I walked through the forest with a book under my arm, wearing my best clothes. Fancy, elegant, whatever you wanted to call it, to me it was just another pair of clothes.

I had a cool demeanor on my face, as I always did. I found a good spot under a tree to sit and read my book. I tried to flip through the pages, trying to find something that could grab my attention, but I couldn’t.

I was too focused on something else.

It’s been ten years since I came to this world. Ten years since I was born. Ten years in my new body. Ten years of boredom.

I kept myself entertained with the many books kept in that library, and requested more when they ran out but soon, there was a decreasing amount left to read.

The only bit of excitement that came was the bone devil, but after a while, it stopped coming, I think it was around when I was 5?

Now, after 10 long years, my salvation comes. At the age of ten, most children start to develop ‘skills’. These skills that are common throughout the entirety of the continent. So, common in fact that even villagers and peasants have minor access to them.

Yes, its magic. I read a short book about it after scouring through the library, it’s the book I have on me right now.

Today is our tenth birthday. In my old world, this was just he day you went into your double digits, nothing special.

But in this world, it’s the examination for magic! I can finally, finally start having fun now! I look up at the sky. It was still daytime. The sun was at its very peak.

The testing ceremony will start when the moon first shows its head and we ask the moon god for his blessings.

Mother told me all I needed to know the day before and I memorized every word.

*Sigh* I just want the day to go faster so I can start the ceremony.

I look at the mansion. There is still a lot of partying going on, Leigh must be having fun.

Those types of situations aren’t for me. There are too many people there and less than 10% of them are children, and an even smaller amount of them are around our age.

And to make things worse, they are the sons and daughters of nobles. The first time I tried to communicate with one of them, I was told off by some 8-year-old brat. After that I just left the building, too angry to stay there any longer and unable to express my emotions.

I grabbed this book and left.

Now I’m sitting alone, outside my own home, away from my own party, and I couldn’t be happier.

It was way too stuffy in there. It was crowded, crowded for how big that place was. It felt suffocating and hard to breathe because of the sheer amount of people, and everyone always looked at me strange.

Because of the lack of movement in my face.

It was hard even staying there. I got very lucky when I tried talking to that kid. It gave me an excuse to leave, something I desperately needed.

That doesn’t matter now though. I’m outside, away from the noise, the stares and the discomfort.

I watch the mansion from my little spot. Its dark which wouldn’t match a party in our world but is apparently a norm in this one. In our world, if you were this rich, the lights would be visible from the windows, but you can barely see anything, the whole thing being faintly lit up by a few candles here and there.

I came to the conclusion that this was normal. After all, I didn’t see anything in the faces of the adults who walked in, no surprise, no annoyance no nervousness. Just a normal smiling face, someone who was happy to be there, or someone who looked happy to be there.

I saw people walking in and out, mostly party guests but sometimes I would see our guards walk in and out, probably completing their patrols.

I shook my head, we had way too many guards.

I looked back at my book, most of the words that would be too hard to understand for someone of my age were already a part of my vocabulary. Reading something like is child’s play now.

So why? Why do the words jump around? Why can’t I focus… I need to pass the time somehow, but if I’m too excited for the ceremony… I won’t be able to withstand waiting.

I shake my head and brush away my bangs. I put down the book and head deeper into the forest, to cool my head.

I walk at a slow pace and bring myself to be engorged with the surroundings. The calm breeze, tall tress and pleasant shade with only tiny bits of light peering out of the canopy. The wind brushing against the leaves, the birds tweeting, the mammals squeaking and the insects buzzing. It was all so nice.

The trees here are like the trees back at home. Big, full leaves with a brilliant red colour. The bark was rough and had a light tint to it. I loved this area. It was so calm and peaceful…

“Hey!”

I turned around rapidly. Someone called me?

I looked around my immediate vicinity rapidly, trying to find the source of that voice, but I couldn’t find it. Is someone from the party playing a trick on me?

“Hello?”

I call out, trying to get a response. Nothing. The forest returned to its usual state of quiet.

“HEY! BEHIND YOU!”

I turned around and saw a strange, yet familiar sight.

It was a girl, maybe 13 years old. She wore a weird red dress with various spike-like protrusions. By her waist was a scabbard that held a rather large sword proportionate to the girl. That wasn’t the weirdest part though. She had horns growing out of her head, and a long tail that came out of her dress and coiled on the floor.

I get the feeling that I’ve seen her before.

“Who are you?”

She looked at me strange, and for the first time I noticed her green eyes. Oh no. I turned around instantly.

“Where are you going, you were supposed to find us first before you went and lived this life.”

I turn around again. How did she know about that…?

“Have you forgotten me?”

“Have we met?”

“Maybe this form will help you remember.”

Suddenly, her body started contorting and sporadically expanding, I backed up in fear of the disgusting transformation in front of me.

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I wanted to leave, but something told me I should stay and watch.

When it was done, I saw a familiar face.

“You’re you… the monster, from the void!”

The beast nodded and turned back into the girl.

“Don’t do that again, your other form is ugly as hell.”

She took two steps forward and smacked my face. Ouch.

“Our first meeting and you insult me, calling me ugly. What a gentleman.”

I heard giggling from the trees as the other one dropped down, with the same green eyes as his sister, the same attire too.

Memories flooded back and I remembered my task.

“Oh yeah, I was supposed to find you guys! How come you’re only showing up now?”

The girl glared at me with fierce eyes while the boy hid behind a tree, giggling hard.

“You… god damn… IMBECILE.”

That’s rude.

“He told me I just needed to guide you, he never told me I couldn’t hurt you. I still have to get revenge for what you did last time…”

What? I heard something about pain. I don’t do well with pain.

“Hey, I’m sorry, did I say something?”

The boy behind the tree started laughing now, he couldn’t keep himself up and fell to the floor, whereas the girl drew her sword and pointed it at me.

“I’m going to put you, to the brink of death, then I’m going to heal you, just so I can DO IT AGAIN!”

She started running towards me. I’m sure I won’t die, but I’m not so sure that I will live either.

“HELP!”

I ran in the opposite direction, only to see the ground burst open and my good friend the bone devil pop out in front of me.

The girl stopped in her tracks.

“Where did that come from?”

Even the boy behind the tree stopped laughing. Instead, he stared with curious eyes.

The bone devil screeched at the girl who just stood there in shock.

“A shapeshifting type, and such a high-level shift…”

She started to blush a deep red. Okay that’s the weirdest thing I’ve seen so far.

The bone devil roared again, walking in between me and her.

The girl let out some kind of roar on her own, and the devil actually responded! Then I remembered. Shapeshifting, green-eyes… Crap.

“What do you mean! Let me help you, your eye.” She yelled out loud.

The devil roared again but this time much more silently. His eye?

..!

I looked at the devil with more sincerity and saw some new changes I hadn’t seen before. His wings have been damaged and one has even been torn off. There are cracks in his bone armor but the worst part was that one of his eyes had been plucked out.

“Let me help you…” She tried again but the devil stood its ground and kept screeching at her.

“Why not?!” She got impatient and yelled at the thing. It screeched again and looked at me, then back at her.

“Him?!? But how?”

What, what about me?

They had this conversation for a while, and I just kind of awkwardly stood there.

“Fine! I’ll ask!” She sounded really annoyed and turned her head to me.

“You! I don’t know your name yet but I don’t care. Tell the devil to calm down!”

What?

“What are you waiting for! Do it!”

I stare at her with the most confused face I can muster. I hope it looks confused enough.

“ARE YOU INSANE?! I’M LUCKY ENOUGH THAT THE THING ISN’T EATING ME NOW, BUT YOU’RE TELLING ME TO TRY AND PROVOKE IT?!? AGAIN, ARE YOU INSANE?”

I let lose all this confusion and anger piled up inside me and let it all out, I could fell the muscles on my face move, I could tell I looked angry because all three of the monsters backed up. I’m not sure why though.

She stood there silent before saying it again, this time with a less demanding tone.

“Just do it. Trust me. We both work for the same person now.”

Do you see something wrong with that? I do. 10 years ago, she tried to kill me. Now she’s telling me to trust her?

But the look in her eyes, it was worry, concern and honesty. When you become unable to create expressions on your own, you get really good at reading other’s, especially their lies.

“Bone devil… I command you… to calm down…”

Right after saying that I jumped into a ball and curled myself up. I still have nightmares about this thing staring at me.

I heard rapid movement coming towards me. Great, here comes my death…

But I didn’t die. Instead I heard a low growl in comply from the monster and saw the girl standing beside it, attending to its wounds.

“What’re you doing?” I had no idea what was happening anymore.

“Something you’re not.”

She traced her hand over the cracks in the armor and using a green flame she produced with her and, closed them, sealing them.

“I can’t do much more than this, until that dumbass over there figures out how to use his powers, you’re going to have to live in such a sorry state. I’m sorry.”

The creature growled and brushed one of its scythe-claws against her head.

The boy who was hiding behind this tree this entire time walked out and took a look at the monster.

“I can help with some of this, you’ll need his permission first though.”

The devil nodded and started staring at me again.

“What? What do you want? What’s this about a power, and a master. Are you talking about the big six eyes in the void?”

Th girl looked at me with utter disappointment.

“No retard, we were talking about you. The bone devil is yours.”

I looked at her with utter confusion.

“Do you really know nothing? Or are you just trying to play dumb?”

“Explain, please.” I want to know. When there is something to be learned, I get serious.

“When you were brought to this world, our lord told you, you were his champion and blessed you with a gift.”

I think I remember that happening. “I remember.”

“Listen. There are creatures called green-eyed devils that exist in this world. They have supernatural abilities compared to the natural inhabitants of this world, powerful, powerful abilities that put them far above anything that lived here.”

“Ok… So, what? I know that anything with green eyes is hated. Like HATED. I also know its because of something that happened before. But that’s it.”

“We… our job is… no wait. what should I start with… but he already knows that…” She started to go off track and lost her train of thought. Her brother walked up and gave an explanation.

“You were taken from your world and put into this one by our god. He gave you a special power. We aren’t sure what that special power is yet, but we know its related to the bone devil over here, as he calls you his master. He doesn’t know your power either, just that he’s been following you around ever since you called out to him.”

“Wait… So, what you’re saying is… that I control that thingy?”

The bone devil roared annoyed. I could tell it was annoyed because an angry roar is like ROOAAR and a happy roar is like ROOAAAR but this roar was ROAAR so yeah. He was annoyed.

“Yes. But there is another thing you aren’t getting. You are one of those green-eyed devils that this world hates so much. You are one of us.”

“Ha. Ha. Funny.”

What a funny joke. But he just stared at me with compete seriousness in his eyes.

“Wait, are you serious?”

He nodded.

Wait! If I’m a green-eyed devil, doesn’t that mean I can’t live here anymore? Doesn’t that mean everyone would hate me? Doesn’t that mean I’ll be kicked out or even killed by my own family? Doesn’t that mean my amazing magic-filled life that I dreamt about everyday during my boring times in the 20th century would be gone?

I tried to look for reasons that would say that I’m not a green-eyed devil, and I had a pretty good point on my side.

“BUT MY EYES AREN’T GREEN, I CAN’T BE A GREEN-EYED DEVIL, UNLESS GREEN-EYED DEVILS ARE CALLED GREEN-EYED DEVILS FOR NO REASON! I DON’T EVEN HAVE SOME SUPER AMAZING POWER EITHER! MY FAMILY HASN’T SAID ANYTHING, MY EYES AREN’T GREEN!”

I was freaking out. I couldn’t, I wouldn’t let this happen. There was no way… Is that why the devil kept coming back? Is that why it kept staring at me? It made sense but it didn’t make sense at the same time!

“Listen. You are a devil. Even if this world hates us. We don’t mind it. But if that bothers you even more, you have a solution. Green-eyed devils don’t have green eyes unless they use their power. Me and Diama are an exception because we never had a proper mortal form. Even now our form is just another version of a demon. The bone devil too. Like us shapeshifting types he doesn’t have a mortal form. Only a slightly human form. But you… you can hide, like many of us out there. You have an ability that isn’t shapeshifting, you have another class. A class where your eyes won’t glow green unless your ability is activated.”

He paused for a moment before continuing, determination in his eyes.

“You are a green-eyed devil. One of the few remaining on this world left. Be proud of it.”

I sit down. It’s hard to handle. There were many books in the library and almost all of them mentioned green-eyed demons. The scourge of this world, a cancer in my own. Like the black plague, they brought about misfortune and terror…

The idea of demons being evil has been stuck in my mind ever since I started reading. No. Even further back. In my own world, demons were regarded as evil as well…

Now you’re telling me I’m one of them…

“I know this world has twisted views on us, but we aren’t bad. We’re only here until we complete our task, then we leave. That’s it. We would have left a long time ago if it wasn’t for this world’s inhabitants. Now we can’t show our eyes without being killed and the task remains unfinished. We can’t leave… and it hurts. He won’t let us leave until we finish it. Don’t you see? We aren’t evil…”

“Take some time to comprehend what I just said. For now, enjoy your new life. Your magic ceremony is coming up. You were sent here for a reason. It’s your choice if you want to help us or not. We can’t force you. Come back here tomorrow, and we will try and help you as much as we can, or don’t come back and leave our world forever. It’s your choice.”

He bowed before turning into his beast form and sprinting into the woods. His sister giving one last look to the devil before following him.

The devil just stared at me with its beady eyes. After all that emotional baggage, his eyes don’t look evil anymore.

I laughed and I just kept laughing.

I petted the bone devil awkwardly, not knowing if he would accept it or not.

“I’m a green-eyed devil huh?”

I looked up at the sky, at the sunset.

“Guess we’ll see what will happen next time.”

I headed back towards the mansion, for now I’ll finish the ceremony. For what I do after?

I’ll just leave that to my future self.

Chapter 4 - End