Heavenly Opposers-Chapter 341 - 340-A Promise Made In A Time Lost.

Azrail sat there as he watched Hephaestus take in the words he had just said. Even then, Azrail knew he had sparked an obsession in the god that could not be taken away. Azrail had tested it. He had understood and taken the best path forward, in which Hephaestus was the next strong link he needed to form.

The god in question was the obsessive kind, one who hunted creation as his greatest objective. And within those objectives, Azrail knew it was the secrets of how the Mercurials created their weapons. The secret bloodline's ability to turn realms into swords that served them. It was something even Hephaestus had yet to touch upon.

'An obsession that can be used.'

With one move, Azrail had made it so Hephaestus would not be able to let go of him at all. Of course, it all had to feel neutral. Even for someone more lenient like Hephaestus, he must not feel that he was manipulated. There is nothing Hephaestus hates more. Many parts of his early life were marked by manipulation and exploitation.

And thus Azrail had to play the long game to get here. A fateful instance where it happened. A situation far beyond understanding. Something that fell into Hephaestus's lap. Though even above all that, there existed another reason.

'The promise.'

Azrail's eyes, hidden away, narrowed as he looked at the stunned Hephaestus. No one else in the cosmos knew this, but the beginning of Hephaestus in a way came from Mercurials. A part of his craze for creation. A large part of his living, surviving, and striving forward came from a time far in the past, when a Mercurial helped him out.

It had ignited an obsession in him to create like them, but it also came with a heavy debt in Hephaestus's heart. A debt where he would protect and care for any young Mercurial he found along his path. The promise he made all that time ago was still engraved in the heart of Hephaestus. And right now, that promise had come to shine.

'Now I will be a central part of his heart going forward.'

Azrail's smile stayed hidden under the cloak. On the outside, he kept the situation normal as he spoke.

"Hello?"

Azrail said it, trying to bring Hephaestus out of his thoughts.

"Did you know?"

The question surprised and confused Azrail as he asked back.

"Know what?"

Pure confusion filled Azrail's voice, and Hephaestus had to believe it too. Because if Azrail did know, he didn't have to go through all this. When he had the chance to contact any member or faction to join, all Azrail had to do was pass the message along, and Hephaestus would have protected and taken him in without question.

There was absolutely zero reason to jump through all these hoops to reach him. So it all meant that Azrail didn't know at all.

'For anyone else, there might be no reason, but I do have a deeper one.'

Azrail thought as Hephaestus replied.

"Yeah. There is no way you would have known. You are too young for it. But how do you exist? The last of the Mercurials went extinct. There should be none left..."

To this, after a moment of hesitation, Azrail replied.

"I am not pure. I awakened the bloodline, and along with it, I transformed into a Mercurial." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Azrail's words carried a certain level of conviction, but the words themselves were very possible. Rare, but it happens. A lucky chance of fate, or perhaps the interruption of the heavens themselves.

"Looks like the heavenly tree has started to interfere again..."

Hephaestus whispered, but Azrail heard it loud and clear.

"Excuse me?"

Azrail asked back. To which Hephaestus, after a moment, spoke.

"It's nothing. But I have to give it to you. For you to reach here and come upon me like this, the loops and hell you must have climbed to get here... this must be the fate the cosmos has thrown to me."

The words were confusing to Azrail. At least he pretended they were, as Hephaestus continued.

"You are young, so you might not know the complete situation about the Mercurials' extinction. But never again show off who you are to anyone else, no matter the reason. It will only bring death to everyone you have known. Especially someone like you who seems to have inherited the power of the realm swords and command over death. Many will never wish to see your rise."

"I understand."

Azrail replied after a moment of thought, his head nodding as he spoke.

"Good. Now I would like to change our deal."

"What do you mean?"

Azrail asked back in a rough choke, clearly his anger rising. But Hephaestus took it in stride as he replied.

"I vow in the name of mine, Hephaestus, linking to the respect of my divine, my laws, the cosmos, the heavens, my pantheon, and the path I have walked. I shall take care of you. I shall protect you. And I shall never hurt you."

It was a small whisper, but the moment it ended, the cosmos itself came to seal the deal in promise. This time, another connection was formed. Azrail could feel it within his real body. The promise, said upon using the law of the heavens and his name of the pantheon, Hephaestus's vow was taken seriously. And once again, it was sealed deep into the souls of the two beings.

Azrail could feel the seal on him, like a connection formed again. And this time, like before, he would be able to tell if anyone broke this promise. He would be able to know if Hephaestus broke it. And unlike the promise before, this one would have dire consequences for Hephaestus. Near death is the simplest outcome.

"Wh... why?"

Azrail finally asked back after some time, seemingly too stunned to even talk correctly.

'I didn't expect him to go so far.'

Azrail's eyes narrowed under the hood. He expected help and support, yet not this much. This was beyond what Azrail was hoping for. Good, but surprises always bring problems too.

"It was a promise I made a very long time ago. I was just focusing more of it on you this time, so you will be able to trust me without holding back."

"..."

Still, the silence lay like a deeper secret waiting to come to life.

"But why?"

Azrail asked again. This time, Hephaestus didn't hesitate as he replied.

"I knew the Mercurials. I owe them my life and the path that I started on. And a long time ago, I made a promise to keep one of their own safe, but I could never hold myself to it. It's one of my greatest regrets. And now I have a chance to rewrite the regret. So I will do everything in my power to make sure it all comes to life. And for someone like you to reach and sit in front of me, you must have killed, slaughtered, betrayed, and been betrayed while hiding and growing. So this was the most direct way to get you to trust me, with my whole self on the line."