In the dark, Stirling lay on the bed. He stared at the ceiling, taking a quiet breath. He pretended to be asleep. His muscles ached from stretching out for so long. If he moved even a little, the old wooden bed would produce a loud squeak.

  Stirling didn't dare to relax. Three steps away, behind the wooden door, stood two hunched figures. "Huh, huh…" Stirling recognized the wheezing breath through the wooden door. It belonged to the old man with the sallow face. He recognized in one second who it was.

  The memories of the past few days flooded back, making his eyes fill with panic, but more with fear. Seven days ago, Stirling, a PhD in history, went to Spain to explore the famous Hranice Abyss with the team. An underwater vortex dragged him into an odd cave when he was diving. After choking on water, he believed he was dead. Before he lost consciousness, Stirling fought in despair. He grabbed a small, hard object from the water plants at the cave's bottom by chance. Then, his body felt lighter, as if he were drifting into a deep tunnel.

  Beyond, a shimmering, murky light shone, resembling an endless starry sky. A cold, stinging stream pierced Stirling's body. Countless memories faded like shattered glass. It felt both like a century and a second.

  When Stirling opened his eyes, a wave of confusion hit him. He was still alive, but in a strange new world. Yes, the dark tunnel led him from Earth to a new planet. Unfortunately, he had arrived and couldn't find any information about it.

  What's worse is he lay on a mudflat by a river after crossing over. His bones ached as if broken. He bled in several spots, so internal injuries could be worse than they appeared. Luckily, Stirling's wailing soon attracted an old couple. They looked at Stirling on the mudflat, filling their eyes with uncertain excitement.

  After the couple brought Stirling home, they settled him in a corner room.

  To Stirling's surprise, he could understand most of the couple's words at the beginning. He even read the faded engraving on the door, despite having not traveled here before.

  Perhaps his language memory reassembled during the time travel? Or because the word shape was like Mesopotamian Cuneiform? He was not sure, but this news was good beyond a doubt.

  Stirling came to the old couple's home to rest. Afterward, he noticed something strange.

  The first was that the people seemed terrified of the dark. As soon as the sun set, everyone would retreat indoors, lighting an oil lamp that would remain lit until dawn.

  Stirling asked the old couple about this. They explained that lighting lamps at night is a local custom. They added that it's normal for an outsider like Stirling not to know. Stirling didn't see any issues with the old couple's story at first. Then he spotted a second anomaly.

  Late one night, a nightmare jolted Stirling awake from a deep sleep. As he was about to roll over and sleep again, he heard breathing behind a worn wooden door nearby.

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  "Huh, huh…" The wheezing sound in his breathing brought an immediate memory of the old man to Stirling. The man who saved him had asthma. When he got excited or worked too hard, his breath was unsmooth with noise.

  Stirling heard a faint sound. He knew it was the old woman's because no one else was in the room. Stirling woke up with a jolt. He felt a cold sweat spread from his limbs to his entire body. Stirling's whole body trembled as fear took hold of his mind. He could picture the old couple behind the doors, staring at him. Their eyes were wide, as if they were gazing at a rare treasure.

  Stirling, already injured, had a blank mind because of the excessive panic, and it took him a long time to recover. He thought it might have been a coincidence last time. So, he did not fall asleep on purpose tonight. Thus, he heard that familiar voice again in the middle of the night. Now, Stirling was completely furious. It made little sense. I came here with nothing but an injured, weak body. What do they want from me?

  Stirling took a deep breath to calm himself. He pinched his arm hard to shake off the sleepiness. Stirling thought back over the past few days. He searched for useful information in all the scenes he remembered.

  This should be a small and remote village. From what he saw on the first day Stirling returned, the people here are very indifferent to each other. They looked at his being brought here without a single question. The village's architecture looks a lot like Earth's Middle Ages. While he can understand their language, it's definitely not from Earth. Does this mean he have arrived in a parallel world?

  The villagers were very poor. The old couple's family had it even worse. They had cold clay walls and broken beams. Their daily meals were bitter dried meat and muddy water. As soon as the sun sets, the old man rushes to close all the doors and windows. Special baffles sit behind the doors and windows on the outer wall. It's as if he's guarding against something.

  Stirling gritted his teeth, hiding his anger deep inside. He focused on the wooden door three steps away, as if he could stare the two peepers outside to death through it. To his surprise, Stirling saw a line of small words by the wooden door.

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  The sudden change shocked Stirling. His breathing became rapid, making the wooden bed creak beneath him.

  In the quiet night, this sound was so shocking that the two breaths behind the door vanished at once. Stirling let out a sigh of "Oh no!" and immediately stopped thinking about the line of brief words. He rolled over in a hurry and pretended to be asleep again.

  Stirling had expected this. After he feigned deep sleep, he heard faint footsteps by the door. It seemed the two people had already left. But Stirling dared not relax at all. He maintained a steady breath. He even cleared his mind, pushing away all thoughts. After all, this was a completely strange world. It would not be a disgrace if he struggled to survive by any means.

  Sure enough, after a few minutes, the sound of departing footsteps came again from behind the door. This made Stirling's eyes shut and a slight frown appear. He thought to himself that indeed, the older one gets, the more tricks one has up their sleeve. It was definitely right to be cautious in this situation. Stirling stayed alert as the night dragged on. His body was tense, and his mind raced. He couldn't find a moment to sleep. Before dawn, as the first light touched the horizon, he shifted again. He glared at the weathered wooden door, holding his gaze on it all night.