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"My Queen? Are you feeling unwell again?" Smoked Cheese Cookie's voice rang throughout the lavish halls, and through Golden Cheese Cookie's head. Had he not spoken up, she might've lingered watching that mural for god knows how long.
"No," Golden Cheese uttered, "I sensed the power... Of the Soul Jam, coming from that carving on the wall." She stood there, unmoving, as though entranced by it.
"The Soul Jam?" Smoked Cheese came closer. What he saw was undoubtedly an image of Burning Spice Cookie, the Beast of Destruction, but he looked distinctly different from how he looks today. Six arms held a weapon in each hand, a golden crown adorned his head and he wore more gold and jewels on himself than even Her Radiance.
"Yes... How strange." The queen whispered, as though careful not to disturb even a speck of dust of the temple halls. But a moment later, she turned abruptly and walked away with big steps. "We should keep moving," she said, not turning around. Smoked Cheese followed her. "Perhaps we'll find more answers as we go."
Smoked Cheese Cookie didn't see what his queen saw. A snapshot of someone else's memories flashed before her eyes, a life she has not lived, but felt as though it was a part of her; Burning Spice Cookie's past.
A familiar upside down orange triangle glimmered on his crown, he sat on a throne surrounded by his loyal subjects, and yet he was unhappy.
"Boring... I'm bored." The Herald of Change groaned.
"O Great One, what is it that you find so boring?" A Turmeric Pig Priest asked.
"Great One, it is said that a new life has sprouted in a distant barren," A Kulfi Monkey Priest said. "Perhaps, watching it grow will entertain you?"
They didn't know, but the Herald of Change knew. Of each of their parent's life taken too early, of the injustice and the violence and cruelty, of each new village and town and city and kingdom growing only to crumble and leave nothing behind.
"New...?" He could not believe the audacity of these small and weak creatures. "Hah! And what will be so 'new' about it?" The creatures exchanged feared looks. Clearly, they were too young and stupid to understand the musings of an immortal. "It will be born, then grow only to wither away eventually." The Herald of Change muttered and shook his head. There was a tinge of pain in his voice for but a moment, perhaps the last drop of sadness in his barren soul, before he snapped. "That's what they all do! Born, grow, wither, born, grow, wither... All this Change, and yet it is never changing!" He raised one of his arms and slammed the wall behind him, cracks reaching so the way to the ceiling which started to crumble from the impact. "HOW MUCH LONGER DO I HAVE TO ENDURE THIS?!"
The priests dropped to the ground, praying mindlessly, "Forgive us, forgive us, O Great One!" All of them act the same, all of them.
"Creation, abundance... I lost interest in all that long ago. Only destruction makes my jam boil!"
Yes, destruction. Destruction. The excitement of slaying your enemies, the satisfaction of winning a well-fought battle, the rush of crossing blades with a strong and stubborn opponent — there was nothing else like it. Like a drug, it reinvigorated him, broke the cold, monotone life, and left him wanting more each time. Truly, like a drug, when nothing else would fulfill him, when indulging only dug his grave deeper, when there was no going back and the only way forward meant destroying himself from the inside — that was what he desired most.
"Yes, I might take a look at that... Spring in the barren. Ah, but first... The history of this very place must come to an end. It has long but outlived itself." Nothing lasts forever, and yet I am. "I shall obliterate it first." Before someone else takes it away from me. "Then, I will nurture a new cycle only to—" No. No! I must break away from this pointless loop! "No... Just the thought alone makes me sick!"
"O Herald of Change, we beg for mercy!" Their faces obscured, their voices shaking, and the memories of all who stood in their place before have merged into one. What a cruel, vicious cycle! How hopeless must it have been to be stuck in it for years.
"I wonder... Why must I endure this unbearable boredom for you?" The fear swallowing them whole, it was so fun to watch. "Your civilization, all that surrounds you... It was brought about by me and me alone. It is only rightful for me to extinguish it..." Yes, that is right... I gave so much. I gave and gave and gave and I wanted nothing in return. I was foolish; although I knew I couldn't keep going forever, I held onto it... What, exactly? Happiness? Kindness? Good? What good is there in a world that keeps biting its own tail? What goal are you going to reach if you only keep walking in circles? What purpose does this dull existence serve if everything keeps repeating itself?
"Ha ha ha... I see it clearly now. My purpose, my duty... It all became my yoke eons ago. AND IT IS TIME I RELEASE MYSELF FROM IT! OH YES... AND I SHALL RELISH THIS! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"
"...I saw... How this evil began. How trivial, how banal it was." Golden Cheese Cookie said. "Boredom... He was... Bored? He took away my Soul Jam... For entertainment?" She breathed heavily, tears forming at the corners of her eyes, fear mixed with rage shaking her body wildly. "That monster put my treasures in danger so... Flippantly?! He broke my wings... For a twisted laugh?!"
"Your Radiance..." Smoked Cheese Cookie had no words of advice or consolation. He had not seen what his queen had; but he had seen the monster who is to blame, and he couldn't hide his fear if he wanted to. There was nothing to say.
The entire temple reeked of spices, aromas mixing and blending, as though fighting for dominance. This was nowhere near as bad as the spice storm, but the two cookies couldn't help but sneeze whenever they passed by an especially big stash, squeezing their noses to not make any noise. Aside from spices, there were lavish fabrics, piles gold and gemstones, intricate tableware and cutlery, even things like dolls, pottery and embroidery... All things that you would normally find as offerings to the gods. Were these made out of admiration, or out of fear? The two cookies were positive it was the latter, but a particularly large tapestry hanging on the wall caught their eye. Lovingly crafted out of the finest of fabrics, it depicted Burning Spice Cookie in a more favorable, even noble light than the previous depictions. Was this perhaps made earlier in his reign?
"This one too, huh..." Golden Cheese Cookie whispered. Her eyes were drawn to the crown of gold, the familiar cheese-shaped jewel whose warm light was embroidered with real gold and diamonds. The craftsmanship of this piece was simply too brilliant to simply walk past; she wished she could just take it home, no matter that it depicts the beast. She could appreciate it much better than he ever could, anyway.
"Do you feel the power of the Soul Jam again?" Smoked Cheese Cookie asked.
"Yes, but..." Golden Cheese's voice was barely audible. "Diamonds, rubies, emeralds, garnets... This piece of art must have taken generations to complete. And it is still vibrant and magnificent."
"It is... Magnificent. I have no words." Golden Cheese Cookie heard his voice again. The low pitch, the rasp, the crude manner of speech clashing with the eloquent wording, it was undeniable — another apparition. But this one felt... Different. Did the way he said that sound... Kind?
"This is a humble offering to you, O Great One, from our Fennel Parakeet tribe." A green bird adorned in flowers bowed deeply.
"This piece shall be hung in this very throne room for me to feast my eyes upon," The Herald of Change ordered, then he turned back to the parakeet. "Enough bowing, little one. Tell me, how long have you been working on this?"
The parakeet straightened their back, but still looked noticeably awkward, averting their eyes from the Great One's intimidating eyes. "O Great One, my late great-great-grandmother, bless her soul, had gathered our village's best masters to create a tapestry in your honor. Our women weave the finest fabrics and our men cut the finest jewels." They trembled, but spoke clearly and proudly of their life's work. "Entire generations, our whole village, even the children helped us create this gift for you, O Great One. We desire no praise or rewards; we simply wish for your greatness to go down in history, so all cookies, Fennel Parakeets and other creatures, spicy and mild alike, could witness your glory and greatness for years to come."
Silence overtook the room as the parakeet stood still, awaiting an answer, perhaps a 'you may go', but the Herald of Change did not take his eyes off of the tapestry for even a second. The warm lights of the jalapeño torches shone a warm glimmering light on the fine golden threads, the ornaments on the ceiling and the paintings on the walls reflected in each and every gemstone bead. The Herald of Change thought he had long since forgotten this feeling, but it fluttered in his chest with an uncomfortable but pleasant reminder.
"The power of art is fascinating," the man spoke quietly, almost muttering to himself. "I am certain that all the blood and sweat that went into this piece will immortalize the souls of yourself and your ancestors forever."
A wide smile brightened the parakeet's face, and their eyes glittered brighter than any diamond could. When they were asked to leave, they practically fluttered away.
The Herald's heart was coarse. Covered in a thick crust of regrets and ashes of people long gone, it was withering away like every fledgeling civilization that fell before. And yet, this same heart felt a tinge of warmth it had long forgotten.
The tapestry won't survive for long, he knew that much. He may have said a bunch of syrup-covered words without realizing, but they were bitter lies. It will be burnt, or torn up, or get buried underneath mud and rocks. Such gentle, intricate things never stand the test of time, they only live for a couple of centuries at best. Ah, it may be such a long time to mortals, but to the Herald of Change himself, it was but a fleeting moment. Oh well... At least the sun still shines.
Golden Cheese Cookie almost collapsed before Smoked Cheese swiftly caught her.
"Are you getting visions again, My Queen?" He asked, helping her on her feet.
"Yes, yes, I'm fine," Golden Cheese sighed and glanced at the tapestry. Truly, it has not lost even a smidge of color, and the gemstones were just as flawlessly polished. Thousands of years had passed, and this work still lives. "I saw him... Burning Spice Cookie... Admiring this tapestry."
"Admiring?" Smoked Cheese Cookie asked in disbelief. "I could not imagine a brute like him capable of displaying an ounce of respect to a piece of art."
"And yet... He did." Golden Cheese Cookie stood in just as much disbelief as her companion, but she saw everything with her own eyes. "He did not believe that this would last more than a few centuries. How foolish."
"With all due respect, Your Radiance," Smoked Cheese said, "the beast's Soul Jam must be messing with your head. You said you felt its power, no?"
"You're right," Golden Cheese looked away and continued to walk forward. "There's just one thing that concerns me..."
"And that is?"
"I cannot distinguish if it is my own Soul Jam or his."
The pair heard a Spice Swarm's soldier's voice up ahead, and hid in a nearby room. It was a particularly disorganized stash of weapons and shields, so hiding proved easy, the soldier didn't notice them and continued searching down the hall. Once everything went silent, Smoked Cheese Cookie remarked,
"We're lucky most of these spice brutes are not very clever."
Golden Cheese chuckled. "But you must admit, hiding behind these giant shields was a genius idea of mine."
The two were prepared to leave, before Golden Cheese Cookie once again felt a strange power attracting her to something in that room.
"Again? Your Radiance, surely that must be a trap set by Burning Spice Cookie to lure you in." Smoked Cheese Cookie warned, but Golden Cheese ignored him.
"But what if there is a hint on how to defeat him?" Golden Cheese said while rummaging in chests and drawers.
"We are going to be found if you keep making noise."
"Well, good thing I found it quickly!" Golden Cheese waved an old yellow piece of paper stained with ink.
"And what is this?" Smoked Cheese asked with disdain, really wishing to crumple it up and throw it away, but he couldn't help being a little curious too.
"Let's see..." Golden Cheese skimmed through the paper. "It appears to be a letter. Sender unknown, recipient unknown."
"If you feel the Soul Jam's power from it, then I have a pretty good hunch as to who's letter it might've been."
"Shall we read it then?" Golden Cheese Cookie straightened the paper and began reading, not waiting for her advisor's reply.
"Dear friend,
I am overjoyed to receive a letter from you after so long. How much time has passed since we last talked? Decades? Centuries? Ha ha! To us, immortals, this must be but a fleeting moment, no?
I am sincerely happy to hear of your successes in the realm of theater. Storytelling has always been your strong suit, so I have no doubt that everyone loves your plays. I would gladly see one of your performances once I get the chance. Just keep at it for a dozen or two more years, and perhaps we'll catch each other when we're not so busy! But I apologize, I am too pessimistic.
You might have heard that the situation here at the Spice Ridge is getting tense. Multiple tribes leading brutal wars, chaos all around, things are getting rather spicy, you could say, heh. But it's nothing that I haven't handled before, so please don't worry about me. I know you, always worrying and offering a helping hand, but I wasn't granted my Soul Jam for nothing. Peace will return to these lands soon enough, one way or another, I will make sure of that.
Again, I am deeply sorry for not being able to attend your event, even though you notified me so ahead of time. In a world that keeps on changing, it's hard to ever plan or predict things. But you're good ### it, so, ###o knows, m#####be I will ###### the time to ### la##r ##on! Th#er--e#s ###############"
"The rest is obscured by this ink stain."
"Burning Spice Cookie had friends? How nice." Smoked Cheese Cookie said in a sarcastic tone.
"This reads awfully stiff for a friend. It's like they were friends in name only." Golden Cheese crumpled the paper and tossed it away. "That didn't give us much, did it?"
"I told you it wouldn't."
"But I felt the power surging from it. Surely this means that this letter was important enough to be infused with it?"
"You mentioned earlier that you cannot distinguish your own Soul Jam from Burning Spice Cookie's before. Surely this is reason to worry?" Smoked Cheese headed for the door, but Golden Cheese lingered.
"No, what I meant is that I can tell it's the Soul Jam's power, I just don't know which one. They used to be one in the same, remember?" Golden Cheese stopped herself as she realized something. "Wait, that's it! The power coming from the mural, the tapestry, and this letter — it's the remnants of the Light of Change that Burning Spice Cookie used to hold!"
"Light of Change?..." Smoked Cheese Cookie sounded confused.
"Yes, Burning Spice Cookie's original virtue, before it got split into Destruction and Abundance."
"Destruction and Abundance, two polar opposites... I suppose it makes sense that together, they form Change." Smoked Cheese pondered aloud, then saw his queen's eyes go empty again. "Oh great, another vision."
"Nutmeg General Cookie, report."
"An army of Chili Lions invaded from the South. They were fast and ruthless, they tore down everything in their way... We're still counting losses. 8 deaths confirmed, 6 cookies missing, 19 injured. It was a small settlement, so that's more than half..."
"These were flowers." The Herald of Change interrupted the general, his eyes distant.
"Yes, sir?"
"This field once bloomed with beautiful white flowers." The Herald's voice shook in a half-whisper. "It was like the skies themselves descended and blessed the land with their clouds. And their fragrance was heavenly. This place used to be paradise on earth..." Nutmeg General Cookie might've imagined it, but he thought he could see tears streaming down The Great One's eyes. "I won't forgive whoever stained this soil with jam."
"... Yes, my lord." Nutmeg General Cookie didn't have a lot to say. All that was underneath his feet was barren rock, devoid of life for centuries. But, of course, the Herald of Change knows better.
The Great One let out a heavy sigh. "I was in a middle of writing one very important letter. I was in a hurry, and spilled ink all over it. I'll have to rewrite it later." He said and walked towards the ruined village with heavy steps.
"... You're right, Smoked Cheese Cookie." Golden Cheese mumbled as she returned to her senses.
"Yes, Your Radiance?"
"That this is a trap." She breathed heavily. "There's no reason to show me all this other than to somehow convince me to join his side."
Truth was, she did not simply see and hear images. It felt like she was there. She felt his pain in her own heart, and it rang frustratingly familiar. Desperate to protect your treasures as they are slipping away... And now he was the one who destroyed? Was that really the same person? Was it really just... "Boredom" that changed him? It didn't matter, she told herself. It didn't matter! Not one bit! What does it change that he used to be good? He is here right now, looking to dismantle everything she holds dear and torture her for his own amusement. That was a monster. She should not be feeling compassion towards him!
Golden Cheese Cookie and Smoked Cheese Cookie reached the end of the hallway, and there, once again, something caught Golden Cheese Cookie's attention.
"My Queen, we have no time to waste," Smoked Cheese said.
"There's flowers at the altar." Her voice was tired.
"Flowers, in such a place?"
"Jasmines." Golden Cheese walked up to the altar and saw a faded portrait standing behind the vase, depicting the Great One in yet another new way. The power surging from it was stronger than any before, and then she heard it.
A voice familiar but unknown, speaking to her from inside of her own heart. The Light of Change. Golden Cheese sat and listened.
"You are a half of me."
"I am. I hold the Light of Abundance."
"Abundance... What a wonderful virtue."
"Why are you showing me those visions?"
"I was broken into a hundred little pieces, and each tell their own story."
"And what story do you hold?"
"I am a story within a story. A story of the Jasmine tribe."
There was a field of flowers, dancing in the wind akin to clouds. The grass covered the ground like a soft carpet and the leaves of the age-old trees rustled along with a whistling of someone far, far away.< /> Even through his closed eyes, the sun was blinding, but the flowerbed was much too soft and comfortable to get up. A shadow covered his eyes; must be a cloud. A tiny voice chirped,
"What are you?"
Ah, that's right... These creatures have never seen a cookie before, for he was the first to grace these lands. He lay there, breathing in the sweet scent and basking in the warm sunlight. If there was paradise, that was probably what it felt like.
"Who are you?" The voice asked again.
The cookie slowly opened his eyes and saw a bird before him. It looked at him curiously, his four limbs, long hair, no feathers, dressed in sturdy icing, with a bright shining jewel on the top of his head. And the cookie looked at the bird, and he looked at the flowers and the grass and the trees and the clouds and the mountains, and, even though he knew what they were... He cried. Maybe the sun was too bright or the scent was too strong, or maybe seeing such a beautiful place with his own eyes, he wished to imprint it in his mind in case this is his last time seeing it this way, this wonderful, breathtaking world of things to see and explore and experience, it made his heart ache.
"Who are you?" The bird asked. "Where are you from? Why are you crying?"
"I am..." The cookie turned away and wiped his tears. It was inappropriate for the Herald of Change to cry before small creatures. "I was sent by the gods to protect your lands. To ensure that all who live here thrive and are able to bloom into something marvelous."
The bird might have believed it, or maybe it thought he was crazy, but it took his hand with its soft fluffy feathers and it said,
"Let's go home."
'Home'. What did that word mean to someone who was sent down from the heavens with a divine purpose? To someone who knew no peace, traveling far and wide and seeing so many places, meeting so many faces, never standing still?
"Everywhere the Sun shines is my home, little one." The cookie uttered.
"But sometimes it's night or cloudy."
"And yet the Sun always returns. And I shall always return. Whenever you are in trouble, little bird, or anyone from your family needs help, just call me. I will come and save you."
And so he did. When there would be floods, he would get soggy carrying everyone to safety. When there would be droughts, he would shake the skies and summon rain. When there would be earthquakes, he would help rebuild their houses. And when there would be wars, he would bring about peace.
The little bird, that little bird, it became a warrior. It was a child when he met it, it was a teen when he taught it to wield an axe, it was an adult when it fought alongside him, it grew old while the Herald of Change was still an infant at his heart. The little bird told him, "My wish is to grow a blooming garden with my family." And the Herald swore to protect that wish.
He swore on his life to protect it.
But the once peaceful Jasmine Kingdom was attacked, and the Herald of Change was not there to defend it. When he came back, there were only ruins covered by a thick layer of smoke. There were only still smoldering embers and a smell of burnt dough. There were only charred feathers and flowers and debris.
The cookie tried to help everyone who might've survived, but secretly, he was hoping to find the little bird, the first person who had met him in this new world, the first person he cared about.
But he couldn't.
The Jasmine Kingdom was no more, the little bird was no more, and he was to blame. In a daze, he wandered back to the flower field where he first woke up. The flowers bloomed, and the grass ebbed, and the trees rustled, and the Sun shined and the clouds passed by. Despite everything, life still went on and the nature persevered, and it was all still so beautiful. Even though there was no whistling anymore.
But such was the fate of all life; everything shall perish in the end, and not even The Herald of Change could stop that. But that was why he swore to continue fighting for that life to be as long, peaceful and prosperous as he could, to protect every little sprout, to allow the world to grow and change and shape itself into something even more beautiful.
Yes, such was the fate of all life; when one ends, another begins. And, through it all, the Sun will keep on shining and the stars will keep on twinkling, and the Soul Jam will keep on glowing.
Such was the fate of an immortal.
As the story came to a close, Golden Cheese once again opened her eyes and saw a single water droplet slowly fall off the flower's petal. The Light of Change has gone silent, as though waiting for the cookie to answer its cries. But there was no warmth of compassion in her eyes.
"You haven't answered my question," she said aloud. "Why are you showing me these visions?"
The Light flickered.
"Thanks to you, I now know the truth." Golden Cheese stood up and spoke. "But this doesn't change anything." In her stance, her eyes, her voice, no doubt remained. "You are only a mere fragment of a thing that does not exist anymore. The Light of Change and the Burning Spice Cookie of the past are gone." In her mind, memories flashed of a cookie who resembled her perhaps more than anyone she has ever met. A cookie who had loved, cared, protected, and lost and cried and got up and fought. But it was also a cookie who was her polar opposite. A cookie who had gone through a lifetime of pain, who failed and who suffered and gave up, his soul shattering from the pressure. For a split second, Golden Cheese wondered if she could've ever found herself in the same situation as him, but the thought made her stomach churn. "He was doomed from the start, when he decided he could carry the weight of this entire continent on his shoulders, and when he simply allowed it to crumble without ever thinking that it's himself that he should've changed. He should've become stronger, but instead, he simply accepted that it will crumble!" Yes, Golden Cheese Cookie could've never ended up the same way. She earned everything she had, her Soul Jam, her Kingdom, her cookies, her treasures. She knew what she fought for, and she stopped at nothing to protect it — even defying death itself. That was why she was a God.
"... I see now. Why you hold the Light of Abundance."
"That is correct. And that is why I shall keep on fighting to protect what's mine, and why I will never stop. Not even when it seems like it's over."
"Words befitting a hero." The Light of Change echoed and faded away.
"Hero..." Golden Cheese Cookie uttered.
"What did you see this time?" Smoked Cheese Cookie asked.
"The very beginning." She whispered, her eyes staring into space.
"Of the Beast, you mean?"
"The Beast... Yeah." She turned to her companion. Her eyes were red but tearless. "He had everything, and then he lost everything. It's as simple as that."
Smoked Cheese went silent, his emotions unreadable as always under his mask. "So it wasn't 'just boredom'?"
"No..." Golden Cheese Cookie sighed, glancing back at the flower. "It was boredom. It was." She stepped towards the exit and then never looked back. Smoked Cheese Cookie followed.