Divinity's Rules

Kye opened his eyes, staring at the elaborate stone ceiling of his room back at his parent's mansion. The wind blew through the open window gently, causing the light curtains to flutter peacefully. His body ached dully all over as if his body was rebuking him for pushing it past its limit. He moved his head slowly to see Vanessa sitting at his bedside, currently sleeping. He had to admit that she was stunningly beautiful and that her devotion to him was admirable but Kye had to wonder how much of that was her or Alayah. Yet, the trust issues he found himself stuck on originally were alleviated from that night when she went against his orders because of her feelings. It made him realise that despite being a servant of a god, spawned in front of his very eyes, she was very much a living person.

'I need to talk to her.'

Though he wanted, his throat was very dry and felt that the energy to speak properly was too much for him currently. Closing his eyes again, Kye drifted back off into sleep, unconcerned as to the passing of time or the emotions of others. It was then that Vanessa opened her eyes and looked at Kye. Unknown to him, she was awake the whole time and talking to her mother instead.

'See? I told you he was just trying to figure you out. Kye will trust you if you open up and show him that your feelings are real, not fabrications from me. It's hard for mortals to understand us you know.'

"You are right mother, I should just tell him. But he is just a small child still, how can I say that I was meant to be his 'companion' in every sense of the word?"

'You don't have to tell him everything right now, just that you are following him of your own free will. He doesn't know the significance of being named as a divine being.'

Kye didn't know about the tale he recounted when he named Vanessa, which was that those angels were previously unnamed. When Janis named his angels, they became soul-bound to him which was an extremely powerful bond that even overwrote an angel's loyalty to their patron god. A named angel was much more dangerous than those that were unnamed as they gained a portion of their soul-binder's soul to empower their own. While this might not have much of an effect if some random civilian were to name an angel when someone who was blessed by a god such as Kye did it, the power they gained was immense.

Being soul-bound was more than just a power gain for an angel, however. They would become the perfect companion for that person yet maintain their complete free will. No angel could be forcefully bound to someone through this process as if the angel was to discard the name, they would be free of the soul-binding. If the angel treasured their name, their connection with the soul-binder would grow immensely. Vanessa was gifted all of Alayah's memories and feelings towards Kye yet she got to make up her mind about him.

She genuinely wanted to follow Kye and if he would permit it, stay by his side as a companion in both life and death. The first step would be revealing all of this information to him as it became relevant and building trust between them. Vanessa could not afford to rush this but with Alayah on the side helping her and giving her advice, she would reach her goal eventually. She wanted to tell him everything about her feelings but that would have to wait until he matured. Despite having all his previous memories, Kye was still very socially inept with people's feelings and although he could manage to hold good conversations with people he had only started that once starting this life and being forced into it.

Vanessa shook her head with a small smile on her face. Being with Kye would be a bumpy ride and although her powers were great, she was under no illusions that she was the strongest being out there. She had a feeling that Kye's nature would attract trouble to him and that their time would be fraught with danger, yet while this life promised the lowest of lows, it also granted the opportunity of the highest highs. Vanessa looked forward to what the future held in store for them, for when Kye awakened his true potential and used it to its limit.

"I will always be by your side master. So for now, simply know that I will never abandon you."

She leant over the bed and softly kissed him on his forehead, a bright smile gracing her lips afterwards. Alayah smiled to herself as she witnessed the scene, wishing that they would get along well. Alayah had known that by reincarnating Kye, the chances that she would have a full monopoly on him were practically zero, yet she knew that without this next life Kye would never develop as a person enough to accept any meaningful relationship with anyone. If this was the cost she had to pay for Kye to be healed, she would not hesitate in paying it.

'My darling Kye, I hope this life teaches you what you never learnt in your past one. I look forward to the day when we reunite but until then, I shall always watch over you.'

With the attention of two divine beings on Kye, his life was sure to be anything from simple. Yet, it was sure to be interesting. And when it's all said and done, isn't that all that counts?

----- Author Note -----

Hello all, this ends volume one of Rise of the Steel Angels! I know I took a very long break for a while but I've used that time to properly storyboard out my ideas more and have a solid idea of what is in store for the future. These last few days really renewed my vigor for this series as I've been writing two chapters a day. Though this will be the only chapter today, I look forward coming back tomorrow for the start of volume two!

I have to deeply thank everyone who's been sending power stones and leaving comments on this, It really keeps up my motivation and helps more people see my work which really makes me happy. If you have enjoyed this story, please leave it a review or if not, then just adding it to your collections is good enough!

Thanks for sticking around, see you for volume two!