"So, what do you know about immortality? What do your people say about it?"

Yunho had come to Wooyoung right at breakfast time. His arms were loaded with platters filled with fruit and delicious bread for Wooyoung to enjoy. The taste of the berries distracted him from the pain in his ribs that had spread to a constant dull throb. He didn't doubt his side was black and blue, but at least his cheek didn't feel so bad.

The two men lounged on the floor together after Wooyoung had assured Yunho at least ten times that he didn't mind sitting there with him. Only when Yunho had given it up to lower himself in the hierarchy under Wooyoung's stubborn mind, they had eaten together. Now that both of them were relaxed, Wooyoung addressed the topic directly. He already had enough of Rome and wanted to go home and heal before his charades would get discovered. After Yunho had talked, Wooyoung would skip on sightseeing and go straight back to Yongguk. By now, the man probably already knew where he would send Wooyoung next.

"We have many myths concerning the matter, especially surrounding gods. Are you familiar with those? Achilles and Prometheus and the like?"

Wooyoung caught a berry with his mouth and regretted it a moment later. Yunho was so delighted that he tried it as well.

"Catch me up on it," Wooyoung said even when he knew those stories by heart. He wanted to make sure that no details would be lost in the tale and that whatever Yunho's connection with immortality grew out of, Wooyoung could follow.

As Yunho retold the age-old story of the man bringing fire to the humans from the Olympus and getting punished by being chained up while an eagle ate at his regrowing liver every day, Wooyoung made mental notes. There had to be a reason he was here and with Yunho rather than in Greece, where those stories originated from.

Neither Prometheus nor Achilles, whose only vulnerable spot was his heel since his mother Thetis, who had dipped him into the river Styx in the underworld to make him invincible, had needed to hold him somewhere produced any valuable details. The Roman and Greek legends concerning gods meddling with humans to either punish or bless them with immortality were endless. And yet, none of those immortals had withstood the marching of time.

Yunho ended his tales of what Wooyoung pretended to be fascinating new information with a bite into an apple.

"My master has tried these things for himself. To reach immortality, I mean."

At that, Wooyoung perked up. The interest shining in his eyes had Yunho continuing. The words dropped from his lips hesitantly, as if his tongue lingered before speaking them.

"Sometimes at night, he takes me out into the fields. He tries to anger the deities to get a rouse out of them. Juno has punished the house of a senator committing adultery with bolts of lightning before. It burned for three days and three nights before we could stop the unnatural flames. Sometimes his rituals scare me. He doesn't dare to try all of them on himself so he uses me occasionally."

Wooyoung drew his brows together. While Yunho hung in his memories, his eyes were directed at no particular corner of the room. Wooyoung used his distraction to eye him warily and check if he found any marks of said experiments.

"What rituals are they?"

Yunho cast a quick glance left and right, as if his lord could have appeared in a corner behind them to glare down at him viciously. When he spoke, his voice was quick and hushed.

"One of his friends found a fish, one that creates dreams. It makes the world look brighter and more vivid, as if the sight of a supernatural being takes you over for a few days. My master is sure that it has to be the source of immortality. He tried eating the fish in large quantities, but he grew sick. So now he experiments with the species and tries to mix human blood with theirs to use as a potion to gain immortality."

Wooyoung tried to mask the disgust on his face. Whatever fish they were on about, it sounded like the ancient Roman version of acid. He doubted it could be healthy to consume in large quantities.

"Does it hurt? To consume it?"

"No, and that is why he believes it's a blessing. Sometimes we visit the river in the full moon to hunt those fishes and taste their immortality. We believe that they might have played a role in Achilles' story and that this version of eyesight uncovered godly aspects on earth."

"But you can still be wounded," Wooyoung guessed. His eyes had settled heavily on the linear cuts of a knife he had spotted hidden on the inner side of Yunho's forearm. Regretfully, the slave nodded.

Wooyoung's stomach twisted and turned at the image that the slave painted. The fact that Yunho got roped into this with no free will triggered Wooyoung's righteousness.

"Yes, so we aren't immortal yet. I believe my master's health suffered under the failed attempts. He tries most things on himself first, since he wants immortality that he can't allow me. While I am his close companion, he swore to kill me if I ever gave the secret away once we found it." Yunho hung his head, as if ashamed that he had told Wooyoung about it even when there was not yet a success.

Wooyoung made an inner note on plants again. This theory didn't match Mingi's, but maybe there was a common ancestor to both. If the immortality of a dying immortal jumped over to a plant or animal that got consumed later, both of them would be right.

Since Wooyoung couldn't bear Yunho's distress, he leaned back to unclench his tensed shoulders.

"It's fine. You didn't tell me anything and I don't seek immortality for myself. Although it troubles me that your master forces you to do such business. I would never take my own... slaves to such dangerous settings."

The word tasted stale in Wooyoung's mouth. His modern view contradicted harshly with the ancient lifestyle on this matter. When Yunho just tilted his head at Wooyoung inquisitively, Wooyoung nearly pulled him out of the room to hide him away somewhere where he wouldn't need to serve a rich lord.

"Either way, what is your opinion about this matter? You told me what your master believes."

Yunho fidgeted with his hands. To busy his own, Wooyoung tugged the top of a strawberry apart.

"I suggested bathing in the river with the fishes in case it had the same healing properties as the river of the underworld. But it didn't work. When blessed with the fishes' sight for several days, you perceive the world differently. You see people where there are none and there are tall towers and creatures in the fields. Humans look distorted and terrifying in their own way. I believe that is a god's sight. And that we can find immortality if we follow our instincts with that sight. If we talk to those newcomers that exist only in that world between. They must be a link to the deities."

The crazed look in Yunho's dilated pupils triggered fitful pity in Wooyoung's heart. With a sad smile, he listened to the man's ramblings.

"We once got warned by Neptune not to pursue our search. A snake was in the water instead of on land and it bit at our ankles. I survived its poison, so we will try again. Maybe Neptune will come to bless us with immortality as a form of a punishment. And once we gain that status, my master will become the most influential man of Rome," Yunho explained with gesturing hands. He showed Wooyoung the scar of the bite mark on his ankle. Two dots centred in a slightly discoloured patch of skin where his flesh seemed translucent and his veins stood out stark blue.

"What if he punishes you like Prometheus and traps you in a spot?" Wooyoung asked. Yunho's blabbering troubled him. While terrified, the slave still had to follow his master's manipulation blindly. There was no way out for him.

"I thought about that, but I believe he can trap only one of us at a time. The other might escape and tell the tale."

A god would have no trouble wiping out two fools from the face of earth, but Wooyoung didn't need to tell him that. If it was the hope Yunho clung to, Wooyoung would allow him to believe.

"I hope so, yes."

"Did you come here because you want to join our rituals?"

Understanding laced Yunho's low voice. A secret shared just between the two of them.

"No," Wooyoung breathed out, "I'm only interested in the theory and possibilities of immortality. Neither the act itself nor watching interests me. You need not worry about me asking."

Hesitantly, Yunho nodded. The look in his eyes was still lost in a far distance, as if the thought of the drugged fish alone had pulled him under its influence. Quietly, Wooyoung collected the bowls and plates to stack them neatly on the tablet for Yunho to carry.

"Let's not talk about it anymore. I am thankful for all the information you provided, but I don't want to get you in trouble."

Yunho snapped back into focus. A shy smile spread across his lips as he nodded.

"Thank you, milord. I'm glad I could be of help."

Wooyoung changed the topic then. He asked Yunho about the house and the beautiful fishes out front so the man could talk about unnecessary facts. While Wooyoung stored away the report about drug trips, he listened with one ear to nod along. They had relaxed into a more comfortable position when another servant knocked on the door and asked for entrance. Yunho opened it for her and the young woman bowed deeply in front of Wooyoung before she spoke.

"Master Linus extends his greetings. He asks how long you plan to stay," she said. Wooyoung glanced at Yunho. He had all the information he needed from him. There was no reason to linger in the place that upset Wooyoung's heart with their violence and ploys in such a culturally precious city.

"Ah, I do not plan to extend my stay any longer. I will accompany you to say my farewells to your master. Yunho?"

Yunho nodded politely in greeting. His face had shut back off into the demure mask of indifference. Nothing remained of his exposed side. All of his injuries had hidden away underneath his clothes again.

They left the room together. Yunho dipped off in a corridor to a room filled with tall amphorae that carried either food or wine. For the last time, Wooyoung appreciated the beautiful lofty ceilings and the elegant carvings of the marble that decorated the halls. He liked the aesthetic of Rome, even if some parts of its culture repelled him.

The woman left him to talk to Linus. Today, his wife wasn't present, and the man lounged on the same divan as before. When Wooyoung stepped in, he sat up and nodded at the other divan with a grin. It took Wooyoung a moment to lie down there and not roll out of his toga that got wedged between his body and the seat. While he struggled, Linus filled a goblet with wine for him and pushed it over.

"Yunho told me about your incident. How are your injuries?"

Wooyoung sipped on the wine and hummed at the taste. Pleased, Linus watched his delight.

"They are healing well. I will leave Rome later today, so I hope to buy a horse first so they won't inconvenience my trip back."

"I would recommend a litter. But why not stay longer? I don't mind your presence and your wounds would appreciate the time."

Wooyoung sighed deeply troubled to convey his distress.

"I fear the big city overwhelms me. I might return soon to explore all of its magnificent wonders, but for now, I am quite eager to return to my home."

With an understanding hum into his cup, Linus eyed him. His gaze scrutinised Wooyoung's very soul and for a moment he feared that this sly man saw right through him. Yet, the reply he gave eased Wooyoung's heart.

"Let me insist you stay until tomorrow morning, then. I got invited by my neighbour to join one of his infamous dinner parties tonight and I would adore to take you. So that you can leave with a positive memory of Rome rather than just pain."

Wooyoung nodded. Any more insisting would make him look suspicious, and there was nothing wrong with dinner. As Linus said, he might remember it in a positive light.

He spent the rest of the noon in idle talks with Linus about his made-up homelands and Linus' stance in Rome. Wooyoung got to relax a bit, but he kept the material Yunho had given him stashed away until he would return home.