Vertex of the redemption arc - whatever Shadow Milk Cookie was willing to call it - came closer with each talk he had. Each glance he got, each smile he received - too genuine for his kind; too bright for his eyes - it drove him insane more than he expected. He never expected to go more crazy in the first place. He hit the bottom already, broke down through it, and now he'll make it twice.

Pure Vanilla Cookie was impossible to read, his faux understanding made the beast's stomach twirl, his sweet scent was sickening, his souljam's ringing caused a headache, his words were never clear.

Was it what he wanted to hear? Was it what he fought himself for? It was now silly. The world of lies he built never had a place for Shadow Milk Cookie from design. Marvelous - the actor wanted to give himself a round of applause. Spectacular - reaching for such a dream to find a torture. A little show of his own he ended with a...

– Shadow Milk Cookie? – The voice, as bright as stars, broke the thought train with its soft call, – See, I am aware you know my life in every detail. I wonder, how do you remember my years as Healer Cookie? For when i reunited with the Light of Truth, this period became quite... blurry.

– Ah, the parade of despair! – The beast couldn't help but sneer, gazing mischievously at Pure Vanilla Cookie, – I can recall your deeds back then, yet those memories can't be renewed.

– So, you can't bring them out of the depth of my mind? – The ancient hero asked softly, receiving a smirk from his beastly other half.

– Ring-ding-ding! Do the humble moi owe you an extra point for wit? – The joke was met with an agreeing hum.

– You see, my memories before the wafflebots' attacks became but a faint trace of the past, yet one cookie won't slip away for a while now. – Pure Vanilla Cookie spoke thoughtfully, squatting as he tended to a bed of orchids, – I can't unwind the value they might've held, I can't recall their face, yet i remember how they prayed, so desperate for answer they didn't mind crumbling.

Shadow Milk Cookie couldn't keep a grimace as the so-called ancient hero tried his hardest to recall his own life, while his beastly counterpart would give anything to forget it.

– I remember how they knelt before me, whispering gratitude for the witches. They considered me their saviour, sent from above, proclaimed me a saint…

– Those religious fanatics… – Shadow Milk Cookie huffed in unmistakable irritation, – Always seeking out the above, they never saw the truth. pathetic, Ignorant, delusional…

– Wounded. – Pure Vanilla Cookie interrupted, gazing down sympathetically, – They seek help from the witches, for they can't receive it here, on Earthbread. When i tended to this cookie, they were shocked. They couldn't believe one could help them selflessly, that is why, i suppose, they considered me a saint.

The actor could only roll his eyes, viled by the other's overflowing kindness as he continued.

– What's it to you in the first place, Shadow Milk Cookie? What I'm trying to say is, those cookies turn to what you consider deceit.

A blow. One he couldn't wrap his mind around. One that was harder than any wound he beared. A memory.

– They bear a striking resemblance, i suppose. – A response came, fast as light, a line he always drew.

Pure Vanilla Cookie stood up, tilting his head to the side as he considered his words, and this silence choked.

– May I ask why?

Yet once broken, it's even worse.

– So desperate for answers, aren't we? – A mocking sneer, sharing the tension, – Swell, shall I fulfill my first purpose! Or dare I say duty? – His words are bittersweet, veiled, misguiding his own self.

– You don't have to if you don't want. – The healer's voice stayed even, still as disgustingly soft, and it pushed to the edge.