"Welcome. I've been waiting for you."
A voice drifted through the ringing in my ears.
As I regained consciousness, I slowly opened my heavy eyelids.
At first, the blinding light made it impossible to see anything.
As my vision gradually returned, I made out a figure standing before me.
A woman with exotic features and flowing red hair.
She looked down at me and smiled brightly.
"How are you feeling? Is there any discomfort?"
"Where… is this?"
"Well, why don't you take a look for yourself?"
The woman answered in a gentle voice.
I had never seen her before in my life, yet she felt strangely familiar.
Like running into an old friend after years apart.
After staring blankly for a moment, I lifted my head to look around.
I was inside a building.
No, the word 'building' was woefully inadequate to describe this place.
A colossal temple, the kind that would appear in Greek or Roman mythology, stretched out before me.
Was I in Greece?
No, the temple was built atop a sea of clouds, like an isolated island in the sky.
In the center of the temple stood a massive brazier, its red flames illuminating the entire space.
Books.
The temple was filled with countless books.
That was when my memories started to flood back.
"I died."
The sudden call from my boss after I'd already left work.
The overwhelming drowsiness and the impact.
I had crashed my car and died.
And now, a woman was watching me in this mysterious temple.
"Am I dead?"
"Correct. You're dead. Head trauma from the crash—quick, and painless."
The woman looked out at the clouds drifting past the temple entrance.
"The paramedics arrived on the scene and did their best, but it was already too late."
Her tone was weirdly calm.
It didn't sound like news of a death; more like a train announcing its final stop.
"I see."
Ironically, what filled my chest wasn't fear, but a sense of liberation.
The feeling of finally being free from a bleak and miserable reality.
I had no children, nor was I married.
I had a girlfriend I'd dated for a few years, but we had broken up weeks ago.
If anything, I thought to myself, this turned out well.
The best part was that I didn't have life insurance, so my so-called parents wouldn't see a dime of my death benefit.
Feeling surprisingly calm, I looked at the woman.
"So, are you a god? And is this heaven?"
A beautiful temple floating in the clouds.
It certainly didn't look like hell.
"Let's say that's true for now. If you believe it, then yes—I'm a god."
Her answer was delightfully vague.
"Then is this temple the afterlife?"
I expected a bit more than this.
Maybe angels flying around flapping white wings.
"It is, and at the same time, it isn't. In truth, this place is the compilation of all knowledge humanity has ever accumulated."
All the knowledge humanity has accumulated.
That explained the massive temple and the endless rows of books.
But still.
It wasn't a hell teeming with demons, nor a heaven cared for by angels. It was a library.
I had never heard of an afterlife like this in Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, or even Norse mythology.
"You came here because of my invitation."
The woman smiled.
Aside from her dazzling beauty, I still couldn't guess her true identity.
"Your invitation? So, what happens now?"
I came to a library after dying.
Does that mean I have to stay here forever?
"You will be born again."
"Reincarnation, then."
Now it made sense.
A question humanity had wrestled with for ages finally had an answer.
After death, you are reborn as a new life.
Did that mean the Buddhist concept of Samsara was correct?
"If possible, I'd like to be born into a rich family next time. The Saudi royal family sounds nice."
Wait, no.
I heard the Saudi royal family has intense internal political struggles.
Just a moderately wealthy, happy family.
Is that too much thing to ask?
"You won't be going to the 21st century. Instead, you're going to the past."
The woman laughed and shook her head.
"Rome, before the Christ. That is where you will be born anew."
"But I was living in the 21st century."
"Do you want the complex explanation, or the simple one?"
"Simple, please."
That was a no-brainer.
I didn't want to study complex astrophysics in the afterlife.
"What humans call 'time' is actually only a tiny fragment of reality. It's an imperfect concept created by imperfect beings. The past exists simultaneously with the present and the future. Now, did you understand that?"
"If I say I understood, will you believe me?"
"Hardly."
The woman burst into laughter, seemingly pleased with my response.
"You have a new opportunity. A chance to obtain what you never had."
She stepped closer to me.
"What kind of life you live with that opportunity is entirely your choice."
I opened my mouth to ask another question, but she cut me off.
"You'll have to find the answers to your other questions on your own. First, get ready to have your butt smacked."
"My butt?"
"Yes, your butt."
She smiled again.
In the next moment, everything around me vanished like smoke.
I couldn't see anything.
I was left alone in an endless void.
An infinitely comfortable and cozy nothingness.
I drifted there, surrendering my body to the empty space.
Suddenly, something pulled at me.
A rough force grabbed me and dragged me out into an unknown space.
And then...
*Smack!*
A sharp pain shot through my buttocks.
It hurts!
I tried to scream at the sudden pain.
But what came out of my mouth wasn't words.
"Waaaaah!"
No matter how hard I tried to shout, only the cry of a newborn baby came out.
Soon, I began to hear human voices.
"Congratulations, Master, Mistress. It is a healthy baby boy."
"It's your son, Gaius."
My body was passed through several hands before moving through the air.
Finally, I was cradled in a man's arms.
His large eyes looked down at me as he whispered.
"Your name is Lucius Julius Caesar. You are a descendant of the proud Caesar family. You are the descendant of the kings who founded Rome, and of the immortal gods."
And just like that, I was born into a new world.
***
61 BC
"Raise your shield higher! And when you fight, always keep your eyes on your opponent's sword!"
"I know, Father."
I gasped for breath, gripping the wooden sword tight.
My arms and legs were trembling.
I felt like a gladiator fighting for my life.
Opposite me stood a middle-aged man holding a wooden sword and a shield.
"The moment you hold a sword, it becomes a part of you! You don't need to look to know where your own arm is, do you? Are you going to check your arm every time you swing it?!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he slammed his shield down toward me.
I ducked my head, barely dodging the blow, and rolled across the dirt.
The shield grazed the top of my head, brushing my hair.
Springing up from the ground, I quickly swung my wooden sword.
Targeting the man's defenseless ankle.
"Good!"
With that, the brutal swordsmanship practice finally ended.
84 losses, 4 wins.
It was still far too early to celebrate with a score like that.
"Yes, your swordsmanship has improved quite a bit. You mustn't neglect your training while I'm away in Hispania."
"By the time you return, Father, I will be beating you overwhelmingly."
"Oho, that's an interesting claim. Sounds like a bluff to me, but we shall see."
"Gaius, stop playing with Lucius and come help prepare for the banquet! The guests will be arriving soon."
"Good grief. Nothing in this house runs properly without me."
Shrugging his shoulders, the man turned and walked into the house.
Left alone, I caught my breath and wiped the sweat from my forehead.
Gaius Julius Caesar.
And his wife, Cornelia.
These two were my new parents.
And I was no longer a man living in the 21st century.
My name is Lucius Julius Caesar.
A 17-year-old boy and Caesar's eldest son.
I was the scion of an elite family, trained in Greek, rhetoric, military strategy, and martial arts from a young age to become a great Roman.
"Here, have some water, brother."
"Thanks, Julia."
I took the cup from the girl.
This was Julia, my younger sister.
"Let's go inside."
As we entered the house, familiar voices reached my ears.
"Come to think of it, adding a few more oyster dishes might be a good idea. The guests really enjoyed them at the last banquet."
"Are you sure it isn't just you who wants to eat them?"
"Politicians are always like this. They never reveal what they truly desire."
"I seem to recall you being very honest about what you want in the bedroom."
"Ahem…"
I washed the sweat off my face in a basin, listening to their affectionate banter without batting an eye.
Everything had happened exactly as the woman in the temple said.
I was reborn in Rome, before Christ.
And I had kept all the memories of my past life.
I was born as the son of *that* Caesar, of all people.
Caesar.
The man whose name became the etymological root for 'Emperor'—Kaiser and Tsar.
The protagonist who transformed the Roman Republic and lived a life more intense and spectacular than anyone else.
However, in the original history, Caesar didn't have a son.
My mother, Cornelia, was also fated to die during childbirth.
But the Caesar couple had a child, and that was me.
"What do you think, Lucius?"
"Pardon?"
"Your father says he wants to throw the most lavish banquet possible as the new Governor of Hispania. I'm not sure what oysters have to do with that, but didn't you say you hated oysters last time?"
"It's a farewell party for Father, so we should do as he wishes."
"See? The only one I can trust is my son."
Caesar burst into hearty laughter and patted my shoulder.
To think this man was the one who would conquer Gaul—modern-day France—fight Pompey, and seize Rome.
Even seventeen years after being reborn, it was still hard to believe.
Later, Caesar would become dictator for Life, only to be assassinated by Brutus and other senators.
Et tu, Brute?
And through death, he became an immortal god.
Starting with his adopted son Octavian, the successors who inherited Caesar's name became the Emperors of Rome.
His name would echo through history, all the way to the German Empire's Kaiser and Russia's Tsar.
But right now, the man in front of me didn't look like such a monumental figure.
A muscular build, sharp eyes like a lion.
But to his family, he was an infinitely benevolent father and husband.
A family I could trust and rely on.
Something I had never experienced in my previous life.
"If you were in slightly better shape, I would have taken you to Hispania. It's a shame. There would have been no better place to gain military experience."
"There will be a next time, Father."
"Yes, there will be other opportunities. But keep this in mind, Lucius."
He whispered as we shared a fierce hug.
"While I am away from Rome, you are the head of the Caesar household. Take good care of your mother and sister. If any problems arise, send a letter immediately."
"Yes, I will keep that in mind."
"Good. I doubt you'll cause any trouble. Go and rest now. If you train hard, you must rest hard as well."
I returned to my room.
I couldn't tell the exact time, but the sun was still high in the sky.
If I don't act, Father will die just like in the original history.
And my newly gained family would disappear as well.
The family I had lived with for over a decade and come to love.
I didn't want to let them suffer such a fate.
So, what should I do?
I lay on my bed and closed my eyes.
There was one thing the goddess hadn't told me when we met all those years ago.
It was a privilege granted only to me.
An immense power that no one in this world could even imagine.
As I kept my eyes closed, a familiar sensation washed over me, and a warm light enveloped my body.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back in that place.
The very place where all human knowledge was gathered.
The temple above the clouds welcomed me back.