The Me Who Died Ten Years Ago

When He Lian got up in the middle of the night, he ran into a lunatic who made up all kinds of lies, claiming to know him.

The next day, the lunatic was executed as a heretic.

He Lian helped bury him and found, among his belongings, a file on a heretic executed ten years ago.

The dead person named in the file had the same name as him.

He Lian scoffed, thinking it was just a coincidence.

As far as he could remember, the first eighteen years of his life had gone smoothly.

A warm family, loving parents, and a job in the government. His future looked bright, and soon he would be able to give his parents a better life.

Smiling at his reflection in the mirror, He Lian had meant to reassure himself that he was just overthinking things.

Behind him, the prostitute he had casually bought at the black market had quietly wrapped her arms around him. She rested her chin suggestively on his shoulder and brushed her slender fingers behind his ear.

Following the edge, she peeled the thing that had covered his face for ten years right off him

It felt warm to the touch. It was skin flayed alive from a real person's face.

If the one who died was "me," then who am I?

Lying in a dark dungeon, his hands and feet gone, his tongue cut out, his face flayed, his chastity violated again and again, did Heriel ever think back to that afternoon when he first stood on the surface?

That midsummer day, fierce winds whipped up clouds of sand. The spirited young man, his brilliant golden eyes glaring straight at the sun, declared:

"I want my people to stand on this land with me."

"I want the sun to shine on everyone in District 11."

How is a defeated man supposed to swallow the whole of his failure, when the victor takes all...?

Content warnings:

▼ [Powerful leads] [The male lead is a virgin; the protagonist is not] [The entire story has a heavy, painful tone]

▼ [The protagonist is sexually abused by multiple people, for plot reasons] [Disabled protagonist, who recovers much later]

▼ [The protagonist is 12 years older than the love interest] [Not biologically related, but raised as siblings] [Coming-of-age]

▼ [Nonhuman creatures] [BL] [H&C] [Mutual healing]

● No ship-war fans. This couple is endgame, with a fixed 1v1 pairing. No breaking them up or reversing their roles.

● The author makes no promises about the plot beyond an HE. There may be a landmine every three steps.

● To repeat: ship-war fans, please assume the author is on the opposing side.

★ Updates whenever inspiration strikes. This is my first time building a large-scale world and plot, so I can't say for sure whether it'll hold together. I may go on long hiatuses at any time to find inspiration. I won't read comments while writing, so they don't affect my original intentions.

★ For the best reading experience, please don't spoil the story. (I'm not sure if I'll be able to write at this level.)

All versions of the blurb have been screenshotted for the record.

Theme: Even if fate leaves your face, memories, relationships, career, abilities, body, and chastity utterly ruined and you become as lowly as dirt, as long as your heart is still alive, you can stand atop the world again.