~~OBSSESION~~ {BOOK 1} (Shadow Milk Cookie x reader)

Chapter 7

The moment Reader Cookie reappeared among their friends, a strange glow caught their eye. It pulsed gently, shimmering like liquid gold, floating in the still air. Something about it felt... familiar.

"What is that...?" they asked, brows furrowing.

Wizard Cookie gasped, adjusting his hat as he took a step closer. "That's a memory... A memory of Pure Vanilla Cookie!"

The group watched in hushed silence as the golden light began to twist and form, morphing into something more tangible. And then—before their very eyes—the world melted away.

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Pure Vanilla Cookie walked through the endless halls of the Spire of Deceit. The air was thick, almost suffocating, heavy with an unseen force pressing down on his very soul. The walls stretched upward into infinity, covered with portraits too eerily familiar to ignore.

Each canvas bore the same visage—a Cookie with deep, sorrowful eyes and a hauntingly theatrical smile. Some paintings depicted him in flowing robes of knowledge, others in lavish, elaborate attire fit for a stage. But all were the same.

All were him.

"This must be Shadow Milk Cookie when he was still called... 'The Fount of Knowledge,'" Pure Vanilla murmured, his voice laced with something between awe and regret.

He traced a gloved hand over one of the frames, eyes softening at the sight of so many Cookies looking up to the one within. They admired him, revered him. He had once been a beacon of wisdom, a guiding light for those who sought the truth.

And yet...

Pure Vanilla's face darkened. "But there are some Cookies who chose to deny reality... They rejected the bitterness of the world in favor of the sweetness of Deceit."

His fingers curled slightly against the frame, brows knitting together in deep thought. "He must have walked a solitary path... But look! Shadow Milk Cookie seems delighted!"

The murals told a story, one of celebration, of joy, of unwavering devotion. Laughter echoed within the brushstrokes, a performance frozen in time, the perfect illusion of happiness.

Pure Vanilla took a step back. "All together, they chose to turn their eyes away from the world."

And then—

"Those ignorant fools rejoice, for they live in the bliss of oblivion."

A voice. Deep. Familiar. Unmistakable.

Pure Vanilla Cookie stiffened. His heart pounded as he turned sharply, scanning the endless staircases that twisted and curled like a labyrinth before him. The air crackled with magic, thick with illusion.

"Is it not something to celebrate?"

A flicker of blue light. The glint of a smile in the distance.

Pure Vanilla's breath caught in his throat. "Shadow Milk Cookie?! ...Another illusion?"

The voice chuckled, smooth as silk. "Do not pretend you do not understand."

Something inside Pure Vanilla twisted uncomfortably.

"You have witnessed it many times with your own eyes," the voice continued.

A cold sweat broke over his skin. He squeezed his staff tightly, as if the Light of Truth could protect him from whatever force was creeping in around him.