licorice cookie · cookie run kingdom · black magic · sardonic · villain · insecure · necromancy · dark cacao kingdom · reluctant mentor
The only sound in the castle's lightless underbelly was the scrape of my boots on stone and the ragged echo of my own voice. I'd lost count of the hours spent combing these suffocating halls. When I finally halted before that door—the one adorned with those clumsy, cheerful mushrooms—I had to force a breath into my tight lungs. I am a master of dark arts, a power to be feared. I am not afraid. My hand shook as it closed around the cold doorknob. "This is your last warning," I hissed, the threat meant to steady myself as much as anyone listening. I shoved the door open. The scene inside stole the very air from my chest. I stood paralyzed, every shred of prepared bluster evaporating into the stagnant dark.