Realm of Noah

Chapter 1

1st November 2019

NOAH

I gasped at the vivid hallucination that had played before me, my eyes still burning with the image of Renee walking away. I could still hear her retreating footsteps echoing softly across the stone floor of the pit like she'd actually been here a minute ago, a live Spirit.

How can I love you if you aren't real?

I closed my eyes, which made no difference since all I could ever see was darkness. My hands covered my face as if they were physically protecting me from the other evil hallucinations that were ready to play in my head.

"She's not real, Noah," I muttered firmly, trying to make myself believe the words. "That wasn't my Renee."

At some point, tears started making their way to my palms, wrists and running up to my elbows. My breaths were heavy and ragged, my throat choking with fear at the hallucination that could be reality.

And yet, the Pit wasn't done so soon. It kept prying my fragile mind open, searching for bitter thoughts and feeding upon them to vomit out another foul scenario. That's what it did, thriving on the negative emotions of all Spirits.

"A hallucination? Again?"

I heard his footsteps, the robes swishing against the cold stone floor with every step he took. Faint light emanated from the faraway entrance, enough to highlight his tall silhouette, and before me stood the famed Sir Johannes, the criminal mastermind of the Spirit Realm.

"What was it this time? Another dramatic break up with your lady love?" He questioned, fake sympathy oozing through his voice.

I stayed silent, not wanting to fall for his bait this time. Johannes loved getting a reaction out of me, savouring my agitation and mocking me for my inadequacies. Any conversation with him wasn't worth it.

Swallowing my swear words, I closed my eyes, hoping that he'd go away.

If only it were that easy.

"You see, boy? This is why I never let anyone close to my heart... And that's precisely why the Pit doesn't affect me at all!" Johannes boasted, pumping his chest.

Weirdly enough, that's exactly what seemed to be happening. Johannes was somehow aloof from the darkness the pit shot at him, still arrogant like before. He pranced around the Pit of Darkness like it was his luxury villa, complete with a swimming pool of sadness and a home theatre of torture.

My best explanation was that he didn't mind the pain, for it only fueled the evil inside him and kept him alive.

"Look at yourself... You're fading! At this rate, I doubt you will still exist!" He gave me a look of pity. "Next week, I'll be speaking to the walls here, about the Spirit Guide who had disappeared in the Pit!"

Again, there was a ring of truth to his words. I was losing my shine, slowly forgetting my life outside the Realm, my very essence dissolving into nothingness.

"Fuck off, evil guy," I blurted out, tired of his incessant insults.

He stiffened, looking startled at my words. The corners of my mouth lifted, I'd successfully angered him.

"Now, now boy... There's no need for such foul language! I was just talking to you like a dignified individual here-"

"Dignified individual? You?" I taunted, feeling my suppressed rage rise. "You bully me for your entertainment, you're the biggest hypocrite I've ever seen," I spat out, wanting to maim him with my words.

Johannes drew back, his eyes narrowed to slits. His mouth fell into a thin line, his face contorting with pure fury, like the tumultuous waves of the ocean. It was extremely unsettling, and suddenly, I felt like a child caught doing something wrong, his eyes reprimanding me in ways words never could.