Dusk (BL Light Novel)

[Party] Retaking a Class: Nothing dropped.
[Party] Retaking a Class: I was too far away to see anything in the first place...
[Party] Honeybread: Huh, weird then...
[Party] Honeybread: Does the story progress if we leave?
...Wait. Does it really progress if we leave?

I said it without thinking, but it actually sounded kind of plausible. The clear rewards hadn’t dropped properly—bug or design, who knew—but it seemed like we had killed the final boss. The NPC was missing too. Maybe leaving the dungeon would explain why.
I casually moved toward the portal and clicked my mouse. Just as the prompt—“Would you like to return to the entrance?”—popped up, Retaking suddenly freaked out and jumped wildly toward me.
[Party] Retaking a Class: Wa-waitwaitwait
[Party] Retaking a Class: Holdonwaitnonononono
[Party] Retaking a Class: You're really leaving??>

[Party] Honeybread: yeah?
Was I... not supposed to leave?
It felt like a hand had sprouted from the screen and was pulling back my finger just as I was about to click. He looked that desperate. So I hit the ESC key and closed the system window.

[Party] Retaking a Class: We can only talk like this here, right?
[Party] Retaking a Class: Can’t we chat a little more before you go?
[Party] Retaking a Class: Even if you don’t want to talk, just stay a little longer. I’ll ramble by myselfㅠ
[Party] Retaking a Class: I’m gonna try running the map backwards too... It’s so pretty, let’s at least take some screenshots before we go.
It was just text on a screen, but every word felt like it was dripping with emotion. Maybe because I could automatically hear it in his cocky, dramatic voice every time he typed.
Of course, that didn’t mean I wanted to stay here forever. It had been a while since I last tried a new dungeon, so I was kinda tired (still had enough stamina left for PvP, though). It’s not like we’d never meet again (we’d just meet as enemies), and we could still chat (after killing each other). Worst case, we could even talk on KakaoTalk. Was there really anything else to do here?

More than anything, I wanted to know what happened next in the story. We’d spent an hour and a half in this dungeon and hadn’t solved anything. We weren’t even sure if we’d actually cleared it. And there was still no explanation for why Abrea, who’d come here looking for answers, had suddenly vanished with Adam.
[Party] Honeybread: We can just come back later ㅇㅇ
[Party] Retaking a Class: What if we can’t re-enter this dungeon?
[Party] Honeybread: What are the odds of that?

I threw the question back at him. Retaking paused for a moment.
[Party] Retaking a Class: Judging by the boss quality… it probably is a dungeon you can revisit...
[Party] Retaking a Class: But still, doesn’t it feel a little sad?
Not at all?

We could just form a party again later, so what was there to feel sad about? Of course, I couldn’t just say that directly. Retaking was clearly acting this way because he wanted to stay with me longer.
While I was mulling over how to phrase that gently, Retaking, always quick on the uptake, was already getting misty-eyed in the chat.
[Party] Retaking a Class: ㅠ
[Party] Honeybread: lol; why the tears
[Party] Retaking a Class: Why do you think...
[Party] Honeybread: But still
[Party] Honeybread: Out of everyone I see
[Party] Honeybread: In the field
[Party] Honeybread: You’re the one I’m most happy to run into...

[Party] Retaking a Class: You’re not wrong.
Look at him instantly agreeing.
Even after saying that, he still looked reluctant to part ways. He pressed his character right up against mine, shuffling around in tiny steps like he was trying to stay as close as possible without overlapping.

[Party] Retaking a Class: If you’re really # Nоvеlight # going, I guess there’s nothing I can do... I’ll let you go.......................
[Party] Honeybread: You sound hella clingy rn
[Party] Retaking a Class: ㅜ
[Party] Retaking a Class: I’ll be out on the field again this evening so keep your neck clean and wait for me

[Party] Honeybread: ? lol?
[Party] Honeybread: I’m the one who uses blades, why should I?
[Party] Retaking a Class: ‘Cause I’m gonna stab you in the neck with a syringe
[Party] Honeybread: wow okay;
[Party] Honeybread: then you
[Party] Honeybread: better keep your neck clean too

[Party] Retaking a Class: And don’t go berserk at the outpost again just because I call you over...
[Party] Honeybread: If you show up when I need you
[Party] Honeybread: I won’t have to ring the damn doorbell^^
After a while of bickering back and forth, I finally started thinking I really should log out. He was streaming, and I couldn’t just stall forever.

I jerked my character left and right to let Retaking know I was heading out. He swayed side to side too, then sent a message. I thought it’d be a goodbye—but it was a request.
[Party] Retaking a Class: Can I do the one thing I’ve really wanted to try with you before you go?
[Party] Honeybread: ㅇㅇ??
[Party] Honeybread: What is it?

[Party] Retaking a Class: hehe, hard to explain...
[Party] Retaking a Class: Can I just do it?
I had no idea what he was planning. What could you even do in a party inside a dungeon? He’d healed me enough to be sick of it. We were different factions, so we couldn’t trade. PvP was disabled here.
I just stood there, figuring whatever it is, go for it. Retaking let out a suspicious little “hehe”...

[Party] You have been removed from the party.
[System] You have been removed from the active instance and will be returned to the dungeon entrance in 10 seconds.
“…Huh.”
I gave him permission, and this is what he does? Totally blindsided me.

[General] Honeybread: ???
[General] Honeybread: ????????
[General] Retaking a Class: Turns out I was the party leader ㅎ
[General] Retaking a Class: byebye
I clicked on Retaking in shock and spammed him with question marks, but all I got back was that cheerful little farewell.

The loading screen hit as I got kicked from the dungeon. Damn. He got me good. Even if I was already planning to leave, getting forced out made it feel like I’d been evicted. I was starting to think I was used to Retaking’s bizarre ways of trolling me—but nope. Not even close.
Still, this was cute enough to be forgiven. Couldn’t even be mad—just let out a dry chuckle. He’d really wanted to try kicking me from the party, huh? Definitely something Retaking would come up with. That said, I wasn’t about to let it slide.
As I plotted how to return the favor, the loading ended, and a quest update chime rang out. A cutscene started playing. Oh right—I’d come out here for the story. I’d completely forgotten thanks to Retaking.

The auto-played cutscene showed Honeybread stepping out of the fortress gate into a glass cavern. After a few steps, a high-pitched beep echoed—more frequently than usual today—and Honeybread staggered slightly.
— “Do…n’t go… back. I… will… help… you.”
A voice whispered from somewhere, unchanging in tone. It sounded metallic, like static from a radio with bad reception.

My character squinted, then suddenly widened his eyes after hearing the noise. The camera zoomed into those dilated pupils—and the screen cut to black.
It shifted to first-person: a gloved hand touched the white floor of the lounge we’d just been in. That was the Holy Guardian Commander’s glove. Definitely my character’s POV.
The screen shook, as Honeybread groggily got up. The view was blurry—like watching through a damaged lens.

Honeybread’s slow, stumbling steps led him to Abrea. As soon as I saw it, déjà vu hit me.
When my character stepped up, Abrea tried to back away, but Adam was standing right beside him, blocking any escape. That’s when it clicked—this was the same scene from Retaking’s stream after I got disconnected. Now I was seeing it through my character’s eyes.
— “Don’t go back. I’ll help you.”

Abrea’s blue eyes trembled violently at Honeybread’s voice—or more accurately, the boss now possessing his body. Still, hearing those words, he didn’t retreat. He just stared straight at me.
Honeybread gently placed a familiar glowing orb in Abrea’s hand. When Abrea accepted it, the voice continued in rapid-fire speech—fragmented and hard to decipher.
— “Don’t care about the gods’ child. This is about you.”
— “Don’t trust the gods.”

The glowing orb started to ripple and pulse. White dust began flowing from my character’s body and was absorbed into the orb.
— “Don’t trust the gods? But... you’re the god.”
…Huh?

I blinked. I hadn’t expected Abrea to recognize the boss. He’d said nothing when it first appeared, and hadn’t tried to stop us while we were beating it down.
Why hadn’t he stepped in while we were pounding on a divine being? A priest not defending a god completely clashed with Dusk’s usual lore. He should’ve shouted “That’s the divine one!” the moment it showed up. Why didn’t he?
— “I… am an abandoned shell. I’m not a god. Even the gods don’t remember my record.”

But the boss, who the priest had just called a god, denied it with eerie calm.
My character broke off mid-sentence, turned toward Retaking—still paralyzed with a status ailment—and then turned back to Abrea. In an even softer whisper, he said:
— “This… is a made shell. I learned who I was and was cast away.”
— “You’re just like me…”

The orb in Abrea’s hand trembled. Its form pulsed, stretched, contracted—until it settled into a distinct shape.
The same key I’d seen after reconnecting. The one Abrea had held.