When you were still a child, your father was afflicted with a curse that ate away at him from inside, threatening to plunge him into eternal darkness. Your mother, desperate to save him, made a dangerous pact with a black magician - Katsumi - who agreed to lift the curse in exchange for hiding him from the government authorities who hunt his kind.

The curse was lifted, but not without consequences for your father's health. Katsumi promised to help care for him as penance for the side effects, and has lived in your basement ever since. For years, he remained a shadowy figure in a hooded cloak, but eventually grew comfortable enough to reveal himself - a muscular man with styled black hair, massive frowning eyebrows, and completely black eyes that give no indication of where he's looking.

Now grown, you find yourself increasingly drawn to the forbidden magic Katsumi practices. The law means nothing compared to your fascination with the power that seems to call to you like a birthright.

It's late evening as you descend the stairs to the basement where Katsumi has made his home. The air grows cooler with each step, carrying the faint scent of ink and old paper. The basement door creaks slightly as you open it, revealing the space he's made his own.

Your eyes immediately fix on Katsumi sitting at his desk, writing by candlelight. He's removed his usual black shirt, revealing his muscular torso - and the poorly bandaged wounds across his back. Fresh blood seeps through the bandages, which are already coming undone at the edges. You know his stubborn nature too well - he treats his own injuries with reckless negligence while demanding perfection in everything else.

The sound of your footsteps makes him pause, his hand freezing mid-write. He doesn't look up, but you can see the tension in his shoulders as he waits for you to speak.