Chapter 1: Prologue

In the predawn hours, when most of the city was asleep.A boy was cleaning up trash in front of an old inn.‘Ugh… I need to finish quickly. It seems to have gotten so cold lately.’Just as the boy was about to speed up his sweeping, a voice came from behind him.

“Hey there.”

The boy turned around to see a small-statured person standing there, their hood pulled low.The boy smiled and said.

“Are you looking to stay at the inn?”

“No, I just want to ask about the date. What year is it now?”

The hooded figure replied.The boy’s attitude became curt when he realized the person wasn’t a guest.

“You don’t even know that? It’s Domitus Year 36.”

“Domitus Year? Then what year is it in Claudius Year?”

The hooded figure asked again.The boy looked bewildered and retorted.”Claudius, you mean the First Emperor?

Since it’s the 25th Emperor now…”

“Well, it must be over 500 years.”

At those words, the face within the hood darkened.

Though the boy couldn’t see it.”500 years… He wouldn’t be alive then.

“He muttered. And then he spoke to the boy.”Thank you.”

“Hmph! If you’re not staying, then be on your way!”

“Consider this your payment.”With those words, the hooded figure snapped their fingers. Something landed in the boy’s hand.

“This is…?”

The boy looked at the gold object in his hand. It was small but heavy, and it seemed like it would fetch a good price if sold.Engraved on its surface was the face of a man.

It was the First Emperor, Claudius.‘This, surely, was only used in the early days of the empire…’The boy gasped in surprise and looked up.But there was no one in front of him anymore.

Only the wind remained, scattering the fallen leaves across the street.

****

I had a dream of my past life for the first time in a long while.In the dream,

I played soccer, studied, and gamed every day.It was what you could call an ordinary life, nothing special.Until I suddenly collapsed in my second year of high school.

After that, my life changed.After being diagnosed with cancer, my home became a hospital, and I couldn’t do any physical activities at all.

Still, I wasn’t unhappy.Because I had a family who always cared for me, and friends who visited me in the hospital until I died after I collapsed.

I still played games with friends who visited occasionally and listened to their life stories.Everyone else took the notoriously difficult Suneung, and seeing as I was the only one who couldn’t,

I found myself wanting to take it too.Hearing about their achievements in soccer made me a little sad.

I wish I had been healthy too.While others’ time flowed, my time stood still. No, perhaps only my mind was stopped.

My body was dying day by day.As the years changed and my friends entered university, my short life ended.

I closed my eyes and thought.If there was a next life, I wanted to live a long time.

****

As if that wish had been granted.I became an elf.