In Alexandria’s opulent halls, Thoth reclined with Cleopatra, her asp coiled on a cushion, its eyes glinting like jewels.
“Caesar’s ambition bores me,” she said, her fingers brushing the tablet. “What can this do?”

“Make you divine,” Thoth murmured, his lips grazing her neck. “Leave him. Rule with me.”
Her smile was a blade. “Done.”

Caesar burst in, betrayed, his dagger flashing. “You’ve ruined me!”

Thoth’s sphinx—a creature of sand and fang—leapt from the shadows, tearing Caesar apart in a spray of blood. Cleopatra laughed, claiming the tablet, but hid it in the Library’s depths. Years later, flames devoured it, and Thoth stood amidst the ashes, his voice a sigh. “Mortals cling to power, then burn it.”