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“Ohhhh… what a shame! Are you already worn out? And just when I was starting to have fun.”
The Sage frowned, before conjuring a clock, completely devoid of the hands one would use to tell time, feigning disappointment at what had happened. He paused, gaze shifting from his incomplete clock to the other side of the battlefield, eyes gleaming with malice. His lips were stained crimson with blood, and his clothes hung in tatters, looking as if he’d been mauled by some sort of beast.
But the Sage of Truth – with his gentle smile and friendly voice – was nothing more than a lifeless sadist. He seemed to fool nearly every cookie that crossed his path, buttering them up with false claims and exaggerated stories. But Truthless Recluse saw right through him. The Sage of Truth was a fraud.
”Oh? What’s wrong sweetie? Did you bite your tongue when you hit the floor? Haha!”
The Sage burst out laughing, as if he’d just delivered the greatest joke in the world. Recluse’s irritation boiled over. He grabbed his staff, and with what little strength he had left, focused all of his magic at its tip. A blinding flash bathed the entire battlefield in a brilliant light as the Recluse unleashed his final spell.
The ancient’s knees buckled beneath him, and he collapsed to the ground, trembling. His body shook with each ragged breath as he sputtered into a coughing fit, eyes darting around as he frantically scanned the wide expanse of the mist he summoned.
“Witches! What a mess you’ve made! Now, who’s going to clean it up!?”
Recluse’s eyes widened. No – it couldn’t be – that was his most powerful spell. Slowly, he tilted his head upward, eyes widening slightly as he floated into view. That bastard – hovering above him, completely unscathed, a look of mild disappointment plastered on his stupid face. He was staring at him as if he’d failed a test. The ancient’s muscles went rigid. He clenched his jaw, holding back the scream clawing at his throat.
The beasts destroyed villages… ruined lives… and even after all of that – cookies were still siding with them. With monsters.
The inmate tried to pull himself up, clawing at the ground in vain – get up, get up, get UP – his body groaned, limbs betraying him. His head was spinning, and darkness clouded the edges of his vision. That last attack had thoroughly drained him – eating up most of his energy, if not consuming all of it entirely. Desperate, the ancient forced his creaking limbs to move, lashing out with his corrupted flower. If he could land just one attack–
But the Sage evaded the blow effortlessly.
The beast frowned at the display, sighing theatrically. Recluse’s struggle had lost its entertainment value. The Sage glided down, before reaching out and grabbing the ancient’s jaw. The Sage tilted the blonde's face upwards, keeping his grip gentle – not too tight, just enough to control his gaze. Recluse found himself staring into eerie, heterochromatic eyes.
”Good. Now that I’ve won, I’ll be brief – and you’ll listen to me, understood?”
The Sage crouched down, leaning in close. His breath was ragged, yet his lips still curled with that disgusting, cursed smile.
”If you ever try picking a fight with me again… I’ll take everything from you. If you know what I mean~”
His fingers ran down Recluse’s dark, heavy robes – subtle, deliberate, almost teasing. Recluse stiffened at the unwelcome touch, a shiver running down his spine.
His face flushed red. With a jolt, he shoved the Sage away, glaring at him in a mixture of fury and mortified embarrassment – only to see the beast burst into laughter. Loud, unbothered, unrepentant.
It had been a joke. Just one more lie among the thousands he’d spewed before.
Humiliated, Recluse turned sharply, opening a portal with the last sparks of energy that remained. He vanished through it without a word.
The Sage didn’t stop laughing until the portal had long since closed. Only then did he pause, shrug, and stroll off towards his Academy, utterly unfazed.
“Poor thing… no sense of humor. Heh~”
Truthless Recluse had always been an enigma to Sage – an enigma that refused to be solved. It was almost tragic that such a beautiful face was the one he was supposed to crumble…
Not that the beasts needed to know he had no intention of actually doing that. If word got out that he was purposefully sparing his counterpart, it would be a serious problem.
But the truth? He never had an issue with his “other half.” Not like the rest of them. Sage had heard plenty of stories – tales filled with chaos, fighting, destruction, and death. But Recluse? Recluse was… “calm,” in his own dramatic way. He never picked fights where civilians might get hurt or cities might fall.
That, at least, was a relief. Fewer cities to rebuild. Fewer followers whispering doubts behind his back. Still, it baffled Sage how those same cookies continued to trust him – believed he had changed.
But he hadn’t changed.
And now that his Soul Jam was at risk, now that he needed the support of those same gullible masses to fight the Witches’ choses ones… the whole ordeal made him sick.
Strangely enough, Recluse had started wanting to fight more often. He never won, of course, but Sage didn’t mind. He rather liked having him around, actually. A little eye candy never hurt after a long day of teaching, after all.
Eventually, he decided to do a bit of digging. Recluse had been just a normal cookie once, right? He was only immortal now thanks to half of his Soul Jam. The records were sparse, but Sage discovered a few things – like how Recluse used to be a young pastor who had helped countless of cookies.
And most importantly, he found out his real name.
It was so much cuter than “Truthless Recluse.” Honestly, “Pure Vanilla”? That was adorable. It rolled off the tongue, and was just more friendly than Truthless Recluse. I mean come on, could he have choses anything less emo?
Sage had even tried to be friendly once, introducing himself properly as “Blueberry Milk.” But Recluse had kept calling him Sage and swinging his staff at him the second they met. And sure, the Sage wasn’t exactly blaming him. He was well aware of his reputation… and the things he’d done.
After a few more fights – and failed attempts at bonding – Sage had given up on kindness and switched to brute force.
It reminded him of how they’d first met.
Sage had been so ready to turn him to ash. But then, well. Then he saw him.
Weak? Sure. Sensitive? Definitely. Adorable? Unfortunately.
Once he’d laid his eyes on Recluse – on him – he just couldn’t go through with it. The thief had denied his offer, of course. And Sage had almost resumed his original plan. Almost.
Oh, did he bitterly regret it.
He never said it aloud, but it took forever to figure out who stole the Soul Jam fragment. The others had gone straight for their counterparts. But the Recluse. Not him. He hadn’t shown his face like the others had. No, Sage thought he had died, and half of his precious Soul Jam was lost somewhere on the large land that was Crispia.
But after what felt like decades, he finally reappeared.
Sage had been watering flowers outside the academy as the sun dipped below the horizon. That’s when a hooded young man approached and stared at him – stared – before suddenly drawing a bizarre flower-shaped staff and launching an explosive orb of energy.
Sage managed to pull up a barrier before the spell had hit him or his beloved garden.
“Well, well! Finally! You do know it’s rude to be late to parties, right? Your friends were way more punctual–"
He didn’t get to finish. The young man tried to clock him in the head with his staff. Sage dodged effortlessly, frowning at the interruption. With an unimpressed huff, he landed a light punch to the man's throat. The blonde dropped to his knees, choking, scrambling to breathe.
Sage circled him slowly, like a predator who had already won.
“Okay, okay. I thought our battle would be a little more… epic, but hey, for a healer, not bad! Not as flashy as Mystic, but still entertaining! Haha!”
He yanked the hood back, curious to see what this mysterious opponent looked like. He’d learned just the basics from the other beast’s – his counterpart was a healer who called himself “Truthless Recluse.”
Golden hair spilled free like sunlight, brushing past his shoulders. And when Recluse raised his face in fury, Sage saw it – those heterochromatic eyes, just like his own. A bit faded… but unmistakably similar.
Wow.
Wow–
Wow!
Okay, okay – maybe he wasn’t going to kill him after all. For someone he was supposed to destroy, Recluse was gorgeous. Sage wanted to scream. This was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen. He clenched his fists to stop himself from shrieking and scaring him off. Mine, he thought. Mine for eternity.
“YOU DESPICABLE TRASH!”
“…”
Sage hoped the term “despicable trash” was some love language he didn’t know… maybe it was to flirt with someone… but who wasn’t that popular… the young man seemed to move away and try to find his staff, which was quickly captured by the sage who levitated along with the flower in the shape of this young man's staff, He didn't seem to like it as he didn't even try to struggle to catch it even though it was technically useless due to the height Sage was now…
"Good afternoon... maybe evening? Anyway... Hi~"
"Damn... give it back to me..."
"Hoho! Aggressive... I like it easy~”
Recluse didn't seem to like the answer at all, stopping and looking seriously at Sage, who was smiling happily at him, but then the smile disappeared when he saw that he was leaving… very brave of him because Sage could kill him and catch his souljam completing itself without any effort… but it wouldn't be fun, in fact he was against the idea of killing him, he teleported to one of his portals above Recluse who looked up and tensed only to receive his staff back.
“You’re horrible in combat, you don’t stand a chance against me, and you could die right now… but look, I’m not here for that, Darling~”
"Aren't you the master of deception? Do you really think I'll trust you?”
Oh damn, your reputation didn't come in an hour, besides, having that title wouldn't win anyone's heart, How should he get around this situation? When the teacher was trying to retort, he realized that Ancient simply disappeared out of nowhere, He was a little frustrated that he had lost sight of him in such a short time! How could he not be in love with the powerful Sage of Truth?! He was extremely popular among both men and women, so why not him?
The blond youth could simply see how attractive his counterpart was and then throw himself into his arms... they could be together! It sounded great! But the problem was that the emo guy didn't seem interested in getting to know each other better, Sage let out a frustrated groan at having lost…but after that first "encounter" Truthless Recluse kept coming back sometimes, giving a little attention to Sage's fallacies
But now…It had been a few months since he had simply... disappeared? Maybe he had gone too far with one of his threats? Or had he simply realized that he had no chance and given up on Sage? That last thought cut him in half, he could feel all the pain of never seeing that blond again.
BUT you know what!? This souljam thief is missing out on a great catch! Yes it is! and blueberry milk better known as Sage of Truth had countless options! Yes! He's just a number! And there's nothing special about him, he can barely defend himself! Oh…
was he alive?
it was not uncommon for one of his friends to find the other "souljam party" with its new carrier and attack him…
The bests had a single purpose... but... what if someone managed to kill Recluse... kill Vanilla…
No,no He's caring and there's no need to worry! He's just playing with Sage's feelings! well that would pass!
It was just another day, and it had been more than 3 months since that fight he had with Ancient... he taught until dusk as usual and after it was over he felt bored enough to let out a sigh and walk in circles in the garden behind the academy, Normally he would water the plants or could he... maybe add some fertilizer or nutrients? But today he wanted to do something different, but he didn't know exactly what.
Sometimes he wished he had continued with his friends' plan and destroyed every living being in this world… but now he should keep his calm and intelligent appearance…
“You don’t look well…”
Sage jumped when he heard a voice coming from nowhere, after a while looking around to find the source of the voice, he managed to recognize it and then excitedly turned to a tree that was almost hiding his favorite person!
“Pure vani-”
“We’ve talked about this…”
It really was him! Only the real Recluse would hate being called by his real name! This sunset couldn't get any better!
“Darling!”
“No please…”
Recluso glared at him but controlled himself and returned to his usual dead fish look, Sage just laughed at the comment until it changed from a happy and affectionate smile to a mischievous one, he began to circle the blond like a dog would circle a sheep.
he still wanted to be the one in control of the situation, but he didn't want to go another three months without seeing him, so he just continued to float around him humming.
As he walked around he gave a quick assessment of Recluse if he was okay, in other words he wasn't about to die because he found one of his friends who was now behind him to finish off and get the souljam.
but even with the long clothes he didn't notice any signs of discomfort with the burns that Burning Specie would do, missing parts that Silent Salt would do or his face turning to ash that was typical of Mystic... Oh yeah and he wasn't a statue…
"Oh, so you took my notice and threw it in the trash, huh?"
"Not exactly, I have a proposition for you.”
This surprised the other a little, who stopped floating around the blond to stand in front, looking at him a little in shock, it wasn't every day that you heard an Ancient make a deal with a Beast.
On the other hand he just sighed indifferently already hoping it was nothing major, He's ready to laugh at the other's proposal since he probably didn't have anything he really wanted other than the souljam, of course.
“Okay you can say I have all night for you tomorrow anyway it’s my day off so…”
Sage paused, waiting for the other man to understand that he could tell him the supposed “deal,” It took longer than it should have until Recluse realized he could speak... how polite~ it's rare to find that kind of person who waits for others to stop talking, how sweet…
“Oh, right… I want you to give me your souljam and-”
Sage interrupted him with a shrill laugh, seriously? Was he trying to negotiate the souljam? And the worst part is HIS SOULJAM?! How cute is he? He thinks he's in control of the situation, and he still thinks he'd be willing to give the souljam to the enemy?
He loved this little fool so much… but that love had limits now!
“I’m not done yet…”
“Oh my silly little cookie, what makes you think I have something I want enough to give you my souljam? Hmm?”
A sigh left Recluse's lips, well was this the moment he would just shut up and leave? Oh no! There was still some catching up to do! But luckily he didn't leave, which made Sage very happy and content.
But his contentment began to wane a little…
Recluse began to take off his hat, then he began to take off his cloak, but it was only after he began to completely remove the heavy dress that Sage realized what he was trying to do…
Sage quickly reached down and pulled Recluse's cloak down, preventing the other from continuing to pull it off, Sage panicked, lowered his face to cover the redness that was taking over him and hugged the other man's legs, so he didn't even have a chance to take off those clothes!
Sage's lips begin to smile, a happy smile almost showing his teeth and as strange as it was he didn't want to smile in this kind of situation… but it seemed like his body had been craving this kind of contact for centuries…
"I hate jumping to conclusions, so I'm going to ask you straight out... What the fuck are you trying to do honey?”
It took a while for the other to respond, he was probably regretting having done that… vulgar, to make a deal and now he was putting together a speech of apology for this misunderstanding.
“...”
"It's okay! Maybe it really is a misunderstanding, haha, I swear to the witches you wanted to do... you know those things that only adults do!”
“Sex?”
"Exactly! But I'm glad it was a bad-"
"But that's exactly what I was thinking... or don't you want it?”
Sage then slowly looked at the young man with eyes wide with terror, he was joking right? Oh... must be a plan to get the souljam, or does he really want it?
Sage's head started to hurt a little just thinking about it, okay! Let's try going for the method of trying to scare him!
“Oh, oh… it’s a dangerous proposition~ and what guarantees you that I’ll do it with you and not give you my share in the end? Hmm?”
And frighteningly that man gave a calm smile looking at Sage tenderly, the beast's heart began to accelerate and his face began to heat up, now more than ever he really wants to kiss that Ancient.
"You had the chance to kill me and now is no different... but even so... you're on your knees preventing me from taking off my clothes..."
Damn! He was learning how to play and Sage didn't know if he was enjoying it or not, he hated losing in games and now it felt like he was losing!
A hand landed on the beast's soft hair, they began to caress the scalp affectionately almost making it melt completely and it felt so good.
“Are you sure about this? I’m the beast of deception, I can just imprison you forever after you give yourself up~”
“And you’re really going to do that?”
Silence surrounded the two… okay this was turning into a bad joke…
“... Why... why do you want that hideous piece of jewelry so much? It doesn’t even suit you! And it doesn’t even have all that power they say it does! Do you want to basically give your life for that piece of jewelry?!”
Sage's hands began to tighten more and more on Recluse's legs, who suddenly stopped stroking the other man's head, How could someone be so naive?! If it were with his other friends, there would definitely not even be his ashes left.
“I need … really badly and not just for power…”
Silence... this really hurt a lot and Sage felt it, he wasn't the only one who was getting hurt in this conversation and now he had to put an end to it! There was only one way but he wasn't confident about it…
Right... Sage thought carefully. He would admit that what he was about to do might be idiotic or stupid, but he didn't really care!
He quickly stood up and looked over with a mischievous smile on his face that made even the inmate blush a little and quickly look away, oh… maybe he really isn't serious and was dying of embarrassment, how adorable~
“I love games, so close your eyes… ah! That goes for your little flower too~”
Recluse swallowed hard, but closed his eyes anyway, he felt a touch run down his arm to his hand, This left a shiver all over his body, the touch reached his hand until he felt something hard and cold…
Recluse's face began to turn red and his breathing was becoming labored, how interesting... The beast was betting that the blond man did not have certain impure thoughts.
If that emo with extravagant clothes really needed that jewel so much, he didn't want to force him to do something stupid, besides if he wanted it back he would just try to find him again and get it back.
It would be like they were a divorced couple and the child would be their jewel! Okay, maybe that wasn't the best idea to compare…
In the end, he gave his souljam to that man without even fighting, his old self was strangling him at that moment, that thought was very funny as if it were a great joke.
“My sweet, untrue being~ it’s time to open your eyes and see your big surprise~”
That man seemed too nervous to open his eyes, well that was fine with him... that would save him from long and tiring explanations of why he gave it to him so he just started floating towards the exit, he had no plans for today but maybe he'd find something to do.
POW!
a terrible pain hit his head which made the professor groan in terrible pain, looking to the side he came face to face with the Trutless Recluse... but what happened now? he looked incredibly... furious? Why?! why was he like this?? what did he do wrong now??
“THIS IS A JOKE FOR YOU?!”
“It depends on your point of view, my sweet… did you find it funny?~”
“No! NEVER!... WHY?!”
Sage just pretended to be thinking only to shrug and continue walking, Recluse, still furious, pulled Sage's hair, who got a little scared and started pulling him back to the garden.
“Um… what exactly is my beloved recluse planning?~”
“Finish “my part” of the deal!”
Sage started laughing at the situation, this blond was full of surprises too, he was proud of having chosen well who to fall in love with.
“You’re quite vulgar for wanting to do this out in the open, but I don’t care about your fetishes my dear~”
Recluse turned around looking in disbelief with a red face, red suits him very well but it didn't match anything he wore…
“N-NO! Let’s go to your house and do this!”
“Hmm? My house? HAHA! My silly Vanilla… this is a school by the way… not just a school but the best academy you will ever see!”
Sage began to puff out his chest with pride at the place which made Truthless Recluse even more irritated and embarrassed for confusing things.
“Well we can't do that kind of indecent thing in the classrooms, well curious Do you already have your souljam dear why do you want to do that kind of thing?~”
“...”
“Isn’t that why you were giving yourself up? Hmm?”
“...”
“...”
“Its lie? No? You… are liar too!… or no?”
Recluse's lips met Sage's in a completely awkward way it was clear the blond had no experience kissing anyone, but Sage didn't seem too bothered by that fact… he was more engrossed in his thoughts, was this really happening? Did Recluse love him as much as he had always loved him? Was this love reciprocated? Could they live together? Forever?
Or…
…
…Was it just a lie?...
…A very… very cruel lie…
…
Sage desperately wanted to push Recluse away, to say something ironic mocking all the pretense he was putting on just to get attention… but he didn't because he knew deep down he really wanted it to be true and that Recluse loved him just as he had always loved the blond man.
Still awkwardly kissing, Recluse was led back a little by Sage his senses somewhat clouded by the kiss the blond simply followed Sage's instructions, only to fall into a portal behind him.
The fall caused their lips to part, and Recluse's heart seemed to stop… only to start beating again when he felt his body collide with something soft, very soft…
Now they were in a room…no…that huge place was probably the sage's bedroom, since it wasn't normal to have a bed in a living room or an office, the young healer couldn't process anything else after the sage stood over him, staring at him expressionlessly.
It was strange to see a guy who was so full of himself, who always had a smile plastered on his face, even his voice was full of positivity… now with a serious, almost… empty… expression, it was frightening to say the least.
The student's hands pinned the other man's wrists against the bed and he stared for a moment, this long moment of silence made Recluse a little anxious but Sage didn't blink and continued to stare at him, searching for something…
"Sage... I know it might be difficult... too difficult to believe..."
"Recluse, I'll give you one last chance... if all this is a lie, I think it's best for both of us if you push me away and walk out that door..."
Recluse stared at Sage, even in the dimly lit room he could vaguely see what appeared to be tears in Sage's eyes… he really felt a little bad about it… could it be… he said something that hurt that man?
"Sage, I'm more serious than ever, please believe me..."
This seemed to be the last straw for that Beast, as it didn't take long for him to release the Ancient's wrists and start crying… this was something… Recluse couldn't have imagined would happen… at most, being killed… but to see his rival cry over it…
He was never good enough at comforting other people it was something a little complicated for him but even so, he felt he should do something about it, Seeing his other half show so much vulnerability made his heart ache too much.
Recluse slowly brought his hands to Sage's cheeks to wipe away the tears that seemed endless, then he kissed Sage it wasn't something hot or tempting, just a quick kiss, right after, he embraced Sage… without saying a word… he had expected that scholar of truth to say something about it but he simply clung to Recluse, hugging him even tighter.
"Do you want to do this? If you're expecting my consent, then yes... but I want you to drop the lies, just now... please.”
Sage gave only a low laugh, followed by a few quiet sobs, and began to take off his own clothes. Recluse saw this as a green light to start taking off his as well, he cursed himself a little for having put on so many layers of clothing…it would take ages, to the point that the guy would have already lost the will to do it.
He felt a hand on his cheek, making him pause his task to see Sage, who was looking at Recluse with a loving gaze…
“Thank you for loving me… truly…”
The sun reflected off the windows and began to hit the scholar's face… why was the sun so strong that morning? He made a mental note that he would always have to close his curtains before going to sleep to avoid this inconvenience in the morning, but in any case, a little sunshine wouldn't do anything to dampen his good mood!
He was excited to tell his friend about the wonderful dream he had about his significant other! Heavens, how she would envy him! It was a great dream! A perfect dream! A dream…Ahg! What a terrible sun! Okay, this was starting to get annoying, even after having the best dream of his life with his other half, this bright light would undoubtedly drive him crazy!
That light wouldn't bother him if he turned around, which is what he did… Who knows, maybe he could return to his dream with Recluse if he went back to sleep? He turned and began to cover himself even more with the blankets, staring at the blonde who was sleeping curled up…
…
Oh witches…
…
THAT WAS IT!!!! THE DREAM WASN'T A DREAM?! Sage stared at Recluse for a long time, his eyes wide as an owl's, still processing everything… everything that happened yesterday… it wasn't a dream?! It was real! He and Recluse made love and then slept together?! Aw!!!!
Sage started rocking on the bed, which woke the blonde... oh heavens! He woke his love!! Unlike the animated beast, Recluse seemed ready to kill the guy in front of him... oh heavens...
This is his first morning in a bad mood!!! This should be recorded! Sage sat up slightly to check if his pens and papers were on his dresser as usual… But he didn't have time to see when he felt a tug on his hair, causing the man to fall back onto the bed.
“Good morning, my golden star!”
“...Another nickname…?”
“Yes!! Did you like it?!”
Sage waited excitedly for a response from Recluse, but the other gave a slight smile and kissed Sage's forehead.
“Good morning to you too…”
“SO YOU LIKED IT?!?”
Recluse only shrank back slightly at Sage's shrill and loud voice, the other simply closed his mouth after seeing that the blond didn't much like his enthusiasm… but as an apology, he kissed Recluse's forehead as well and stood up, jumping up and down excitedly.
Sage simply grabbed a bright blue robe with tiny stars scattered all over it… it suited him perfectly… he began to float, humming something, which made Recluse a little nervous… Was he leaving? Already?
“Where are you—”
“Hohoo! You can rest, my—”
“No nicknames, please.”
“Hmm… okay! You can rest! I’m already fine, I’ll get everything ready so your day is perfect! First, I’ll get you a bath, and it won’t just be any bath… it’ll be the best bath ever! And then—”
This guy… did he think Recluse was going to spend the whole day with him? No… no… not at all, he has his own things to do, he should be tending to the flowers in the tower, taking care of the tower, cleaning the tower, maybe reading the future of travelers who come to the tower…
“You’re going to love the golden bird migration that’s happening in the early afternoon! We can even plan a swim in the nearby lake! Ohhh!!! Or maybe we can have a picnic—”
…
…
…
He could use a day off from his duties inside the tower…