Pizza's backstory

By popular demand, here it is. This is a long one...almost double the length of every other food soul's backstory. All of the Pizza squads backstories are this long hhhhhH

Also stuck some loading screen art in there.

I'll be doing Cassata's next.

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1. Our Promise Back Then

"Cassata! Catch!"

"Come on, Pizza!"

"Hurry up, you two~!”

The kingdom I lived in wasn’t particularly vast, but its soil was rich and it had everything you needed to live a good life.

And my Master Attendant was the king of it all.

The citizens were kind and gentle.

The king was diligent and loved the people.

There was also a beautiful, kind princess.

Everywhere bustled with life under the radiant sun.

Listening to the sound of leaves brushing as they swayed in the breeze, I looked up at the white clouds drifting in the wind and couldn't help but squint my eyes.

"Pizza! Come on!! The orchard owner will be here soon!"

"I’m coming!"

Their voices pulling me back to reality, I quickened my pace and raced to the wall, digging my nails into the crevices and pulling myself up.

Using Cassata’s hand as a step like they’d done this a million times before, Cheese hopped onto the wall.

I reached out to Cassata, still on the ground, and helped him up.

The three of us couldn’t help but laugh as we watched the orchard owner’s mutt leap at us only to clamp down on thin air.

Sure enough, after getting down, we heard the orchard owner cursing on the other side of the wall. Meeting his stare, I shrugged before sticking out my tongue and fleeing.

When we lost sight of the orchard, I leaned against the wall and watched Cheese bend over with her hands on her knees, catching her breath. I couldn’t hold back from poking her cheek.

"Cheese! You gotta exercise more! Don't just hole up in the palace all day!"

"I don’t have nearly as much free time as you do! I have to stay with Master Attendant! Speaking of which, where’s her apple?”

"I got it."

"Did you leave the money?"

"Yep! I put it on the branch of that apple tree. He’ll see it the moment he gets there! One gold coin!"

We went back to the palace and gave the princess the roundest, prettiest apple we found that day.

After we bid farewell to Cheese and the princess, Cassata and I wandered around the palace.

We lay on the roof and gazed at the starry night sky. The cool wind was particularly refreshing in this stuffy weather. I bit into an apple I’d picked earlier that afternoon and looked at Cassata, who was sitting next to me.

"Cassata?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think there’ll be more fun stuff to do outside of this kingdom? I heard a few of those traveling merchants mention some countries have capitals bigger than this whole nation.”

"Heh, maybe. It’s not like I’ve ever been there before."

Cassata said to me as he lay down quietly, eyes closed.

"Then...one day, after the Princess gets better and has an heir, we should check it out with Cheese!”

I leaned closer, hands planted on the ground, hoping Cassata could feel what I was feeling.

"...Okay."

Cassata opened his eyes slightly and grinned.

"It’s settled then! We’ll go travel someday, the three of us!”

"...Alright. It's settled."

Back then, I never would’ve thought that our promise would soon come true in the worst way possible.

2. Destiny's Departure

The princess was never particularly healthy.

But recently, she’d gotten worse and worse.

The princess would often cough up blood as we laughed together.

She hid it well, but she couldn’t hide her bloody handkerchief.

Master Attendant, usually able to muster up a smile, grew more and more anxious.

It was as if he were undergoing a trial from the devil himself as he watched his daughter become more like his wife with each passing day.

Unable to take the pain of another person he loved dying, the wise emperor became less and less level-headed.

He desperately tried everything he could to save his weakening daughter.

As the princess’ old friends, we were worried about her too.

Cheese no longer smiled like she used to. Even Cassata always looked like he had something weighing on his mind.

As tension lingered in the air, my jokes could no longer crack them up like they used to.

Instead, it was the ailing princess who comforted us.

One day, out of the blue, there was a self-proclaimed traveling merchant who offered his help to Master Attendant.

He said he could save the princess.

We were naive to believe this was a gift from god.

God, who surely didn’t wish to see such a wonderful girl die so early and gave her a second chance at life.

That day, I was at Master Attendant’s side when I saw that guy for the first time.

I couldn’t deny his first impression wasn’t too shabby.

He was a polite young man, classily dressed and elegantly postured. You could say he fit in with this palace even more than I did, and I’d lived here all my life.

He carried a briefcase with a strange symbol on it, but that didn’t change our impression of him at all.

He even politely got up and bowed to me when he saw me enter the room.

I stood by Master Attendant as he introduced him to me.

"Mr. Vita here is a traveling merchant. He’s picked up some mysterious skills from the countries he traveled in, and as luck would have it, one of these skills can cure the princess.”

“Our meeting must have been arranged by God and his love for the princess.”

As I stared at this eloquent man whose every move radiated elegance, I felt a spark of anxiety flicker in my chest.

All of a sudden, I couldn’t breathe. Chills ran through my body as my hand couldn’t help but clench my chest.

It was then I realized that "Mr. Vita" had stood up and was smiling warmly at me.

I must be seeing things.

He’s clearly here to help us.

"Your Majesty, this is?"

"My food soul. His name is Pizza."

"His flag... It is gorgeous..."

Strangely, I was the one Mr. Vita was staring at as he spoke.

"Ah...th-thank you."

I thanked him a bit awkwardly.

After that, Master Attendant arranged for Mr. Vita to live in the palace.

I’d often go fetch the Princess’ medicine from him per Master Attendant’s orders.

"How is the princess doing as of late?"

"Better than before. Speaking of which, Mr. Vita, are you a doctor?"

"Doctor?"

Mr. Vita repeated before returning to his smile.

"I’m just your average merchant."

I still wasn’t used to dealing with this man's smile. Feeling cornered, I couldn’t help but want to shift my attention to something else.

I picked up a book from a bookshelf beside me and began to leaf through it.

Even though most of the things written down in there was complicated stuff I didn’t get, there were a few interesting things I did catch.

For instance, a liquid discovered in an experiment by the name of Aqua Vitae ended up becoming a popular alcohol.

"Aqua Vitae…the water of life…?"

Before I could read any further, a pair of slender hands took the book from me.

"Here you are, Her Royal Highness’ medicine for today.”

His gentle smile only made me want to get away from him more.

I took the medicine from his hand and left immediately.

As the days passed, the princess’ illness did improve.

Master Attendant, overjoyed by the news, trusted that man more and more.

If that was all there was to it, maybe what happened next wouldn’t have.

But Master Attendant was at his beck and call.

No matter how ridiculous Mr. Vita’s ideology got, Master Attendant would always wholeheartedly trust him.

3. Drowning Young

That stormy night, Master Attendant, who’d never disturbed our sleep before, suddenly summoned me to his study.

Master Attendant hadn’t called for me ever since Mr. Vita got here.

He must’ve been busy and only just got time.

Figuring that was the reason, I didn’t think too much of it and came to his study.

It was when a flash of lightning lit up the room that I discovered Master Attendant, sitting at his desk, had become so thin his skin clung to his bones.

"Pizza, how does Her Royal Highness usually treat you?”

"...The princess is good to me. She’s like my sister."

"And how do I usually treat you?”

"Master Attendant treats me well too, of course. He’s the most important person to me in the world."

"Then you...will do anything for us, right?”

For some reason, Master Attendant’s eyes were dark as he slowly made his way over and pat my head as gently as he always would.

"Master Attendant...what do you mean?"

A sudden chill went down my spine. Before I could react, two huge black snakes suddenly burst out of the shadows and coiled around me.

"Then, allow me to explain what happens next~"

That man who always had a humble smile on his face followed.

“I’ll leave it to you then, Mr. Vita.”

Master Attendant didn’t react to what was going on. After he said that, he left the study.

"Are you a food soul?"

"Hehe, a food soul? Haven’t I said before? I’m just your average merchant.”

The twin snakes coiled tighter, seemingly angry.

"What did you do to Master Attendant?!"

"You’ve got quite the spirit, huh? This decision was made by His Majesty. I have done nothing, you know. But now, everything hinges on what you decide to do.”

"What I decide to do?”

As he explained, I could just barely wrap my head around the techniques he called “alchemy”.

To him, I was a “seed”. A “seed” that could get “life”.

As a food soul, my dream energy is pure. Dream energy was the origin of this world and where all life started.

Therefore, he wanted to use a food soul’s energy--no, more specifically, dream energy--to cure the princess.

If he were just using my own dream energy to cure the princess, I’d agree without a second thought.

However, the "seed" he mentioned was far more terrifying than I thought.

The energy needed for one human’s life was far more than I alone could offer.

The "Seed" would only continue to absorb other people’s dream energy in order to gain enough power to sustain the princess's life.

Heh~ Sounds kinda like a fallen angel.

How I had hoped that this was something I could sweep aside with my usual jokes.

But making me hurt others is going too far, even for the princess.

"All you need to do is agree and your princess will be saved. Is that not a good deal?"

"No way! Don’t even think about it!”

"Ah~ Don’t be so loud, it’ll be over soon..."

Sickly red eyes like those of a snake gradually drew closer as my eyelids slowly grew heavy.

"I promise."

The sun shone as always, the faces around me smiling as usual.

Master Attendant sat on his throne, smiling at me kindly.

Her Royal Highness also stood by his side, giving me a warm smile as she waved at me.

I ran towards them with the flag Master Attendant had given me, which symbolized peace.

Suddenly, everything was swallowed up by darkness.

Bitten by a black snake that suddenly jumped out and coiled around me, I couldn’t move.

The heads of Master Attendant and the princess hung limply like broken puppets as they collapsed over onto the throne.

A man who’d been standing in the shadows all this time finally came out, his smile gentle as always.

He slowly approached Master Attendant and rested a hand on his shoulder.

I kept reaching out, trying to get closer to them, but the black snake wouldn’t budge.

The pain of my flesh tearing wasn’t enough to mask the agony of watching Master Attendant and the princess die right in front of my eyes.

No! Let them go!

Move! Come on and move! !

Hurry!

I wanted to scream but no sound came out, as if I were being choked.

As darkness completely surrounded me, it wasn’t until I felt like I was being suffocated that I realized I wasn’t dead yet.

Master Attendant called my flag this kingdom’s symbol of peace.

This kingdom would stay peaceful for as long as my lengthy life as a food soul carried on.

I couldn't help but remember Cassata and Cheese’s sunlit smiles in the orchard that day, couldn’t help but think back to the promise I made under that night sky...

I can't admit defeat. I’ll never admit defeat.

My flag doesn’t exist to hurt others.

And Her Royal Highness would never let me steal other people’s lives for her own sake.

My consciousness drifted as if it had sunken into an ocean. I struggled to surface, but my heavy body wouldn’t move.

Somehow, the flag in my hand seemed to understand what I was trying to do. It glowed a gentle light.

Breaking away from this neverending darkness, my consciousness gradually started to come back.

4. Destined Ending

https://i.redd.it/uxar2p307ou11.jpg

Waking up from my dream, I couldn't even remember how I passed out.

My skin felt bitterly cold where it was exposed to air. Whether it was from being tied up or something else, I, unable to move, could do nothing but feel the pain that wracked my body all over.

I opened my eyes a little and realized I was lying on a hard stone table.

I wanted to run, but discovered I was still tied up.

I tried turning my head, but I could only vaguely make out my surroundings.

This wasn’t Master Attendant’s study, nor was it the living quarters Master Attendant arranged for that man.

What startled me the most was the incomprehensible crisscrosses of white paint that streaked across my body.

The sharp smell of medicine hung in the air and a slew of strange instruments and knives sat on a nearby table.

Where was I?

And why have I never known about this place even though I’ve lived here my whole life?

I heard a faint bubbling noise approach me along with the sound of boots shuffling against the floor.

Not wanting him to notice I was awake, I quietly shut my eyes.

He lifted my head as if he were observing me before tossing it against the table.

The back of the my head slammed against the stone surface, and I couldn’t hold back a grunt at the sudden pain.

"So you’re awake~"

A soft, devilish whisper rang by my ear.

"Looks like you managed to stay conscious. So it didn’t go as smoothly as I thought after all…”

My cover blown, I gave up my act and glared at the man as he gave me a slight smile.

"That look in your eyes...are you angry?"

Suddenly, the room shook, heaps of ash scattering from the ceiling of this dark lab.

The man’s eyebrows knit a little, but a small, helpless smile appeared on his face.

"It seems that a little mouse has slipped in."

"I don't like being called by such a cute name, Mr. Vita."

Then Cassata broke through the wall.

Even with dust flooding the air, Vita easily dodged Cassata’s attack.

Cassata took his chance to come to me.

It was at that moment two black shadows sprang from Vita’s side. I knew they were the same black snakes that trapped me before.

The snakes sprang towards Cassata, their eyes a sickly red. Cassata didn’t dodge and stubbornly continued taking off my shackles.

Suddenly, I felt a warm liquid dripping onto my face.

It was then I discovered that the snakes had left gashes on Cassata's eye and nose. Blood was all over his face.

"Cassata, are...are you okay?"

"I’m fine."

Cassata said with a smile as he picked me up, his tone as relaxed as ever.

"You, on the other hand, shouldn’t just be handing this flag over to someone like that.”

Cassata gave me my flag as he spoke.

It was all because my heavy body wouldn’t move that Cassata got hurt.

"Sorry, Cassata. It’s all my fault..."

"It’s fine. Not your fault I happened to be your guard.”

"Heh, not bad."

Two black blurs shot back to Vita’s side, circling around him like the dark blazes of hell.

“Unfortunately, the injuries my twin snakes leave don’t heal so easily.”

His stance was still elegant, and the way he dodged that attack just now was far beyond what a human could do.

"You’re...a food soul?"

I asked with some disbelief.

Rather, I couldn’t imagine that a food soul would do something like this.

"Speaking of which, I haven't officially introduced myself to you, have I? Vita, Akua Vita. Do you understand now?”

He didn’t answer my question directly.

"Ah... Akua Vita [Aqua Vitae]...water...the water of life?!"

I suddenly remembered the name written on the book I read in his room.

"Correct, you guessed it. Or perhaps you’d be more familiar with the name Whiskey.”

A golden snake appeared in his palm and coiled around his hand.

"If you’re a food soul, then why would you do something like this?!"

Even I was surprised at how angry my voice sounded.

"Have I done something bad? I’m helping your Master Attendant, am I not?"

Whiskey’s tone didn’t change.

"Turning illusion into reality, pain into pleasure , an end into rebirth... I did inform him of the risks. He was the one who made the decision to sacrifice you for his daughter. But, unfortunately, you turned out to be just another failed experiment.”

Looking at his smile, for some reason I couldn’t suppress a dark impulse in my heart.

I quietly gripped the flag in my hand. Affected by my emotions, it lost my control.

Flames burst out of it like those black snakes from before. A feeling of despairful revenge engulfed me like these circling flames.

What scared me was that my body, immovable as a rock just a moment ago, moved on its own. Raising the flag in my hand, it swung it down towards Whiskey.

Whisky didn't anticipate the black snakes protecting him would be sliced in two. Not even I anticipated my flag would become a sharp scythe.

Perhaps caught off guard, Whiskey dodged a little slower than usual.

Although I wasn’t able to hurt a hair on Whiskey, the scythe did slice his coat.

Exhausted, my body suddenly buckled and collapsed to the floor.

A pendant of two snakes coiling around each other dropped on the ground in front of me.

I knew that was Whiskey’s logo.

"What an interesting "failure"~"

The hint of humor in Whiskey’s tone deepened a bit.

"I’ve already gotten what I came here for, but you really are a surprise, Pizza~"

"Then, until we meet again!"

Whiskey disappeared from the kingdom.

No one knew where he went.

The only ones left in this dimly lit room were Cassata and I.

I picked up the twin snake pendant and gripped it tightly. Even as the sharp pendant pierced my palm, I didn’t let go.

It was as if this were an announcement of the end of peace.

After going through hell and back to be rescued by Cassata, we were suddenly targeted by the royal guard.

The princess was dead, Master Attendant committed suicide...

Everything was because of us.

Everything was destroyed.

Only I knew that the moment that demonic man had appeared, the arrow of destiny had been broken.

5. Pizza

Pizza was once a carefree guy.

His Master Attendant was the king of this kingdom. He lived a quality life, with a caring sister and reliable brothers.

The king’s daughter was a cooking attendant as well, and her food soul was a cute little girl by the name of Cheese.

One day, when he visited church with his Master Attendant, Pizza found a heavily wounded someone in the corner of the cathedral.

His name was Cassata.

Without a Master Attendant, he was extremely weak. He’d lost his home and just barely escaped from a fallen angel, but was still in danger of dissipating soon.

So Pizza brought Cassata to the king, and the king took him in.

At first, Pizza thought that he probably saved the world in a past life to have such a wonderful one now.

However, the illness plaguing Her Royal Highness, like the lighting of a dynamite’s fuse, marked the beginning of the end.

Just as the king fell into a deep despair over his daughter’s illness, one man’s arrival seemed to bring them hope.

A man who claimed to be a traveling merchant brought with him a skill he called "alchemy."

According to him, it was this skill that could save the King’s daughter.

The king never questioned it.

At first, his treatment was indeed somewhat effective.

But before long, the Princess's condition started to deteriorate again.

So the man suggested using Pizza as a medium for the alchemy to work its magic. By killing people, he’d absorb other people’s dream energy and save the princess.

Never in a million years would Pizza have imagined that this diligent king who oh so loved the people would agree to the ridiculous idea of genocide.

Pizza couldn't agree, even if it was a request from his Master Attendant, who treated him like he was his own son.

But they never planned on asking for his opinion anyway.

Whisky took the Pizza by force and carried out the experiment he envisioned. His plan was to completely kill off Pizza’s consciousness, leaving nothing but a formation of pure dream energy.

He planned to turn Pizza into a fallen angel-esque existence--constantly absorbing dream energy and integrating it into itself until it created the “life” he was hoping for.

However, the experiment failed.

A food soul’s consciousness wasn’t as easy to wipe as Whiskey thought.

Just as Whiskey was about to abandon this experiment, something happened that left him anticipating what was to come.

Pizza’s flag became a scythe, strong enough to cut down even the snakes defending him.

As interested as he was, Whiskey knew there was no need to stay any longer.

As he predicted, the Princess’ condition had deteriorated to the point she would die that day.

His common sense blinded by his love for his daughter, the king was close to snapping, and with that his demise was set.

"Then, until we meet again!"

Whiskey said before using his double snakes to destroy his surroundings, opening up a new path.

As the dust rose, Whiskey approached Pizza again, whispering by his ear in a low voice with a hint of humor.

"This is just the beginning. I believe we are far from done yet.”

Before Whiskey’s lingering smell by his ear even had a chance to dissipate, Cassata pulled Pizza along and together they escaped that dangerous place.

Back then, Pizza didn’t understand what Whiskey meant.

After Whiskey disappeared, Pizza and Cassata discovered they were being hunted down by the royal guard when they got out.

They did not know the kingdom had already undergone earth-shattering changes.

Sneaking their way back, they finally returned to the palace.

Upon opening the secret passage that lead to the Princess’ room, they found Cheese crying in the dark, hugging her knees.

Although meeting up with Cheese put their mind at ease, the news Cheese brought made them fall silent again.

When the Princess passed away, the king slit his throat just before his aristocratic brother’s rebellion reached the palace.

The culprit of this disaster pinned all the blame on Pizza and Cassata.

With no time to patch up their wounds--not even Cheese had the time to ask them why they were so roughed up--the three escaped the palace.

Fearful of food souls, the rebelling aristocrat announced to the kingdom that Pizza and his friends were the ones who killed the Princess and the king.

But on the day the aristocrat’s rebellion succeeded, his torn up corpse was found at his old residence.

Pizza and Cassata, who escaped unnoticed, were scorned in the public’s eye.

They were criminals.

That was why every soldier in the whole kingdom was after them.

A power struggle between the aristocrats quickly ignited in this empty-throned kingdom.

The entire nation fell into chaos.

One day.

Pizza sat on a cliff and faced the wind, staring in the direction of a palace that was no longer in sight. He clenched the twin snake pendant in his hand.

He would never, ever forget the words of that man named Whiskey, words that sounded as if he had a hunch everything would turn out like this.

"What happened to you? Why’d you just grab me and run?"

Cheese finally got a chance to ask what happened.

Pizza looked troubled.

"Pizza and I happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and got misunderstood.”

Cassata put his hand on Pizza’s shoulder as if he were trying to hide Pizza’s panic.

"Yeah, it’s just a misunderstanding."

Looking at Cheese, for some reason Pizza could not bring himself to tell her the truth.

He did not want to see Cheese’s clear, bright eyes cloud over.

He vowed to himself that he would stop Whiskey. He would stop this tragedy from ever happening again.

It would be for the best if he just kept that memory to himself.

That way, Cheese could laugh and blow up at him like she always did.

That way, Cassata would never get hurt because of him again.

Yes, it would be for the best.

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https://i.redd.it/hg9ti5737ou11.jpg

Submitted October 27, 2018 at 09:13AM by Asureiko https://ift.tt/2Q0klUI