It was the middle of the night, and two moons hung high in the sky. One was the Strange Moon, which shone a dark blue; the other, by contrast, was the familiar Moon, which glowed a deep yellow. Together, the moons made their slow way across the night sky, shining relentlessly down on all beings beneath them, mortal or otherwise. The light of the two moons illuminated Ascension Camp in a strange greenish glow, casting its light on the ever-busy figures who were still going about their work even at this late hour.
Yet only the very few of them knew what was happening right beneath their feet. A small group of people, walking slowly along the edge of the Seventh District without exchanging a word, went unnoticed by anyone. After some time, the group arrived at a small, unassuming hut where some tools were stored, intended for tilling a nearby field. They closed the wooden door behind them and bolted it shut. Only then did they light a small candle that illuminated the room.
With a bit of combined effort, the mortals pushed a heavy stone out of the floor, which consisted of several rough stones laid together. Beneath the stone they had lifted, a small opening revealed itself, leading far into the depths. An unstable-looking ladder led down. All but two men, who remained behind, descended. After the last one had made the descent, the two men laboriously pushed the heavy stone back into place. They would have to wait in the darkness until the group returned.
This scene, or something similar, took place in many other locations throughout the camp, where groups of mortals went underground through secret passages.
There, they encountered one another in long, cramped tunnels; some greeted each other quietly, while others simply followed the group in silence, illuminated by nothing more than the small candles some held. Beside the path the people walked, the black water of a fast-flowing river ran, drowning out most sounds with a loud roar and causing an unpleasant dampness in the passages.
So the mortals followed the river until they converged from all directions and entered a large natural cave that had remained untouched there for ages before being discovered by Koal a few years ago. After years, this cave became the official gathering place for the caterpillars, who were gathering here once again tonight. There were nearly two hundred mortals, all wandering about the cave and conversing with one another. Interested glances occasionally darted toward a small ledge jutting about three meters high from the cave wall, where several people were talking excitedly to one another. There were five people, among whom were the most influential figures in the entire Ascension Camp; they held the most power both within and outside the Cult, as much as was possible for mortals. Some of them even had specially trained gangs of thugs, which they used to punish mortals who disobeyed the rules.
One of them was, of course, none other than Koal, the head of the second district, the leader and founder of the Cult of the Caterpillars, the man to whom all of this was owed.
Koal was currently talking with Magalea, the head of the fourth district, who wielded the greatest influence in the entire camp. She had hundreds of people who followed her, trusting her every word. She had a certain way about her that allowed her to draw people to her. She was an indispensable part of the Cult, responsible for recruiting new members and ensuring that information was disseminated throughout the entire camp.
Seated on a chair behind the two of them was Uriel, who had been the first person to join the cult; he was even one of the greatest influences behind its founding. Uriel remained silent and spoke to no one, but simply let his aged gaze sweep over the crowd of people below, most of whom he recognized at a glance.
Despite his age, his memory was formidable.
Then, of course, there was Helurk, the leader of the third district. He was a young man, barely in his early thirties, with ash-blond hair, a mischievous grin, and blue eyes. His skin was lightly tanned, and he was dressed in simple mortal clothing. He was whispering to an even younger-looking person standing right next to him, who was one of the cult's newest members. The person was sickly thin and pale, had wild black hair, was dressed in clean but simple clothes, and did not make a particularly impressive impression, were it not for his eyes, which seemed to be infinitely deep, black as the abyss, absorbing all light. A terrifying intelligence shimmered in the depths of those eyes, which never stood still for a second but instead took in every person in the room with frenzied intensity.
This was, of course, none other than Nero.
It had now been nearly a week since Nero had met Julian and subsequently learned the secret of the cult. During that week, he and Koal had met every day with the rest of the cult's leaders to make plans. At first, the others distrusted Nero and questioned Koal's decision to grant such importance to an outsider so quickly, but Nero opened the others' eyes to the world of magic. They soon understood Koal's decision and agreed.
Heated discussions that went on for hours divided the five of them before they reached an agreement again, and then started arguing about something else. Only Nero never raised his voice; he argued calmly, with a self-assurance that only someone who was always right, or at least believed he was, could possess.
So, after a week, they had finally managed to work out a rough plan they intended to follow, but first, formalities had to be taken care of.
So Koal called a meeting of the cult, and almost everyone showed up. They were all there because they had accepted and understood that this camp was a prison from which they would not escape alive. Their only chance lay in this cult and in Koal.
"...That's Erik over there. He's been undefeated in the arena of the First District for two years. Mages even show up to his fights every now and then to watch two mortals shed blood. And that's Ali over there; he's the leader of the Twenty-Second District. He may not be a cult leader, but he's no pushover.
I would always be polite to him..." Again and again, Helurk discreetly pointed out people in the crowd and introduced them to Nero. Nero committed the names of the people to memory, but he was only half-listening, for his thoughts were elsewhere.
The pain that had arisen since his first encounter with Kiel had worsened over the past week. Now it burned in his stomach area, as if something were slowly squeezing his insides in a vise. Nero knew he couldn't put it off any longer; he had to get checked out. Or else, he would have to reignite his magical heart as soon as possible, because then his body, strengthened by magic, would likely be able to heal the wound without medication.
Unfortunately, Nero didn't know how long it would take for him to regain his magic, so for better or worse, he had no choice but to see a doctor. Perhaps there were some illnesses in this world that Nero didn't know about; a doctor would definitely come in handy.
He blinked again to refocus on Helurk, who was still introducing people. Then, suddenly, Nero interrupted the somewhat older man. "I have a question that's been on my mind for some time," he said.
Helurk blinked. "Fire away!" he said, gesturing encouragingly with his hands.
"You are the head of the third district, Koal is the head of the second, and Magalea is the head of the fourth. In addition, you have several other district heads, such as Ali, or the heads of the twelfth, the thirty-seventh, and so on, but what about the head of the first district? Wouldn't it be wise to include him?"
Helurk hesitated briefly before answering, "From an outsider's perspective, yes. Since you're relatively new to Camp, I can understand your confusion, but you have to understand, Nero, not every mortal wants the situation in the camp to change. To be precise."
Nero frowned, "So you mean the head of the first camp is happy to be in the camp?"
Helurk sighed, "Exactly. It's not that we haven't tried to recruit him, but he's completely oblivious to anything that might jeopardize his position as head of the first district. In a way, it makes sense. He's the most powerful man in the camp; he's rich, has everything, doesn't have to work. He lives like a king, so why would he give any of that up?"
Nero clicked his tongue dismissively, "Because he's a false king. His power is the power of a caged animal. No matter how many animals are under your command, you're still just a caged animal. How can you be satisfied with prosperity when you aren't even the master of your own existence?"
Helurk shrugged, "That's just how it is, unfortunately. Not everyone is willing to fight for their freedom. Some are content to lie on their backs and perform tricks for their captors."