0:21 - 0:45 A whisper, inaudible at first, started to emerge from the left audio channel. Elias leaned in, cranking the volume. It sounded like a fast-paced conversation, perhaps a deal being made. But the dialogue was in no language he recognized, a chaotic blend of harsh consonants and soft vowels.

Then, the whisper returned, this time coming from the laptop’s speakers, even though the file was closed.

Elias froze. He checked the file properties. The video wasn’t a standard format. It was a ".mp4" wrapper, but the metadata showed a creation date of , long before video, let alone MP4 format, existed.

Elias didn't sleep that night. He realized, with a cold shiver, that wasn't a recording of something that had happened. It was a piece of something that was happening .