His thoughts took a strange turn as he pondered over potential ideas of what the liquid could be.
'Did he brew some radioactive material like plutonium?'
Noel mused inwardly, yet outwardly his expression was stoic, as if unmoved by the weird turn he had experienced. Opposite to those who would feel awkward at their words being ignored, Noel took the chance to assess the man before him.
How was he able to identify that the being before him was a man?
Well, it was simple.
The mere aura of the being before him was impossible to belong to a woman,-- not because a woman wouldn't be able to have a similarly powerful aura, but it was due to the suffocatingness and pressure he felt emanating the man that was unmistakable.
Just by a glance he was able to assess that the man before him was by no means a human; in fact, 'it' was something much, much more powerful.
For a moment, a hint of coldness washed over Noel's back, yet he shifted his position in his chair as if shrugging it off, adjusting his persona as he narrowed his eyes.
Meanwhile, the man turned a page with care, the paper rustling faintly — the sound soft, precise, like silk brushing against silk.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself quite a bit?" he remarked, his voice ethereally deep, deeper than the Mariana trench itself. Noel's expression froze, his breath caught, as he felt for the first time something that made his breath hitch, throat dry.
He felt Fear. Fear from 'the thing' before him.
He slowly closed his eyes, as he felt his heart thudding violently against his ribcage as if demanding a method of escape from his situation.
Forcefully, Noel opened his mouth as he sucked in warm air, then stopped his airflow. He held his breath or a few moments until he started feeling the familiar pressure on his nasal sinus, before he slowly and carefully exhaled, feeling a slight lightheadedness.
His heart soon started to slow down its frantic beat, yet his adrenaline fight-or-flight response remained at bay, as if waiting for a moments notice to take action.
"You seem to be wondering where you are," the man said, voice low and resonant enough to make Noel feel like he was sitting inside a bass speaker. "But.... that is quite irrelevant."
Noel's eyes slowly opened, as he casually snuggled to the chair, making himself comfortable. His eyes drifted to the table, only to find out that a teacup with the same liquid as the man was seated inside in front of him, as if inviting him for a single sip.
Without a single shred of hesitation, Noel quickly brought his index and thumb towards the handle, holding it elegently like a noble. He expressionlessly observed the suspicious liquid for a moment, slowly twirling it cautiously as if checking for any sudden chemical reactions that could occur and dissolve his stomach.
Before the man could utter another word, he quickly tilted it to his lips, ignoring the odd smell that emanted from it. Tempting yet dangerous.
The liquid ran down his parched throat, only for a burning sensation to arise inside it.
Panicking, Noel felt himself choking on the liquid, his airflow blocked.
*COUGH* *COUGH*
Tears formed at his eyes as he attempted to ease the pain in his throat without result, and he gently carresed it.
"What in the motherf*cking seven hells?!"
A single drop came out of his nose, as he felt his internal cavity burning as well. In anger, he settled his teacup onto the table with a loud 'clank!', his finger slightly trembling from the aftermath of his little stunt.
He ignored the bone-chilling feeling of someone looking at him through the newspaper as if looking through his soul, and clicked his tongue in dismay.
"Is this really what you serve your guests? Some kind of tea that threatens to send them to the afterlife without even a pardon notice?" He muttered in visible irritation, his chest heaving painfully.
He gave another painful cough, a wooden taste forming in his mouth.
"....."
The man remained silent, yet Noel still felt the odd gaze of something piercing staring through his soul.
"Well f*ck" Noel said, dry. "I'll just cross 'figure out where the hell I am' off my to-do list then. Lets go back to topic. Why am I here?"
The man didn't smile, but something about the air shifted, as if warning the poor man. "You seem to have no sense of taste, esteemed guest" He spoke calmly, yet Noel could sense a threatening tone.
"Created by the finest brewers, the base is the dry-iced blood hibiscus of the infernal gardens, steeped with charred elderwood bark to give the bitter whisper of ancient timber."
Noel's eyebrow twitched clearly at the information dump, as he ignored the sensation that creeped up his spine like a centipede.
The thing spoke as if he had known what the f*ck what blood hibiscus and elderwood bark was.
Noel's expression twisted in disgust as he imagined what kind of blood he had drinked just now.
Nothing good, is what he was sure of.
The man went on, sighing in dismay.
"Sigh... forget it. You should know however that you are lucky that you have been chosen to be something many beings would die to be" He went on, as the man placed his cup on the table.
"It doesn't matter where you are. The only thing that should matter to you is your usefulness to me. And me only."
Noel snapped out of his train of thoughts, as he observed the thing that held the newspaper as if it held an OCD with it, his eyes trying to read the foreignly written language inscribed on it.
"For starters, my name is 'Nothing'. Feel free to call me anything, however; it does not matter to me much" The thing spoke matter-of-fact.
Noel's eyes shined in interest, as his demenour slightly shifted.
"Can I call you 'Steve'?" Noel asked curiously, his chin leaning on his right palm.
"No."
The devil god leaned forward, resting gloved hands on the table, yes the newspaper remianed in the air covering his face. By this point, Noel started thinking that maybe the thing before him had some ugly scar on his face and was trying to hide it.
"I have a proposition for you. Refuse, and you will die. Not the mortal death you've already tasted. Instead, I will unmake you, layer by layer, until your atoms are too traumatized to remember what a person is."
"That's… a bit vivid," Noel muttered in obvious disinterest, yet his tone carrying a hint of intruige as if the idea of getting unmade created a circus performance in his mind. "You've clearly put thought into this, Mr.. Nothing."
The being hummed for a moment, silence enveloping the setting for a moment.
Noel blinked, as if waiting for the beings next words. Yet his next phrase left his dumstruck, his brows forming a peculiar look.
"I have a daughter," the devil god said suddenly.
Noel blinked in confusion. The topic was changing way, way too fast. First it started with tea. Then his purpose. Then his... then his... what again?
Dementia really does take a toll on pour souls like Noel.
"…Ok... ? Wait, wait... I'm sorry, but what?" Narrowing his eyes, Noel scratched his chin in contemplation, still looking at the being before him in confusion.
"Does that mean devil gods have a dick as well, and have se-"
"Silence, cease your vurglar words this instant" A chilling tone dropped the temperature room by several degrees. Noel seized up, his body stiffening, before he hesistated for a moment, rephrasing his words properly.
"Well... I meant to ask... does that mean the dev-"
"Don't ask"
The sentence silenced any questions Noel had on divine sexual intercourse, however, he made a mental note to ask the thing later on.
"Sigh... back to topic, I have a daughter."
Noel nodded in understanding, his eyes closing as a soft sigh left his mouth. He was starting to get tired at everything that had happened today.
First his death, then some weird ass thing calling itself a devil god, then his mf daughter.
The only reason Noel was so calm was because he thought he was in some hospital, and was given a dose of LSD that made him float in his hallucinegtic state. He had qutie the imaginative mind afterall.
"She is… difficult. Rebellious. Resistant to my methods of instruction." He sighed in sadness. Or maybe he was pretending. Noel was unable to determine what the being before him was really aiming for.
And he didn't like the feeling at all. Of not getting a read on his opponent.
"And what are those?" Noel asked. "Pitchfork quizzes? Punishment by eternal damnation?"
"Effective methods," the devil replied smoothly. "But she requires a teacher. Someone unconventional. Someone who understands how to… bend rules."
"Oh." In realization, Noel nodded in understanding as he slowly settled to his seat, his legs crossed in visible interest, before he intertwined he fingers, gaze locked on the newspaper that hid the mans face.
"You mean someone morally flexible. That does seem to be an issue in today's generation, although I am not quite sure about how it works in the Devil world."
"Yes."
"And I'm your top pick for that? I mean I am pretty sure there are better beings out there that are more fit than me." Noel placed his hand on his chin as he leaned forward, his eyes drifting towards a chess board that had appeared on the table.
Without missing a heartbeat, Noel moved one of his pawns, as he awaited for the being before him to move as well.
"You were my only pick." The being stated, a white pawn from his side slowly melting down its box, before reappearing in the box in front of it, two spaces in front.
Noel folded his arms, leaning back, his eyes flickering with something unidentifable. His tone carried a hint a mischief. "And if I say no?"
"Then I will demonstrate to you the limitless creativity of my torturers. Some of them are artists. One paints in screams."
"…Okay, so that's a hard pass on the torture package," Noel said. "But, uh, what's the pay?"
"You get to keep existing."
"Wow," Noel replied deadpanned, clapping in mockery as he gazed at the ceiling. "You really do know how to sweeten a deal, you know?"
Somewhere under the sarcasm, though, Noel's curiosity stirred. Because if the devil god needed him of all people to teach his daughter...what kind of daughter was she?
And how bad could she possibly be to make the devil throw up his hands?
Well, he would soon know the horrors of what it meant to be a teacher.
He would soon come to realize that he wasn't in some kind of hallucination, but in fact, in a real world.
A world where a painted bullseye was painted on his back.
_----___________________
Hello everyone, curse me, praise me, thank you for both!
Its been a while since I've posted, hasn't it?
Sigh... oh my days. I've been too busy studying nowadays for my upcoming uni semester, you know? Anyways, I'll try to update as much as possible so please, forgive this author, and have a beautiful day!