Realm of Noah

PART 2 : ARBOR VITAE

NOAH

For the first time in days, my void of pain raged from the vague nightmare, replaying another incident from the past.

I was back in the courtroom, watching Isaac's trial from nearly two years ago. After being falsely accused of misusing the Spirit Internet, Lord Augustus had directed a strong beam of light towards Isaac, severing him.

I'd closed my eyes, clutching onto an agonized Shay, who cried in protest. The Higher Spirits paid no heed to her, but Augustus had seen us, his beady black eyes narrowing down upon our terrified faces.

I gulped in fear. I didn't want to draw attention to myself, especially from the Head Spirit.

"Shay Williams, Spirit Scholar of the ISA," Augustus's voice boomed into the hall, momentarily stilling the chatter of the Higher Spirits. "You have been a part of Isaac's crimes too."

"NO!" Shay screamed. "NO LORD AUGUSTUS, I AM INNOCENT-"

"SILENCE!" He blared back. "How dare you raise your voice against the Head Spirit?"

Shay whimpered, shaking with heavy breaths. She'd been one of the bravest people I'd ever known, but now she was completely broken, mourning over the fact that she'd never see Isaac again.

"For your crimes, we inflict upon you a raging void of pain, a reminder of your foolish love for a criminal such as Isaac!"

Shay collapsed onto the floor, clutching her chest as if she were having a heart attack. I bent down next to her, engulfing her in a hug, and hoping to lessen her trauma.

That's when I felt his eyes burning holes upon my back.

"Noah Stark," Augustus started, making me face him. "You are no less. We punish you with a raging void of pain, a reminder for befriending a criminal such as Isaac and aiding him in his twisted schemes!"

My vision turned black. Tendrils of pain erupted in my chest, twisting cruelly around my heart and choking it to death. The void of pain, previously empty, was now overflowing with a surging amount of grief and trauma, running into the other voids and rendering me numb.

Six hours felt like an eternity, burning in the bowels of hell and regretting my very existence.

When I regained consciousness, my cheek was pressed against the cold marble floor. The void had calmed a bit, like a newly healed wound, waiting to crack open and bleed torture into my being.

I closed my eyes, forcing myself to think about anything but him. I'd lost my best friend, my brother even, to the mighty ISA, and I didn't know if things would get any worse.

But they did.

As Shay and I trudged out of the Spirit Court, consumed by our own voids of pain, we saw our faces flashing upon every television set in history, accusing us of the worst criminals of the decade.

"The Spirit Internet is a noble invention of the ISA," Augustus was saying. "It is truly a dishonour to see young Spirits such as these, misuse something so profound."

Shay stood next to me, her tear-filled eyes staring at Augustus's video with disbelief.

"Noah, this is-"

"They're going to pay," I growled in a low voice, my eyes red-rimmed. "Augustus is going to regret the fact that he wronged us like this-"

"How?" She demanded. "We're fifteen-"

"There's a reason he punished us. Maybe we can't see the whole picture now, but one day we will," I explained.

"I don't get it," She raised an eyebrow.

"Remember Sir Johannes? He was blamed falsely, his memories were erased, and Augustus let him rot in the Pit for years... But now, he's the all-powerful criminal mastermind. He became the very thing Augustus accused him of."

Shay watched me carefully, understanding dawning on her face.

"We were loyal to the ISA all this time," She said.

"But not anymore," I told her, my voice filled with determination. "We're going to turn our backs to the ISA."

Shay smiled. I smiled back.

"From this day onwards, we are rebels against the ISA."