Chapter Text
Crispia; a continent home to many Cookies of different flavours. Home to many diverse nations and Kingdoms, four of them being founded by the Ancient Heroes, a group of Cookies who had sworn to protect Earthbread long ago and were looked up to greatly for their heroic deeds. Especially their notable leader, Pure Vanilla Cookie, the founder of the Vanilla Kingdom; although having abdicated the throne, he was still a Cookie of great renown.
Pure Vanilla Cookie had just returned from Beast-Yeast, though somewhat hurriedly. He had felt something clearly different within himself after defeating Shadow Milk Cookie; but oddly (or perhaps thankfully?), nothing had happened. It was an unexplainable feeling, but one that troubled him deep within more than he would let on: he figured that it was simply the rapid adjustments from no longer assuming the identity of the Truthless Recluse. From the perspectives of other Cookies it had also seemed strange. Bizarrely, he had not been seen leaving his castle as often as he usually would have, and when he would be seen, he would visibly look distressed, hastily carrying himself as if he were anxious or worried. Though of course, if one had asked him what troubled him so, he would attempt to give a smile as warm as he could have and assure them that it was merely a minor issue. A peculiar response, but expected from a Cookie like him.
As noticeable of a change as that may have been, a lot of Cookies overlooked it; not out of apathy, but rather the presence of continuous threats from evildoers and those wanting power or some other form of gain. The frequency of such threats and attacks seemed quite unnatural to the Cookies of Crispia, despite this having been an issue for a while, and the extent of such attacks would have surely been so severe that the Ancient Heroes would have interfered; however, few succeeded in thinking of this possibility, and the ones who did simply assumed they were too busy with their duties, and never thought it again.
Fortunately, not all hope had been lost. Despite these offensives and their prevalence, two Cookies had always been able to prevent them. They were quite well-known due to this, and adopted the names of the Dragon Lord and the Immortal. The Immortal was said to be loud, proud, ambitious, and slightly arrogant, but meant well in ensuring all citizens would stay safe and ensuring villains would not return for some time. The Dragon Lord, however, was more stoic, serious, strict, and barely talked in contrast to the other, though his actions and intentions behind them did not go unnoticed. Together, the duo proved to have great efficiency in battle; the Immortal, raining upon the enemy many of her spears, the Dragon Lord, attacking from up close with his sword, and the Twin Dragons that accompanied the Dragon Lord, acting as beneficial supporting and defensive units. Because of this they ensured the protection and safety of innocent bystander Cookies, and were praised as heroes.
He had never publicly said so, but Pure Vanilla Cookie secretly admired them. Their will and determination to protect Crispia and its Cookies reminded him of that spark of hope he and the other Ancient Heroes had always had when pursuing their own adventures long ago. He wished he could get to speak with them, for them to be able to answer the many queries he had about them within his mind, but strangely enough he never had the chance, as they would always have disappeared from the battlefield within a short time of ensuring the safety of the civilians and the absence of the threat - perhaps, he thought, they did not wish to be seen. But for what reason, he had yet to know.
His thoughts were interrupted by the distant sound of an explosion and an earthquake of minor intensity beneath him as his expression was no longer one of contemplation but rather of shock. As soon as it stopped, he made haste, fleeing toward a more sheltered area but at a higher altitude, so that he could see what was happening. His eyes would have reflected a sense of disappointment and worry at the scene before him, had they been open. Before him were a horde of Cake Monsters holding various weapons, seeking Cookies to attack. One of Dark Enchantress Cookie's units, no doubt, but no Cookie of Darkness to accompany them... perhaps it was simply a distraction? None the matter. The innocent lives of Cookies were still at risk, and he could not simply stand idly by when there was no one else around to possibly protect them. But what could he do? It would not be a wise choice to simply show up to the battlefield alone, wearing his current attire: the enemies could recognise him and go after him, especially if Dark Enchantress Cookie sent them. As he nervously contemplated once more, a voice from within his mind echoed, pausing all his current thoughts (not that he had succeeded in finding any alternatives).
"The time has come..." was all it said. It spoke with a gentle and calm voice that certainly sounded like him, but he knew it was not him, for he had not said anything prior. Then, that would mean the Light of Truth was speaking to him, but it never said something so ominous before.
"What do you mean?" Pure Vanilla Cookie, perplexed at the voice of the Light, quietly answered, confused. He waited patiently for the Light's response, all thoughts now directed at why the Light was talking to him now and why it was being so ominously vague about its topic. It did not provide him with a verbal response, however. The light occasionally pulsing from the Soul Jam, he found, momentarily flickered brighter, then dimmed to its usual brightness. Confused, he raised an eyebrow, tense from the sudden flicker. Just as his guard was put down again, the Soul Jam's light reached a brightness beyond what he could see, and, to what Pure Vanilla Cookie saw, illuminated the whole room.
"This will all be explained in due time..."
After having recovered from the shock of the sudden (now faded) light, Pure Vanilla Cookie wearily looked around, to see if anything had changed. Other than the fact that his attire felt more abundant in quantity and therefore a bit heavier, everything else had stayed the same. So, by looking down at himself, he went to address that issue, and was visibly shocked to see what he had seen. His robes and his staff were both completely different to the point they seemed foreign, and even his icing felt different - longer. In a state of shock he quickly made his way to a conveniently placed mirror and gasped in horror upon seeing the Cookie in the reflection.
This was not Pure Vanilla Cookie. He didn't know who it was, but from both his perspective and the perspective of any other Cookie who would have seen this, this was not Pure Vanilla Cookie. Gone was the Ancient Hero with the simple vanilla cone hat and the vanilla orchid staff, replaced with nothing but this... beacon, of a Cookie. Making sure this was, in fact, himself, he nervously touched his face, and was appalled to find out that this, in fact, was him. Not Pure Vanilla Cookie. Him. He could not conjure up a fitting name, but the sheer contrast between what Pure Vanilla Cookie was known to look like and what he looks like was so obvious that he could not bear to label this Cookie's name after his own.
After recovering from the shock of his realisation, it was slowly but surely replaced with a new realisation: if he did not know who he was, then surely also no Cookie or enemy present would know, meaning he could appear on the battlefield and aid the Cookies in need. With a new determination, he softly smiled to himself, and hastily made his way onto the battlefield, sprinting as if his very dough would crumble if he did not.
Although it had taken him a while, he finally reached the battlefield, looking around for the Cookies until he found them. It seemed that they had gathered in a nearby hut for shelter, the hut itself broken and falling apart in many places. They were also attempting to cover up the small wounds they had gained from desparately fighting off the horde, and the sight of it broke him. He took a deep breath and arrived at the hut.
"Excuse me," he somewhat panted out, darting his eyecings in various directions, to all Cookies in the hut. Upon noting the panicked looks the other Cookies were giving him, he quickly cleared his throat in embarrassment and tried to make himself sound more calm. "Are any of you in need of healing? I... can provide some..."
His words, after leaving his mouth, hung for longer than he would have preferred. But eventually, the tension eased, and he received all sorts of grateful requests. Thankfully, the great majority of these injuries were of little severity, and were easily able to be fixed. A couple of the younger Cookies had picked up some more serious wounds and bruises, but it proved no problem too great for him. All made sure to express their "thank you"s to this mysterious, kind Cookie, who had appeared out of nowhere, but was being this generous in terms of his offer.
The relief that clouded his unease felt comforting to him as he gave a warm smile to a younger Cookie he had just patched up, and he could not help but sigh in relief. The fact that he was able to provide this much help clearly proved satisfactory to him, and he was able to feel much more at ease with the knowledge that these Cookies were alright. This feeling that resonated within him greatly contrasted the hostile atmosphere around, which naturally, was the thing that gave him such comfort. Unfortunately this did not last for long, for he caught a glimpse of something radiant behind him and turned around in defense, fearing that he would be ambushed.
He was instead met with the sight of a figure gleaming with gold, holding a spear as tall as her and glistening just as much, shaking her wings lightly to free them of dust. The figure raised an eyebrow in amusement before lightly making her way over to him with a gait so elegant that it could really only belong to one Cookie - the Immortal herself.
"Strange," she commented, gazing at his general appearance. "I do not recall ever having seen you here before. What were you doing?"
"I was tending to these Cookies' wounds," he replied in slight shock: he could not believe that the Immortal, of all Cookies, was standing here before him, and potentially commending his work.
"I know." The Immortal hummed, the smirk on her face widening ever so slightly. He was confused; if she knew, why did she ask? Did she suspect that he might not have told the truth?
"Who are you?" He could not help himself. He obviously knew who she was, but the complexity of the situation must have resulted in him slipping up.
"You do not know who I am?" The Immortal cleared her throat, dramatically spreading her wings and gesturing to her seemingly grandiose self. "I am the Immortal. I fight to protect the Cookies of this continent." After finishing her seemingly magnificent display, she looked over to him once again. "And who might you be?"
...That was a question he did not have the answer to, because even he did not know who he was. And in the moment, he figured it would be rude to let such a figure wait for him to conjure up a temporary name. "I do not know." he admitted, subtly looking down, almost in shame.
The Immortal did not appear to fully comprehend his answer, as she raised a browcing and asked again, with more confusion. "What do you mean? Who are you?" It was strange; such unsureness did not match her, he thought.
"I do not know." he repeated, as embarrassed as she was confused. "I... do not have a name."
The Immortal frowned - that was not the answer she had been expecting. This Cookie dare ask who she was, and then be unable to provide a sufficient response in return? Who did he think he was? She rightfully gazed (glared) at him with a sort of disdainful judgement, but quickly neutralised her expression: if he, too, was in reality a civilian, this would not make for a good reputation. Or worse, the stoic, boring Dragon Lord may be seen as better than her; she dared not think such an outlandish thought. "Well..." she began, attempting to see eye-to-eye with this Cookie (since he seemed genuine in his lack of knowledge regarding his own name).
As she devised a seemingly logical approach within her mind, a flying projectile so fast what it was was not identifiable made its way towards the hut in which both Cookies, along with many civilian Cookies, resided in. It seemed that their reactions were too slow to recognise such a force as the speed it gained formed a small cloud of smoke around them. A flash of purple light emanated from the smoke as another figure, two unidentifiable creatures alongside them, went to block it. They raised a sword, and just as it seemed like it was going to hit them, the sword effortlessly managed to deflect it, sending it straight back to its original source. Once the smoke cleared, the figure sharply turned their head around.
"About time you showed up." The Immortal nodded to the other figure, her moment of alarm from the ambush completely vanished at the sight of the new arrival. The other Cookie barely reacted, instead dusting themselves off and briefly glancing over to the once unidentifiable creatures (now revealed to be dragons), presumably to check if they are in good condition. They remained serious and showing almost no expression, leading him to glance over at them more than he would have liked to publicly admit.
"Ah, of course!" The Immortal suddenly bellowed, as if in realisation. After making sure that it was highly likely to be the last offensive they would receive, she made her way over to the newly arrived figure and the dragons accompanying them and gestured to them almost teasingly. "This is the Dragon Lord, my fighting ally and fellow protector of- practically, all of Crispia! I am certain you will have heard of us before, no?" She queried, gazing at him expectantly.
The Dragon Lord, too, was looking over at him, he noticed. A gaze much more piercing than that of the Immortal, but he was sure that it was a thing the other Cookie naturally did. Under the weight of the awareness that both the Cookies were looking at him, he nodded, a silent prompt for the Immortal to continue. And she did, swiveling around to turn to the Dragon Lord and gestured towards him. "This, is..." She blanked, lightly moving her hands in circles before stopping her gesture and, instead, continuing to speak. "He helped aid the Cookies in the hut, and restored them to full health, even."
He noticed the Dragon Lord's gaze turning more judgemental as he continued looking at the other Cookie and his general appearance the same way the Immortal had done so earlier. Even the dragons behind him seemed to mirror the contemplating expression of their master. "That is not what I said..." He could not help himself, because it was true. He had explicitly stated earlier that he was simply tending to their wounds, and most wounds were minor. Although the Cookies seemed genuinely grateful for his help, he felt ever so slightly annoyed at the phrasing the Immortal used - she was not even there, so how would she know the extent of his aid? His slightly shifting expression gave his feelings away, and the Immortal cleared her throat with an air of embarrassment of her own.
The Dragon Lord remained curious as to why the Immortal briefly stopped upon mentioning his name, and for the first time, spoke up with his gruff voice. "You have no name?" He, confused, glanced over to the presumably nameless Cookie, noting his annoyance and unease. The Cookie in question momentarily gave a soft "uhm..." in response before sighing and reluctantly nodding. The Dragon Lord turned his sword from where it was touching the ground as he pondered the possible reasoning behind this Cookie's lack of a name. It did not help that the Immortal, too, was expectantly looking at him, to the point where he scowled at her. "What?"
She gestured for them to turn away from him, and whispered something that both Cookies contemplated for a while, from his perspective. However, he did not wish to interrupt them, so he instead patiently waited for them to finish their silent discussion. After a few moments, both Cookies turned to face him, and it was the Immortal who spoke. "So, nameless Cookie. How would you feel if we proposed for you to join our team?"
He could not believe it. The famous heroes of Crispia, having spoken with him for not too long, were now proposing for him to be able to join them? It did not seem like a very realistic situation from his viewpoint, but perhaps, they had thought differently. After all, why else would they ask? "I...if you really mean that, then...I would love to." For the first time during their interaction, he smiled. For a moment he simply took in the new role he had willingly signed himself up to, radiating a sense of comfort at having new allies while still himself. This, however, dissipated into disappointment as another question graced his mind. "But, what will you refer to me as?"
The Immortal scrunched her face up, clearly thinking. She glanced over to the Dragon Lord, who, while the Immortal was proposing his addition to the team, had been conversing with the civilian Cookies. "Have you an idea, Dragon Lord?"
"Well," the Dragon Lord began, adjusting his sword again. The name and general idea was still a work in progress, he had noted, "but seeing as you have so selflessly helped these Cookies, we were thinking of something along the lines of... the Compassionate, perhaps?" The... Compassionate? That was a name he found was oddly fitting, especially with the way the Dragon Lord had said it. But his hesitation to reply began to make the Dragon Lord think he thought otherwise. "You do not like it?" He queried. "If not, we can think of something else."
He shook his head, letting out a soft, awkward laugh. "No, no. I think I like it." He paused for a moment before speaking up again, but this time, a bit quieter. "Thank you."
"Then, it has been settled!" The Immortal proudly declared, pointing at him with her usual exaggerated flair. "You, Compassionate, are officially our third member! We humbly welcome you." She quickly conjured up a pen and some paper somehow (seemingly out of nowhere) and wrote down a location before handing it to him. "Our training session begins tomorrow at this point. You can join us if you wish." After doing so, she waved goodbye to the other Cookies before exiting the hut and taking to the skies.
The Dragon Lord gazed at him once again before also turning to leave, promptly tapping his sword onto the ground to silently tell his dragons to follow him. "Hopefully, you will be able to arrive." He then walked out, leaving him (or now presumably, the Compassionate) briefly stunned at the sequence of events that had just occurred. But any possible thoughts of fear or unease had been replaced with a sense of beaming acceptance as he scanned the hut one last time to check the Cookies were safe, and he, too, left.