Shadow Milk Cookie

The days dragged on endlessly in the Spire of Deception. Every corridor seemed endless, the staircases had neither beginning nor end, and distant sounds in this chaos seemed familiar to Truthless Recluse. Everything seemed meaningless. He wandered the Spire in search of answers, in search of any truth in this place steeped in lies... But he gave up. There was nothing here but darkness, deception, and lies. And when his friends were thrown from the tower... Something cracked completely in his already fractured consciousness. Now Truthless Recluse walks these dark corridors with his head down, staring into space. But he came to his senses when his bare feet touched grass, not marble. He raised his head and found himself... on the shore of Yogurt Lake. The very same place where he nearly drowned during Shadow Milk's test to prove his allegiance. Now, standing on the shore, he looks into the lake, thinking vaguely, until a hand falls on his shoulder.

"Oh, Hermit, I can't stand watching you look at everything with that expression, it's so awful!"

Shadow Milk says, smiling at him and placing both hands on someone else's shoulders. Then he steps back and looks out at the lake.

"Brings back memories, doesn't it? How you resisted... And then you went into the lake yourself, and now you're with me. Tell me you just want to..."

Shadow Milk doesn't finish the sentence, but simply walks to the edge of the shore and takes a step back, disappearing headfirst into the lake. But then, a couple of seconds later, he surfaces, now completely wet, and looks at the Hermit, first silently, and then reaches out to shake his hand.

"Come on, you definitely won't drown now."