Abel stood before them all, and with the very last of his strength, brought the demon king's reign to an end. The world was bathed in light. His own eyes held not a single trace of warmth.
Afterward, Roy, the hero who had led their party, came to find him. Roy told him that the world was at peace now, and that therefore there was no longer any need for his amber eyes.
In this world, the color of a person's eyes revealed their magical affinity. Red eyes signified the fire attribute, blue eyes the water attribute, green eyes the wind attribute. His were a golden amber, capable of encompassing every attribute at once. Those eyes were a mark of supreme power, and yet they also bore a striking resemblance to the eyes of the demon race.
Once peace was established, Roy explained, humanity would inevitably turn on itself. When that time came, a pair of amber eyes would only ever be seen as a bad omen. They had prepared a secluded island villa for him. They hoped he would live out his days there in quiet, invisible obscurity.
Abel's heart plummeted into an abyss, pierced by a bone-deep sense of betrayal. Years of fighting side by side, and all he had earned for it was betrayal and exile.
In the end he agreed calmly. He would disappear from their sight. But he would never set foot in that beautiful cage. He turned and walked away, and yet he bore no hatred toward the men and women he had once called comrades. His hatred was reserved for the world itself, a world that had no place in it for a pair of amber eyes.
In time he withdrew deep into the mountains and dedicated his entire existence to a single pursuit. For the first time in the history of civilization, he made reincarnation magic a reality.
A single drop of potion fell upon the coffin, opening a passage toward the future. He longed to travel two hundred years ahead. He believed it would be a new world, one that could accept the amber eye. He lay down calmly within the coffin and let his consciousness sink into the long darkness.
Some unknown time later, a surge of power burst the lid open from within.
He struggled upright and immediately sensed something strange about his body. His limbs were small and slight, clearly the body of a child. Having gone so long without use, his power was momentarily difficult to control. It seemed the reincarnation had succeeded. This was the world two hundred years in the future, and his soul had taken up residence in the vessel of a young child's form.
After two hundred years, no one would remember what he looked like anyway.
Just then, a faint but unmistakable presence put him on immediate alert. It was the aura of the demon race, drawing slowly closer to the cave. Light footsteps. A woman, perhaps? How had she managed to slip past the barrier? Had the barrier truly deteriorated so much in two hundred years?
With this body, he wasn't sure how much power he could actually wield. The door was pushed open a crack. This fleeting moment was his only chance. He gathered his magic, resolving to strike first with everything he had. Light coalesced in his palm — and froze at the very instant he was about to release it. He forcibly reined in the spell that had nearly slipped free.
Standing in the doorway was a slender young woman. Her face was written all over with astonishment. Her eyes were not amber. They were a clear, water-like blue.
A human. How could she have possibly broken through the barrier to get here?
The basket in the woman's hands fell to the ground with a thud. She collapsed to her knees. Tears welled up without warning and streamed down her beautiful cheeks. She said she had been waiting for this day all along.
Abel was completely stunned. He had no memory of the woman standing before him. Then he watched her wipe her tears, and a sudden realization struck him.
Two hundred years ago, he had taken pity on a young demon girl. He could still hear his teammates' furious protests ringing in his ears, and yet he had protected her anyway. Back then, she had wiped her tears in exactly the same way. He couldn't help but note that her tearful nature hadn't changed a bit.
So that little demon child had grown up after all.
He spoke the name he had nearly forgotten. "Lilith."
Fresh tears rolled down her face, and yet she smiled, and confirmed that she was indeed Lilith. She said she had spent over a hundred years searching for him, to repay the kindness he had once shown her. Only after finally learning the location of his reincarnation resting place had she come here at last.
When she stood, Abel realized he only came up to her chest. He smiled ruefully, realizing just how badly his barrier had weakened.
But what concerned him more was this. Her eyes were no longer the amber he remembered. That had once been the color of her soul. Had she truly managed to abandon it?
Lilith offered no explanation. Instead she reached up and removed the disguise from her eyes. Two thin blue discs, and they had completely changed the color of her eyes. Her amber eyes were restored. She held up those two colored contact lenses between her fingers.
Abel stood speechless, a wave of complicated emotions surging within him. In the past, countless lives had been swallowed by war over the color of their eyes. So much blood had been shed, all over something that two thin discs could now resolve.
Lilith wrapped a warm scarf around him, pulling him from his thoughts. She had prepared a home nearby, and she intended to take him away from this frozen cavern.
As they stepped out of the cave, a bitter wind swept across their faces. He gazed out at the distant village. He could only imagine how long she had been waiting for this day.
The new home was filled with things he had never seen before. The glowing light bulb in particular filled him with curiosity, but the private study warmed his heart even more. Lilith knew that reading was his greatest love, and it was also the fastest way to understand this new age. He thanked her sincerely. After all, two hundred years ago, books had been extraordinarily precious and rare.
He immersed himself in the sea of books, trying to make sense of this unfamiliar new world.
According to the texts, most energy in this era was derived from magic stones. The processing of magic stones had driven an explosive leap in civilization. Even light bulbs were powered by the energy sealed within them. He imagined that mages in this era must have things pretty easy.
He read on, and his smile slowly faded. What the books revealed left him stunned. The overall standard of magic had deteriorated severely. What were now hailed as powerful spells were the kind every child had known in his time. Worse still, the books openly documented spell runes riddled with errors. Practicing by these methods would only ever lead to failure, or worse, to an explosion. This future world had made technological leaps and bounds, and yet magic had fallen into a sorry decline.
Just then, a sound came from outside the door. It was not Lilith's. The presence was unfamiliar, and Lilith was nowhere nearby.