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Chapter Eighteen: Troubled Times in the Timeless Temple

Koza flew through the portal and landed with a thud on a patch of soft grass. He jumped up and brushed himself off.

“James? Can you hear me?” asked. All Koza could hear was static coming from his tracker chip. “What happened?” he asked to nobody in particular. He noticed Adrian was walking off.

“Adrian!” Koza yelled. Hid voice seemed to echo softly as he called out. Adrian stopped and looked back.

“Ah, good. You followed me,” he replied.

“Adrian, tell me you didn’t say ‘ARK’ earlier?” Koza asked.

“Ah, but I did. You see, it’s like I told you. It’s a long story.”

“Tell me. I want to know what’s going on.” Koza said in a serious tone.

“Very well. It all started not too long ago…”

Koza listened intently.

“Obviously I don’t remember anything before then. The point in time that I do remember is when I first saw daylight again. I sat up slowly, wondering where I was and what had happened. My entire body felt heavy, and I had trouble keeping my balance. I felt something around my neck, and noticed that I was wearing this necklace here.” He pointed at it as he spoke. “I was about to take it off, when someone grabbed a hold of my hand and told me not to mess with it. I looked up to see a man in a uniform with the letters ‘ARK’ on the front. I wasn’t sure who he was at the time, but he explained to me that they were an organization that needed my help. They told me that I had previously been killed, and the stones I was wearing were keeping me alive. As he spoke, the purple stone here, the Shade Shard, started to glow. All of my strength returned almost instantaneously. I stood up and thanked him. I then asked him what they needed me to help with.”

Adrian paused for a moment.

“Koza, if you want to know more, follow me.” Adrian turned around and took off running.

“Adrian!” Koza called as he took off after him.

The surrounding area was a large, grassy, open field. The sun coated the area in a warm light that made everything calm and tranquil. The only sounds were those of Koza and Adrian running. No wind blew, and no sounds of animals could be heard. If it weren’t for the fact that he was following Adrian, Koza surely would’ve gotten lost by now. How did Adrian know where he was going?

The scenery around them began to change gradually as they ran. The green grass was slowly replaced by pure white sand. A large building was visible in the distance. There was an enormous clock on the face of it, with hands made of what appeared to be gold. Koza was so focused on keeping up with Adrian, he hadn’t even realized that he had arrived outside the building. Koza was at the top of a large, white staircase. People could be seen heading up the staircase, though they were transparent and paid no attention to Koza or Adrian. A few actually passed right through them. Adrian called down to Koza.

“Welcome to the Timeless Temple. It has been around since the beginning of time. In this place, all souls that enter the Spirit World gather to have their fate decided. ” As soon as he finished talking, he started to walk backwards into the temple.

“Why did he bring me here?” Koza asked himself as he started running up the staircase. He barely noticed the fact that he was passing through random people. If it had been under any other circumstances, he would’ve most likely have been a little more nervous, but he was too focused on what lay ahead.

Upon reaching the top, Koza stopped and looked around for Adrian. He was staring in Koza’s direction, still walking backwards. He made a gesture with his hand, to urge Koza to follow. Koza switched to walking after Adrian.

Adrian finally stopped at the end of a large, open field of white sand inside the temple. Koza stopped on the other side. A large door slammed shut behind both Koza and Adrian. Koza looked back quickly, then looked back to Adrian.

“Alright Adrian! Tell me the rest!” he yelled across the field, his voice echoing again.

“Right then. After I asked what it was they needed me to help with, they told me in a cold voice that…” He paused for a moment.

“…That?” Koza asked.

“…That they wanted me to kill you,” he finished.

Koza’s eyes widened. Adrian wouldn’t do anything like that!

“Adrian, you wouldn’t do anything like to me!” he said, as if to reassure himself and prove his thoughts correct.

“That’s exactly what I told them,” Adrian said. Koza relaxed a bit. “They told me that that’s what they thought I would say. They then gave me this…” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a large, purple Element Shard.

“Is that a Shade Shard?” Koza asked.

“Not just any Shade Shard,” Adrian said. “This is called a ‘Black Cat Jewel’, a special type of Shade Shard. This has the power to increase the darkness inside its user’s heart. Heh heh heh…” as he said this, Adrian held his hand out to the side. A large, black broadsword materialized in his hand. It looked to weigh more than he did, though he held it up without a problem. He then placed the Black Cat Jewel in the hilt of the sword, causing not only the sword, but Adrian’s body to glow purple.

“This sword is called ‘Dystopia’. It is a sword rumored to be able to bring about the destruction of anything in its path. It also feeds off of the soul of its user, so they say.” He pointed it at Koza, then slashed it down to the side, pointing it at the ground.

“Come. Dance with me, brother.”




Next Chapter: Friend or Foe? Brother vs. Brother