Backstory time!

Flint was born into a poor family around Chicago, when it was first built. His father was an officer up until he went missing. Flint was the prime suspect in the investigation, but it was found out to be the neighbor's dog that offed him, meaning Flint was innocent. Resleeving technology is still thought impossible at this point, so all that he has to remember him is his service revolver. He ended up a casualty in the Chicago fire, but before then, he was practicing "witchcraft" in an attempt to bring his father back. He was unsuccessful, but he found himself naturally talented, probably due to kitsune heritage. Upon his death, he gained his second tail, which allowed him enough power to keep his soul intact. eventually, he found his way back to the mortal plane, where he continued his research of the supernatural. He stopped aging at 24, when he obtained his third tail, and started to gain control of more traditional kitsune abilities upon his fourth. But with each new tail he attracted more attention, so he went into hiding. He learned to weave his tails into one, and then halted his experiments, opting to rejoin society due to loneliness. The rest of his tails sprouted with time, a new one every hundred years. After obtaining the ninth tail, he ascended to the astral plane, and was given a set of rules that cannot be broken to ensure the balance of the mortal plane. This basically brings us to now, err... the year 3500. Flint created a mortal vessel that resembles his original body, and uses that to interact with the mortal world, but most of his spirit resides in the astral plane.