25th November 2019

SHAY

Renee's Realm has been my refuge for the past few days.

It was the perfect place. Not only was it protected by the Shield but also the whole world had forgotten about its existence. With Renee severed and Noah imprisoned, no one would bother to search for me here.

Especially him.

I couldn't bring myself to even utter his name aloud. The very thought of him terrified me, his calm way of spitting out the most wounding words and shattering my heart into smithereens.

The boy that naive little Shay had loved.

I let out a sob. The pain of losing him had been horrible, but the pain of his betrayal destroyed the very core of me, leaving me to question who I was if it hadn't been for him.

I'd become a bully, only so that he wouldn't be bullied.

I'd become a rebel, only because he'd been one.

I'd founded the Astrascends, all because he'd told me to.

And now, I was half Enlightened, only because he'd lost his powers to me.

My tiny sob had now morphed into a stream of tears, turning the radiant sunset into blurs of orange and gold. Even the magic of the surroundings hadn't eased my heart, and I continued to weep into the silence, like the sun that bled red through the amber sky.

"Shay?"

I shook violently upon hearing the voice.

It wasn't him, the one I'd dreaded. No, this voice was sweet, exactly like the warm hugs she gave.

"Violet?" I called out. It definitely sounded like my favourite LOLtube member.

"Yes, it's me." Her voice flooded with relief. "Shay, where have you been? We're worried sick about you!"

"Wait, do you know how to talk telepathically?" I asked her, still finding it absurd that a human like her had progressed this fast.

"Well, it wasn't on my to-do list," Violet replied sarcastically. "But, you went missing and Mike threw tantrums, so I had to take desperate measures."

"Desperate measures, I see," I mocked her.

"Oh, don't act so high and mighty on me," Violet retorted. "Kyle is so impressed that I got to the seventh realm and talk telepathically within two days."

"To be honest, it is impressive," I stated.

"Thanks, Shay," I heard her say, and I could almost imagine her wide grin. "But where are you?"

"Why does it matter?" I wailed. "I'm going to spend the rest of my life in solitude, just like I've wanted it."

There was a pause.

"Was it Isaac?" Violet prodded. "Did he hurt you?"

I stayed silent, secretly glad at how perceptive Violet was.

"Shay?! Are you even there?" Violet called out.

"Yeah," I replied softly. "It was him."

It took a while for her to reply.

"We're here for you," Her voice flowed with affection. "All of us, even bratty Mike and all the Astrascends. You don't have to hide from us, okay? As long as we live, we'll protect you from Isaac if it's the last thing we do."

A choked out laughter escaped my lips, marvelling at her words and trying to contain the rush of joy I'd felt. To know that they wanted me, supported me, saw me as one of their own... Warmed me to my very core.

"I'm in Renee's Realm," I told her happily, explaining the coordinates and the exact way to enter the Realm through the Shield.

"I'm bringing Mike along," Violet answered back. "He's been too moody, now that it has been three months since he's seen his girlfriend."

And so, they had set sail in the Portal Bubble, expertly navigating through the Realms. Despite being unregistered Spirits, they'd progressed so much in the past few months, leaving even me impressed.

The soft grass tickled my ears as I rested my head upon it, as I waited for my friends. Overhead, the sky was a deep navy blue, swirling with mauve and orange, studded with faint stars of the dusk. And as I stared, I longed for the promise of a sunrise, a new dawn.

One where I wouldn't be his shadow.

*****

26th November 2019

"Is it possible that Isaac could be related to Johannes?" Mike wondered aloud, appearing to be in deep thought as he stroked his chin. I'd just finished telling them the story about Isaac's betrayal, and how I was half-Enlightened now.

"Where do you even come up with stuff like that?" Violet laughed, the sound resonating through the tranquil realm. Apart from the occasional buzz of crickets and the night owl, things were practically silent.

"Vi, it makes sense," Mike started seriously, his soft brown eyes now serious. "I mean, they're both cold-hearted assholes-"

"And douchebags, and pure evil," I spat out angrily. "And they love seeing people suffer-"

"See, I'm right. It's time I've received the Nobel prize for Intelligence," Mike boasted.

"Those don't even exist," Violet managed to retort through her laughs. I noticed that she wasn't wearing her eccentric makeup, her natural wheatish skin pale against the moonlight. Her hair fell over in waves, black with streaks of violet, just like her name.

"Mike's too intelligent that they made it up just for him," I played along.

"Seriously though," Mike looked up, his goofy smile falling off his face, "Are you really a half-Enlightened now?"

"Seems like it," I shrugged.

"How many pairs of socks do I own then?" He questioned immediately, squinting at me with suspicion.

"Eleven," I rolled my eyes. "Including the ones you'd owned in the Earthly Realm."

Mike watched me in awe, his mouth hanging open.

"She's not joking! Shay. Knows. Everything!" He let out a shrill, fangirl-like cry.

"Mike, this isn't a joke," Violet chided sensibly. "Shay's got much important stuff to use this for."

"Nobody knows about my socks!" He gasped. "Especially, my limited edition SpongeBob ones! Shay, you're the ultimate Sherlock Holmes."

I didn't bother to ask who that was. Despite being a Spirit, Mike still used nasty human references that Spirits had no clue of.

At least his last sentence sounded like a compliment, my brain reminded.

Whatever.

"Shay, I'm no official Spirit. But even I know that your power is extremely rare," Violet's brows furrowed, watching me worriedly.

"And dangerous," Mike added, mysteriously waving his fingers. "No wonder Isaac is searching for you."

"He's searching for me?!" I sat up straighter. "Mike, what did he say?"

Violet and Mike exchanged an uneasy glance.

"Can't you see it with your Enlightened power?" Mike shot back.

"I can't see everything," I told him impatiently. "Especially anything that concerns Isaac."

Another silence followed that.

"Well, he asked us where you were," Violet started nervously. "While I was trying to explain that you'd been missing for the past few days, Mike entered and exploded into fury."

"Well, jerk face deserved it," Mike snapped. "I blamed him for your disappearance and swore at him... I doubt he's heard that many swear words in his life," He ended with a chuckle.

"Good," I smiled, satisfied. "You'd done what I'd wanted to do."

The night threw her dark tendrils over us, a cloud momentarily hovering over the pale moon and encapsulating us into total darkness. Suddenly, all I could sense were their energies, two Spirits pulsating near me and their deepest intentions.

They felt genuine, like those warm hugs of friendship that drowned every other misery within you. There was affection, maybe even love, and all the brilliant emotions that made me tear up again.

I was rarely weepy before, but Isaac had changed that, breaking me apart even at my strongest.

"Shay," Violet's voice was barely a whisper. "You shouldn't be the one hiding".

For a moment, it felt like it was just the both of us, her frame moving closer to me than before. My heart raced, feeling her lavender scent wash over in the breeze and I looked up, seeing her caring gaze barely inches away from me.

"I know," I exhaled, ignoring the rush of emotions I'd just felt.

"I miss you," She whispered. "We all do."

"I'm coming back, Vi," I decided, noticing that my heart rate still hadn't receded, now paired with my deep blush. "The Astrascends need me."

Violet only smiled, the faintest silhouette of it visible in the starlight. It was one of those magnetic kinds, making the corners of my mouth go up and elation rose from my gut.

"Well," Mike suddenly spoke. "If this is what third-wheeling feels like-"

"Mike, shut up," Violet's voice was sharp, as she turned towards him. "Don't blabber just cause you have a mouth."

"Okay, geez, calm down," Mike rolled his eyes. I noticed that the moon was back and out, shedding her gaze onto us and sending us back to the world of reality. "It was just a harmless comment, Vi, no need to get so worked up."

However, his smirk towards Violet said otherwise.

I watched them curiously. Was there something that I wasn't catching onto?

A vision swooped down upon me, my Enlightened power ready to answer my question. I saw a red-faced Violet chatting amicably with me, her eyes clinging to my every moment. Something was twinkling in her eyes as I stared back at her, that little serotonin that meant everything to me.

That's when Mike cleared his throat rather loudly, making my vision disappear as soon as it had come.

"Shay," Mike announced, trying to erase the previous moment. "I need a favour from you."

"And what's that?"

"I want to see Clovie again," He spoke up. "I know that there's a way to see her through her dreams, but no one knows how to do that, except you and-"

"Okay," I agreed immediately, even surprising myself.

"Wait, really?" Mike looked just as surprised as I felt.

"Yeah, I owe you one for swearing at Isaac," I found myself telling him. "Besides, that's what friends do for each other, don't they?"

"Shit, are you serious?" His mouth hung open. "Can we go today?"

"Sure," I grinned. "Anything for you, Mike."

Mike's face exploded into a childish grin which made me realise that he hadn't really grown up, despite being a nineteen year old.

He let out a wolf whistle, before launching me onto his back and giving me a piggyback ride. I wrapped my arms around his neck, afraid that I was going to fall down, but I soon got used to his speed, even enjoying it.

As the wind caught in my hair, and laughter echoed through the meadow, as Violet chased Mike who was now screaming at the top of his lungs, I slowly began to understand what liberation truly meant.

Whatever we had here, this was what it was.

Liberation.

And the Astrascends were brimming with it.

*****