Noah's voice echoed through the communications room, breaking the silence that had followed Étienne's statements.
"I need to speak with my superior and everyone else," Noah said urgently.
The leaders of the five families looked at one another through the holographic screens. Ciara was the first to speak.
"Ask him what this is about," Ciara replied.
Étienne nodded, pressed the intercom, and called out loudly.
"Noah, Lady Ciara wants to know what is so urgent."
Noah answered in a serious tone.
"We've deciphered the hidden message embedded in the transmission," he replied urgently.
"I can see this is serious," Étienne responded.
"The list of numbers they left behind are coordinates. They point to specific locations. Using ancient maps, we managed to identify their exact present-day positions. But that's not all. When we connect all the points, every line converges on a location that is already familiar to us."
"Familiar? What do you mean?" Isabela asked.
Noah took a deep breath. Beside him stood Eleonor and Sophie, watching attentively. Kenji and Elena remained beside the central table, where a three-dimensional map slowly rotated.
"During the meeting held after the First Battle of the Yellow Sea, we discovered that the ley lines in China seemed to disappear. They didn't converge at a clear nexus like they do in Ireland, Japan, or Brazil. We still don't know why. And it is precisely at that point that all of these coordinate lines intersect."
"It appears that something is hidden there. Something that doesn't appear in any official records."
Ciara frowned.
Étienne stepped in.
"That's exactly what I've been trying to tell you. For years, I've found subtle gaps throughout history—periods where the records simply... don't completely match. As if someone erased entire fragments."
Haruki spoke from his ship in the Pacific.
"What do you think is there?"
Noah answered before Étienne could.
"I don't know for certain. But the coordinates the Kartnod sent us, combined with the patterns Kenji and Elena uncovered during their research, suggest that something is buried underground. Something sealed away. Something the Kartnod want us to find."
"How can you be sure it isn't a trap?" Isabela asked.
At that moment, Sophie asked for the floor.
"We can't be certain whether it is or isn't. What we do know is that they want us to investigate whatever is hidden there."
Silence filled the room for several moments as everyone processed the information.
Finally, Ciara spoke.
"So what do you propose, Noah?"
The young bearer took a deep breath. The mark on his back burned with an itch he could no longer ignore, as though the very power within him knew they were about to uncover something of tremendous importance.
"We need to send an expedition to that location in China. But not just military forces. We need specialists—magical historians, scholars capable of reading ancient texts, people who can interpret whatever is hidden there."
"If the Kartnod want us to find this, then perhaps it contains answers they already know."
"Answers about our true history."
"Perhaps about the Supreme Beings."
"Or about why the war truly began."
Maeve, who had been called into the meeting after Noah announced that the message had been deciphered, had been listening quietly aboard the flagship of the O'Broin Fleet before finally speaking.
"And you believe this expedition can get there without being detected? We're at war, Noah. The Kartnod are somewhere out there regrouping, and the Eagle Faction is still active. We still don't know who among our personnel has been infiltrated."
"That's why this can't be a large operation," Noah replied. "A small team. Five, maybe six people. Specialists, not combat operatives."
"I also believe it would be wise to request assistance from the Chinese government, since we'll be conducting our search within their territory. And finally... I'll be going myself."
"No," Eleonor said firmly beside him. "You can't. You're the Bearer. If this is a trap and they capture you..."
Noah looked directly at her.
"I have to go. If there's something there that can explain what I am—what I carry inside me—I need to see it with my own eyes. I can't keep ignoring all of this. I need to know exactly who I am and what truly lives within me."
Isabela asked for the floor.
"And what if what you find is worse than you imagine?"
Noah met her gaze.
"Then at least we'll know what we're really up against."
Ciara watched Noah for a long moment before slowly nodding.
"Very well. You have my authorization."
"I'll contact the Chinese government immediately to request permission and cooperation. But it won't just be the people you mentioned. I'll send for Irina to accompany you. Her clairvoyant abilities will be invaluable if you discover underground ruins."
"Thank you, Lady Ciara," Noah replied.
"Don't thank me yet," Ciara answered. "This may become something none of us can control. Even so, I wish you all the best."
With that, the meeting came to an end. One by one, the connections were terminated as the leaders returned to their respective positions, each contemplating the implications of what had just been decided.
Noah remained in the room, staring at the map that still rotated above the table. Eleonor walked over to him.
"Are you sure about this?"
He reached out and touched the glowing point marking the location in China. The instant he did, the mark on his back reacted, as though it recognized that place.
"No," he admitted at last. "But I have the feeling that's where we'll finally find the answers."
Sophie, who had remained silent until then, spoke from the back of the room.
"I'll prepare everything so we can leave first thing tomorrow morning and head north. We'll pick up Irina, and two days later we'll depart for China. That should give everyone enough time to coordinate with the Chinese government and prepare the necessary equipment."
Noah nodded without taking his eyes off the map.
"Three days..." he repeated quietly.
And as night settled over Marseille, somewhere in Wales, Valerius watched a similar display.
"What an unexpected opportunity we've just been given."
With a chilling smile spreading across his face, he turned toward Iara.
"The next phase of the plan will begin sooner than expected."