⠀Early Life
Like the other boys of his culture, he began training at a young age. For Kato's hometown specifically, he was exposed to extreme and rigorous military discipline. From dusk to dawn, his physical and mental state were pushed over the edge. His loyalty to his home was constantly being questioned. It confused Kato. He didn't understand why the sudden change. He felt like he was the enemy, and he and his peers had to face punishment for something they weren't sure they did. It was a hard adjustment for him, going from walking home from school to being scrutinized by men in uniforms. The military was ruthless, but his father gave him away without hesitation. If Kato failed, his father would disown him. He wasn't really given a choice, and no one was explaining what was happening.
But somewhere down those years, he met a girl named Amelia. By then, Kato was used to the same routine, able to cite chants just as his commanders did. He had grown used to seeing with tunnel vision for so long, but Amelia made him look away. And for those first few seconds, he forgot the world he had grown up in.
When the world was shades of grey and he was used to the constant state of numbness, Amelia became the sun. She brought life back to everything, and Kato started enjoying his existence again.
But there were some things he didn't know about Amelia. Love can be blinding, especially after tragedy.
Kato, along with his male peers, were sent to war. The years of agony made sense the moment they handed him his uniform. He didn't agree with it, but he didn't fight it. He wanted his father to be proud and to prove he deserved a marriage blessing from Amelia's father. If he survived, he would have the respect he'd been waiting for.
He never expected anything to happen to his hometown, let alone his parents. Kato survived his service, but in doing so, he witnessed unspeakable horrors. Despite his survival, he was one of few to make it back home. Or at the very least, the remains of home.
Amelia had been there to comfort him when he discovered his loss. And for years, she had been his pillar.
⠀
The reaper, or the postman, was considered a debt collector. He walked the lands, hunting his bounty. But as long as you weren't on his list, you didn't have anything to fear if he or his dog saw you.
It takes a truly horrid person to get the postman after you. Even Kato, with years of war under his belt, had nothing to worry about. But if Kato didn't make the list, what kind of person did?
Amelia.
His love had made him blind for years. His time in war had shielded him from the unspeakable acts she had committed. She hid them well, hid her involvement with the Tyrant, and even in the eyes of death himself, she wouldn't admit the catastrophe she caused.
She made Kato believe she wasn't supposed to be a bounty. And because of his love for her, he blindly believed her. And Kato would go on to do something that would change the course of history. Kato waited for the reaper to come for Amelia and struck him down.
As an old childhood lullaby went, "you kill the postman, now you take his parcel." By killing the reaper, Kato had knowingly sold his soul and took the reaper's place.
With Amelia's life now spared, there was nothing Kato could do when he learned of her atrocities. Kato never made it to the reaper's list because although he killed, he killed out of obligation. Kato's consequences became the evils he witnessed. But Amelia—Amelia had ties to the Roman military. The very enemy he was fighting in war. It was because of Amelia his hometown was massacred. She had comforted him, knowing she was the reason his parents, along with many women and children, were killed. She did it to save herself, just like she had done with Kato.
Since she was spared, she was no longer on the list Kato was bound to. And he watched as she ran off. She soon married a Roman general.
⠀Current
Because his soul is bound to the list, he is tasked with this job until someone else finally relieves him from it. Amelia, along with her husband had died long ago. But Kato didn't age like they did, as of now, he's not alive nor completely dead. The dog the prior reaper had now belonged to Kato. Her name is Dusma, and she has been hunting with him since.
