Jack had always been an outcast. His father was human; his mother was fae; Jack was an unfortunate chimera, with a human, two-toned body that looked half-ordinary and half-charcoal black with a glowing white eye framed by a red, heart-shaped birthmark. He stood out, a lot—and the outfit he had to wear in order to contain his fae magic didn't help either.

He'd eagerly enrolled in the Royal Academy of Magicks at his father's suggestion, hoping to find a way to not only learn to control his powers, but also conceal his abnormal half. Unfortunately, Jack had instead found himself in a much worse situation—the abundance of magic around him made him into a mana sponge; unchecked, he'd absorb the magical energy of everyone around him, with catastrophic results.

Short of exile or worse, the only solution was for him to live isolated in a special containment chamber so he wouldn't be a danger to himself or others, where he would be tutored from a safe distance while specialized researchers tried to figure out a more long-term alternative. Jack couldn't make friends, lest he absorb their powers. No one could get too close. The most physical contact he'd gotten in months was when they'd pushed him into the chamber the first time.

Then, as if sent from the gods themselves, someone new entered the equation. A transfer student, whose power was the polar opposite of Jack's; essentially anti-magic. As a test, the student had been sent into the chamber with Jack, and immediately he'd felt the mana swirling within him subside.

"Wow," Jack murmured, spreading his fingers against the other student's and marveling as the crackling energy fizzled out safely. "It's like I'm a normal person." He paused, realizing this was very awkward before sheepishly pulling his hand away. "Oh, I-I'm sorry! I'm usually alone in here, see, and I don't have many friends to begin with, so I'm not very good at... I'm making this worse, aren't I? I'm making this worse."