Through Space and Time

5: Arcanus Alliance Convention Hall

"I think I know how to find the Glinters of the Ten Crests," Hwarang said after catching his breath.

"How?"

"The Black Ocean Protocol."

"The Black Ocean Protocol? What is that?" Minji voiced out everyone's sentiments.

"Ok, listen, I just received a premonition. And in that premonition, I saw eleven silhouettes hanging this frame on this wall. They said it was necessary so that Black Ocean Protocol will be used to search for the missing Glinters," Hwarang explained. "After scouring the Photic Zone, we know that the only missing Glinters are those that belonged to the Ten Crests. So, if my assumptions are correct, the Black Ocean Protocol could lead us to where their lightsticks are located."

"Okay, let's believe your assumptions are correct, but still we don't know what is this 'Black Ocean Protocol'," Dongwook calmly told Hwarang.

"I guess it's a good thing that the silhouettes in my premonition mentioned where we can learn about the Black Ocean Protocol," Hwarang smiled.

"Where is it?" Lew urged his groupmate.

"If we need information about anything magical, where do we look for it?" Hwarang hinted.

"You mean?" everyone turned their heads to one particular object in the room.

Hwarang nodded, "Yes. The Light Codices."

Seunggi and Dongwook quickly grabbed all volumes of Light. They scanned the volumes starting from the front, going through each page one by one until they found the entry they were looking for at the very end of the volume for the magical squads of Hallyu.

The Black Ocean Protocol

The Supreme Six and the Twilight Triad are Hallyu's pride. Tasked with the duty to protect the kingdom from both internal and external threats, the Supreme Six and Twilight Triad are Hallyu's final line of defense.

However, the Supreme Six and the Twilight Triad are not infallible. Through the Arcanus Alliance, it is no secret that powerful threats are lurking in the shadows, just waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Thus, countermeasures need to be prepared.

If there will come such a time when the Supreme Six and Twilight Triad are unable to subdue the threat on their own, the Black Ocean Protocol can be your guide:

"When Hallyu will be in great danger, the glint of hope could be found at the core of the alliance."

"And so, where are the Glinters?" Giselle questioned.

"That's it. The entry ends there," Seunggi said.

"But there is no mention of where the Glinters could be," Yujin noticed.

"Are you sure, daepyonim? How about the next page?" Dohyon suggested to the two Seers.

"There is no next page. The entry is on the final page of the book," Dongwook revealed.

"But there is nothing there that could help us find the Glinters," Jongseob raised his concern.

The Seers read the entry on the "Black Ocean Protocol" over and over again. They could not believe that the location of the Glinters was not mentioned in the entry, especially following the premonition Hwarang got.

After Dongwook read the entry for the eleventh time, Jake and Jay gasped, "That's it!"

"Did you figure something out, Jay-hyung?" Jungwon reacted.

"The Black Ocean Protocol do tell us the location of the Glinters," Jake claimed.

"Where is it then?" Wonyoung was puzzled.

"When Hallyu will be in great danger, the glint of hope could be found at the core of the alliance," Jay stated. "The glint of hope might refer to the Glinters that we are looking for. And that they can be found at the core of the alliance... or more specifically, the Arcanus Alliance."

"So, what does that mean? That we should ask help from the Arcanus Alliance?" Keeho blurted out.

"Not necessarily. What if they are in the Arcanus Alliance Convention Hall?" Jake responded.

Jake's statement felt like everyone had been doused with iced water, "That's a great idea!"

And so, the Supreme Six, Twilight Triad, and the two Kingdom Seers rushed to the Arcanus Alliance Convention Hall to the left of the eleven-story hotel in Wanna City. Just like the Entente Cordiale building located to the right of the hotel, the Arcanus Alliance Convention Hall was designed to accommodate a large number of dignitaries.

Once inside, the group searched every nook and cranny of the convention hall. They hoped to find a hidden vault, a secret passageway, a concealed door, or anything that may be keeping the missing Glinters. But as the sun set behind the horizon, they were not having any luck in finding the lightsticks.

"Are you sure it's here, Jake?" Seunggi clarified.

"It was a theory, seonbaenim. I just assumed they were here based on the words stated by the entry," Jake honestly said. "Actually, while I am certain that it is related to the Arcanus Alliance, the mention of the word 'core' is throwing me off."

"Yes. I was also wondering what the 'core' of the alliance means," Sakura offered her thoughts.

"For the meantime, let's search the entire hall for one last time before planning our next move," Dongwook suggested.

Another sweep of the entire area ended in vain once more. There was no sign of the Glinters anywhere inside the building.

"Nothing. Nada. Zilch," Theo shook his head in defeat.

"Core of the alliance... core of the alliance... core of the alliance..." Yohan mumbled as he walked around. "Well, 'core' could mean the center, right? So, perhaps we might see something in the center of the hall?"

Yujin groaned in annoyance, "Why did they have to make everything cryptic?"

"Maybe it's a test... to see if we are worthy of summoning them," Heeseung mentioned.

"That's a new way of looking at it," Seunggi approved of Heeseung's way of thinking.

While they were talking, Yohan stood in the center of the hall looking for clues. He theorized that the "core" of the alliance meant the center of the convention hall. He slowly spun to scrutinize the whole area and even looked up at the ceiling. Just like everyone else, he found nothing.

"Yohan-ah, let's go already! It's getting dark," Wooseok called for him.

"Be right there!"

Disappointed, Yohan sighed and hung his head. However, that action opened a new perspective to Yohan. The center noticed this and spun around slowly once more to verify his find. When it was consistent with what he was thinking, he couldn't help but announce his finding.

"Uhmm... everyone?" Yohan called for everyone's attention. "I think I found something."