邊境之屋 Episode 1 荒野中的石屋｜The House on the Borderland Episode 1 The Stone House in the Wilderness

在遠離文明的荒野深處，一座被歲月遺忘的石屋靜靜矗立於斷崖之間。沒有人知道它從何而來，也沒有人願意靠近。直到兩名旅人，在迷霧瀰漫的黃昏裡，看見那扇半掩的大門。
Far beyond the reach of towns and roads, an ancient stone house stood alone among the cliffs and silent hills. Forgotten by time and avoided by all who passed nearby, it waited beneath endless grey skies until two travelers discovered its half-open door at dusk.

中文

天色逐漸昏暗，寒風吹過荒野，大片灰色雲層低低壓在山谷上方。兩名年輕旅人沿著崎嶇的小路前進，他們原本只是計劃穿越這片偏遠地帶，卻在不知不覺間迷失方向。遠處沒有村莊，也看不見任何燈火，只有無邊無際的岩石與荒草。空氣裡瀰漫著濕冷氣息，彷彿整片土地早已失去生命。就在黃昏即將沉入地平線時，其中一人忽然停下腳步。他看見遠方斷崖之間，隱約矗立著一棟古老建築。那是一座由巨大灰石砌成的房屋，孤零零地坐落在荒原中央。它看起來異常古老，外牆早已被風雨侵蝕，部分石塊甚至出現裂痕。最奇怪的是，那座房子沒有任何煙火氣息，也沒有牲畜與人的痕跡，但它卻不像廢墟，反而像某種仍被使用的地方。兩人猶豫片刻後，決定前往查看。隨著距離逐漸接近，他們開始感受到一種難以言喻的不安。四周實在太安靜了。沒有鳥鳴，沒有昆蟲聲，甚至連風吹過草地的聲音都像被某種力量吞噬。石屋後方是一片深不見底的黑色裂谷，濃霧不斷從谷底升起，宛如某種沉睡生物的呼吸。屋前有一道幾乎崩塌的石階，而那扇厚重木門則微微半開，像是有人剛剛離去不久。其中一名旅人低聲說，也許屋裡還有人。他伸手推開木門時，腐朽木頭發出低沉刺耳的摩擦聲。門後是一條陰暗長廊，空氣中混雜著灰塵、潮濕與某種說不出的氣味，像是長年封閉的地下墓穴。屋內比外面更加寒冷。牆上掛著殘破的油燈與發黑的畫像，地板覆滿厚厚灰塵，但奇怪的是，有幾處地方卻像最近被踩過。兩人點亮隨身提燈，小心翼翼向屋內深處前進。走廊盡頭是一間巨大的房間，中央擺放著一張老舊木桌，而桌面上，竟放著一本厚重的皮革日記。那本日記表面佈滿裂痕，邊角已經泛黃，但上面沒有任何灰塵，彷彿不久前才被人觸碰過。就在其中一人伸手準備翻開日記時，樓上忽然傳來一道極其微弱的聲音。那聲音像是某種沉重物體在地板上緩慢拖行。兩人瞬間停下動作。整座石屋再次陷入死寂，但他們都清楚聽見了那聲音。它並不是風聲。那一刻，他們忽然產生同樣的念頭——這座屋子裡，或許還有別的東西正在注視著他們。

English Version

The evening sky darkened beneath layers of heavy clouds as cold winds swept across the wilderness. Two travelers moved carefully along a narrow path winding through the lonely hills. They had intended only to cross the remote region before nightfall, but somewhere along the journey they had lost their direction. No villages appeared on the horizon, and no lights burned in the distance. Around them stretched only barren rocks, dead grass, and endless silence. As dusk settled over the land, one of them suddenly noticed something standing far ahead near the cliffs. It was a stone house, ancient and isolated, built from massive blocks of weathered grey rock. The structure stood alone in the middle of the wasteland like a forgotten monument from another age. Time and storms had scarred its walls, yet the house did not appear abandoned. There was something strangely intact about it, as though someone—or something—still remained inside. Curious and uneasy, the travelers approached cautiously. The closer they came, the stranger the atmosphere became. The silence around the house felt unnatural. No birds circled above it. No insects stirred in the grass. Even the wind itself seemed muted near the old building. Behind the house yawned a vast black chasm hidden beneath drifting fog. The mist rose endlessly from the depths below, moving like slow breath from a sleeping creature. A crumbling stone stairway led toward a heavy wooden door hanging partly open. One of the travelers whispered that perhaps the owner still lived there. When he pushed against the door, the ancient wood groaned loudly through the silent valley. Inside waited a narrow corridor drowned in darkness. The air smelled of dust, moisture, and something older still, something resembling the cold interior of a forgotten tomb. The temperature inside the house was far colder than outside. Faded portraits hung crookedly upon the walls, their faces blackened with age, while broken lamps gathered cobwebs in the corners. Thick dust covered the floorboards, yet several marks looked disturbingly fresh, as though someone had walked there recently. Carrying a lantern, the two men continued deeper into the house until they reached a large chamber at the end of the corridor. In the center stood an old wooden table, and resting upon it was a massive leather-bound journal. Its surface was cracked with age, its pages yellowed and worn, but unlike everything else in the room, the book carried no dust at all. It looked recently touched. One traveler slowly reached toward the journal, preparing to open it. Before his hand could touch the cover, a faint sound echoed from somewhere above them. It was soft, almost impossible to hear at first, yet unmistakable. Something heavy was dragging itself slowly across the upper floor. Both men froze instantly. The house returned to silence once more, but they knew what they had heard. It was not the wind. And in that terrible moment, both travelers realized the same horrifying possibility — they were no longer alone inside the stone house.