The main character of the story, Maxim Nelidov, writes a grandiose historical canvas from the life of the twelfth Caesar of Rome, Domitian. As is known from Suetonius’s book “The Lives of the Twelve Caesars”, it was to him that the Magi predicted (to the day and even the hour) death at the hands of the conspirators. The artist is looking for his vision of Caesar, who spent his whole life trying to deceive fate. Domitian’s fear of personal misfortune leads to worse troubles... Where is the Truth, the artist asks, if the past has been paid for, the future is vague, and the present is constantly slipping away? These torments of a talented artist, who is tormented in search of truth and his inner vision of the world, step by step lead the artist to the truth he has suffered through. The artistic canvas of the story “The Prophecy of Askletarion” unfolds in two historical time periods - in our days and in Ancient Rome. The temporal parallels are not accidental. The author seems to be telling the thoughtful reader: sometimes history repeats what ancient legends have conveyed to us...