Dusk (BL Light Novel)

[- Abrea: “Hey! What took you so lo—...! Ah, no, this isn’t the time to argue about that. First, let’s head to that Glass Cavern from before. I’ve set a teleportation artifact there. I’ll give it to you, so just follow me immediately.”]
Abrea, sounding like he was being chased by someone, spoke urgently before using the artifact first to teleport to a place called the Glass Cavern. It seemed they’d decided to start calling the place with the glass gate the “Glass Cavern.”

Still, why did he look so anxious and desperate? How did the story end last time again? Something about it feeling suspicious to go through the gate right away, so we should report to Command first and observe the developments. I think it ended with something like that.
…Did something go wrong with the report to Command? Thinking back to what Retaking said and piecing it together, that seemed like the only reason for Abrea to be so unsettled. There’s no way Viterahit would sit quietly if the contradiction or loophole of the gods were about to be exposed. But then again—how would they know what only the two of us saw? Is there something at that location?
A million thoughts raced through my mind, but I already knew I wasn’t going to arrive at any sharp conclusions like Retaking would even if I wracked my brain, so I shook my aching head from side to side. Thinking too deeply was a pain. If I send him the footage later, Retaking will probably piece things together on his own.

I used the artifact that had entered my inventory and teleported to the Glass Cavern. The loading illustration showed a pure white glass floor, walls made of mirrors and glass, and in the center, a grand, towering gate. Surrounding the gate were tiny clusters of light like the millet-shaped ones I saw last time, sparkling around its edges.
When I arrived, I saw Abrea standing in front of the gate, having taken off his robe. A quest marker hovered clearly above his head. I walked over to Abrea and pressed the F key to talk to him, and the screen dimmed before a story cutscene began to play.
[- Abrea: “Phew, good. You made it here using the artifact, right?”]

▷ (Ask what happened.)
▷ (Ask why he looks so pale.)
The choices were ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) meaningless. I hit the first one without hesitation.

[- What happened?]
[- Abrea: “...I’m telling you this because I trust you, so don’t breathe a word of it to anyone. I mean, I don’t really think you’re the type to go blabbing, but... just as a precaution, I’m telling you now. Don’t tell anyone. Not even Hoa.”]
Abrea crossed his arms and delivered a firm warning.

[- Abrea: “After returning to the outpost, I filed a report on this Glass Cavern. I filtered out the stuff I talked about with Adam. I was trying to figure out where this place was and gather intel.”]
[- Abrea: “But I guess I wasn’t thinking straight. The day I submitted that report, I got summoned immediately. The moment I stepped into the receiving chamber, they almost executed me on the spot.”]
[- Abrea: “...Can you believe that? No matter how big the offense, they don’t usually go that far. They don’t even execute Aedeas—the ones they claim to despise so much—right on the spot like that!”]

Abrea, who’d been venting in a fury, ran a hand through his long hair and exposed his neck. The screen zoomed in, revealing a clean, fresh wound with blood that had only just barely stopped. My character gasped in shock.
After showing me the wound and taking some ragged breaths, Abrea slowly began to inhale deeply, composing himself. Once he’d calmed down, he let out a short sigh and spoke more evenly than before.
[- Abrea: “It’s lucky I was on guard when they suddenly called me in. If I hadn’t been, I wouldn’t be standing here right now.”]

[- Abrea: “Anyway… this makes it pretty clear. The Temple, Viterahit—they’re hiding something. That must be why that light led me here.”]
[- Abrea: “I need to find out what they’re hiding in this place, and why they’re hiding it. No matter what.”]
Resolved, Abrea turned with determination toward the gate. That was the end of the cutscene, and the system unlocked access to the “Mirror Maze.”
I pressed the keyboard and moved toward the gate. As I approached the now-interactable gate, a white hologram glowed faintly. I hit the F key, and the dungeon entry system window popped up.

Thinking it was a two-player dungeon, I figured the match would be quick, so I hit the server matchmaking button.
“……”
One second. Two seconds.

Hm. Maybe there aren’t many people yet since maintenance just ended. This is taking longer than expected.
“……”
Five seconds… six…

…Maybe everyone’s already gone in with a partner? Still, I’m a tank, why is this taking so long?
Ever since I started tanking back in CBT, I’d rarely ever had to wait more than five seconds. Growing increasingly impatient, I wondered if it was a server error, so I canceled the match and requeued.
“……”

Still nothing.
I tried to be patient, but once it passed ten seconds, I couldn’t stand it anymore and picked up my phone to kill time. I figured I might as well do something while I wait—it’d match eventually.
When I unlocked my phone, a KakaoTalk notification popped up in the status bar. I thought nothing of it and swiped down. Then I saw an unexpected name.

I blinked and immediately tapped the alert to open the chat.
[Gang Jegyeong]
Honeybread-nim
Bread-nim
Bread-nim
Bread-nim
Bread-nim
Goyoung-nim
Young-nim
Young-nim
Mr. Goyoung
12:23

Just before I entered the chat room, a new message flashed in like lightning.
[Meow-ya]
12:23
What the.

I was so stunned I couldn’t even reply—my thumb just froze mid-air. Retaking didn’t say a word even after seeing the “1” disappear.
[Gang Jegyeong]
Uh;
Well
I called you like a magic spell since you weren’t checking…
Guess it actually worked lol
It really is a magic spell huh…
Haha…
srry...
12:24

Even Retaking looked just as flustered as I was. Maybe it was because he called me like that, or maybe I was just genuinely startled—either way, I hadn’t heard that old nickname since school, when it got drilled into my ears. I didn’t hate it, just… it threw me off. I gathered myself and replied.
[Me]
nah lol just startled;;
what’s up?
12:24

[Gang Jegyeong]
So like
Did you match yet?
The new dungeon—Mirror Maze
12:24
I glanced at the screen. It had been over 40 seconds since I queued, and still no match.
[Me]
Not yet
Match time is soooo long this time
I’m a tank tho…
12:24

I added my complaint and Retaking instantly replied, like he was waiting for it.
[Gang Jegyeong]
I’m running a test.
Could you reply immediately if it matches?
12:24
A test? What kind of test? Was there some issue with matchmaking?

Come to think of it, it had felt weird how I wasn’t matching even as a tank.
Just then, as if on cue, a cheerful chime announced that the match had been made. I bolted upright from my chair and, just like Retaking asked, shot off a message.
[Me]
Matched!
12:24

Excited to try out the new dungeon, I waited for Retaking’s reply with phone in hand before entering. But even though he’d seen the message, he didn’t respond. Maybe he was busy streaming and couldn’t reply right away. I let it go and put my phone down—I'd be too busy in the dungeon to check anyway.
I pressed the dungeon entry button, and once my match partner accepted, the queue changed from 1/2 to 2/2.
That’s when it happened. My character let out a short scream and collapsed. Cracks splintered across the screen like I’d become incapacitated.

Startled, I tried to look around, but the camera aim locked, and the screen faded to black—then transitioned into a loading screen. What was seriously creepy was that even on the loading screen, the cracked-glass effect remained.
Did I die just before entering? Was I attacked? But the Glass Cavern is a solo area—no other players should be able to get in. Was it Abrea? But why would he? He’s not that kind of shadowy character. That doesn’t make any sense.
I could feel the hair on the back of my neck standing up. I forced myself to stay calm and brushed a hand through my hair.

It’s just a game effect. Don’t freak out. Goodyoung Goodyoung.
The loading ended, and a party connection sound played. I was no longer alone. Feeling my nerves ease a bit, I rested my hands on the keyboard and greeted my party member.
[Party] Honeybread: haiii~

The chat window appeared as usual—not cracked or glitched. Thankfully, the screen had returned to normal.
Soon, a cutscene started playing. First-time cutscenes can’t be skipped, so I sat there, relieved, and watched.
A single beam of light sliced through the darkness. As it moved, it revealed my character collapsed on the floor beside Abrea. A ray of light shone on my face as Honeybread’s eyes fluttered open. Blinking against the brightness, he sat up and looked around. Behind him, Abrea groggily rose too.

[- Abrea: “What the… What the hell just happened? Don’t tell me—it was Viterahit?”]
Clutching his head and groaning, Abrea looked ready to jump to the worst conclusion. His wings trembled pitifully.
Then, from somewhere, a cluster of light appeared and floated toward him. It was millet.

A millet-sized angel, with wings gently fluttering, hovered in front of his face. As Abrea stared at the glowing thing, entranced, the angel drifted down and gently grabbed his finger, tugging him toward the beam of light.
Abrea, still dazed, let himself be pulled along. My character silently followed, matching pace with the two.
The light grew closer. It was shining through a barely opened door. The beam was so bright it was almost painful. As we followed it, the camera shifted to Honeybread’s perspective and zoomed in on Abrea’s wings.

With each step he took, his ivory-colored wings fluttered like a wedding veil, glowing more brightly as we moved forward.
Just like when Retaking and I stood close together.
Maybe Honeybread sensed something strange, because he opened his mouth to say something to Abrea. But just as we reached the door, Abrea gently pushed it open—

—and a blinding white light engulfed our view.
It didn’t last long. Our eyes adjusted. Shapes began to take form.
As the light faded, the interior slowly came into focus. And inside...

Inside was—
[Party] Retaking: Ah… lol
Wow.

[Party] Retaking: I had a feeling, but seriously...
This game was fucking insane. A true god-tier game.