The pain hit like a tidal wave, surging through his entire body, tightening around his chest until he could hardly breathe. 

His stomach was bloated, his skin stretched tight, something inside him was trying to claw its way out. 

It wasn't just pain—it was a wrong feeling, a violent feeling that was foreign to him but was slowly becoming a part of him, twisting his insides in ways he couldn't comprehend.

Every gasp felt like swallowing fire.

"FUCK! DON'T TELL ME I AM GONNA BIRTH SOMETHING FROM MY ASS!" 

He could feel it now—movement inside, stirring, pushing against his body, fighting its way out. 

His muscles spasmed, the pressure building to an unbearable point, and for a moment, he thought his bones would snap.

And then—something actually broke. 

A sharp crack, a sickening split down the center of his stomach. 

The world blurred with pain as the creature inside him began to force its way into the light. 

It wasn't a clean birth. No, this was violent—agonizing. 

The air reeked of iron and something sour, like rotting meat. His skin tore with a wet, ripping sound, and the warmth of his own blood pooled beneath him, sticky and thick.

Biting down on his lip, he tried to look over the bloated belly. 

Time seemed to stretch as the creature forced its way out. Lucian could feel every tear, every snap of sinew, every pulse of agony as his body was ripped apart. 

It was a cub. But not like any cub he had ever seen. As it slid from him, its form flickered, wavering in and out of shape, like smoke caught in the wind. Its body wasn't solid, never still—shifting, constantly rearranging itself, as if it didn't know what it was supposed to be. 

Fur that wasn't fur, limbs that seemed to twist and stretch in ways they shouldn't. It was small, too small for what it should be, but its presence burned the air around it. 

Lucian tried to steady himself. But, he couldn't. 

It was like his limbs were disconnected from him, his senses drowned in the haze of pain. 

Suddenly, the cub's form stabilised into a much smaller shape of the Thunderjaw Tiger. 

The cub's black eyes—eyes that had black and nothing else—opened, glowing faintly, and for a moment, it just stared at him. 

There was a connection between them, something Lucian couldn't quite put his finger on but it was there—ever present. 

The cub came closer and pounced on him. It had four canines, but the rest of its teeth were missing. Coming closer, it wriggled, its body still shifting, flickering in the light like a flame that couldn't decide what it should be.

Looking down, Lucian saw his stomach had returned to its normal size. The pain in his bones was also receding, like it was never there. 

Wiping the sweat stinging his eyes, Lucain sat up and grabbed the cub. 

Despite having only an endless dark look in its eyes, Lucian could tell from the crease of the corner of its eyes that it looked…happy? 

'Fuck…did I just give birth to a fucking tiger? Me? A guy gave birth to a monster??! This is beyond absurd, even for Ashes of Eternity…'

It was his. There was no denying it. He had brought it into existence, and now he was stuck with it, whether he liked it or not.

The cub didn't make a sound, but the air around it crackled, as if the space itself couldn't settle. It was unfinished, a thing that shouldn't be—and yet it was there, small and strange, staring up at him like it knew exactly who it belonged to.

"You little bitch, you sure did fuck me up even though you're so small!" Lucian angrily spat. 

'Well, at least it didn't come out of my ass hole. That said, how did it come out anyways?' 

The little cub suddenly let out a whining sound, retreating back and placing its snout down, on its front two legs.

"Don't make me sad now…" Lucian spoke slightly. 

"Wait, wait…! Why am I feeling sad for you!?" 

Lucian facepalmed. "God, don't tell me this is because of me literally birthing it…" 

As he was talking to himself, the grimoire flew in front of him and a new section opened. 

****************************************************
Children of Chaos: 

1) ???? (please give your first child a name)

****************************************************

'You've got to be kidding me.' 

 'Well, I can't really beat myself over what has already happened. Need to just accept it and move fucking on. That said, what do I name this little fucker?'

Flicking the little cub's nose as it rolled back from the slight force, Lucian slammed his fist into his palm. 

Since it was such a ferocious one despite being at an age at which their parents feed them, and has such a strong bloodlust, then…

"Your name is Bane." Lucian said out loud. 

A small, dull, white light enveloped Bane. 

****************************************************

CHILDREN OF CHAOS:

BANE:
A Thunderjaw Tiger filled with the essence of 'The Bearer of Unlit Flame'. 

FORM:
A Thunderjaw tiger cub. Forms limited due to low intelligence and
comprehension of the user. 

LEVEL: 1

Abilities:
I. Static Pulse: Releases small, paralyzing shocks that immobilize those with Resolve lower than E-
II. Flickering Shadow: Can phase in and out of the material world and jump over distances.
(Current ability: Phase 15 metres in any direction. Can not phase with
a rider just yet. Cooldown: 5 seconds)

****************************************************

Lucian looked down at Bane. Its body flickered like a broken image, parts of it disappearing and reappearing in the wrong places. One moment it had too many legs, the next it was a formless mass of shadow and teeth.

'Hmmm, this is too gross if he keeps appearing like this. Do I need to give him a proper shape?'

Pointing his finger towards the cub, he frowned. "Stay in the form of a puppy. Your shape is inconsistent so I am assuming you can get rid of those extra pairs of legs too. And stop shapeshifting."

A bead of sweat appeared on Bane's face and after a few tries, it was able to stabilise it's form. 

****************************************************

NOTIFICATION: 

Corruption has increased. 

12% → 12.5%

(you will hear the voices of the fallen)

****************************************************

The fuckk…?

I don't even know how to react. Corruption—whatever the hell that is—just ticked up, and I have no idea what it means for me. 

Going by pure logic, it can't be anything good, but given how flipped the norms are when it comes to Ashes of Eternity, I might be off the mark. That said, the corruption did not increase when a fragment possessed me, nor when I used the unlit flame which feels…not the holiest thing in the world. 

It increased when I used the Shaadow Extraction thingy or whatever it is, pouring the space left by death with unlit flame yada yada. But the Unlit Flame is said to be associated with the God of Salvation and Destruction. How does it corrupt me? 

Did the first user really disappear? Or did he just die due to the corruptness aspect? 

It's still too early to worry about it, but at the same time, if it's something that is going to hinder my growth in the future, I need to do something about it. 

Sigh…too many questions, and too little answers. Well, no answers. 

Bane came closer and cuddled close to Lucian, brushing its static infused fur against his arm. 

A strange warm feeling filled his heart and he felt his lips curve. 

Suddenly, he slapped both his cheeks, making Bane's abyss-like eyes dart up. 

Come on fam, get yo act together. You're not a pregnant woman who just gave birth…ok, whatever, but get your act together for fuck's sake. What's next? Lift my shirt and feed him from my mantitties?

Bane tilted his head, the deep red infusing perfectly in its previously white fur, giving it a quite pleasant ginger-ish, salmon-pink shade. Gently ruffling the static hair on it's head, Lucian smiled again. 

Ginger hair huh…fits you well, since you have no soul. 

Snickering to himself, he decided to pick the little cub up and place it in his lap. 

"Alright, Codex." 

The grimoire flew in front of him and opened. 

"Attributes." 

************************************************

–ATTRIBUTES: Lucian de Luca–

Vitality: 23 (F)

Strength: 26 (F+)

Dexterity: 21 (F)

Arcana: 21 (F)

Resolve: 19 (F-)

Corruption: 12.5%

You have (1) Children of Chaos in your possession. All stats will have
a 10% boost when Bane is in battle. Bane can use your skills and
vice-versa. Depends on individual alignment with the skills. 

************************************************

Bane is in battle? Motherfucker, it's literally a newly hatched cub for crying out loud!

Lucian was feeling his temper rising. So far everything has been ridiculous. While he was not a pragmatic human, he did believe that if one day, he were to ever get in a situation as impossible as this, he will have at least some leeway. 

But so far, everything that had happened was so bad that it seemed like the writer himself or herself was doing this to him. 

"Grr-zzz-ruff!" Bane suddenly let out a panicked, rumbling growl with a sharp static edge. 

"Shut up, Bane! I am thinking somethin—hm?" He looked over his shoulder barely in time as he saw something descend. 

Since he had invested all of his reward points in his strength and dexterity, he was able to see it. Just in the nick of time. 

It was an axe. Coming down like a guillotine, ready to split his skull into half. 

Since dexterity covered both evasion and perception, his legs moved and before he knew it, he was skidding past the area where he had given birth, Bane clutched tightly in his arm. 

The scattered debris was thrown everywhere and a cloud of smoke rose up, choking the ceiling of the temple. 

Lucian looked down at Bane who's small, cherubic features were contorted into a frown as it bared its juvenile fangs and visible cracks of lightning arced across its fur. 

As the plume of dust settled, it revealed the attacker. It was the brown haired guard from before—Reyn. His long brown hair fell down on his face in rough locks and his slit black eyes scanned the whole room before taking in Lucian and Bane. 

"That was hot." Reyn licked his lips. "Never seen a man give birth before." 

Lucian's brows furrowed as he placed Bane down. 

'I can feel it— I am much weaker than him.'

"How about you give that monster to me, and I will let you go, eh?" Reyn said, slowly pointing the sword away from Lucian. 

"Huh…?"