There was a lot to take in from that statement. First, somehow the propaganda the Gods are pushing onto humans directly correlates to their power, secondly, hell is real but not like what is written in the old text. And most importantly, the being many had thought to be responsible for many travesties has been asleep for aeons.
"So Sata.."
"No, please call me Dave, Satan is a title.."
"..."
"Wait, what do you mean title, has there been another Satan before and will there be another"
Mike asked curiously barring a confused look on his face,
"No, there has never, or will ever be another Satan, I alone can bear such a name. I chose Dave in my old days, I used to browse the human lands and live among them. Satan was a myth back then and not as tainted as it is today but it still bore weight as if it meant something different but more profound."
Satan's eyes looked at a distance as if thinking of a fond moment in time. Loneliness and sorrow splashed on his face, Quickly he returned his focus back to the presence.
"Ok Dave, I was about to ask, Why did you teleport us here"
"Well it seemed you were no longer needed where you were at, and I need to speak to you"
Mike was curious about what it was about, to think such a being of unfathomable power and authority has something he is interested to speak to him about.
"Ok, Then why did you Teleport us to your gate and not directly inside the mansion?"
Satan turned his face. Looked Mike dead in the eyes, his face quite serious. Eyes narrowed.
"Well it's not everyday I get to show off my gate do I. It's not like people are lining up to visit hell"
"..."
"So we are in hell"
"No, yes, well your so called gods have forcefully changed the name of my realm. This is the underworld. It is not hell, It's home for lost souls or starving souls who lost themselves. As well as many other kinds of creatures."
Satan waved his hands and the two skeleton's hands let go of each other. The chain broke after.
Grrr
Slowly, the ancient door that has not been opened in eternity started to part. Cold eerie air followed. Instead of a castle, what they saw was a whirlpool of energy converging at the center. Both Nannia and Mike turned their heads at the same time to look at Satan.
"My castle is in its own pocket dimension. Let's go"
When Mike entered he felt as if he was falling for a moment, before the feeling changed to that of being lifted. The pattern went on for almost 2 minutes before they found themselves in a yard full of gargoyle stones. But from a closer look, these ones were alive.
"follow me"
Going past the stones, Mike saw all kinds of statues. Knights, dragons, archers and some he couldn't recognise. They gave him the same feeling as the gargoils.
'Why would a being as powerful as him need protection'
"They are not for my protection"
Mike got frightened by the sudden answer.
"Wait, you could read thoughts all this time?"
"Gods could read people's silent prayers, I don't understand how you could be surprised by something so basic"
Finally they made it to the front door, which was opened by a elderly man, grey hair and stiff posture.
"Thank You sabantian"
"As I was saying, this is the underworld, the place lost souls come to regain themselves before they rejoin the world."
Both Nannia and Mike were looking at the exquisite decoration of the palace, but their attention was mostly on Satan.
"That sounds simple, and it was simple, you see the thing is. The world you know now has changed. A treasure I was guarding was stolen. The people who got their hands on that treasure had taken advantage of this simple system. Now things have gone out of control."
Satan stopped and turned around and looked at Nannia.
"The result of that almost got you killed, and it is also responsible for the imprisonment of your world, and many other worlds."
Turning back to continue walking.
"Of course the world conscious is fighting this imbalance in a form of what you people call demon, beats, mythic monsters and most importantly"
They had finally got into the throne room. The devil's suit attire turned into smoke, reshaped then turned into dark gold linen made of intricate patterns covering his body with a crown on his head.
ME!
"You? You mean to tell me, you are an agent the world consciousness sent to rectify some sort of misconduct?"
Mike was confused, not once had he ever thought or imagined that the Satan they heard so much about was doing something that goes with the world order.
"Yes. You see, the universe is still in its infancy, it still needs to grow beyond what you see"
He took in a breath
"But the energy needed to do that is being defied by some bad actors"
"So are you trying to tell me that evil, pain and suffering is world order?"
Satan put his palm on his face and dragged it downwards.
"What is evil, what is pain and what is suffering, what is death and what is light. You see it is only when you put labels and meaning to experiences that you start to politicise the experience"
Mike was just a child, he didn't understand many things. His understanding is quite limited and decisions are mostly emotion driven. So being met with such deep and profound topics threw him away. Nannia wasn't fairing any better.
"Your ideals, thoughts and beliefs aren't yours, and go against your nature. Prey never asks the predator why. The sea never asks the storm why. The land doesn't ask the earthquake why. Everything has an order to it. Even humans. But lately, that order has been tampered with."
"Ok, I hear you, but what does that have to do with me"
Satan stood up from his throne, walked slowly towards Mike. Looked deep into his eyes.
"Well I have deal I know you would just love"
"You want me to make a deal with the devil"
Mike pointing at himself with a skeptical look on his face
"Hey, Hey don't be like that, You have a passion and talent and I just might be the only celestial being willing to help you"
Mike was a bit skeptical. He has heard of people who made a deal with the devil and nothing good ever came out of it.
"Listen here, I might be what you could call king of devils but I have been asleep for a long time. There are other kinds of devils out there you know. I'm sure you guys call them Demonlords, devils are just evolved demons. And you will soon find out they aren't as bad as you think. For once listen to Satan's side of the story"
Considering how Gods have been acting, Mike has every right to be skeptical. So he looked at Satan, the being standing right in front of him. Devil smile, devil tongue in the devil's suit. Oddly enough it felt a bit refreshing. Unlike the others who hide behind the false musk, If something bad were to happen it wouldn't surprise him.
"Ok, then what about Nannia, why have you brought her here"
As if reading his mind.
"I didn't bring her here to twist your hand. Why would I bring you here and not your Mother"
Both Nannia and Mike got confused by that statement.
"Yes, You have a mother who have passed away, she never stopped being your mother, But Nannia's soul bonded with yours like that of a Mother and yours has reciprocated like that of a child, that's why the Gods said she is the key they could finally use to get what they want from you."
realisation finally dawned on them.
"And that protection outside is for both of you, starting today, this shall be your place to stay, should you accept my proposal."
Thinking back to how life has been since the loss of his parents. The parent Nannia has become to him and she even risked being killed just to protect him.
"What, you need me to praise you as well?"
Pffs. Satan chuckled.
"Ow, God no. I just want you to become a demonlord capable of destroying worlds and putting Gods to their knees"
"..."
*Silence
The statement sounded absurd in its construction, Mike thought he heard wrong, even Nannia had a face of skepticism on her face as if she had heard the biggest joke in her life.
"I'm Sorry what"
"You heard me, You can do it. Matter of fact you are the only one who can do it. You could say, you were dentined to it."
"How sure are you on that statement"
"Do you know why the Gods were desperate to get you fall under them or even Kill you"
Mike kept silent, signalling Satan to continue.
"You have a seed of annihilation within you. And it is mixed up with the energy of chaos. If an Old God gains that seed they would become what you call Primordial Gods. Which are The Gods before Gods."