The next day, the quietude of their camp was shattered by the distant howls of Arctic wolves, a pack that had picked up their scent. The sound grew louder and more insistent, echoing through the barren landscape like the drumbeat of an approaching doom. Arteus and Ava exchanged a knowing glance, their hearts racing in tandem as they readied themselves for the fight that was to come.

The first wolf charged into the clearing, its eyes alight with a frenzied hunger that spoke of the prophecy's corruption. Arteus met it with a swift swing of his axe, the blade slicing through the beast's snout with a spray of crimson.

Before the other beasts could react though, pairs of grotesque, twisted arms sprouted from their necks, reaching around to grip them in a vice-like embrace. The wolves eyes went wide with shock and pain as their own new limbs began to squeeze, the bones in their neck snapping with the sickening sound of dry twigs breaking.

"Are you still doing that?" Arteus called out, his voice echoing through the clearing as he watched Ava from the corner of his eye.

"What? It's more efficient!" Ava shouted back, her face a mask of concentration as she directed her power.

With a weary sigh, Arteus pulled out his trusty dagger. The blade gleamed in the early morning light, a silent promise of protection and deliverance. He had faced countless battles with it by his side, and today would be no different. He knew that he couldn't rely solely on Ava's power to save them.

Arteus run at the beasts head on, his dagger a blur in his hand. Each step he took was calculated, each breath measured as he approached the snarling maw of the alpha wolf.

With a swift kick, Arteus sent a cloud of snow flying up into the alpha's face, blinding it momentarily. It was all the opening he needed. He lunged to its side, dagger poised, and plunged it deep into the wolf's side.

The other wolves, caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, scurried away, their survival instincts overriding their hunger.

"They're just mindless," Arteus sighed heavily, wiping the frost from his brow. His eyes were filled with a mix of pity and anger at the creatures they had been forced to fight. "Its almost like those horns turned their brains to mush."

Ava watched the retreating forms of the wolves, the last of their unnatural appendages retracting into their bodies as they disappeared into the distance. "...yeah."

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"Hey, Art," Ava said, her voice a mix of amusement and curiosity as she studied the carnage around them. "Is that the only way you know how to use your chaos?"

Arteus, breathing heavily from the exertion of the fight, turned to face her, his axe resting against his shoulder. "Chaos?"

"You know, that which flows 'within' and 'without', the essence of all things?" Ava elaborated, her eyes twinkling with the light of the morning sun.

Arteus shrugged, the heavy fur of his cloak shifting with the movement. It was a gesture that spoke volumes about his cluelessness. "Never heard of it," he said, his tone noncommittal. "But I'm guessing it's... that." He nodded towards the carcasses of the wolves, the unnatural growths on their bodies already withering away.

Ava couldn't help but let out a sigh that was equal parts exasperation and admiration. Here he was, fighting against the very fabric of the corrupted world without even knowing the true nature of the power he held. It was like watching a child play with a sword, not realizing it could cut through the heaviest of armor.

"Looks like we're not going anywhere today," she said, her voice filled with a resignation that was quickly replaced by determination. "Sit down Art."

Arteus raised an eyebrow but did as he was told, taking a seat beside the fire as Ava rummaged through her pack. "Why?" he asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Because," Ava began, pulling out a small leather-bound book with pages yellowed by age, "You're not going to be doing much god-slaying the way you are now."

Arteus raised an eyebrow at her choice of words, his hand reflexively tightening around the hilt of his axe. "God-slaying?"

"Yup," Ava chided, a smirk playing on her lips. "Its about time you treated me with the same respect you would a teacher of Avarician customs," she tapped the leather-bound book with a finger, "Lets start with some basic Avarician magecraft and witchcraft."

"Huh?" Arteus's confusion was palpable as he stared at the leather-bound book Ava placed in his lap. The gold lettering on the cover shimmered in the early light, casting an eerie glow over the pages that seemed to whisper secrets of a long-forgotten world.

Chaos. That which flows 'within' and 'without'. The essence of all things.

Chao is what people would refer to as the soul or consciousness, the very essence that separates the animate from the inanimate, the thinkers from the thoughtless. It is the unseen force that breathes life into the world, a force so powerful that it can bend reality to the will of its wielder.

Arteus had felt it before, in the heat of battle, the rush of adrenaline, the raw power that surged through him when he swung his axe. But he had never truly understood it, never harnessed it, never truly known it. To take the heads of gods, he needed to know himself, to understand the chaos that resided within him.

And Ava would be his teacher. The one to guide him through the tumultuous currents of chaos that lay within him. Giving rise to the power that could topple gods. Creating the god-slayer that the world would soon come to know, as 'the all-knowing'.

It's time to go back to school, Arty, or at least something close to it...

The gods can wait, their slayer won't be long. I promise. For no, Arteus and Ava have other battles to fight, other lessons to learn. The fate of the world could be put on hold for a while, or so i hope...

-To Be Continued-