Tangen leaned back in his chair, a lazy smirk playing on his lips.
"So, you got any other questions that won't take me an hour to explain in order for me to answer?"
Maxi sighed, removing his round glasses to clean them. It was a habit he'd developed to calm himself down—especially when dealing with people like Tangen's how had a lot of arrogance.
"Actually, yeah,"
he said, slipping them back onto his nose.
"How did the oldest gods solve the first condition? The whole 'connecting the dimensions' thing?"
Tangen immediately groaned, dragging a hand down his face as if he'd been waiting for that exact question.
"I don't know,"
he admitted bluntly.
"My vision cut out right before that part. All I saw was them starting to discuss it, then suddenly, it jumped to them figuring out the second condition. Real convenient, huh?"
Maxi frowned. "So no one knows?"
Tangen shrugged.
"People have entered other gods' domains before, but none of them can explain how they did it. Their gods make sure of that—seems like it's some divine secret that only a chosen few are allowed to know."
Maxi nodded, absorbing the information before moving on.
"Alright. Then… why is the Thousand Twisting Hells called that?"
Maxi was wondering that question because in his world his previous world earth, there was only one hell or nine hells he couldn't remember clearly
Tangen chuckled, instantly sitting up straight, clearly excited to answer this one.
"Now that's a question I like."
His crimson eyes gleamed as he leaned forward.
"It's called that because, while the gods were creating their afterlife system—what I like to call their 'afterlife project'—each group got help from one of the oldest gods. The Eldritch Gods? Oh, they played dirty. They convinced their helper to make a prototype, an example of what hell should be like, so they could 'get it just right.'"
Maxi listened intently, already sensing that this was about to take a turn.
Tangen grinned wider.
"Well, the oldest god agreed. But here's the thing—he failed. Not once, not twice—nine hundred and ninety-seven times. Each attempt, a disaster. Imperfect, broken, incomplete. And when he finally snapped?"
Tangen clapped his hands together, making Maxi flinch slightly.
"Boom! He lined up all his failures and destroyed them with a single punch. Just wiped them out."
Maxi raised an eyebrow. "So why did the Eldritch Gods still use them?"
Tangen laughed.
"Because they liked the destruction! Instead of building a new hell, they took the shattered remains of the failures and tied them together, twisting them around their final three 'perfect' hells which they made by themselves. And since the debris wouldn't stay still, it kept spiraling forever, thanks to the aftershock of that god's punch. Hence, the Thousand Twisting Hells."
He leaned back with a nostalgic sigh, his gaze drifting toward the ceiling.
"Man, I love that story. It's the perfect mix of divine incompetence, chaos, and power."
Maxi watched him for a moment before shaking his head with a small smile.
"That does sound like something the Eldritch Gods would do."
Tangen lowered his gaze back to Maxi, his smirk returning.
"So? Any more questions?"
Maxi thought for a second, then stood up, bowing slightly.
"No, sir. Thank you for teaching me, Mr. Tangen, and thank you for being my tutor."
For the first time, Tangen's expression softened—if only slightly. He reached out and placed his bandaged left hand on Maxi's head, ruffling his already messy brown hair.
"Good. You're dismissed, kid."
Maxi quickly smoothed out his hair as he turned toward the door. His maid, who had been standing silently by the entrance the entire time, opened it for him. Just as she was about to leave, she hesitated, glancing back at Tangen.
Tangen caught her gaze and gave her a knowing look, his grin turning sharp and malicious. He lifted a hand, waving at her in a slow, almost mocking manner.
The maid stiffened, and her tail tucked in between her legs before she quickly stepped out, shutting the door behind her.
Tengen then laughs in the empty room and slicks back his hair.
"Oh, this is going to be fun"