All six of them are entangled in a web of lies and mysteries.

And when they find out their abilities are to lead them into danger, they will do everything in their power to keep one another safe.

Or else, they die trying.

ACT ZERO. LEGACY

Legacy. /ˈleɡəsē/ noun. Something transmitted or received from an ancestor or predecessor; a result of events that happened in the past.

The air is chilly in frosty November.

The Alchemist sits upon his throne, alone inside a massive chamber at the castle on the hill. His fingers tap in rhythmic, hypnotic motions against the iron hand rest, one leg propped onto a plush leather stool in front of him, its legs wrought in gold glinting against the eerie cast of moonlight.

He embraces the heavy silence, as if to lull himself into sleep, into rest he hasn’t had in almost five hundred years.

“I tire,” he whispers to himself. “Of having to wait so very long for my meal.”

How long has it been since I’ve fed? He thinks.

A week? Perhaps two?

His fingers tremble, not because of the biting cold nipping at his skin, but because of restless apprehension in awaiting his prey.

I hope it’s a child, he thinks. They do have the greatest amount of time left to live.

He smiles, thin-lipped. The greatest amount of time left for me to divest them of.

As if on cue, the doors to his chamber force open, stones thudding together in worrisome echoes.

“I’ve arrived, milord,” a shaky voice speaks at the entrance, cutting through the miasma of silence.

The fear in his inflection does not escape the Alchemist.

“Come,” he whispers. “I hunger.”

His servant’s footsteps are deliberate. Soundless, almost. But the anguished cries of his prisoner are not.

“Spare me,” the prisoner begs. “I have a family. My children, they—“

“It is a shame my servant brought you, and not your children.”

His prisoner no longer speaks after that.

“Tell me, young man,” the Alchemist says, looking evenly into eyes that quaver visibly as he speaks. “What is your name?”

“N-nam,” he croaks. “Nam Minwoo.”

“And where might you be from, Minwoo-ssi?”

“I’m… I’m a professor. I live… I live in Apgujeong with my wife and… f-four children.”

“Apgujeong,” he reminisces. “Once a home to the pavilion of a high-ranking official during my time. Shame I didn’t come for his throat when I had the chance. Should I make up for that, Minwoo-ssi?”

Minwoo nods, eyes blank. Devoid of life before his impending doom.

“You don’t mean that,” he smiles. “You say it only for you know I am about to kill you.”

“P-please don’t,” he begs once more. “I… I have the information.”

The Alchemist’s ears perk up. “Oh?”

Minwoo nods, vigorously, desperately, struggling in futile effort out of his handcuffs. “The child you’re looking for. I know where he is.”

“Excellent,” the Alchemist exclaims, throwing him a bone. “I’ll give you a chance, then.”

He sweeps a hand in an outwards arc, gesturing for his captive to continue.

“His name is Park… Park Jihoon,” he whispers. “At present a junior at Yusan University. He majors in Chemistry, specializing further in Gastronomic Science. He… he’s a student in one of my classes.”

 “Chemistry,” the Alchemist repeats. “He sure does take after his father. Attuned only to the finest, most noble of disciplines.”

His watchful gaze rests upon Minwoo, whose entire being stills upon the barest of contact.

“And how am I to confirm the validity of your claims?” he probes. “Surely, you don’t suppose yourself the first to have volunteered information this striking.”

“I saw him, milord,” his servant interrupts. “With my own two eyes. Park Jihoon. And he… he looks exactly like…”

Like his father.

The Alchemist lets loose a rumble, low in his throat.

“Brilliant,” he whispers. “Finally… the wheels of fate have their axes. A decade in waiting made worth it at last.”

His fingers reach out, closing gently upon Nam Minwoo’s throat.

“I did revile that official in Apgujeong,” he muses. “Were it not for him, I would not have been forced so shamefully into hiding.”

Let me pay him back then, he thinks.

The only way I know how.

“You are dismissed, Minwoo-ssi,” he whispers. His hand presses into delicate skin, veins pulsating with power.

Draining his victim of life.

Minwoo’s eyes widen in delayed recognition, mouth forcing open, writhing noiselessly in pain.

“I thank you,” the Alchemist whispers. “For your service.”

The body collapses onto the floor with a thud.

He turns to his servant, peering at him languorously. “You never fail to deliver, child,” he says. “Soonyoung, is it?”

His servant nods eagerly, eyes glinting with small traces of victory. “Yes, milord,” he replies. “Bae Soonyoung.”

“I have a plan for you yet, Soonyoung-ah,” he smiles, gesturing for the wispy youngster to approach. “A reward beyond your wildest of dreams.”

“Yes, milord,” he whispers, letting the Alchemist unruly strands of golden hair. “You are more than generous, and my loyalty is yours. Always.”

“Now tell me,” he cooes, forcing Soonyoung’s chin upwards with his index finger. “How may I finally come to meet Park Jihoon?”

~PROLOGUE END~

Author's Note:

Let me apologize for posting the Foreword and Prologue without having accomplished ANY of the actual chapters T^T However, the poster for this story arrived early, and I do have a deadline for picking it up, so there you have it xD I also thought it would be nice to give you guys a brief background into these characters, so that you can read the full-length chapters in greater context :D

And I'm not sure if you guys have noticed based on the preview, but the stories are based (albeit loosely) upon popular Shakespeare novels and plays:

Panwink - The Taming of The Shrew

Jinhwi - Twelfth Night

Ongniel - Romeo and Juliet

For those of you panicking: NO, I'm not interested in writing Ongniel into a tragedy wherein the both of them die at their prime (because I'm not that cruel. You're welcome). And since the story has fantastical elements, in that everyone has a specific ability, I guess one can say that this story is 'Wanna One meets Alice Academy meets Classic Literature' with a twist. As you can tell, my imagination has run wild in sprouting curious by-products in the form of writing. But that's it for this update! See you in Chapter 1 sometime this week (and yes, this time I around, all three ships are present in every single one), or alternatively, in Chapter 19 of my other work.

But that's it for this update! Catch you later~