The Water Celestial looked at Damien and spoke.
"Over the past eight and a half centuries, Chaos has corrupted countless people by using different techniques. However, becoming the ray of light that can only be seen at the end of the tunnel for people trapped in the very depth of darkness is its most utilized and famous method for corrupting people. The sad truth is that it created this nefarious method by observing humans. And it gained the most amount of followers thanks to it."
Using the divine powers that allow him to use any source of water as his eyes, including the molecules that can be used to create it or blood present in any carbon body as well, the Water Celestial had been secretly observing Chaos for hundreds of years. Thus, he was extremely familiar with it. And what he was saying was the truth nonetheless.
"Why are you telling me this?" Damien questioned him suspiciously. He had a feeling that even that had something to do with him. So he paid more attention to the grandpa he was seeing for the first time.
"It tried to corrupt you using this very method." The Water Celestial uttered.
Hearing his words, Damien felt shocked to the core and his mouth opened wide enough to swallow a boiled egg whole.
"Obviously, you were born into a good family and had loving parents. I don't like that brat, but even I must say that he treats his family exceptionally well and is a better father than me."
Damien furrowed at his grandpa as he realized that the brat he was talking about was the father he respected the most, Arnard.
Noticing his negative reaction to his words, the Water Celestial apologized to him, "My bad. I won't call him that since you don't like it."
Badmouthing someone's father in front of them was never a good thing, and the water celestial was never a stubborn man who couldn't admit his wrong in front of a child, so he apologized to him.
"Did you know?" The Water Celestial suddenly said to Damien, "When you were still in your mother's womb, your father swept the continent in search of natural treasures. A lot of fruits and herbs with the highest amount of medicinal value were fed to her when she was pregnant with you. They nourished not only her but also you, who was just a fetus in her womb at that time. That's how you were born with a special Constitution. It's an earth-grade physique that gives you absolute protection against all ailments."
Damien felt surprised, hearing his words.
"So that's why I never got sick," muttered the young boy under his breath. His eyes lit up in gratitude. He felt grateful to have a kind and family-loving man as his father. "I never knew he did so much for me."
Damien's voice was very soft. A normal person wouldn't be able to hear it, but the only one around him was a high-level being, an existence close to God. The Water Celestial was an extremely powerful being, so he heard what he said.
"Indeed. You are lucky to have him."
His eyes that reflected Damien narrowed, 'It looks like he doesn't need anyone to save him. He is far from being blinded by hatred. There's not much darkness in his heart, either. If I were in his shoes, I would be going mad with rage, hoping to destroy this world. But he is completely different. He only wants to avenge his friends, teacher, and even slaves. After I help him with that, he will be free from the darkness in his heart. Wouldn't chaos lose all chances of corrupting him then?'
The Water Celestial secretly felt good.
"Ahem." After clearing his throat to attract his grandson's attention, he continued, "Having such parents is honestly a blessing. With them by your side, the chances of you finding yourself trapped in darkness were null. And from what I have found, you were a little angel who couldn't bear to hurt an ant and attracted followers like bees to honey. In just a few years, you were surrounded by competent people who desired to follow you wholeheartedly. If things had continued like that, you would have grown up to become a lord with countless loyal knights and mages under your command, on top of being loved by the people."
"Chaos couldn't have that, now could it? So it orchestrated a grand play to push you into the abyss. It revealed that you were born with good fortune, so the rebels targeted you. That was the first tribulation it prepared for you. The enemy was hidden in the dark. And you were out in the open. Your parents didn't know what hit them before you were kidnapped. That event wiped you clean of all good memories. You forgot how much love you have been shown. You forgot how much you loved life and how you couldn't bear to kill even an insignificant being. You became a shell of your former self. The misfortune you experienced after that pushed you deeper into despair and instilled fear in your heart. At some point, you must have thought that living is more terrible than death, right?" asked the Water Celestial as he stared at Damien without blinking his eyes.
Damien nodded and explained, "Because of me, so many had died. I thought that my parents would also die because of me. So I thought it would be better to die than continue living."
And he would have killed himself if not for his teacher, who unfortunately died saving him from the Alliance of Evil.
"Do you remember what your teacher did for you? He didn't only turn your fear into strength and make you use revenge as a motivation to keep yourself alive, but he also singlehandedly dragged you out of the darkness. You would have long become Chaos's puppet if not for him. He even sacrificed himself for you. So you must keep on living for him, understood?" The Water Celestial said.
He was hoping that reminding him of the sacrifices made to keep him alive would get rid of any suicidal thoughts in his mind.
"Mm-hmm." Damien hummed out his agreement.
The Water Celestial had just wasted his time. Damien had no desire to commit suicide. He only wanted to avenge his people and take revenge for himself.
A glint flashed through the young boy's narrowed eyes as he thought, 'For that, I need to destroy the Alliance of Evil and kill Chaos.'
He heard the Water Celestial's voice and looked at him.
"Back to the topic. After Chaos saw its chances of corrupting you plummeting, it decided to scheme against you once again. This time it directly broke your mental defense by killing your teacher, pet, and nearly everyone around you. When your psychological defenses shattered, and you were trapped in a life-and-death situation, it appeared before you in the disguise of a kind old God and tried to give you cheap benefits when in actuality, it was aiming to sear its brand on your body and soul." The Water Celestial said to Damien, "If I was a moment late and you had held its hand, it would have succeeded in obtaining your soul, which in turn would have allowed it to take control of your godly powers."
"It plots against others. Push them to the depths of despair using someone else as its knife. And when their physiological defenses shatter and when living becomes more painful than death to them, it appears before them in disguise and becomes their saving grace. They never find out that it was Chaos who made them suffer. They only know that it was Chaos who gave them a new life and helped them escape hell. In the end, there is only gratitude for Chaos left in their hearts, and they are willing to die for it. The majority of the chaotic being share the same sentiment. Hence, you need not show them mercy when you confront them. It's better to kill them so that they can commit less evil."
"I am telling you all this because it will come for you again. It's a persistent bastard that doesn't know when to give up. It will target you and the people around you, so you must always be on the lookout and see if someone's about to be corrupted by it."
The Water Celestial had studied Chaos far longer than anyone else. He understood him throughly. If he said that he was second in the study of Chaos, no one would dare to claim the no.1 spot. And the wisdom he had accumulated by working hard for hundreds of years was summarized into some sentences and passed on to Damien.
"This knowledge will help me immensely." Damien looked at him in gratitude. "Thank you, grandpa."
"Good." The Water Celestial snapped his finger, and a vortex spun into existence in the endless. The sight of Damien's mortal body being surrounded by several enemies was presented through it. "Now we need to do something about it."
...
Author here:- Finally, we are done with the lessons. Chaos is a psychopathic villain and I don't have a good understanding of them. So I could only use what little knowledge I had about them to add an explanation as to why it made Damien suffer like that. Hopefully, I did a great Job.
P.S: Next chapter is what we all have been waiting for!