The Ruler Of Darkness

The dark place without a speck of light evoked the illusion that it stretched out infinitely.
The young scholar¹ vaguely knew that the space wasn’t that wide, but it didn’t matter.
He couldn’t move anyway.

[Hi, how’s it going?]

In the pitch black, a voice emitted itself.
As far as the young scholar could tell, there was no one there.
However, he tried to answer.
He was about to lose consciousness, and his thoughts were scattered.

The best he could do was keep a misty consciousness of his surroundings.

“Cough, cough.”

Who are you? He had intended to ask.
But physically, it was impossible.
There was no way to speak.
Knowing that, the young scholar couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

[It’s okay.
I can hear your voice.]

How? The young scholar, forgetting again, tried to create the sound of his words, but unfortunately his tongue, which had only the root, could not produce a voice with satisfactory transmission.
Only a strange sound that no one could have understood had painfully leaked out.

[Oh, you don’t have to force yourself to make a sound.
I’ve been watching since you got your tongue pulled out by them.]

The young scholar never questioned how the creepy voice was reading his mind.
He was too damaged, both mentally and physically, to think about such things.

[Hmmm, it was a difficult sight to watch cheerfully.
Red-hot tongs plucked out your tongue.
You fainted while screaming.]

The nameless voice, contrary to his words, was light and cheerful.
To be truthful, it didn’t seem to relish the young scholar’s agony; it just appeared to be the way he talked.

The front, I can’t see the front. The young scholar looked around, trying to find the source of the voice, only to realize that he could not see anything.
In fact, the young scholar had to have recognized it countless times before, and each time he would have forgotten it.

Even though he was in a deep cavern, there must have been some light reaching him.
just…….

[Did you happen to forget? Your two vertigo-ridden eyeballs were punctured by a hot iron skewer.]

That’s..…what?

The young scholar raised his hand, trying to touch his eyes.
But his fingers were missing.
Even his left hand was missing a wrist. Where are… what happened to my hand? He asked the voice in shock.

The voice was still heavy, but he answered with a pleasant resonance.

[Oh! Your pretty, soft fingers, which didn’t seem to have endured any hardship, were cut off with scissors.
Don’t worry.
They used red-hot scissors for you.]

He was at a loss as to what he should stop worrying about. Thank you for let me know.

The young scholar stumbled and tried to stand up.
But there were no legs.

Tilting his head with difficulty, he asked the mysterious voice. By any chance, you know what happened to my limbs?

[Your slender legs were carried by a straw cutter.
Since you don’t seem to remember, let me give you a summary of what happened: They cut off your toes one by one, one by one.
It took three days to be shaved all the way down to the ankle.
Ten days for the knee to be amputated.
It took 15 days to reach your thigh.]

Is that so? When the young scholar tried to look back at his past memories, it pained so intensely that it felt like his skull would split in two.
Even so, the good thing was that he was able to revive a memory, although faintly.

…… I wish I could remember.
What about my family, do you have any idea what happened to them?

[Oh my.
You’ve been too preoccupied with being tormented to hear from your relatives.
Come to think of it, it’s been quite a while since you’ve been living in a prison cell.]

Hearing such words, the young scholar was able to recall, albeit vaguely, that he had been imprisoned for a very long time.

As the young scholar was quietly following his thoughts, the voice continued speaking.

[Your eldest sister was beaten to death by her husband’s fists, causing her beautiful face to turn into mush.]

That… … ?! The young scholar was horrified: My brother-in-law’s temper is known for its ferocity, but he is the head of a family renowned for its brilliant achievements.
How can he beat his wife to death like that?

The voice clicked his tongue.

[Dumbass.
How could anybody know about your family if you, the eldest son, don’t know?]

The young scholar asked anxiously. Then, my little sister.
What happened to my little sister?

[She was raped by bandits and then committed suicide by biting her tongue.]

What are you talking about? The young scholar found it hard to believe. My second sister was a famous swordsman, taking the second rank among rising stars.
How could such a sister fall for mere thugs?

[Dumbass.
What use were her sword skills and vast internal energy when her dantian was destroyed?]

The young scholar stirred his head heavily once again.

What about my family? Even if the second sister had lost her inner power, the family would have safeguarded her.

He strained to keep the memory that came to mind.
In these central plains lands, my family has always been the envy of all others.
The great family that no one dares to match.
What kind of lowlifes could bring shame to the second daughter of such a respectable family?

Th