Humans live to satisfy their desires.
Among them, greed burns the fiercest.
It has driven humanity to unimaginable heights, yet unlike other desires, greed is bottomless. Once it takes hold, it never lets go. No matter how much one gained, their greed wouldn't keep them satisfied.
One such man was my father.
He was already one of the nation's most powerful businessmen, with enough influence to bend the government to his will.
But that was never enough. His ambition reached beyond borders—he wanted to shape the world itself. Crave his name into the History and leave behind a legacy for generations to come.
However, he knew he could not achieve that dream within the span of his own lifetime.
He had spent many decades building his current position from the ground up, leaving not enough time to pursue his biggest dream.
But he didn't let that extinguish his dreams.
He figured, his flesh and blood would achieve what he failed to.
That's when I entered the picture.
At first, I was simply his heir. The child who was supposed to follow in his footsteps.
And for that, he spared no effort or expense. He gave me the best education money could buy in order to keep me well ahead of my peers.
But, he soon realized I was more capable than he expected—I was a prodigy.
From that moment on, I was no longer a son. I was his instrument.
My days became a relentless march of lessons: science, politics, business, martial arts, etiquette, and much more.
He was literally possessed with the single thought achieve his dreams through me.
He tightened his grip further, reducing the already restricted freedom I had.
He even barred my mother from seeing me, fearing her kindness would weaken me. He refused to send me to school or college, determined that no outside influence would reach me.
In time, I was stripped of my own will. I became nothing more than his puppet. My father—no, my master—pulled the strings, and I obeyed without question.
But even his greed could not extinguish every spark.
The decision he took due to his ambition planted in me a forbidden thought in me: that life could be more than servitude. That perhaps I was more than a puppet.
But life is a cruel prankster.
I never had the chance to act on that revelation. My attempt to change was cut short—like all good things, it did not last.
And so, when fate offered me a second chance, I swore one thing: this time, I would live for myself, even if I had to defy destiny itself.