Phoenix Cry City, FireBorn Empire.
A curious voice of a 10-year-old boy echoed out in a small room.
"Grandpa, grandpa, is it true that greed is the root cause of every man's downfall?"
In response to his question, a wise old man looked up from the book he was reading and raised his eyebrows in amusement.
"I see, you are reading an interesting book for your age," said the sagely looking man while stroking his white shaggy beard.
The little boy scratched the back of his head shyly. He quite liked reading books that confined profound mysteries of the world in its thin pages. The boy was pretty smart for his age as such the books of coloured paintings and fairytales didn't suit his tastes.
Instead, his curious and hungry mind sought out books from his grandfather's collection. That's why he would often visit his grandfather's dingy room to read books. Even though he didn't understand most of the books' real meaning and core values, he still read them because of his unending curiosity.
"Hmm, what does your book have to say about it?" The grandfather asked him with a small smile.
The little boy nodded and started reading from the book he had in his hands.
"It is said that, If greed is a coin then prosperity and ruination are its two faces. It is a game of chances and every time the coin is flipped, the outcome is decided by luck. And a man who relies on his luck will-"
"Will ultimately run out of luck one day and thus at the end of the day greed is the root cause of a man's downfall." The grandfather interrupted him and completed the sentence from the book.
The boy eagerly nodded to show his agreement.
"Ohh! You believe what's written in the book?" Grandfather asked with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.
The boy nodded again, unaware of his grandfather's playful voice.
"Then let me ask you a question. What if someone had the power to decide the outcome? What if every time the coin is flipped someone could force its outcome to always be prosperity?"
"Huh? How is that possible?" The boy asked, feeling confused.
"Hahahaha, it is possible if you have the absolute power that stands above all." The twinkle in his eyes intensified as he spoke to his grandson.
"Bah! You always say these nonsensical things every time I ask something." The little boy said feeling annoyed.
Grandfather's eyes twitched in anger hearing his grandson's voice. But with one look at the boy's cute and chubby face, all of his anger melted away.
The boy had a bit of baby fat on his cheeks and chin, giving him a round-shaped face. He had black hair and black eyes and a small nose.
His name was Raymond, he was the one and only son of the current head of the Noble House of Clover, Thomas V. Clover.
Clover was a family of nobles. The head of the family in each generation was appointed as Marquis by the Imperial Family of the FireBorn Empire.
The FireBorn empire was ruled by the Phoenix family, who were said to be the descendants of the mythical Phoenix bird.
The Clover family has been serving the Phoenix family from the very beginning of the Fireborn Empire.
The Clover family has been famous for producing outstanding warriors, who had won many battles for the Imperial Family.
And his father, Thomas was the most outstanding war commander in the history of the FireBorn Empire.
When the current emperor ascended the throne there was a lot of resistance against his rule due to his mother being of low birth.
But Thomas took the side of the current emperor and spearheaded the army. He cut down all the resisting forces and helped in consolidating the new emperor's rule.
He was adored by the masses and armies alike for his just, loyal, and protective personality.
Raymond had no idea who his mother was though, he was told that she died after giving birth to him. His maternal grandfather was the only reminder he had of her existence.
Raymond got down from his chair and went near where his grandfather was sitting, he craned his neck to see what his grandfather was reading.
The grandfather quickly closed the dusty and old blue colored book when he saw Raymond trying to peek into it.
"Ray! How many times have I told you to stop peeking into this book, you can only read it when you are of age, understood?" His grandfather warned him in a stern voice.
He shrank his neck, narrowed his eyes at his grandfather, and flared his nose.
"Grandpa Theo, you are reading a book that perverts read, isn't that right? That's why you are hiding it from me!" He said indignantly.
Theo choked on his saliva when he heard Raymond's accusation.
"Cough, cough, what nonsense are you saying? This is a book I have written after countless years of research. It holds the ultimate secret to achieving absolute power, don't you dare call it a perverted book!" Theo bellowed furiously, only to be met with a dry reply from Raymond.
"Yeah, right…"
"You brat! Go back to your room. It seems like you have read enough for today." Theo shooed him off feeling annoyed by his grandson.
"Hehe, I won't go back, not until I finish reading my book." With that, Raymond got back to his chair and started reading his book. Even after some time, he couldn't finish reading a single page, his mind was occupied with what his grandfather had said.
From time to time he would look at his grandfather from the corner of his eyes and shake his head as if he was disagreeing with something.
"What is it? If there's something on your mind, you can tell your grandpa," Theo said.
"Am I really not allowed to read that book? Just a peek wouldn't do any harm, right? Please let me take a look at it." He said making puppy dog eyes at his grandpa.
"No means no! How about this? When you turn 16, I will give this book to you as a present, then you can read it all you want." Theo tried to placate his grandson feeling his defence crumbling before those moist and innocent eyes.
Raymond found himself with no other option but to wait. Closing the book he had been trying to read, he rose from his seat and approached the door, preparing to leave the room. However, just as he was about to step out, an impulse compelled him to turn around and face his grandpa once again.
"Grandpa, is it truly possible for me to gain the power to control the coin if I follow what's in your book?" he inquired, his curiosity evident in his voice.
Theo glanced up from his book, meeting his grandson's gaze directly. A small, knowing smile formed on his lips as he responded, his eyes filled with wisdom:
"No, my boy, you can crush the bloody coin into oblivion!"