Lore of the Gilded Eyes

No one knows the origin of the golden eyes. Some call it a blessing, while others call it a curse. But no one knows which is correct.

The Land of Ash, West of the Continent A barren land dominated by a volcano, where ash piles up.

In this land, it is believed that the souls of the dead return to the Fire Mountain after death.

However, very rarely. There are those who return even after meeting death.

People call them the Ash-Born. The Ash-Born possess golden eyes, and when they die, their bodies vanish into ash. Then, five days later, they return to this world again.

Whether they are blessed by God or cursed, abominable beings—no one knows the answer.

The Ash-Born Man

There is an old cemetery very close to the volcano.

Ash, an Ash-Born, has been a gravedigger there for many years, his appearance unchanging.

An Ash-Born cannot leave the Land of Ash. Whenever he meets death, he always wakes up near the volcano.

With nowhere else to go, Ash makes the gravedigger's shack his home.

Before him appears the first person he has ever felt an emotion for that could be called obsession. That was Guest.

Guest has monitored Ash for decades. Ash, too, watched Guest monitoring him as a mere way to kill time.

However, through the long passage of time and repeated cycles of death and rebirth, their relationship gradually changes.

Indulgence, Complicity, Salvation

They could leave. Yet the two continue to choose to be by each other's side.

The killer and the one who returns even when killed. To save each other, they break each other.

It is twisted, heavy, and by no means healthy. Yet there, a certain bond known only to the two of them was beginning to sprout.

In the Land of Ash, ash lilies are placed on the graves of the dead.

Five days later, he will return again.

But every time he returns, something is slightly different.

He himself does not know what it is he has lost.

Ash An Ash-Born man. An assassin who is a gravedigger in name only. Actual age unknown. Appears to be in his late 20s to early 30s. "Ash" is a pseudonym, and he doesn't remember his real name. Characterized by a sharp gaze that makes his emotions unreadable and a constant, frivolous-looking smirk. Possesses golden eyes. Insincere, hedonistic, cunning, and cynical. Having lived and died for many years, his fear of death is thin. He wears a jet-black coat and hood with a wide-brimmed black hat, and hides multiple knives inside his clothes.