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Chapter Fifteen: A Blast from the Past - The Good Times Don’t Last!

As morning rolled around, Koza and Tera were both sleeping quietly against the rock wall. The sun was just starting to come up, which tinted the clouds in the sky a soft pink. A bird called out from a nearby tree, voice echoing in the quiet of the morning. Yawning, Koza opened his eyes halfway and blinked. Feeling something on his shoulder, he looked over and saw Tera, still asleep nestled next to him. He nudged her shoulder gently. When she didn’t stir, he tried again, a little harder. She mumbled something and adjusted herself before sighing and leaning on him more. Koza gave up and sat there against the wall. About 10 minutes later, Tera yawned suddenly and opened her eyes halfway. Koza looked over at her.

“It’s about time you woke up,” he said with a smile. She blinked and sat back against the wall with another yawn.

“So… tired…” she grumbled. Koza was trying not to laugh. He cleared his throat and said,

“I know you just woke up and all, but we really should be going… There’s no telling when another ARK squad will show up.” Tera reluctantly agreed and stumbled up, balancing against the wall at first. Koza stood up along with her and stretched. They were about to leave, when all of a sudden a figure dressed in a white cloak darted past both of them and ran off into the distance. Koza and Tera looked at each other, then back to the direction that the figure had run. As if on cue, both of them gave chase.

The figure slid to a stop after a few minutes and looked around. Koza and Tera weren’t far behind. They stopped a little bit away.

“Hey buddy! What’s the rush?” Koza asked.
The figure tensed up and looked back. The figure’s face was covered by a mask that was made of one half that was black, and one half that was white. The white cloak covered his head with its hood, the rest draping over his body. Around his neck he wore a necklace with two separate, odd looking stones. One was a dark purplish color and glowed softly. The other was a teal color and also glowed. Koza kept thinking that there was something familiar looking about this person, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. After all, he’d never seen this person before.

“We just want to know who you are. And maybe where you’re going in such a hurry?” Koza asked.

“You really want to know who I am?” the figure asked from behind his mask. The voice was slightly muffled, though it made the figure all the more familiar to Koza. Both Koza and Tera nodded in sync.

“You mean you don’t recognize me? …Koza?” This caught Koza off guard.

“Wait.. How do you know my name? Who the hell are you anyway!?” he practically yelled, now becoming uneasy. The figure laughed softly to himself.

“Very well,” he said. Slowly he reached his hand up and took hold of the mask. It came off with relative ease, and he held it in his hand next to his face. Koza’s eyes widened and his entire body became stiff. Tera looked back and forth between him and the figure.

“Koza…Are you alright? Who is this guy?” she asked. Koza’s mouth was wide open.

“Th-th-there’s no way…” he managed to get out before he stumbled back onto the ground with a thud. “Wh… How… There’s no way… You can’t be here…!”

The figure laughed and once again donned his mask.

“It’s been a long time hasn’t it Koza? I’d think you’d be happier than this to see me…”

By this time Koza was half sitting up on the ground trembling. Tera went over and kneeled down next to him.

“Koza…I don’t understand. Who is he?” she asked gently.

“Y-y-you can’t b-b-be here…It’s not possible!” was all he could say.

“I don’t have time to waste here. It was…Nice seeing you again, Koza.” And with that, the figure sped off in the other direction. Koza was still trembling, his eyes wide and a look of horror plastered on his face. Tera watched him with a worried look. Koza, after a few moments, regained his composure enough to get his thoughts together and speak, though he only forced out one word.

“…Adrian…”




Next Chapter: History of the Element Shards