Forced to Be Loved by a Monster

At first, Weimian only thought the forest was too quiet. There were no monsters, no nauseating stench of blood, only a clear stream trickling by and plants growing wild. Later, stranger and stranger things began to happen. Food and flowers appeared beside him for no reason. A clean, delicate hammock had been woven in the forest. Vines crept around his ankles at night. When he closed his eyes, a mysterious presence hung above him... In his dreams, after he had fallen asleep, thick black mist spread everywhere, taking on a hazy human shape as it held him tight, stroking his soft lips and the damp corners of his eyes again and again. Weimian gradually became certain that something had its eye on him. In 2265, the evil Lord of the Dark Nest burst from the earth. Monsters ran rampant, and humanity struggled to survive in the cracks between them. Weimian, a useless pretty face with a low contribution score, was expelled from the base and left to fend for himself. Everyone thought he wouldn't survive. He would either succumb to the Lord of the Dark Nest's corruption and become a hideous, mindless follower, or be disemboweled by one of them. Yet a few months later, Weimian returned. He was not only unharmed, but positively glowing... clearly he'd been living very comfortably out there. 1. A mildly Lovecraftian monster apocalypse, with lots of original worldbuilding. (If you don't know Lovecraft, think evil gods; it won't affect your reading.) 2. One-on-one, first love for both. The love interest is not human, and he is not the Lord of the Dark Nest. 3. Not a wish-fulfillment story. 4. Blurb dated May 5, 2021. Theme: All things have a spirit.