"You may call me Thaumiel!"
The voice echoed through the expansive hall, a deep resonance that seemed to momentarily halt the universe itself. At the utterance of that name, everything froze in place. The ripples in the dark water beneath them froze into solid glass.
Damien felt a shiver crawl up his spine; it was as if he could glimpse the dawn of chaos and destruction. He felt his own thoughts stutter to a halt in his mind,his very core thrumming with primal awe.
After what felt like an eternity, Damien shook himself back to reality, focusing on the being before him —Thaumiel.
"Weren't I supposed to be dead? Why am I here? Where was I before this? Who are you?!" Damien opened his mouth and fired away with multiple questions at once.
Thaumiel Just kept the same gentle smile on his face, hands clasped behind him, amusement danced in his bottomless void-like eyes.The hall fell silent.
Doubt crept into his mind,was this even real? Could this all be a nightmare? Perhaps he wasn't truly dead after all. Yes, maybe this was just a dream. He nodded inwardly at the thought.
"Oh, you are dead alright," Thaumiel's voice broke through Damien's musings with an unsettling clarity. "And this is no dream; this is very much real!"
"What... how did you...?" Shock painted Damien's face as he took several steps back, horror flooding his eyes.
"I can read your mind; knowing what you're thinking is child's play for someone like me!" Thaumiel chuckled lightly and waved his hand, conjuring a simple stone throne behind him before settling down comfortably.
He gestured toward a chair behind Damien. "Sit down."
Trembling slightly, Damien turned to see the chair standing ominously behind him. With trepidation, he slowly sat down, positioning himself at the edge of the seat with hands resting on his knees and head held high,his soul quaking beneath its surface.
"No need to be nervous in my presence. Relax!" Thaumiel urged, amusement deepening in his gaze.
"How can I not feel nervous in front of you?" Damien thought but quickly clamped his mouth shut as he met Thaumiel's unwavering smile.
"As I mentioned earlier," Thaumiel said smoothly, "my name is Thaumiel—but I'm more commonly known as the God of Chaos and Destruction." He propped his chin on one hand and chuckled softly.
"G-God… of Chaos and Destruction?" Damien stammered again, eyes widening further.
Previously he thought that Thaumiel might be some messenger to take him to hell or something. Considering Kaelos's grim reaper-like appearance,but he wasn't expecting him to be an actual god.
"What? Don't i look someone to be the god of chaos and destruction?" Thaumiel smiled, his eyes swirling with chaotic energy.
"N...no...no! That's not it!" Damien stammered, waving his hands nervously as he tried to clarify.
"Your demeanor doesn't exactly scream 'god of chaos and destruction."Sure, your appearance might fit the bill, but the way you carry yourself suggests otherwise," Damien continued, glancing anxiously at Thaumiel's expression, hoping not to provoke him.
After all, we were talking about a being whose very essence was chaos and destruction,who knew how he might react?
Fortunately, Thaumiel's expression remained unchanged: a calm smile danced across his lips, amusement flickering in those void-like eyes.
"Hahahah!" Thaumiel chuckled softly at Damien's words. "You're right; I hear that quite often. I take pride in my mannerisms." A hint of pride sparkled in his gaze.
Damien managed a nervous chuckle while scratching the back of his head.
"And this is Kaelos, my right-hand man," Thaumiel said, gesturing toward Kaelos, who stood like a shadow just behind the throne, exuding an aura of silent authority. "Don't mind what he said earlier; he has a tendency to....show off"
"Allow me to address your earlier questions!" Thaumiel continued with a playful grin that drew Damien's attention.
"I was rather busy so I decided to have Kaelos bring your soul here to this Chaos Hall!" He began.
"So this place is called Chaos Hall? What a cliché name!" Damien thought as he scanned the surroundings. His thoughts quickly turned awkward when he caught Thaumiel's raised eyebrow aimed directly at him.
"Damn! My brain is going to get me erased!" He cursed inwardly while forcing out a nervous laugh in response to Thaumiel's gaze.
"But as I mentioned before, Kaelos tends to show off,that's why he brought you there earlier!" Thaumiel elaborated.
"My liege," Kaelos interjected with reverence in his voice as he bowed deeply. "I wanted this mortal to witness your glorious grandeur and unmatched omnipotent power!"
"What a high-class bootlicker!" Damien thought, unable to hide his disdain as he observed Kaelos. The loud and arrogant figure before him was not what he had expected.
Thaumiel sighed at Kaelos's antics, shaking his head before turning back to Damien. "The place you just witnessed? That was a small galaxy I obliterated earlier."
GULP!
Damien swallowed hard. Even without a physical form, he felt cold sweats dripping down his spine.
He stared at Thaumiel, who sat on the throne with an unnervingly gentle expression,one that only amplified his terror. This being had wiped out an entire galaxy, erasing countless races and species from existence in the blink of an eye.
"Y...you mean that hell I saw earlier was created by you?!" Damien stuttered, eyes wide with disbelief.
The horror he felt was unlike anything he'd experienced during his lifetime on Earth; it threatened to overwhelm him completely.
"Hump!" Kaelos let out a proud snort at Damien's shocked expression, puffing out his chest as if savoring the moment of superiority over him.
But Damien paid little attention to Kaelos; his focus remained fixed on Thaumiel.
"Yes," Thaumiel continued nonchalantly. "Some arrogant fool dared to challenge me after transcending the limits of his world. To teach him a lesson about humility, I annihilated his entire race. It's really quite simple!"
His tone was casual, as if discussing the weather rather than committing genocide,a chilling display of indifference.
Damien couldn't help but sweat at the thought. "Poor guy," he mused silently.
"As for why I've brought you here," Thaumiel said, shifting slightly in demeanor as a serious look crossed his face, "I have a task for you."
The atmosphere in the Chaos Hall grew heavy with tension as Damien's heart raced.
Nervously, he asked, "What kind of task?"
"I want you to kill someone known as the Demon God for me."
As those words left Thaumiel's lips, Damien's eyes widened further; shock washed over him like ice water poured down his back.
His mouth fell open in disbelief as he unconsciously blurted out:
"Are you crazy?!"