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The clock in the grand library reading room

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struck midnight, its deep chime rolling away

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into the vast interior and vanishing among the

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shadows.

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Outside, the night wind howled against the stained

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glass windows, but inside, the air

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was heavy with the rich, comforting scent of

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aged leather and dry parchment.

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Aiden adjusted his spectacles and leaned closer to

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the desk.

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The dim night light from the high, clear

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story windows offered little guidance, so he relied

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entirely on the soft candlelight flickering beside his

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elbow.

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Its warm glow cast long, dancing shadows across

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the open pages of the massive tome before

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him, illuminating obscure diagrams of celestial orbits and

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handwritten notes left by scholars

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centuries ago.

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Towering wooden bookshelves, stretching endlessly upward into the

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gloom like the ribs of some

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great sleeping beast, held thousands of silent volumes.

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A quiet, scholarly atmosphere enveloped the room, broken

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only by the occasional rustle

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of a turning page or the faint pop

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of a cooling candle wick.

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Aiden was searching for a lost manuscript, a

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text rumored to hold the coordinates of

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an ancient observatory.

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As his fingers traced the detailed leather texture

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of a heavy binding he had just pulled

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from the shelf, a loose scrap of paper

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fluttered out and drifted silently onto the dark

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mahogany

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desk.

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He picked it up and by the amber

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light of the flame, he saw a familiar

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handwriting,

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his own grandfather S. Smiling in the quiet

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sanctuary of the midnight library, Aiden realized

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his search was finally over.