Dust clung to every surface of the abandoned library, pages of forgotten tomes fluttering though no breeze stirred them. Shadows stretched unnaturally long between the shelves, their edges trembling with the echo of ancient secrets.

The deeper Alhaitham walked, the louder the whispers grew—at first indistinguishable, then slowly forming words in a language he did not recognize... yet somehow understood.

A book fell open at his feet.

The whispering stopped.

Alhaitham’s voice broke the silence, low and steady: "It seems... the rumors were not entirely unfounded."