The Ancients: Light of Truth [CRK]

2

Everything's so dark. I can't see anything.

"What have I... Pure Vanilla...!"

Somebody's calling me.

I lift my hand to see who it is. I mentally tremble at the sight of my strawberry jam on my hand.

I'm coughing out...

Blood..!?

The boulder I hit must've been big. I'm struggling to stay alive.

A BOOM shakes the entire continent of Beast-Yeast. Every Faerie turns their head to check where it came from.

Behold Earthbread's greatest nightmare.

The vine shackles are gone.

The enraged Five Beasts grasp their claws on both sides of the tree, ripping it apart as the rift doubles.

I try not to tremble again as the Faerie Kingdom bursts into piercing screams. Faeries scream in terror and the Silver Tree Knights gather, aiming their bows at the Beasts' claws. Everyone knew what would happen if the Beasts escaped—history would repeat itself.

White Lily stares at the tree in horror. "The vine shackles... are no more...!"

Now that the vine shackles are gone, the rift is more visible. It has consumed nearly the entire tree. Inside the rift are numerous eyes glaring into my soul. Before I react to the horrific sight, the Light of Truth beckons.

Pure Vanilla!

Relief washes over me for the first time since the vine shackles have worn off. The Light of Truth can help me in my situation. "The Light of Truth, please, help me—"

Oh, Pure Vanilla... show me your strength.

The Silver Tree's strength is gone, don't you see...!? All you need to do is cut it down for good!

Wait.

This isn't the Light of Truth.

The voice within me... it isn't me!

Cut down the tree... cut it down with your hands...

Cut. It. Down.

Ha... ha... HAHAHA—

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" I scream. Immediately, I cough up more blood and gasp for air.

I completely forgot that my throat was bruised.

White Lily throws a worried look at me before looking at someone behind me. "Silverbell! I don't know what's wrong with him... take him to Elder Faerie's palace!"

She's so strong.

My strong lily.

I wish I could have—at least a portion—of her strength right now. I've never felt so weak and miserable in my life.

I'm too weak to properly talk and move.

I'm too weak to do anything.

Silverbell returns to the tree with a group of other Faeries. The group carries me by my arms and legs. As I get escorted to Elder Faerie's palace, time seems to slow down.

Another Great Calamity has fallen on the Faerie Kingdom; everything silver in the kingdom was tainted to hues of dark blue and crimson red.

Even from a distance, I could sense the twisted aura that pulsated on the rift.

Unexpectedly, a Beast begins to talk from the rift. "Ooh! I see that those pesky vine shackles that held us captive for oh, so, SO long... are GONE!"

Hearing his voice, the Faeries scream, panic, and run around the kingdom. The Silver Tree Knights are gathered around the Silver Tree, prepared for battle.

White Lily lifts her staff with determination, her Soul Jam shining brighter than ever. "We must do everything we can to stop them!"

The director of the Silver Tree Knights arrives. "His Majesty is not here with us... but his strength as the Guardian remains strong! Knights of the Silver Tree, ATTACK!"

The Silver Tree Knights hold up their bows and aim them at the rift. War cries overwhelmingly flood my ears.

I'm too weak to cover my ears and block out the noise. All I can do is cough up blood. Before I knew it, I lost a lot of strawberry jam and passed out.

~

 I cough even more.

I find myself in an unfamiliar bedroom.

I admire the beautiful silver that adorns the bedroom, attempting to wash off the thoughts of the Silver Tree and White Lily.

White Lily.

I miss her. I'm worrying about her.

I speak up, trying not to cough. "Silverbell, I'll be fine..." Cough. "Please. White Lily needs my help. They need my help."

The Faeries fly their way out of the palace, leaving a stunned Silverbell with me.

"I... I can't let you go out there easily. You're coughing up blood... and you're hallucinating."

"There are Cookies who need help," I say. "Take White Lily for instance. What if she gets badly wounded? I can't let bleed until she crumbles—" Oh, no. Don't think about that. I'm going too far.

Silverbell looks confused, and then he sighs.

"Pure Vanilla, I know how you feel. You're... you're overthinking about White Lily," his wings flutter as he sits on the floor. "But she's strong. Don't burden yourself with this... responsibility...?"

Silverbell seems confused. He looks confused. He sounds confused. But I don't know what's so confusing. I roll my head to look at the roof with an exhausted sigh.

I overthink about White Lily for as long as I can remember. I'm scared. I'm scared of her crumbling again and another Cookie has to die for her.

I want to protect her, even if it means to crumble or suffer.

I'll forever regret letting her crumble alone.

I recall what Elder Faerie told me when I first arrived at Beast-Yeast.

After the Dark Flour War, White Lily traveled to Beast-Yeast after losing her kingdom. Dark Enchantress followed, threatening to release the Beasts by destroying the only seal.

White Lily was aware that Dark Enchantress was a part of her. Her other half. A Cookie sharing the same soul as her.

She felt guilty that Dark Enchantress arrived at the Faerie Kingdom and caused chaos. As if White Lily herself did it.

She exhausted all of her powers on the Silver Tree and crumbled by adding another seal. Her seal is impossible to break because her powers are far stronger than every Cookie, even the Legendary Cookies.

Ancients are baked to be the strongest Cookies of Earthbread. Aside from great powers, our amounts of Life Powder are also greater than every Cookie.

In Earthbread, low power means low Life Powder. I imagine myself in her shoes at the moment she crumbled—exhausting my powers and Life Powder, struggling to survive.

It's horrific to think about it.

She returned from death, remaining strong as ever. I will do anything to make sure she does not crumble again.

If I could wish for anything I wanted, I wish that White Lily would live a long life with me.

And I will do everything I can to make my wish come true.