The Years the Evil God Spent Slaying Monsters

Shenli has a secret: he can enter other worlds in his dreams, but he has no choice in the matter.

Those worlds have no fairy tales about princes and princesses, nor any stirring tales of war and slaughter. They contain only endless despair and oppressive suffering.

Unfathomable creatures revel in the darkness, while humans as insignificant as ants struggle in despair. It seems as if the world could fall into ruin at any moment.

But everything changes the moment Shenli appears...

From an on-site interview by an unfathomable reporter: "What do you all think of your respective journeys through corruption?"

Unfathomable Being A: "I met a strange human. He took twenty years of my time. It was awful! I never want to meet that strange human again!"

Unfathomable Being B: "I met a strange human. He stole my head and gave it to a group of inferior creatures to kick around like a ball. It was awful. I'm going back to the abyss and never coming out again. QAQ"

Unfathomable Being C: "I met a strange human. He took all my tentacles and gave them to those inferior creatures for food. This was the worst trip ever, no contest!"

The accusations of countless other victimized unfathomable beings are omitted...

Unfathomable Reporter: "And you, Mr. Shenli? Do you have anything to say about these accusations?"

Shenli faces the camera, looking utterly sincere. "They did all of that willingly. I'm a good person. I never forced them to do anything. I swear it on Azathoth!"

All the Unfathomable Beings: "Ptooey!"

A not-quite-sunshiney but hopeful, hopelessly unremarkable investigator seme.

Content warnings:

1. There is a couple, but the story is plot-driven.

2. High-intensity warning: a Lovecraftian horror story with lots of scary content. Readers who are afraid of horror and suspense should proceed with caution.

3. This is a non-mainstream infinite-world story. It has none of the usual systems, players, game lobbies, and so on. Every world is real (P.S. "real" means real within the story, not real in our reality).

P.S. I'm busy with real life, so I probably won't be able to update daily or every other day. But I have an outline, so I won't abandon the story. (???_??)?

----- A little promotion

Completed novel: How Can Lying Flat Be So Hard?

Blurb:

Mu Qing is at the top of his generation of young Taoist masters, but all he wants is to lie flat and avoid work. Unfortunately, his unlucky constitution won't leave him alone.

On vacation at a hotel, a ghostly young woman makes her request in a haunting voice: "Help me get revenge."

At his own antique shop, his junior apprentice brings in a bottle containing a wisp of ghostly energy. It bites Mu Qing, then mistakes him for its bride.

While playing a real-life battle royale game overseas, he runs into a major accident at the venue. He can't get in or out, and a group of people are hunting him.

And those are just a few examples.

Mu Qing, who can punch vengeful ghosts and trample the Underworld's impermanent messengers, says: "What a pain. I want to flip the table!"

Theme: Surrounded by darkness, keep your heart turned toward the light.