It started softly—like whispers carried by the wind.
At first, it was just a few businessmen in suits talking quietly over a cup of coffee. Then reporters became curious. Investors started asking questions. And soon, the rumour spread across boardrooms like wildfire:
A new power was rising in the market—quiet, precise, and unstoppable.
No one knew his name.
No one knew where he came from.
He appeared suddenly and turned sinking companies into giants overnight.
They called him The Phantom Investor.
And that phantom… was me.
On the outside, my life stayed the same.
Every morning, I went to Ravenshade Academy. I joked with Ryan. I sat through dull lectures. I played soccer and slept through history class.
But every night, when the mansion slept, and the city lights dimmed, I breathed life into a growing empire called Phoenix Corp.
What began as a handful of small shell companies had turned into a vast network that spanned technology, logistics, medicine, and finance. I didn't own them openly. Each piece was hidden behind layers of proxy owners and firewalls rooted in my Supreme Space.
Power flowed quietly, steady and unseen.
But no matter how silent a river is, sooner or later, the powerful always hear the current.
The first message arrived unexpectedly.
It was a sleek envelope delivered to the Valen mansion—sealed in gold wax, bearing the crest of one of the country's largest financial clans: the Dahlens.
Richard opened it during breakfast and frowned slightly. "Strange. The Dahlen family rarely contacts us directly."
Elena looked at him curiously. "What do they want?"
He unfolded the paper. "They're hosting a business summit next week and have invited the entire Valen household."
I stayed silent, eating my toast quietly. But inside, something stirred.
The Dahlen family was one of the top five in the nation—old money, old power. And the exact kind of people who would smell profit from miles away.
This wasn't just a social invitation. It was bait.
That night, I entered my Supreme Castle again.
The glowing screens illuminated my face as I said softly, "System, trace the Dahlen financial grid."
[Scanning… Estimated completion: 12 seconds.]
[Resources found: Major holdings in banking, exports, and energy sectors. Cross-reference causes of interest in Phoenix Corp.]
Data filled the sky like fireflies.
Within seconds, I saw the connection—Dahlens had recently lost a major deal to an anonymous buyer. That buyer was me.
"Ah," I murmured, leaning back in my chair. "So they noticed."
[Would you like to suppress public connection trails?]
"No," I said after a pause. "Let them guess. Curiosity is safer than certainty."
At the business summit, I went with my family.
The grand hotel glittered under chandeliers and gold. Powerful men and women in expensive suits greeted each other with false smiles.
My parents mingled easily with other guests. I stayed close, pretending to be a shy child clinging to his mother's arm. But my eyes saw everything.
That's when I noticed a few figures standing apart from the rest—noble heirs and heiresses of major families. Among them, one young man, probably in his early twenties, studied me for too long. Later, as the crowd thinned, he walked toward me.
"You must be Bruce Valen," he said politely. "Your father speaks proudly of you."
I smiled faintly. "He's exaggerating."
"No," he said with a knowing grin. "I doubt that. I've heard some rather interesting things."
My eyes narrowed slightly. "About what?"
"Oh, just rumours," he said. "A mysterious investor… turning things around behind the scenes. Some of our family's partners were pulled out of disaster by sudden miracles. Sound familiar?"
He was testing me.
I tilted my head innocently. "I'm ten. I think you've got the wrong guy."
He laughed softly but didn't argue. "Of course. My mistake."
As he left, his words echoed back to me: "Interesting times are coming, Bruce. Be careful which side of the wind you stand on."
Later that evening, I listened quietly from the balcony while my parents talked with guests. Words like "investor", "phoenix", and "partner" kept popping up.
I sighed softly.
Power, no matter how carefully hidden, eventually casts its own shadow.
By next week, more invitations started flooding in—private meetings, partnership offers, and secret messages disguised as scholarships or research funding.
The world's powerful families were all looking for the same ghost: me.
But I had no intention of being found.
At night, I doubled my precautions.
[System: Initiate mirror identity program.]
[Confirmed. Creating three fake investors with overlapping profiles.]
Three new phantoms were born that night—fictional personas with documents, transactions, voices, and even artificial video feeds.
I gave them names: Rex Danner, Alyen Cross, and H. Voss.
By morning, those ghosts began taking credit for everything I did. They were my shields, my decoys, my masks.
Soon, the world stopped searching for one ghost and started arguing over three.
It was perfect.
Still, not everyone was easily deceived.
One evening, while playing chess with Aria, she suddenly spoke. "You're building something, aren't you?"
I pretended to concentrate on the board. "Building what?"
"A future," she said simply. "I don't know how or why, but I can see it in your eyes."
I looked at her quietly. Aria had always been observant, far sharper than the others admitted.
"Is it dangerous?" she asked.
I paused. "…Not to us. Never to us."
She smiled faintly. "Good. Just don't forget—you don't need to fight alone anymore."
Her words reached deeper than she knew.
I had spent one lifetime fighting completely alone. Hearing that now felt like someone handing light to a man who'd lived in shadow.
"Thank you, sis," I whispered.
She reached across, placing her hand over mine. "Whatever you're doing, make sure it's worth all this."
I smiled. "It already is."
A week later, the financial news exploded with headlines of "Phoenix Corp Rising".
It had officially entered the public market through minor partners, showing steady growth. Strong enough to earn attention—but not large enough to expose me.
Powerful families began circling like hawks, still unsure of where to strike. Some wanted to buy shares. Some wanted to merge. Others, to recruit whoever led this invisible empire.
But they could search forever and never find me.
Because while they stared at boardrooms and offices, I sat in my classroom laughing with Ryan, pretending to struggle with maths homework.
They sought a man behind the curtain.
What they didn't know was that the ghost they hunted was a boy sitting quietly by the window seat, his mind running worlds beyond their understanding.
Night came again, and I stood at the heart of my Supreme Castle.
The glowing screens showed Phoenix Corp's steady line of growth, spreading slowly across the map.
Master, invitations from 14 elite families are pending. Decline all?]
"Yes. But keep contact open. Let them think they're winning me over."
[As you command.]
I looked over the endless landscape of stars below—each light a company, each line a trade stream.
A small smile crossed my lips.
In my last life, power was a weapon.
In this one, it was my tool.
And I would wield it quietly, carefully—because I knew now that strength meant nothing without restraint.
"Let them talk," I murmured. "Let them wonder who the Phantom is."
The moon's reflection shimmered across the Supreme River nearby, and I saw myself—no crown, no throne, just a boy with calm eyes.
A king hiding in plain sight.
And the whispers of my rise echoed across the world like a promise.