Agniran waited for a few moments. Then, Solor greeted him on the spiral staircase. Ahead, a short man of similar height and build followed closely behind. "Hey, kids... Come up here," Solor called out, waving his hand to invite them upward. Solor resumed climbing the stairs alongside the dwarf named Koro. Swiftly, Agniran stood up and followed Solor. "Hand... Jok..." Agniran's face signaled them to come along. They climbed the spiral staircase, passing through room after room and various floor levels. The three young men were mesmerized by the clusters of lanterns hanging like bunches of fruit in the center of the winding spiral staircase, all the way up to the fourth floor. They entered a warmly lit, golden room. Their gazes swept across the tiered shelves lining the perimeter, perfectly hugging the curved walls and soaring high until they nearly touched the ceiling. Every single shelf held countless antique weapons. "What is it, Sir?" The soles of Agniran's sandals stepped onto the soft, round dark-red carpet spread across the center of the room. He walked toward Solor, who had just turned his back to a set of antique, dark-red-cushioned sofas, and looked at him. "Sit down..." Solor gestured toward the sofa right behind him. The man named Koro approached Handoko and Joko, who were still standing frozen in confusion near the entrance. "Give me your spear, put it here!" His hands stripped Handoko of his spear, then walked toward a low, backless, dark-red curved sofa that wrapped around a central table. The table was filled with all sorts of potions in front of the concave wall shelves. "You two, please sit here!" Koro instructed them while leaning Handoko's spear against the shelf near the polished wooden drawer. They followed Koro's command with their heads full of questions. "You've entered our territory." Solor, sitting on the sofa, stared intently into Agniran's eyes. "Explain... why are you here?" Agniran was momentarily confused. Solor seemed to have transformed into someone much calmer, colder, more alert, and mysterious. "Come on, say it! You don't need to lie, you're carrying the plaque!" Solor pressed. Handoko and Joko began to grow anxious about what was happening. They sat side by side, while Koro stood on guard beside them. Yet, Solor's statement also made them eager to know what Agniran was actually hiding. Agniran lowered his gaze and closed his eyes. Then, he looked back up at Solor. "Actually, we intended to go on a journey... in this Panandha year." Agniran took a momentary breath. "But on that Suro night, I had a feeling I couldn't understand... A feeling I had never experienced before. When we planned to begin our journey, I couldn't sleep. That was when I met Ki Wandarimo. He said that I had the exact same feeling he once felt... The feeling that led him to become the winner of the Crescent Moon Wanderers." Snap! Solor clicked his fingers. He sprang up and walked over to Koro. "I figured as much, didn't I?" His eyes locked onto Koro. "I experienced it too, but not on Suro night." His index finger pointed at Koro's face, tapping the air. "My feeling was right!" Koro slumped down. "This is very dangerous." Solor's index finger wagged toward Koro. "Now I'm on guard. Why did Wandarimo give his plaque to him? If he knew Agniran would become a Crescent Moon Wanderer, why would he hand over the plaque? Right?" Koro nodded slightly. "Wandarimo possesses two instincts he himself cannot comprehend." "There!" Solor walked back to the sofa near Agniran. "Agniran... from now on, do not walk alone. If ever you feel you must choose a difficult path, don't bear it by yourself. Look for me." Agniran was naturally bewildered. "Why is that, Lord Solor?" Solor's index finger rose and pointed at his own eyes with a tapping motion. "I just have a premonition... I don't want to be too late to help you." Koro walked around the large, multi-tiered round table filled with various potions. "Since you already know about the plaque, I will tell you." His index finger pointed upward, his voice ringing out loud and firm. "The plaque is not merely a membership card, but a token of trust. Because of that, the title given to the plaque's owners is for those who have passed the Kecot family's evaluation." Koro continued, "However, because you are important people to us—" his gaze shifted to Handoko and Joko, who were watching him with slight confusion, "—we now consider you to be Sedulur Kecot (Kecot Kin)!" Handoko swallowed hard. He almost laughed, but managed to hold it back. He looked at Joko, who returned his gaze with a smile without uttering a single word. Koro looked at Solor, who responded with a nod. Then Koro walked with a slight hunch toward a section of the room filled with rows of drawers, seamlessly blending into the concave shelves that followed the shape of the room. He pulled open a human-height polished wooden drawer door. Once opened, the door revealed a carved granite stone resembling a temple about waist-height, supported by a system of iron frameworks and mechanisms. Below it were inscriptions written in Javanese script. The three of them, still watching with intense curiosity, stood up to witness it. Agniran stepped closer to the temple stone, examining the script. "An inscription..." Koro's hands immediately turned the temple stone. A creaking sound slowly echoed. The stone rotated gradually, revealing lines of Javanese script that read: The Grand Treaty Inscription. Koro looked back at the three young men standing behind him. "This is an ancient Alliance treaty." Click! A tapping sound came from inside the drawer. Slowly, the room began to vibrate. Handoko stepped back with a frozen gaze. He watched as all the tiered shelves surrounding the concave walls slowly began to rotate. Creak... Creak... Creak... Creak... Creak... Creak... The massive, tall, curved shelves across the entire room kept turning slowly until the room's entranceway was replaced by a polished wooden door with a gebyok traditional aesthetic. The door stood still amidst parted dark-red curtains with golden ornaments, featuring elegantly carved panels that looked as though they were crafted by non-human hands. Above the door, Javanese text was carved: Gelanggang Pagelaran (The Arena of Performance). Without realizing it, Handoko's mouth fell open in awe. "What is that?" Koro explained, "This is an heirloom." The three young men stared unmoving, caught between disbelief and wonder. Within their minds churned a storm of questions: how could an heirloom be in a place like this? What would they do with it? And how would the Alliance react if they found out? Koro's hands grasped the handles of the Arena door and pulled it open. "Please, go on in." His hands gestured for the three of them. "Excuse me, Sir, did you say this is an heirloom?" Agniran stepped forward toward Koro. His face tilted up, scanning the ceiling of the concave room. "The Sakadian?" "Will the Alliance be coming here soon?" Handoko and Joko were overcome with fear. "Calm down... This heirloom does not trigger the Pillar of Light." Solor approached Agniran. His gaze was firm. "This is the only heirloom created before the Pledge Conscience became infected by darkness..." The three young men were utterly astonished, completely in disbelief. "The Alliance will not meddle with this place." Solor's index finger pointed at the carved stone inside the drawer. "The Kecot family is one of the founders of the Alliance from the very beginning." Koro's body stepped through the doorway, followed by Solor, who began to walk inside. "No." Agniran shook his head. "I won't..." Agniran took a step back, gripped by a hint of fear. Solor, with half his body already past the doorway, turned back. "Come on... Go inside!" Handoko was filled with curiosity. "Come on, Ag..." But Agniran answered with a shake of his head. "Why won't you enter?" Solor stepped back out from the doorway's shadow. "That's an heirloom!" Agniran said firmly. "I understand." Solor walked up to Agniran. "We are not breaking the law... It is an ancient treaty sworn by the Alliance." Solor's hand lifted to point at the temple stone from earlier. "We are safe, my friend..." Handoko approached Solor. "What is inside, Sir?" "That's why you should go in, you'll understand for yourself... Come." Solor stepped back through the doorway. Agniran remained reluctant to move. His stance caused Handoko and Joko to hold back and stand beside him. "Fine..." Solor looked back at them once more. "Do you want to go home?" Agniran was torn. Should he choose not to enter and instead go home because he lacked the funds to stay? Or should he go in because he felt certain it violated the Alliance's law? "Ag... Lord Solor said that we are doing this outside the law. You saw the inscription over there, didn't you?" Handoko's eyes gazed intently at Agniran, who was still transfixed on the open door. Handoko took another step toward Agniran. His look was soft and reassuring. "Ag... what is the use of our journey if we just pass right by?"
