Nebulous Emperor

The sun rose on a small shed in a poor town called Rumian.

A weak and skinny woman laid in a small bed, barely able to breathe. Performing one last magic trick for her son.

"Mom!" Wept the boy.

"I love you." A pale woman with black hair said as a red rose transformed into a black one and fell onto her chest from her loosened grip. He kissed her cold emaciated hand as tears dragged down his face onto it.

His brain couldn't stop thinking about how they got here. He lifted his head and took a look around their dark, cramped shed. Memories flashed through his head of the years he spent developing into a young man with her by his side. Doing whatever was necessary to survive.

He could see where she marked his height as he grew, the damage the cheap door took when he would leave and slam it shut out of frustration, and the burn marks made by the small fire when he tried making her food on one of her birthdays.

But most painfully he recalled how she died.

He looked at her corpse lying in the bed and gazed at her thin cheeks and purple lips. Angered at the thought of the man who caused her demise.

He lived far away where very few could reach him.

Known as one of the most powerful men in the realm.

The Shadow.

His father, who found his mother as a beautiful young woman. Taking and enjoying her until he had had his fun and then abandoning her.

Leaving the woman to raise the child all on her own.

She did the best she could. Giving him the best education she could provide by herself. When she thought she couldn't do a good enough job she would find a book she thought could.

Taking all the jobs she possibly could, even some that no woman should ever have to do. Her most consistent work was mining a purple ore named Pyr. The difficult work destroyed her body, and inhalation of the dust from the ore caused her life to be cut short.

He had to do something.

He'd always remember something his mother told him often, "The truth can be yours."

The pain in him that he not only felt in that moment but has felt all his life seeing what he and his mother had to go through.

He was done with it.

His mother taught him a lot of things. All the things a mother should. When she thought she couldn't teach him something she tried her best to find a book that could. But there was one thing she taught him that stuck like no other.

A special magic.

In her hands was the magic of illusions. She could make one thing seem like another, exaggerate things or make them seem more subtle.

He didn't know where she got the magic from, but he decided he would use it well.

She used her powers to make their lives easier. Going to the market she would exaggerate the money she had. At the mine she would increase her gains to make it seem like she did more than she actually did.

He had learned from her, but he still had a lot to learn.

Most of his life he didn't use his abilities. He had wanted to be honorable and better than his mother. He wanted to believe that no matter how badly he was treated he would tread on the right path.

But if the world wanted to play unfairly…

He would do the same.

This pain in him, he had to get rid of it somehow. "I think I know just what to do." He would gain control of what caused his mother to die.

He rose, grabbed a few things, and walked out of his house towards the mine.

He only had one thought as he strolled through his impoverished neighborhood. Most of the buildings being sheds. Small, made of scraps, and falling apart.

"I'm going to own all of this."

As he arrived at the mine just before it officially opened, he quickly found the mine leader, being familiar with it thanks to bringing lunch to his mom sometimes. He said, "What are you doing here boy?"

He replied, "I'm here to talk to the boss".

"Why should I let you?"

He held up a piece of paper, "I'm here to work."

The Mine leader smiled and said, "Of course, you're at that age now, aren't you?"

He nodded.

"Go ahead," pointing him to a dark door in the back of the mine.

~~~

A knock on the door arrived.

Harry, a hairy, fat, and short man who has owned the mine for several years, responds.

"What do you want?"

The door opened. A skinny, pale-skinned boy almost 6 ft(1.8m) walked in with an unconfident gait holding a piece of paper.

Harry, being familiar with the boy and his mother, said, "Nave, where is your mother? She's really been lacking as of late, and not looking anywhere near as good as she usually does." having said the second part underneath his breath with a scummy smile on his face.

Nave heard the comment and turned around to close the door and hide the angry expression on his face. He turned around and said, "My mom... has passed away" with a distraught expression on his face.

Harry's face went from a smile to a frown quickly. Unsure how to approach the situation, he got up clumsily and maneuvered around his desk towards the boy.

Nave fell to his knees with tears streaming down his face.

"I'm sorry for your loss." Harry said, actually feeling pity for the boy for a second before his mind quickly went back to thinking about his business. 'Where am I gonna find someone to replace her?' Harry thought, before he remembered that Nave wasn't a boy anymore. Used to seeing a small skinny kid walk into the mine sometimes to bring his mother food, he realized that wasn't the situation anymore.

Fortunately for Harry, Nave had sprouted into a healthy looking young man and if he was anything like his mother, 'he should mine much more ore than I expect him to.' Seeing an opportunity, he couldn't help but smile on the inside.

He had to navigate this carefully.

Harry let the boy sit and cry for a few minutes, before stating, "What can I do to help son?"

Nave rose and said, "I'm here to work." Displaying to Harry his application with tear drops on it.

Harry couldn't resist a smile that bloomed on his face seeing his problem solve itself.

"I'm proud of you. Even through hardship you do what you have to do." Taking the form from Nave and walking back towards his desk.

He took a seat and said, "I'll start processing this immediately, and you can start today."

Nave wiped his eyes and responded, "Thank you, Harry."

"That's boss to you now." Giving Nave a playful grin in an attempt to cheer him up.

Nave smiled at Harry before leaving.

The smile spread even wider on Harry's face immediately, grateful that everything worked out.

'These people are too easy, I don't even have to come to them to turn them into my slaves.' Harry thought, imagining Nave soon having no choice but to sign what was essentially a slave contract. Due to Harry, over the years, using his business acumen, he eliminated all the real competition in this town. Cooperating with the mayor of the town to raise the expense of living forcing people to come to him for grueling work just to live.

Leaning back in his chair, kicking his feet up on his desk and resting his fat hands on his stomach, Harry said "Life's good right now."

Unaware that while life was good now, it wouldn't be for long.

~~~

Nave closed the door, happy that everything was working out so far. He needed to get this job if he wanted to eventually own this town. Harry was a big player in this town and he wanted to be one too. He started walking towards the main branch of the mine.

Meeting the mine leader again, Sergei, a huge 6'4(1.9m) man who wasn't the smartest but had earned his position as being the best worker in the mine.

"Sergei, Harry wants me to start today."

"Good," he said in a deep voice with a smile on his face, "I'll give you a real tour before everyone gets here."

Sergei led Nave around the mine and showed him each branch of it. Nave, paying little attention to the tour, yawned behind his hand.

'God this is boring, this stupid tour is taking so long. All these caves look the same. Why does he even have to go through all of th-' His thought being cut off by Sergei slamming him into a wall.

Sergei looked at the young man's face and saw pain, confusion, and less fear than he expected on it.

Upset by Nave not being more scared of him, he said, "When you're with the boss, he owns you," holding his face right in front of Nave's, "but when you're down here with me, I... OWN... YOU." Nave could smell his horrid breath and feel the spittle land on his face.

Sergei cocked back his fist and delivered it to Nave's stomach while holding him against the cave wall.

Nave felt intense pain in his stomach area and had to force himself to not throw up. His hand moved toward his pocket clutching a knife he always carried on him.

He gripped the handle hoping he wouldn't have to use it, it would complicate his plan.

Then a thought hit him, 'If I haven't even signed the contract and this is how they're treating me, then how have they been treating my mother?!' Rage adorned his face, which Sergei took as a challenge and swung his fist towards his stomach again.

Nave's face was filled with pain, not only from the fist, but from the idea of his mom having to deal with anything similar to this.

He seriously considered plunging his knife into Sergei's neck. He gripped the knife even harder, summoning all of his willpower to not kill this man and potentially ruin everything.

Happy with his work, Sergei laughed and said, "I hope you're not as good of a worker as your mom, the boss won't let me mess with the best miners."

Greatly relieved to hear that she might not have been treated that badly his grip on his knife loosened considerably.

Sergei let go of him, allowing Nave to drop to the floor.

"Grab an axe and get to work." Sergei said while picking his nose, "Everyone should be here by now."

As Sergei walked away laughing, he yelled, "Welcome to the mine!"

As his footsteps receded, Nave thought one thing,

'I'm going to ruin your life.'