Chapter 135 – The Eastern Expedition

Chapter 135: Chapter 135 – The Eastern Expedition

The following morning, Headmaster Orion confirmed what Azrael and Seraphina had already suspected. The four resonance events were not isolated incidents. Each one had appeared farther east than the previous one, forming a strange progression across the region. No major destruction had been reported, but the pattern was too consistent to dismiss as coincidence.

Orion decided that the academy would send a supervised expedition to the eastern observation station. It would not be a dungeon expedition or a combat mission. Their purpose was to investigate the phenomenon, gather information, and determine whether the fluctuations posed any danger to the surrounding settlements. Azrael and Seraphina were selected alongside Marcus, Ryan, Caelan, Lyanna, Sophia, and Elena, with several instructors accompanying them.

Marcus looked far more excited than he probably should have been when they gathered to prepare their supplies. "So we’re actually going east?"

Ryan adjusted the straps of his bag and sighed. "We’re going to an observation station."

"That’s still an expedition."

"It’s only an expedition if something interesting happens."

Elena glanced at him. "Considering what happened in the northern mountains, I’d prefer nothing interesting."

Seraphina smiled as she checked the supplies she had packed. "For once, I agree with Elena."

Azrael simply secured Astraeus at his side. "We should be prepared for either possibility."

They left the academy the next morning.

The journey east was considerably different from their expedition into the northern mountains. There were no abandoned roads or ruined settlements. Instead, they passed through farmland, small villages, open grasslands, and stretches of forest where ordinary people continued their daily lives. Farmers worked in their fields, merchants traveled between settlements, and children occasionally stopped to watch the academy group pass by. The normality of the region made the strange resonance they were following feel even more out of place.

By afternoon, the expedition reached the eastern observation station. The researchers stationed there had already been monitoring the fluctuations and immediately provided Orion’s group with their records.

"The latest event occurred roughly six kilometers east of here," one of the researchers explained while pointing toward a marked section of the regional map. "There was no explosion, no earthquake, and no visible destruction. The energy simply appeared for several minutes before disappearing."

Orion studied the information carefully. "Any changes in the environment?"

The researcher hesitated. "Nothing significant at first. But there is one thing we noticed."

He pointed toward several notes.

"The wildlife has been leaving the area."

Seraphina’s expression changed slightly. She closed her eyes and reached out with her perception, allowing her Genesis energy to spread gently through the surrounding environment.

"Life isn’t being damaged," she said after a moment. "It’s being displaced."

Azrael looked toward the eastern forest.

"Something is changing there."

The group followed the direction of his gaze.

The forest looked completely ordinary from a distance. Trees stood beneath the afternoon sky, their branches moving gently with the wind. Birds should have been calling from within the canopy, and animals should have been moving through the undergrowth.

Instead, there was silence.

Not peaceful silence.

Absence.

Caelan frowned as they approached the forest. "I don’t like this."

Lyanna glanced at him. "You say that every time."

"This time I have a reason."

Sophia smiled faintly. "You always say that too."

The instructors allowed the group to continue only after establishing a clear limit for their investigation. They would not pursue anything beyond the point where the environment became unsafe, and they would return to the observation station before nightfall.

As they entered the forest, Azrael slowed down.

The others noticed almost immediately.

"What is it?" Seraphina asked.

Azrael placed one hand against the trunk of a nearby tree. His perception spread through the ground, following the subtle movements of energy beneath the surface.

"The pulse traveled through here."

Marcus looked around. "You mean the resonance?"

Azrael nodded. "It isn’t moving randomly."

He remained still for several seconds before continuing. "It’s following something."

Seraphina stepped closer and allowed her own perception to expand. Unlike Azrael, she didn’t focus on the movement of energy itself. She listened to the life within the forest—the roots, insects, plants, and distant creatures that still remained near the edge of the affected area.

"They’re responding to it," she said.

Elena looked at her. "Responding how?"

"They’re not fleeing because they’re being attacked. They’re moving because the environment is changing."

Azrael glanced at her.

"So we are seeing the same thing from different directions."

Seraphina nodded. "You can sense the change itself. I can sense how life reacts to it."

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

The distinction was small, but it gave them a clearer picture of what they were dealing with. Whatever was causing the resonance wasn’t simply releasing energy into the environment. It was altering something around it, and the living creatures were instinctively responding to that change.

The group continued a little farther, but the forest remained unnaturally quiet. There were no ruins, no monsters, and no visible structures waiting for them. The deeper they went, however, the more obvious the absence of wildlife became.

Eventually, Orion’s instructions forced them to stop.

"We’ve gathered enough information for today," one of the instructors said. "We return to the station."

Marcus looked disappointed. "Already?"

"Yes."

Ryan immediately nodded. "Excellent decision."

Marcus stared at him. "You were complaining about the expedition being boring five minutes ago."

"And now I’m appreciating the wisdom of our instructors."

Sophia laughed quietly while Elena shook her head.

The group returned to the observation station before sunset. The researchers recorded Azrael and Seraphina’s observations alongside the existing data, particularly their descriptions of the resonance traveling through the ground and the unusual movement of the local wildlife.

Orion studied the combined information for a long time before finally closing the report.

"We still don’t know what we’re dealing with," he said. "But we know enough to avoid treating it as an ordinary energy fluctuation."

Azrael looked toward the eastern horizon.

The pulse had disappeared.

For now.

Seraphina stood beside him, her gaze following his.

"We’ll find out eventually."

Azrael nodded.

"We don’t need to rush."

The instructors established camp at the observation station, intending to continue monitoring the area through the night. No one knew whether another fluctuation would appear or whether the phenomenon would remain silent until morning.

For the first time since the investigation began, however, they had something more useful than speculation.

They had a direction.

And somewhere beyond the quiet eastern forest, whatever was causing the resonance continued its slow progression through the land.