There is a character called “The CTHAEH” (pronounced “cath-ay”) in the book “The Wise Man’s Fear” by Patrick Rothfuss. I cannot fathom a more all-encompassing evil.
It is a creature that lives in a tree, intentionally isolated from the rest of creation. It is omniscient, and described as “poisonous, hateful and contagious. It can see all possible futures with perfect accuracy and clarity, branching out from a single moment. It uses this knowledge to cause the worst possible outcomes for as many people as possible. In doing so it often reveals information that will hurt and traumatize those who speak to it. It does so on purpose, since it is regarded as very cruel and malevolent.”
The evil lies in what it does in a simple conversation. It knows exactly what to say to you to cause a massively destructive chain reaction to begin within your own actions. Every person, creature, plant, you come into contact with becomes a vector for the chaos of the Ctheah. The insidiousness comes from you thinking you are making your own decisions. But because of the omniscience of the Ctheah, it knew that you would make these decisions, all endlessly branching out from the things it said to you in that single conversation. You have been unknowingly robbed of your free will and are carrying out the intentions of this creature throughout the world.
True! Though maybe it still will seeing as how we’ve only got 2/3 of this current series 🤣
Regardless, WHAT A CHARACTER RIGHT?!?! When I first read that I stopped to think of the consequences of the Cthaeh and the only metaphor I could come up with was like a small collision with a space satellite that cause another and another. Every piece becoming the possible destruction for something else, until the whole earth is shrouded by debris. I can’t imagine a more terrifying character.