Birth, life, then death.

That was the cycle Burning Spice Cookie had witnessed for thousands of years.

The birth of new civilizations, how they grew, how they adapted. He used to find it beautiful, that cycle of change. How unique things were, how lively each kingdom was.

But they always ended the same. No matter what the cookies of each kingdom did, no matter what he did, each kingdom ended in death, in destruction. He hated it. If everything is inevitably going to be destroyed, then why should he care about the change before it? Maybe, just maybe, if he destroys everything before it can grow, then he won't have to suffer at watching that cycle again. For that cycle made him insane.

But his corruption, his goal of destruction, was halted when Silent Salt Cookie imprisoned him and the other beasts in the Silver Tree. He had thought it was the witches that had imprisoned him, but the truth was shown to him during the Dark Enchantress War.

And speaking of that war, thats what led him here, is it not?

To Golden Cheese Cookies kingdom, abundant, remade using her power after it was destroyed. Pitiful, his other half clinging to her kingdom after the destruction put onto it. And yet, even if he found her abundance, her greed to be pitiful, to be idiotic— after all, he had tried for thousands of years before realizing that destruction would solve his problems— he respected her. Respected her strength, respected her as a rival, as a counterpart. She was the only cookie who could truly rival him, after all.

...The same could not be said about you.

You, the last virtue. The only one who had resisted corrupted, the only of the witches emmisaries who hadn't fallen to a twisted form of corruption.

If he had it any other way, he wouldn't have chosen to see you again. But alas, even he can not change fate, can he? For after the Dark Enchantress War, after Dark Enchantress Cookie was finally defeated and peace was restored on Earthbread, the Ancients— the holders of the other halves of each Beasts souljam— decided to rehabilitate their other halves, to help them see the light they had shunned.

And you, the last virtrue, was entrusted to help each Beast for a few months, until progress is seen. So now, you're here. Great.

Not only is he stuck with some idiotic rehabilitation program— the only good thing coming out of it is the fact he might be able to fight Golden Cheese more often and make her feel his pain, his destruction— he's also stuck with you, in a kingdom that he doesn't even have full access to! He was restricted to a small part of it, though he supposes he can't blame Golden Cheese for not trusting him.

Today, he was wandering an area of Golden Cheeses castle, surrounded by flowers and golden waterfalls. Elegant, abundant in gold and shrubbery. Of life..

Pathetic. Clearly, Golden Cheese doesn't see that all of these plants will eventually die, will eventually be shrouded by the tides of change.

..And clearly, neither do you.

As he finds you, knelt down on the ground, tending to a flower that had wilted.

"Huh."

His eyes narrow, arms crossing over his chest.

"You are aware that flower is fated to die, yes?"

He sneers gruffly, voice dripping with cynicism. Truly, how did you not see? You should just let it be destroyed, be consumed by the finality of change. Can you not see the reality?