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.

"I may be a hypocrite, but I'm not a coward, Noah Stark," He remarked coldly. "Unlike you, I try to solve my problems, instead of crying about them."

I opened my mouth to retort, but Johannes had sauntered away swiftly, going to chat with Prison guard Fergus.

I leaned back against the Pit, trying to eavesdrop on their conversation and gather more information about the world outside. Fergus was basically Johannes's lapdog, feeding him information from the Spirit Realm, and carrying messages to those Johannes wanted to contact.

"More disappearances?" Johannes questioned him in a low voice. It would've been ideal for him to use telepathy, but it didn't work in the Pit. Which was precisely why I couldn't contact any of my Spirit friends either.

"Yes, Sir," Fergus muttered. "They've all been rumoured to join the Astrascends."

From what I'd been hearing, the Astrascends had grown extremely powerful in the last three months. It was absurd since Shay was in prison and Isaac, being an Enlightened, didn't really have much time for the Astrascends.

It intrigued me as to who would've stepped up in the position of leadership, to head the Astrascends. Maybe it was one of my Spirit Guide friends. Kyle or Matt probably.

"What about Augustus? Does he continue to call me a liar?" Johannes questioned, his tone sarcastic.

I remembered hearing a few weeks ago where Lord Augustus stated that he had always been a part of the Enlightened, contrary to Johannes's statement. Augustus also called him a liar and told everyone to not blindly believe the words of a criminal.

"He did, Sir. He recently called you delusional since you've been in the Pit for several years now," Fergus supplied.

Johannes's laughter resembled that of a braying donkey's.

"Haha, I can't believe that rumour is spreading like wildfire, Fergus! I only said it to divert his attention, but it seems like people consider it plausible..." He cackled with glee.

Wait... Lord Augustus was still a part of the Enlightened?

Johannes had lied to divert our attention?

I sat up, focusing on his voice carefully like my life had depended on it.

"Sir, even I had considered your statement to be true," Fergus admitted. "I had truly believed that Lord Augustus was faking being Enlightened."

"I don't blame you, Fergus," Johannes told him smoothly. "I'm a very skilled liar."

I inhaled sharply at his words, thinking about the possibilities.

Had he also been lying about not killing Mike Durvont?

Had he been lying about his innocence?

My mind was racing with the possibilities, each worse than the previous one.

"So you killed Mike Durvont?" I asked him loudly, my voice echoing through the Pit.

"You've been eavesdropping?" Johannes turned around, dodging my question. "That's highly inappropriate, boy..."

"Answer my question, you piece of-"

"Stop with the swear words!" He hissed, cutting across my sentence. Johannes was near me again, towering over me like a lighthouse while I remained seated.

"I won't fucking stop unless you answer," I demanded, my voice growing louder. I felt myself shaking from the anger, the blood rushing to my head, my ears ringing in the silence.

"I didn't kill Mike Durvont," Johannes snapped. "There, the truth is out, are you happy?"

He sounded off somehow, his tone exuding nonchalance.

"You're lying," I accused, crossing my arms across my chest.

"Fine," Johannes muttered. "Fine, angsty teenage boy, I don't care about what you think. But remember that I cannot be kind and gracious for long. You should be thankful that my Offer still remains open."

I nearly lost it when he uttered those sentences.

"Your Offer?" I repeated sarcastically, thinking about the offer he'd given me a month ago. "You mean the Offer, where you manipulate me in your evil scheme?"

Johannes narrowed his eyes, his mouth pressing into a thin line like he was furious with my attitude.

"Do you want to curl up and die in this Pit?" He lowered his voice, making it sound like a threat. "Dissolve into a bunch of unhappy emotions? Is that what you want?"

"It's much better than your stupid offer, " I spat out more boldly than what I actually felt.

"Boy, don't you see it? The Pit was too harsh of a punishment for the crimes you had committed! You don't deserve to be in this place, and neither do I!"

"Says the guy who killed Mike," I retorted.

"Augustus wants to terrify the Astrascends through you! He wants to silence them, show them that your fate is what wrongdoers receive..." Johannes explained.

Either he made sense, or maybe he knew exactly how to manipulate me.

Mike's face swam before my eyes, he had trusted Johannes too, and now he was dead.

"I'm not interested, Johannes," I told him firmly, trying not to think about how tempting his offer seemed.

"That doesn't sound like the Noah Stark I'd heard about," Johannes cackled. "Are you that much of a coward?"

"Coward? Me?" I scoffed, before mocking Johannes's braying cries, "'Oh Augustus! I'm innocent! You can't convict me! Boohoo hoo!!' "

Johannes was seething. I was satisfied that I'd left him tongue-tied for once.

"Boy, don't show me your arrogance. You know very well that Shay Williams is still in prison." Johannes smirked. "No rescue plans for you, I see. I'm your only hope."

"I don't need your help to find a way out, Johannes," I leaned my back against the pit. He couldn't tempt me, I was better than that.

"Suit yourself, Noah Stark," He shrugged. "But my offer remains open."

I would've retorted something foul, but Johannes walked away, to resume his teatime chat with Fergus.

As the darkness continued to drown me, I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the next few hours of pain, hallucinations and whatnot. Nothing made sense in the pit, it was one place that twisted all the rules of the universe to effectively torture me.

I thought about Johannes, his offer, and wondered if he wanted to help me. If he was really being truthful.

No, he wasn't. He'd even called himself a skilled liar.

Despite his lies, one statement of his shone through the darkness like a beacon of light.

As evil as he may be, Johannes was right about something.

I didn't deserve any of this nonsense.

*****

(A/N: So that was the first chapter!!! Hope you guys liked it!

Poor Noah is suffering a lot 😭 Hopefully things get better for him...

Do you think Sir Johannes is responsible for Mike's death? Or is he really innocent like he claims to be?

Any guesses on what Johannes's offer could be?

Thank you so much for reading!! ❤️)