The First Gift Of Chaos

"May, the..... chaos.... be with... you..."

Spartacus uttered those final words, before turning into a pile of ash.

Selene and Theo barely heard Spartacus' final words and laid with each other, bloodied, bruised and gasping for air on the hard dusty ground.

"We.... did.....we...." Selene was unable to formulate her words properly.

"We.... won..." Theo said what Selene intended to convey.

They laid on the hard barren ground, uncaring how it dirtied them, but who could blame them?

They have drained every ounce of energy in their body to fight for their lives.

So, even though the ground was dusty and hard, they still felt that they were having the best rest in their lives.

All the fire in the surrounding turned to ash and slowly their surroundings changed from a burning wasteland into a gray church with crimson tinted windows and a beautiful female statue on the altar.

In front of the altar was a pedestal that held a crimson orb.

"This carpet is the best...." Selene rubbing her cheeks on the red carpet of the church

"Yeah, lets stay here for a bit..." Theo suggested

A mechanical voice suddenly echoed from the crimson orb.

Please receive your rewards. The domain shall disappear in approximately twenty minutes.

Hearing this forced Theo wide and awake. He pushed himself up and glance at Selene, who was on the verge of sleeping.

"Selene, We gotta go! We'll miss our rewards if you sleep now!"

"Ugh..... I can't.... carry me" Selene grumbled

"... Fine" Theo relented

As an Astute, Theo was able to recover faster so he had to help Selene who was, surprisingly also tiered up and was at the beginning of the Adept tier.

She probably also broke through after beating Spartacus or just before she beat him.

"Hap" Theo carried Selene on his back. 

Selene wrapped her arms around Theo's neck for more support and leaned on him to rest her body.

However, this action made Theo flustered, making him weak on his knees and drop selene. 

I get that she's tired, but this makes her way too close.

He could easily notice her lavender smell and feel her body temperature.

No one could blame him, a boy going through puberty, being uncomfortable when a girl close to his age was sticking close to him was the natural course of nature.

In the name of our mother, her children and her army of angels...

Theo recited one of the main prayers of the Holy Church of Virtus.

 Theo arrived in front of the pedestal, so he nudged at the sleeping Selene and tried to wake her up

"Selene we're here, wake up."

".... No mom... fifteen more minutes" Selene mumbled, who was clearly already sleeping.

"That's how much time we have left..."

The only solution Theo had was to drop Selene, and drop her he did.

"Gah! What's wrong with you!? How dare you handle a lady so roughly!?" Selene accusingly as she pointed at Theo.

"You weren't budging so I had to."

Theo rasing his shoulders as he sighed

"Grrrrrrr. Fine! But next time you do that, you're toasted!" Selene stood up and strolled towards the orb.

Whatever, drama queen

Theo didn't try to openly instigate her, he probably couldn't handle another argument on how tired he was.

Selene regained some of her stamina after resting for five minutes, she would've taken longer if she was stuck at intermediate and didn't have the stamina bracelet with her.

Theo and Selene placed their hands on the Crimson orb.

 A searing hot pain shot out of the orb, directly to their hands, which spread throughout their bodies.

"F*ck" Selene exclaimed but endured.

Theo handled it better but he still clenched his other hand because of the pain.

A couple of seconds passed and the pain disappeared.

Theo and Selene nodded at each other, smiling that they finally got the reward they deserved.

The reward from defeating the Red beast was immense fire resistance, any fire spell below their tier would almost be ineffective, enhancing the fire power of any fire spell, improved growth and understanding of the fire element and the last effect, improved one's physique, which benefited Selene the most and the reason why they challenged the Red Beast two years earlier than intended. 

"I feel so invigorated!! I can also have more minions and spells for me!!!" Selene squeaked in delight

"And I don't need to worry about getting burnt by you- Ow!" Theo grinning

Selene punched Theo on the shoulder

"I can still punch you and don't worry, I'll be catching up now my physique has improved."

"Not letting that happ-!"

Additional rewards are being processed. 

Theo was cut off by the sudden announcement from the orb.

""What?"" Selene and Theo were surprised by the unexpected news.

"Omg, this feels like we're about to get DLC items!" Selene clapping her hands in anticipation

"We do deserve it after everything we've been through"

Selene nodded, "I kinda expected this to happen as well".

Additional rewards processed.

The orb emitted red smoke trailed behind the pair, forming a tall human-like shape

"Hey their kids! It's me! Spartacus!" The smoke loudly proclaimed

Selene and Theo were alarmed and took their stance, pointing their summoned weapons towards Spartacus.

"Woah! Woah! Fight's over, kiddos. Relax~ I'm just here to give you the extra stuff."

Theo was the first one to lower his weapon hearing Spartacus' news.

<You trust him?> Selene

<We're basically dead if he fights us again anyways, what's the point? Plus, The story always shows Mother of Chaos being fair and impartial to those that succeed her challenges. She won't beat up when we just got our rewards.> Theo

<....Fair > Selene

Selene unsummoned her Scythe, but was still vigilant of Spartacus'.

"This is why I like you kids, never letting your guard down easily. I love it!"

"Can you please give us our reward already? Mr. Spartacus?" Theo tiredly asking

Theo and Selene were extremely exhausted, they wanted to get this over with and rest, hence their impatience.

"Hahaha, Of course! Of course! First! Selene Aventus!"

<We're literally a few feet apart, he doesn't need to shout so loudly>Selene

<Don't mention it to him, he'll probably just sidetrack>Theo

Spartacus extended his hand, and the red smoke he had conjured took on the form of a wolf as it gracefully moved across the red carpet, advancing toward Selene.

"My reward and gift is a special undead fire wolf. Perfect for a necromancer like you"

The smoke slowly transformed into a red wolf with hollowed flaming eyes, as large as Cookie. A part of its mouth was scarred, showing its sharp red fangs and some parts of its body had missing fur, showing flesh or bone, making the wolf a fiery nightmare to those who faced it.

"Name it as you will"

The wolf wagged its tail and approached Selene, its new master.

"Omg, it's so cute!"

No it doesn't.

Theo retorted in his head, looking at the zombie-like wolf. He was weirded out by Selene's definition of cute and at the same time intrigued.

"Come here, give your momma a hug!" Selene opening her arms for the undead wolf to pounce on

Woof!

"You're so adorable and your fur is so warm as well~ I love it. Thanks Spartacus! I'll name you.... Blaze!" Selene

"I am glad that you enjoyed your reward! It also grows the same rate as it's wielder, so you don't need to worry about feeding it materials to level it up"

"Even better!" Selene loudly celebrated as she petted Blaze vigorously

Woof! Woof!

The wolf happily responded to Selene's touch.

"Now, Theo! Come closer, I shall hand you your reward!"

Theo approached Spartacus with careful steps, on guard for anything that might turn out to be a trap, but he arrive a meter away, when Spartacus held out his hand

"Here, this is for you. My prized possession when I was alive'' Spartacus spoke in a lower tone, emphasizing the importance of the reward that he was about to give.

Red smoke floated towards Theo and floated in front of him, beckoning him to hold his hands up to receive it. As he held his hands up, the smoke started to form a shape and transform into a pair of familiar gauntlets. 

Spartacus' voice tone down, unbecoming from his usual jolly and fierce character.

"It's my personal gauntlet. A partner that got me through hell itself. Use it well."

A pair of black scratched gauntlets and beat up gauntlets.

"It was a gift given to me by my teacher who inevitably got killed by me in mortal combat, replacing him as the champion"

Theo felt Spartacus' nostalgia and sorrow as he heard him reminisce about his past.

"Thanks to Mother Chaos, I got to fullfill my vengeance agaisnt the bastard that made me kill my teacher and most importantly of all! I get to pass down this wonderful weapon to you!"

The tone shifted into the usual Spartacus. Theo on the other hand bowed his head in respect to Spartacus and thanked him

"I promise to use it well and thank you for this reward" Theo sincerely speaking

Despite not seeing Spartacus' face, Selene and Theo felt that Spartacus had the biggest smile on his face.

"Good! I have no time left! Ehem! May the blessing of Chaos be with you both!!!!"

Spartacus waves his hands and laughs, as both Selene and Theo get transported out of the church.

"I hope both of you achieve what you never achieved. No if it's the current them, they probably will" 

Spartacus muttered under his breath, dissipating slowly back into the crimson orb.

.....

Theo and Selene were laying on the ground as they stared at the stars and moons above the night sky.

"We're out" 

"Yeah"

A comforting silence followed. A few minutes later, Selene broke the silence

"Theo"

"Yes?"

"I can't move"

Theo turned his head towards Selene and gave her a questioning gaze

"What?"

"I can't move. My body is in pain and moving stabs thousands of needles all over my body."

"... F*ck" Theo exclaimed as he got up.

"Look who's cursing more now, Hehe" Selene mischievously chuckled

"Do you want me to help you or not?"

"Yes, please" Selene innocently smiling at Theo

"Sigh, alright... Up!"

"Ouch! Ouch! Careful!" Selene painfully cried out

"I'm trying" Theo placed Selene on her back as comfortably as possible.

"Hahahaha! Alright! Charge my steed! Lead me home!" Selene commanded Theo as she lightly kicked Theo on his thigh.

"I'm going to drop you. And didn't you say that you were-" 

Before Theo could complain, Selene was already knocked out leaning on his shoulder. Theo knew from hearing Selene's soothing breaths and her closed mouth, which was always open to complain to him.

"Bruh, how fast can you sleep....sigh" Theo commented.

Theo glanced at Selene who had a gentle smile on her face as she leaned her head on his shoulders. Despite her slightly disheveled appearance, her beauty was still none other.

"Sleeping beauty, indeed..." Theo smiled wryly as he trailed forward into the woods.

What Theo didn't know was that Selene was actually pretending to be asleep to avoid Theo's scolding.

When she heard Theo's compliment, she almost quivered in embarrassment. If Theo glanced at Selene again, he'd notice pink blushes on Selene's cheeks and ears, luckily for Selene Theo was more focused on going back.

Maybe I'll be nicer to him tomorrow.

Selene actually fell asleep a minute later.

...

"They're greatly deviating from their destinies... But, this benefits them immensely, so it does not matter"

The old lady observed two young teenagers, from afar, attached to each other, attempting to return to their estate.

"They're really perfect for each other" The old lady smiled gleefully.

"I hope they finally succeed this time."

The old lady turned to look at the moons as she clasped her hands together.

"May the two, blessed by the moons and stars, defy their impending destinies"

.....