Napoleon of Another World!

Chapter 1 - The End of an Emperor

"Ei fu, siccome immobile,

dato il mortal sospiro."

(Alessandro Manzoni, "The Fifth of May")

"The Emperor is dead!"

These words echoed in every corner of this crappy prison of mine on a tiny island lost in the heart of the sea.

I could almost see the servants, the few soldiers still close to me, my jailers, and all the others gathered around the bed to witness my last moments of life before I rotted away in this cell. Even though I had gotten used to disappointing my enemies, this time everyone knew there would be no plot twist.

I knew it too. We were at the grand finale.

I would've liked to enjoy the show, but I could only imagine it. While my body was still in that tiny room, my conscience was already somewhere else.

Surrounded by pure light, I found myself staring at the enigmatic and downright creepy presence before me, a kind of sinister specter hidden behind a black cloak, a tricorn hat and a white mask. He just stood there without moving, looking at me through the black eye-shaped holes of the mask as if trying to peer inside me.

I resolved to break the silence. "So? I'm dead?"

"More or less."

"I didn't know Death had a sense of humor."

"Do you think I am Death?"

"You certainly want to pretend you are with that cloak and mask."

"You seem pretty calm for someone who thinks they're face-to-face with Death."

"The grim reaper has been walking beside me for a long time now. I have escaped an untimely end more times than I can remember. It's just a pity that others have had less luck."

I can't say for sure, but I'm almost certain that my last statement made my interlocutor smile in amusement.

"Then even the great Emperor Bonaparte had someone dear to him."

"A man who has no affection is a man as dry as the desert. And a dry man will never leave anything behind him worth remembering."

"And the man who lives without glory dies every day, correct?"

It was unbelievable: Death was mimicking me.

"So tell me, Emperor. Are you proud of how you lived? Of your legacy?"

This time it was I who smiled.

"Considering that my enemies didn't even wait for my death to destroy everything I've built, I should feel disappointed and angry at my downfall. But that's not the case. On the contrary, I do feel sorry for them."

"For what reason?"

"Because no matter how much they delude themselves, the hands of time never move backwards. Eventually the wave of consciousness that I have awakened, and that they think they can put back in chains, will overwhelm them. I'm just sorry I won't be there to enjoy the scene when their house of cards comes crashing down. I took a continent that had lost its way, brought order into chaos, and planted the seeds of change in every corner of the globe. For how inconceivable it might appear to you from the outside, I have dedicated all my efforts to one goal: peace. There is no greater glory for a man who aspires to the greatness than of bringing peace."