once the beam hit, Shadow Milk squealed in delight. It was about time.
The Beast of Deceit ran towards the rift, preparing to face those who wished to fight him. He sensed White Lily, who awakened from her slumber, yet couldn’t do anything to seal the Tree! Then there were three kids, Elder Faerie, some of his guards… oh?
And in front of the Silver Tree… was Pure Vanilla!
This was going to be fun!