The Ruler of Darkness

Geumju let out a horrible scream, abruptly rising from her seat.

The surroundings were filled with darkness, a chilly wind howling as it brushed past her.

“Huk, huk.”

Cold droplets of water were falling on her head, one by one.

As she looked up, she saw droplets dripping from the long stalactites in the cave.

It was the very cave where she had lost consciousness.

She couldn’t figure out why she was in the cave, but it was a relief nonetheless.

After sitting in a daze for a moment, she finally spoke.

“…Did I survive again?”

She felt her body all over.

Nothing seemed wrong.

And even the face that had been torn by the scoundrel at the last moment was perfectly fine.

Her fingers were all in place, and her heart was pounding, clearly asserting its existence.

She let out a sigh of relief.

But this was not the time to relax.

Swiftly, she stood up and made her way out of the cave.

Upon exiting, the bright sun greeted her.

For a moment, she stared at the sun with an overwhelmed expression and then descended the forest trail.

Soon after, a slum appeared, followed by the back alleys of the Luoyang commercial district.

She needed to get out of Luoyang as fast as possible.

Disguising herself as an ordinary prostitute, she blended into the crowd and managed to safely leave Luoyang.

Once she was out, she entered the desolate mountains and killed off the rest of the caravan.

Then she took only the valuables from their possessions.

It seemed there was no issue in making a fresh start.

She left Henan Province and headed for the most distant place she could think of.

Whenever she was short of travel money, she would raid caravans or attack passersby to fill her pockets.

Eventually, she arrived at Yunnan Province.

There, she raided a mountain stronghold and became its leader.

While it wasn’t an intensely competitive area, and it was also far from the officials’ sight, it was a passage frequented by tea merchants, so the earnings were decent.

Soon, she became a renowned female gang leader in the area.

Life was not as luxurious or comfortable as it had been in Luoyang, but each day was somewhat enjoyable.

“Boss! Boss! A big caravan is coming this time!”

“It’s not ‘Boss,’ it’s ‘Mistress.’ Call me Mistress!”

She kicked her foolish subordinate and roared with good spirits.

“Hey, guys! Get ready to welcome our guests!”

“Yes!”

As she enjoyed watching everyone busy at work,

“You look quite pleased.”

She unconsciously nodded her head.

“Well, kinda…”

She suddenly froze.

From her nose, she could smell a strong sulfur odor and felt an unnaturally cold chill, utterly incompatible with that of Yunnan.

“You, you…?!”

Turning her head, she saw a figure in a white mask.

The scorching sun and the eerie white mask were oddly dissonant.

“One.”

She screamed.

* * *

“Heok! Heok!”

Once again, she woke up in that cave.

She quickly left Luoyang.

This time, no one was killed.

The monster must have followed her tracks.

So if she left no trace, that was that.

She hunted beasts, quenched her thirst with valley water, and continued heading east.

She encountered a tribe of horsemen, flipped their markets, and managed to lead their small tribe.

Taking advantage of the situation, she attacked the neighboring tribes and united them.

She did not get too greedy.

If it found her again, she’d be in big trouble.

But eventually, it found her.

“One.”

***

She decided not to kill this time.

She believed that if she changed her ways, it wouldn’t come after her.

She joined a monastery and became a nun.

Though she wasn’t particularly pleased with anything, there was a part of her that felt lighter.

Then on a night when the moon was bright, she encountered it.

“One.”

***

She felt wronged.

This time, upon leaving the cave, she threw a fit in the streets of Luoyang.

“One.”

***

She tried living this way and that.

But no matter how she lived, it came after her.

Neither being good delayed its arrival, nor did doing bad deeds hasten it.

It really came for her anytime.

She even prayed, asked why, and let everything go.

But the answer that came back was always the same.

“One.”

***

She realized it.

She was forever trapped in an endless nightmare.

Continuously, she was caught in a vicious cycle.

When would it end, she didn’t know.

Maybe, just maybe, it could be forever.

***

Though she could never know, she wasn’t the only one trapped in this horrific cycle.

Everyone devoured by Yeon So-Hyeon was in the same trap.

Through countless unimaginable methods, they faced horrendous punishments.

All evil-doers will feel pain that shatters their soul as much as the evil they have committed.

And they were not the only ones there.

All the evildoers ever consumed by all Yeon So-Hyeon were there.

They scream, they shout, they wail.

But they cannot escape.

Nor can they go mad.

Their minds shattered, they were never allowed to escape from reality.

***

A distant past.  

Perhaps in some ancient times.  

Perhaps in some mythical place.  

Perhaps in another world.  

Through endurance and hardship, some acquired high spirituality and immortality.  

They were displeased with the world’s irrationality, injustice, and unfairness that always got neglected.  

They cursed the heavens and the earth. They sacrificed themselves to give birth to a monster, one that had never existed in the ages past.

And the entity thus born developed itself without anyone’s help.  

It grew.  

It evolved.  

It improved.  

It advanced.

And thus, eons passed.  

Now, no one who knows the entity’s true being could be found.  

The same went for the cultivators.  

The Dark Heavens Scripture wasn’t there for the cultivators; it merely existed in the present world through them.  

The cultivators, once outlived their usefulness, were consumed by the Dark Heavens Scripture.  

Trapped in that microcosm.  

A place where no one could escape.  

A place where no being could ever escape the shackles of pain.  

A place where all evil deeds are settled and only extinction is awaited.

Some people call that place Hell.

***

“What do you think? Do you like it? I personally call that closed world the ‘Furnace of Hell’,” a disheveled immortal extended his hand towards Yeon So-Hyeon.

Fear and madness about the astonishing entity known as Dark Heavens Scripture radiated from his face.

“These people suffer endlessly within it, providing nourishment for the Dark Heavens Scripture. And based on that nourishment, the Dark Heavens Scripture is still growing.”

“Is that so,” Yeon So-Hyeon’s expression was indifferent.

The elder, having calmed his excitement, gave Yeon So-Hyeon a bitter smile.  

“You, you’re thinking something else.”

“It’s nothing,” Yeon So-Hyeon replied.

The elder looked at him with an understanding expression.  

“So, you’re concerned about the people you couldn’t save?”

“…….”

Images of the mask-maker’s family floated in Yeon So-Hyeon’s mind.  

The numerous people caught in the human flesh factory.  

Those who had died innocently while he eradicated the Black Bone Faction.  

The massive pile of corpses he saw in the underground tunnel.

“If you had acted just a bit more as Sovereign of Dark Heavens, you might have been able to save them,” the elder mused.

Yeon So-Hyeon simply gave a bitter smile.

“But your judgment was correct. If you had recklessly used the power of Dark Heavens Scripture, you would have been corroded by its madness and demonic energy.”

It was, in a way, obvious.

Dark Heavens Scripture and the cultivator were not indivisible.  

To the Dark Heavens Scripture, the cultivator was nothing more than expendable.  

Hoping that a mere human like the cultivator would be problem-free when receiving power from an outer-universe entity was foolish.

“You,” the elder looked at Yeon So-Hyeon with inscrutable eyes, 

“Dark Heavens Scripture showed you their state, didn’t it?”

Yeon So-Hyeon felt something odd in the elder’s words.

“……Wasn’t the original purpose of Dark Heavens Scripture to show souls?”

The old man let out a sarcastic laugh.

“Not so, no.”

He waved his hand in negation.

“What you’re seeing is not the souls of the victims.”

“…What are you saying?”

Yeon So-Hyeon, who had already suspected something from the old man’s previous words, spoke with a heavy voice.

“Those are merely memories of the world that Dark Heavens Scripture shows. Human souls don’t cling to the material world after death.”

It was all just the trickery of Dark Heavens Scripture.

To make Yeon So-Hyeon consume more evil-doers, quicker.

“……In my case, it was my family.”

The old man looked around.

Yeon So-Hyeon dared not to ask what he was seeing or hearing.

For it was unquestionably connected to the old man’s deepest pain.

The old man shrugged his shoulders and tried to put on a playful smile.

“You’re as compassionate as I’ve observed. Seeing souls that you have no direct relation with.”

The old man laughed heartily.

Yeon So-Hyeon also gave a bitter smile.

“……I thought I lost all humanity the moment I became the chosen one.”

The old man shook his head.

“You haven’t lost your humanity. It has just been distorted by Dark Heavens Scripture.”

And then he added,

“Beware of the depletion of humanity. And also beware of its excess.”

Yeon So-Hyeon nodded.

“If humanity is entirely depleted, only the madness of Dark Heavens Scripture will remain, and if there’s an excess, you’ll go mad faster.”

The old man clapped his hands.

“Indeed, extraordinary!”

The old man asked Yeon So-Hyeon,

“The way you control magic was also quite fascinating. I didn’t even know that one could differentiate oneself and the ruler of darkness in such a way!”

The old man looked pleased.

What is he expecting from Yeon So-Hyeon?

“The name of the mental technique you initially referred to is……?”

“It’s called Dual-Element Mind Technique.”

The old man exclaimed with delight.

“Yes! A very fine application. You’re probably ahead of me in martial arts.”

Comparing himself to a being who was divine.

“It’s just a small skill.”

“Don’t be so modest!”

The old man sat right in front of Yeon So-Hyeon.

“So now you can use both magic and internal power, can’t you?!”

At his words, Yeon So-Hyeon only smiled.

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