The caravan slowed as the sun dipped behind the trees. The day's journey had been quiet. The merchant walked at the front while Adam followed, trying to keep track of new words he heard along the way. "Water," "Road," "Lunar," "Bargain," and a dozen others. Their meanings were still blurry, but they no longer sounded like incomprehensible noise. He was beginning to catch familiar patterns.
The group stopped when a mound of stone came into view between the trees. Some parts looked like a natural hill, but too many shapes were straight. Edges. Columns. Broken stairs leading down into shadow.
The merchant called it something that sounded like "Ruins."
The tone was uneasy.
Even Adam could recognize fear in a person's voice.
The merchant pulled Adam's sleeve. "Don't go near. Dangerous."
He used simple words. Slow. Ernand also warned him.
Adam understood the warning but felt an urge to look closer.
He nodded but drifted toward the structure anyway, stopping just a few steps from the entrance. He didn't cross the threshold yet. He only observed at first. Ernand and The Merchant watch Adam from a far.
Vines wrapped around pillars like ropes. Moss covered most surfaces. But beneath the growth, the stone looked unnaturally clean. As if the building had been abandoned for hundreds of years, yet somehow not decaying enough.
He touched the wall.
He felt cold stone under his fingers.
And something else.
A faint tremor, like a pulse.
He stepped back, startled.
The interior waited in silence. The opening was dark but wide enough that he could still see old carvings inside. Circles connected by lines. Shapes glowing faintly under the last light of day. They resembled diagrams more than art.
He leaned forward.
He whispered, not sure why, "Lunar…?"
The same word he had heard the villagers use for their "light energy."
The syllables felt strange on his tongue.
A small crack echoed inside the chamber.
Adam stiffened.
He listened.
Nothing moved.
He took one step closer, only enough to look past the entrance.
And then he heard it.
A voice.
Soft. Distant.
Like someone calling from behind walls.
"Adam. Your time is not yet finished"
He stopped breathing.
He didn't imagine it.
The voice sounded impossible to mistake. Not for its tone, but for its clarity. Not in Indonesian. Not in Angkara's language. Not in anything he recognized. Yet he understood it without translation.
It spoke meaning, not words.
It knew him.
He whispered back, almost reflexively, "Who…?"
His voice came out weak.
The chamber remained silent.
He swallowed, forcing himself to stay calm. The air inside grew heavier. He couldn't explain why. It wasn't the kind of pressure magic users created when using mana. He had seen that before. This was different. More focused. More aware.
He took another step back, but the weight didn't fade.
He tried again. "Who are you?"
The syllables echoed slightly.
No answer.
He waited.
A full minute passed.
Nothing.
He exhaled shakily. His hands trembled at his sides. This world had surprised him many times already, but this felt different. This wasn't magic. It wasn't a natural phenomenon. It was intentional. Something reached out. Something recognized him.
He forced himself to analyze it like he always did back home.
• He wasn't hallucinating. His senses were sharp.
• There were no signs of danger around him.
• The voice came only once.
• The feeling of being watched didn't fade.
A part of him whispered an uncomfortable question.
If this world had magic, maybe it also had been humans didn't fully understand.
If such a being spoke to him… why?
Before he could think further, he heard footsteps.
The merchant called from behind him.
"Adam. Night. Danger. Come." Ernand shout.
The words were vague, but Adam caught the meaning.
Night. Danger. Come.
He stepped away from the entrance, but the sensation in his chest didn't leave.
That bothered him more than the voice itself.
Because the night has come, The Merchant suggests to settle at his camp nearby. He and Ernand joined The Merchant at his small camp. There were small group of people staying. They prepared simple food over a fire. The merchant handed Adam a bowl. He thanked him. "Thank… you," he tried in their language.
The merchant smiled. He corrected gently. "Thank you."
Adam repeated it.
The word sounded clearer this time.
The merchant nodded, approving.
Adam ate quietly. The warmth helped steady his mind. The group chatted among themselves, Ernand also join the conversation but Adam only captured fragments. His comprehension was improving, but not enough to follow every sentence.
His thoughts kept drifting back to the ruin.
He asked himself again if it was possible he misunderstood.
Maybe it was an echo. His own voice bouncing strangely.
Maybe stress played tricks on him.
He had been through too much already.
New world.
New body.
New rules.
But none of those explanations convinced him.
The voice didn't sound external.
It felt inserted into his mind.
It felt deliberate.
He finished his meal, placed the bowl down, and stared into the fire.
He took a slow breath.
"Ya Allah," he whispered.
"Is it a test?"
The flames flickered as if responding to his doubt.
Ernand noticed his troubled expression. He asked something that sounded like, "Adam… sick?" while pointing to his head.
Adam shook his head. "No."
Not sick.
Just confused.
Ernand nodded and suggest Adam to lay down.
He lay down near the cart, using bag as a pillow. The stars here looked different from Earth's sky. The patterns didn't match any constellation he remembered. The world was familiar enough to unsettle him, but foreign enough to remind him he didn't belong.
He closed his eyes.
That was when it happened again.
A faint whisper.
Not a sound.
More like a thought that did not originate from his own mind.
"Adam."
He opened his eyes immediately.
Sat up.
No one was near him.
Everyone slept.
Only the dying fire crackled.
The whisper didn't continue.
But the pressure returned, stronger.
As if something had followed him out of the temple.
He looked toward the dark silhouette of the ruin behind the trees.
A chill ran through him.
Whatever called his name…
It wasn't finished.
And he didn't know if it wanted to guide him.
Or claim him.