After a while, Koal returned to the room with a bottle of wine and two glasses. "Christina's out right now," he said to Nero as he sat down across from him again. He pushed the chessboard aside and poured two glasses, one for himself and one for Nero. "But she'll be back soon. "Would you like to join me for a glass of wine and a hot meal in the meantime?" he asked. Since Nero was ravenously hungry and thirsty, he couldn't refuse the offer. The needs of his mortal body disgusted him, but he had no choice but to yield to them.
The two men ate and drank together for nearly an hour and a half, talking about just about everything, from trivialities like their favorite clothes to much more serious topics.
"I'm getting old," Koal remarked after he'd already drunk quite a bit of the wine, "I can feel my body ceasing to obey me." His voice sounded sad, "It won't be long before I enter the realm of Osirios."
Nero didn't have to think long to realize that Osirios was probably something like the devil. He remembered that a certain culture on his homeworld once had a similar name for this god, but he couldn't recall it.
"You think you're going to die soon?" Nero asked anyway, so as not to drop out of the conversation. Koal laughed at his candor.
"Yes, my boy, that's exactly what I mean," he replied with a laugh, but then his tone turned serious. "You're still so young; you probably haven't thought about it yet, but it's already an important issue for me. I mean, death."
Nero hesitated briefly before answering. The man across from him, of course, didn't know that Nero was already much older than he was. But that wasn't the reason for his hesitation; something else flashed through his mind.
"Do you fear death?" he asked calmly, looking the older man firmly in the eyes. Koal returned the gaze with stoic determination, looking firmly into the deep, black, unfathomable eyes of his counterpart,
"No!" he said in a firm voice, "I do not fear the inevitable. I fear not achieving what I have set out to do."
Nero leaned back, slightly surprised, taken aback to see himself reflected in the man's expression. He saw the same firm resolve he saw every time he looked in the mirror. He frowned as he once again got the feeling that there was more to Koal than he had initially suspected.
"What exactly is it that you've set out to do, if I may ask?"
Koal didn't hesitate for a second as he replied in a firm voice, "I've already told you, my only wish is for my daughter to have the best future possible. I don't care what I have to sacrifice to make that happen! Even if I have to give up my..." Suddenly, the man stopped himself, as if realizing he had said too much. He smiled faintly, "You surely aren't interested in an old man's ramblings. Won't you tell me what your goals are? What do you want to achieve later in life?"
Nero briefly considered a suitable lie, but his thoughts were interrupted when he heard soft voices coming from the door leading to the hallway.
A short time later, an older woman stepped into the room, followed by a young girl of no more than 16 years old. The woman was thin, but she had a warm smile as she looked at Nero and Koal. She wore very simple gray clothes and had no shoes on her feet. The girl, on the other hand, was dressed somewhat more elaborately. It wasn't royal attire, but it was fancy clothing that one wouldn't normally see here. Her long, curly brown hair was adorned with several beautiful clips. Nero wondered if Koal had had these accessories before, but then he remembered that Koal had come to this camp of his own free will.
He had probably brought the accessories with him.
Nero's dark eyes darted between the two people before he looked questioningly at Koal.
"May I introduce you to my wonderful wife, Magrett, and, of course, the jewel of my life, my daughter Christina. This is Mr. Davis; he'll be your new teacher, Christina. I've already had the chance to see for myself just how sharp his mind is."
Nero waved his hand dismissively, "You can just call me Nero."
Koal nodded, "Nero, then."
"Welcome!" Magrett greeted him, "Finally, we see a new young person in this house again. It's always just so many old men gathering here."
"Oh, don't be such a grump, you old hag!" Koal said, feigning annoyance, but then turned his attention to Christina. "So, how was your trip?"
Christina didn't answer; she just kept watching Nero with a suspicious look.
"Christina," her mother hissed admonishingly, "Don't stare so rudely; you're scaring our guest."
Christina just snorted, "My 'outing,' as my father so nicely put it, was endless work in a field until I was covered in dirt from head to toe. Thank God I had a change of clothes with me so I could change." She shuddered at the memory, "Why did you talk me into doing that, Mom?" she asked her mother.
Magrett rolled her eyes, as if she were tired of this discussion after having gone through it a thousand times, "Because you need to learn to make an effort sometimes. You can't rely on your father and me to pay for everything forever!"
She groaned, "Is that why 'he' is here?" pointing at Nero, who raised an eyebrow at Christina's incredibly rude tone.
"Please excuse my daughter's behavior," said Koal. "She doesn't like… work."
"THAT isn't true!" Christina protested. "I just don't like unnecessary work, like plowing fields or studying math. I can already count and do arithmetic—what else is there to learn?" Koal slowly stood up, "Christina, we've already had this conversation. As a future magician, you need to learn the same they learned as children. One of these is advanced mathematics."
"How do you know that?" Christina asked, annoyed.
Koal glanced at Nero, rolling his eyes. "Because I am befriended by a magician. You should know that."
"Yeah, yeah, alright, Father." Now she looked at Nero again who inwardly sighed, expecting another insult.
But to his surprise, she only asked one word, "So?"
Nero looked at her inquiringly, "So?" he asked back.
"Do you want to tell me something about yourself?"
Nero was momentarily taken aback but then smiled warmly. "Of course, what is it you want to know?"
I don't really want to know anything about you, but I want to study math even less," she answered, grinning happily.
Nero simply returned her grin. "I've already noticed that."
He was bored. It was astonishing—these completely pointless conversations that held no meaning whatsoever. He hadn't been bored like this in the last eighty years. Since his mother's death, he had fought for survival; then he was surrounded by thousands upon thousands of demons, busy destroying his world, before immediately moving on to other worlds. He had often had to act, yet he stood under constant pressure not to give himself away, as he was always surrounded by beings so powerful they could kill hundreds of people in seconds. But this conversation, this entire situation, was so bizarrely simple-minded that he couldn't help but be bored. Yet he continued to play his part.
Nero looked at Koal again. "How much should I teach her?" he asked him.
"Just the basics for now. We'll see what comes next," Koal replied.
"Okay, should we study here, or...?"
Koal shook his head. "You can study here. Christina, please have a seat. Is it all right if I stay and watch? Only for the first lesson"
"Of course," Nero replied, as he had already expected that. Koal loved his daughter more than anything and even gave up his former life just for her. He would never give her into the care of a stranger.
Christina sat down next to Nero and leaned back, sinking deep into the sofa.
"Alright, let's begin..."
During his time as Duce, he had taught some of the Polykenas the basics of strategy; he had instructed them in culture, society, and even mathematics. He had learned from them, but he had also taught them, for they had been imprisoned and isolated for thousands of years.
It had been a monumental task that required an enormous amount of mental energy, but teaching this stubborn child was incomparable. Christina wasn't stupid; she was actually astonishingly gifted and intelligent, but her absolute reluctance to learn made it feel to Nero as if he were trying to swim up a waterfall.
After nearly four hours, he had barely covered the most basic of the basic elements of mathematics—things Christina actually already knew. Nero's mind ached afterward.
Of course, added to this was the still lingering experience in that strange dimension and the exhaustion of the past few weeks.
Still, Nero was not entirely dissatisfied with the task. He received sixty credits, even though only half were promised. Besides, the task was relatively easy in comparison to most other. Nero was now back in his mortal form, pale, emaciated to the bone, and weak. If he had been working in a field under the scorching sun, he would have collapsed from exhaustion hours ago.
Nevertheless, Nero continued working on other assignments in the following days. In case nothing else worked, he had to spend 5000 credits to get a chance to get chosen himself, even though he didn't trust it.
But that would be his last resort. Until then, he would seek another opportunity. Nero worked not only for Koal but also took on other tasks.
He also learned more about the camp's situation from Koal. One day, as they sat playing chess again, Nero asked him with interest,
"Have you ever seen one of those mortals who were allowed to leave the camp and were chosen?"
Koal tilted his head thoughtfully. "No," he said, shaking his head. "In the twelve years I've been here, I've only encountered a few magicians, and I only know two of them somewhat better. But none of them came from one of the Ascension Camps."
Nero pondered this. He had already expected this.
"Then how do you know that all of this is true?"
Koal sighed. "Quite simply, we don't know. We just have to trust in the power of the great Lords. Besides, as I already mentioned, I have a very good friend who is a magician, and he would have told me if it were otherwise."
Nero furrowed his brow. "You actually have a magician as a friend?"
"Yes, for a very long time now. I met him in the second year of this camp."
"When will this magician visit again?"
"Probably at the end of the month," Koal answered absentmindedly, "Why?"
"Well, I would like to have a conversation with him."
"Of course. I'll let you know when he comes. I'll send a messenger to your address."
A few days ago, Nero revealed that he still didn't have proper accommodation. Koal had immediately helped him get one nearby, right in the second district.
The price was, of course, exorbitant, but Koal had made sure that Nero could afford it.
Nero had been lucky and seemed to have pleased the old man.
He received good payment from him for almost doing nothing.
After a few hours, Nero left the old man's house and said a friendly goodbye to him and Christina.
Lost in thought, Nero was walking down the street when he accidentally bumped into a large man. It was just a slight nudge—something that happened frequently in these narrow streets—but a searing pain suddenly shot through Nero's abdomen, as if someone had stabbed him with a knife.
Nero looked down at himself, gasping in pain, but there was no wound to be seen. Seconds later, the pain had mostly disappeared, but a slight lingering ache still throbbed inside him.
"By the Realm of Osirios, what was that?" he muttered to himself, using a phrase he had picked up from Koal.
Suddenly, a screech reached his ear. Confused, Nero turned around and saw a man writhing on the ground, screaming like a dying animal.
"HOW DARE YOU?" the man screeched hoarsely. "HOW DARE YOU, LOWLY MORTAL, COLLIDE WITH A CHOSEN MAGICIAN OF THE GODS?"
Nero stepped back from the screeching man,
"Oh...fuck!"