The Eclipsed Order

Chapter 226: Chapter 226: The Floating Land Beyond the Mountains

Far from the mountains, within the territory of House D’Averon, an ordinary afternoon was suddenly interrupted by a deep tremor that traveled through the ground.

The first vibration was subtle, causing cups to rattle against wooden tables and hanging lamps to sway slightly, but within moments, the tremor became strong enough for people throughout the town to notice.

"What was that?"

"An earthquake?"

"Everyone, stay calm!"

People stepped out of their homes and shops, looking around in confusion as the ground continued to shake beneath their feet.

The tremor lasted only a short while before gradually weakening.

Then it stopped.

The sudden silence that followed was almost more unsettling than the shaking itself.

A shopkeeper stepped into the street and looked toward the distant mountain range.

"Did anyone else feel that?"

"I did, but it wasn’t like an ordinary earthquake. It felt as though the ground itself was being pulled upward."

"What could possibly cause something like that?"

No one had an answer.

Several people continued staring toward the mountains, although the distance made it difficult to see anything unusual.

Then someone suddenly pointed toward the horizon.

"Wait... what’s that?"

The people nearby turned in the direction he was pointing.

Far beyond the town, above the distant mountain range, something enormous had appeared in the sky.

At first, it looked like a dark shape floating above the mountains, but as the people stared harder, its immense scale gradually became apparent.

A vast stretch of land was suspended high above the clouds.

Mountains, forests, cliffs, and enormous structures could be seen upon it, while several separate landmasses floated around a much larger central territory.

The entire landscape appeared to have been lifted into the heavens.

"What... is that?"

"No way..."

"Is that a mountain?"

"Mountains don’t float!"

The street quickly filled with people as more residents came outside to witness the impossible sight.

Some stared with their mouths slightly open, while others instinctively stepped backward as though the enormous floating territory might somehow descend upon them.

A young man looked toward the sky in disbelief.

"Was that what caused the shaking?"

An older merchant beside him slowly nodded.

"It must have been. Whatever happened in those mountains was powerful enough for the tremor to reach all the way here."

Another resident pointed toward the distant structures.

"Look carefully. There are buildings up there."

The more they looked, the clearer the details became.

At the center of the enormous floating territory stood a magnificent castle, rising above the surrounding structures and dominating the central highland.

Around it stretched what appeared to be an entire settlement, with roads, buildings, forests, open fields, and several separate floating lands connected to the central territory.

It was not simply a mountain suspended in the sky.

It looked like an entire city.

"I’ve never heard of anything like this."

"Could it be some ancient magical phenomenon?"

"Maybe it’s a dungeon?"

"A dungeon that lifts an entire mountain into the sky? Don’t be ridiculous."

The conversation quickly became chaotic as speculation spread throughout the streets.

Nobody knew where it had come from.

Nobody knew who had created it.

And from such a distance, even the most powerful individuals in the territory could not immediately determine what had happened.

---

At the D’Averon estate, the tremor had not gone unnoticed.

Frederick D’Averon had already stepped outside when another servant hurried toward him, visibly unsettled.

"Lord Frederick, the shaking has stopped, but the townspeople are gathering outside. They are reporting that something has appeared above the distant mountains."

Frederick frowned.

"Something appeared?"

Before the servant could explain further, Mara emerged from the estate and looked toward the horizon.

"What is happening?"

Frederick turned toward her.

"We do not know yet. There was a tremor, and now the reports say something is floating above the mountains."

Mara’s expression immediately became serious.

"Floating?"

"That is what they are saying."

The two walked toward the elevated terrace overlooking the surrounding territory.

From there, the distant mountain range was visible beneath the clear sky.

At first, neither of them saw anything unusual.

Then Mara’s eyes widened.

"Frederick..."

"I see it."

Far beyond their territory, a massive landmass could be seen suspended above the mountain range.

Even from such a distance, its enormous scale was unmistakable.

Frederick stared at it for several seconds without speaking.

"That cannot be a natural phenomenon."

Mara’s expression remained fixed on the distant highland.

"No, it cannot."

The sight was so extraordinary that neither of them immediately knew what explanation could possibly account for it.

Frederick’s gaze moved toward the enormous central structure.

"There is a castle in the center."

Mara narrowed her eyes.

"And several separate lands surrounding it. Whoever created that must possess an extraordinary level of power."

A messenger approached from behind them.

"My lord, should we send scouts toward the mountains?"

Frederick remained silent for a moment before answering.

"Yes, but do not approach recklessly. We do not know what caused this, who is responsible, or whether the phenomenon is stable."

"Understood, my lord."

Mara continued watching the distant floating territory.

"Whatever happened, it occurred only moments ago. The tremor stopped at the same time the land finished rising."

Frederick nodded slowly.

"Which means the two events were connected."

Neither of them knew the answer.

And for the first time in a long while, the head of House D’Averon found himself looking toward something within his own territory that even he could not explain.

---

Near the outer section of the estate, the captain and vice captain of the D’Averon family’s forces had also gathered after feeling the tremor.

The captain stood with his arms crossed, his eyes fixed on the distant mountains.

"That was no ordinary earthquake."

The vice captain shook his head.

"No. The vibration traveled strangely through the ground, and then it stopped completely."

He looked toward the enormous shape in the distance.

"And now we have that."

The captain’s expression tightened.

"I have spent years commanding soldiers, but I have never seen anything remotely comparable."

The vice captain stared at the floating highland.

"Neither have I. Whatever force lifted that landmass must be extraordinary."

The captain remained silent for several seconds before giving his assessment.

"We should increase the number of scouts along the mountain routes, but nobody is to approach the floating territory without authorization. Until we know what it is, caution is more important than curiosity."

The vice captain nodded.

"I will issue the orders immediately."

Behind them, more soldiers had begun gathering, all of them staring toward the sky with the same disbelief as the townspeople.

Above the distant mountains, an entire territory remained suspended among the clouds.

And although the people of House D’Averon did not yet know it, the impossible sight belonged to someone far closer to them than they could have imagined.

It was the new domain of Ares D’Averon.

And it had just risen into the sky.

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