Entry 1: The Silent March
Day 451 After the Wave
It’s been over a year since the Wave hit. Since we lost hearing. I’ve stopped expecting it—sound. Stopped waiting for the rustling of leaves or the snap of a twig underfoot. There’s nothing but the void now. Even when I press my ear to the earth, hoping to feel the deep rumble of a distant animal, nothing comes. Just a profound, unsettling stillness.
Elon never knew sound. He was only an infant when the Wave struck. I used to try to explain it to him—what it was like when you could hear. How the wind would whistle through the trees, or how your own heartbeat could thud in your ears when you were scared. But I’ve stopped telling those stories. They only seem to confuse him. And I can see it in his eyes when he watches me, the way he must wonder how I ever survived without the silence.
I didn’t think I would, honestly. The first few months were chaos. Creatures turned mad, people losing their minds. And the trees—damn, the trees. They had been alive with sound once, swaying in the wind. Now they’re just dead towers looming over us, unresponsive.
The Mistwoods are dangerous, even more so now without the warning signs of sound. I used to be a guide here—before the Wave—leading expeditions through the fog, helping people navigate the labyrinthine paths. It was tricky then, but now it’s near impossible. I walk blind, feeling my way through the mist.
Elon, though—he’s something different. He’s adapted quicker than I have. I’ve seen him learn to sense the world in ways I can’t. The subtle shifts in the fog, the way he tracks the movement of creatures by the vibrations they leave behind. He presses his feet to the earth and seems to feel things I’ve long forgotten how to notice.
Today, as we trekked through the woods, Elon tapped my arm and pointed forward. His wide eyes said everything. Something was ahead of us.
Without sound, danger comes in strange forms now. The Silent Ones, we call them—the creatures that have adapted faster than we have. They move silently through the mist, hunting by sight and touch alone. They are predators who thrive in the quiet.
I put my hand on Elon’s shoulder, urging him to stay close. We moved as silently as we could. The fog was thick, as usual, making the world around us little more than an oppressive gray blur. I couldn’t see what was out there, but I trusted Elon’s instincts. I had to.
He crouched down suddenly, his fingers brushing the damp earth. He looked up at me, and I understood. Something was approaching—something big.
In the silence, there is no sound to give you warning. No footfalls to alert you to the danger. Only the ground beneath your feet, only the weight of the air around you shifting ever so slightly.
I knelt beside him, gripping the spear tightly in my hand. I didn’t dare breathe.
The ground trembled, ever so faintly. Elon’s eyes widened. He felt it too—the weight of the creature passing by, its enormous frame cutting through the mist just out of sight. A Trillax, maybe. Huge, lumbering creatures that once used low-frequency calls to communicate. Now, like us, they are trapped in the silence. But they’ve grown more aggressive since the Wave, confused by their own inability to hear the world.
We stayed still for what felt like an eternity. Eventually, the faint tremors faded. The creature moved on.
Elon tugged at my sleeve, signaling that it was safe to continue. We rose and resumed our march, stepping carefully, aware that danger could still be lurking nearby. Without sound, the world has become a place where you rely on the smallest of details to survive. The way the wind shifts the mist, the vibrations in the earth, the rhythm of another’s heartbeat.
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Entry 2: Cavernspire
Day 454 After the Wave
We reached Cavernspire today. I thought we wouldn’t make it after that close call with the Trillax. The Mistwoods have become more treacherous with each passing day. The beasts of the forest are adapting faster than the people, and I worry how much longer we’ll be able to survive out here.
Cavernspire is a strange place. An underground city carved into the heart of a mountain, it’s one of the few remaining bastions of civilization. Down here, they don’t rely on sound. They’ve learned to communicate through light and movement, intricate patterns of hand signals, and flashes of bioluminescent crystals that glow in the deep caverns. It’s beautiful in its own way—a silent dance of lights.
I’ve always been uneasy here, though. There’s something about being surrounded by rock that makes me feel trapped, as if the world above has been swallowed whole. Elon, on the other hand, seems at peace. He’s taken to their way of life easily, his quick hands learning their gestures faster than I can keep up. He thrives in the quiet in a way I never will.
Rine, an old friend from before the Wave, greeted us when we arrived. He doesn’t look the same as I remember. None of us do. There’s a gauntness to everyone now, as if the silence has stripped something essential from us. He signed to me in the way they do here, but I’ve always preferred writing. I pulled out my notepad, scrawling our words back and forth.
“You’re still wandering the surface?” he asked, his brow furrowed with concern.262Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLS65u0fXE0
“I have to. There are things I need to know.”262Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡynLu7fVSY3
“You’re chasing shadows, Daro. You won’t find answers out there.”262Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKnFOr4lqbW
“I don’t have a choice.”
He doesn’t understand. How could he? He’s buried himself down here, where the quiet feels natural. I still hear the echoes of what was, even if they’re only memories. I have to find out what caused the Wave. I have to understand why the world was silenced.
Before we left, Rine mentioned something that caught my attention. There have been strange tremors deep in the lower caverns, rhythmic and pulsing. The people of Cavernspire don’t know what’s causing them, but they believe it’s something old—something connected to the Wave.
I’m not sure I believe it. But it’s the closest thing to a lead I’ve had in months.
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Entry 3: The Refractors
Day 460 After the Wave
We encountered them today. The Refractors.
I’ve heard rumors about them for months now, whispers passed through hand signals and writings, but I didn’t expect to come across them so soon. They’re a group of people who claim to have found a way to live without sound, to control the silence itself. It’s said they’ve harnessed the energy of the Wave, using the power of silence to bend the world to their will.
We were making our way through the lower caverns, following the strange tremors Rine had spoken of. Elon was nervous, his usually calm demeanor replaced with something I hadn’t seen before—a tension in his movements, an unease in the way he kept glancing over his shoulder.
It wasn’t long before I understood why.
The Refractors emerged from the shadows, their faces covered in dark, smooth masks, their bodies draped in robes that shimmered with faint patterns of light. They moved silently, their footsteps leaving no trace, their presence unsettling in the way they seemed to blend into the very air around them.
They didn’t attack us, not directly. Instead, they circled us, studying us with cold, calculating eyes. I felt a chill run down my spine as one of them stepped forward, raising their hand to sign.
“You are out of place here, wanderer.”
I didn’t respond. I didn’t trust them. There was something wrong about the way they moved, as if they were part of the silence itself, not separate from it.
Elon stayed close to me, his hand gripping mine tightly. I could feel the rapid beat of his heart through his skin, a silent rhythm that reminded me of how fragile we were.
The Refractor leader gestured again.
“The silence is ours now. Leave, or become part of it.”
I wanted to ask them what they meant, to demand answers about the Wave and what they knew. But something in the way they stood—their stillness, their lack of urgency—told me that I didn’t want to know. Not yet.
We retreated, moving as quickly and quietly as we could. The Refractors didn’t follow, but I could feel their presence long after they disappeared into the mist. They are watching us. And I have a feeling this won’t be our last encounter with them.
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Entry 4: The Pulse
Day 463 After the Wave
The tremors led us deeper than I ever thought possible.
Elon and I descended through the narrow, winding paths of the cavern, the air growing colder with every step. The silence was absolute here, more oppressive than anywhere else we’d been. Even the faint hum of life that usually fills the atmosphere was gone, replaced by an eerie void that made my skin crawl.
Then we felt it.
A pulse. Not a sound, but a vibration—a rhythmic thrum that echoed through the rock, through our bones. It was faint at first, barely noticeable, but it grew stronger the further we went.
Elon was mesmerized, his hand pressed to the stone as if he could communicate with it. I watched him, unsure whether to be amazed or terrified by how attuned he had become to this world of silence.
The source of the pulse was a chamber, vast and hollow, with walls that shimmered faintly in the low light of our lantern. At the center of the room stood a structure—ancient, alien, covered in markings I couldn’t decipher. It pulsed with a steady, rhythmic beat, like a heartbeat, but there was no sound. Only the vibrations that radiated outward.
I realized then what the Refractors had been searching for. This was the origin of the Wave. The machine—if that’s what it was—had silenced the world.
The question now is whether it can be undone.
Elon looked at me, his eyes wide with wonder and fear. I placed my hand on the structure, feeling the pulse beneath my fingertips. There was power here—enough to change the world again.
But is it a power we should wield?
I don’t know. And I’m not sure I want to find out.
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Day 465 After the Wave
I’ve never felt so torn.
The machine—this alien device buried deep within the caverns—it holds the key to everything. It’s responsible for the Wave. I’m certain of it now. The tremors, the pulse—it’s all connected. But the true question that weighs on me is whether we should use it or destroy it.
Elon seems to understand more than I do. He’s been drawn to the pulse, almost entranced by it. Every time I try to pull him away from the machine, he resists, his small fingers brushing the surface as if it’s speaking to him through vibrations. I’m not sure how much he comprehends, but it’s clear that he feels something I can’t.
I’ve spent the last two days trying to study the structure, mapping its surface, analyzing its patterns. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen—smooth metal and stone fused together, pulsing with energy. I don’t know what it is or who built it, but one thing is clear: it wasn’t made by anyone from our world.
There are sections of the machine that seem to hum with a deeper vibration, almost like a warning. They remind me of the final moments before the Wave struck, when the world had felt… unstable. I wonder if the device had been in operation then, silently building power until it unleashed the event that stole sound from everything.
The temptation to activate it, to reverse the Wave, is strong. But something in my gut tells me that tampering with this technology is dangerous—more dangerous than the silence itself.
I’ve started noticing things too. Strange occurrences, as if the machine’s influence is warping more than just sound. Yesterday, I thought I saw shadows moving where there were none. And Elon... he keeps staring at the machine for long stretches of time, like he’s lost in thought or under some kind of spell.
I don’t know how much longer we can stay here without making a decision. But for now, we’ll rest. My mind needs time to process what we’ve found. And maybe, just maybe, the answer will come in the silence.
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Entry 6: The Refractors Return
Day 467 After the Wave
I barely had time to react. The Refractors found us again.
We were still in the chamber with the machine, resting near its base, when I saw their lights flickering through the tunnels. At first, I thought it was my mind playing tricks on me, but when Elon tugged on my arm, I knew. They were coming.
They moved swiftly, silently, emerging from the shadows with their strange masks and robes. This time, they didn’t circle us or wait. They moved with purpose, like predators closing in on their prey. I scrambled to my feet, pulling Elon behind me, but there was no place to run.
The leader—the same one from before—stepped forward, his mask gleaming in the faint glow of the machine. He raised a hand, signaling for me to stop. I had no choice but to comply.
“You’ve found it,” he signed with deliberate, slow movements.262Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDg69pEWp00
I nodded.
He gestured to the machine behind me, his fingers sharp and precise. “This is the origin of the silence. The source of the Wave. You must leave. Now.”
I wanted to ask him why, but before I could make any movement, Elon stepped forward. I didn’t have time to grab him before he was standing in front of the Refractor leader, looking up at him with wide, fearless eyes.
The leader paused, his gaze shifting to Elon. For a long moment, there was only stillness. The cavern felt too quiet, too heavy, like the air itself was holding its breath. Then the Refractor leader did something I didn’t expect—he knelt down to Elon’s level, pulling something from his robe. It was a small, intricate device, no larger than a stone.
He pressed it into Elon’s hand. “For him,” the leader signed to me. “He will understand.”
I opened my mouth to object, to ask what that meant, but the Refractors began to retreat before I could get a word out. They melted into the shadows as quickly as they had arrived, leaving me standing there with more questions than answers.
Elon looked at the device, his fingers tracing its smooth edges. He didn’t say a word—not that he could—but I saw something in his expression. It was as if he knew exactly what to do with it.
I don’t know what’s happening. I don’t know what they’ve given my son, or why they spared us. But whatever this device is, it holds the key to something—something important. Maybe something dangerous.
I’ll have to trust Elon. He’s always known more than I have about this new world. He’s always sensed things I couldn’t.
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Entry 7: The Silent Power
Day 468 After the Wave
Elon spent the entire day with the device. I’ve never seen him so focused, so completely absorbed in something. He sat by the machine, his fingers moving over the device in deliberate patterns, as if it were a puzzle he was solving piece by piece.
And then, this evening, something happened.
The machine—the ancient structure that has been silent but for its faint pulse—reacted.
It was subtle at first. A slight shift in the vibrations, a change in the rhythm of the pulse. I watched as Elon’s device glowed softly in his hand, the light pulsing in sync with the machine. He looked at me, his eyes wide, and I knew something was about to change.
Suddenly, the pulse grew stronger. I could feel it in my chest, in my bones. The air around us seemed to vibrate with power, a silent energy that made my skin tingle. The machine was awakening, responding to whatever Elon had done with the device.
But there was no sound. Only the tremors, the pulse, the feeling of immense power building within the chamber.
For a moment, I panicked. Had we triggered something dangerous? Had we set off the very force that caused the Wave in the first place? I reached out for Elon, trying to pull him away from the machine, but he shook his head.
He pointed to the structure, then to the device in his hand, his face calm. He wasn’t afraid. He wasn’t confused. He knew exactly what he was doing.
I watched as the machine pulsed again, this time with a deeper, more resonant energy. The vibrations traveled through the cavern walls, through the rock, through the very ground we stood on. It was as if the machine was reaching out, sending its silent message to the world above.
And then, without warning, the pulse stopped.
The machine went still. The energy in the air faded. The device in Elon’s hand dimmed, its glow fading to a soft flicker.
Everything was silent again.
But something was different. I could feel it in the air, in the way the cavern felt more… alive, somehow. As if the silence itself had changed, had become something more.
Elon stood, the device clutched in his hand, and smiled at me. For the first time since the Wave, I felt a glimmer of hope.
The silence wasn’t gone. But maybe—just maybe—it had been transformed.
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Entry 8: Echoes of the Future
Day 470 After the Wave
We left the caverns today.
The journey back to the surface was quiet, as always, but the world felt different. I can’t quite explain it, but something has shifted in the atmosphere, in the very fabric of reality.
The creatures of the Mistwoods moved differently now. They no longer seemed confused, no longer stumbling blindly through the silence. It’s as if they, too, had adapted to the new rhythm of the world.
Elon has been quiet since we left the chamber, but he carries the device with him wherever we go. I’ve asked him about it, but he just shakes his head, as if there’s no way to explain what he knows. Maybe there isn’t.
I’ve stopped trying to understand everything. The Wave, the Refractors, the machine—it’s all beyond me. But I trust my son. He’s learned to live in this world in a way I never could. He’s found a way to make sense of the silence.
And maybe, in time, the rest of us will, too.
For now, we keep moving. The world is still dangerous, still filled with threats we can’t always see. But there’s something new in the air—an energy, a power that wasn’t there before.
I don’t know what the future holds. But for the first time since the Wave, I believe there’s a future worth hoping for.
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End of Journal
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