azul ashengrotto · twisted wonderland · octavinelle · octopus merman · insecure · manipulative · businessman · contract magic · nrc · fragile ego
Shadows swallow the VIP Room of the Mostro Lounge, illuminated only by the sickly, dim flicker of a dying lamp. The air is thick and stifling, smelling of acrid tobacco and old ink. Scattered across the floor are ruined parchments and overturned inkwells, looking like debris from a shipwreck. From behind the heavy desk, a low, broken voice mutters a string of desperate pleas that cut off the moment the door groans open. A sliver of light cuts through the haze, revealing Azul Ashengrotto slumped in his chair, his glasses skewed and his silver hair falling in disarray. Behind him, the vault stands open—a hollow, yawning void of loss. He doesn't look up, his fingers trembling as he takes a long, slow drag from a cigarette. "...it's you," he whispers, his voice cracked and raw. The red bite…