MTL
An underground place of unknown location.
A dark metallic space, resembling an evacuation shelter within a tunnel.
"...."
"Ah, Agent. This way, please."
The agent from Black Tortoise Team 1 moved according to guidance. The Disaster Management Bureau's glass prison didn't employ human guards.
An unknown supernatural force without sound or form served as the guard, with one employee at a time taking shifts to monitor its condition. The attendant asked cautiously:
"...You're here for the interrogation of Agent Grapes—no, prisoner 37-
999?"
"...."
"I see. This way, please."
Following the careful guidance, the agent entered through the iron door, avoiding the 'guard.' Inside, there was... A crystal cave.
"...!"
Numerous quartz crystals refracted light, creating myriad shadows and forms throughout the cave.
Curiously, there was no visible source for this reflected light.
A feast of light and shadow without origin.
Click.
"The cell is here."
The attendant willingly opened a rusted door in the corner.
Yet, there was no one visible inside.
Instead...
Countless glass marbles covered the walls, creating structures of refracted light.
"...."
The agent gazed at it with darkened eyes.
Glass marbles stacked layer by layer filled the space, forming a conical structure that appeared almost decorative.
Yet, within each marble, something was moving.
Ahhh...
Let me out let me out let me out please.
I've been betrayed.
Am I going to die here?
Imprisoned prisoners.
The observer, standing before them, became like a giant capable of examining each individual trapped within the marbles—a strange structure reminiscent of a panopticon.
This was the true nature of the glass prison.
A sealed chamber formed by a single marble.
In this crystal cave, whose exact location and existence were unknown except to authorized personnel, no one could leave unless the gatekeeper personally carried the marble outside.
Even if one succeeded in breaking their marble and escaping, it wasn't true freedom.
Just another marble.
A circular structure. An eternal cycle of interconnected glass rooms. "Here at the very top marble. I've heard special arrangements were requested. So the prisoner might feel a little more comfortable... probably because they were originally an agent." The agent's eyes stopped.
Precisely... the 37th floor. The very top marble.
Only one marble there.
With the identification label:
37-999.
"...."
Inside the marble, a dark shadow was visible, but the figure lying on the floor was unmoving.
"My apologies for the lengthy explanation. Here are the previous interrogation records for 37-999."
The agent carefully took the document handed over by the attendant and read it.
Prisoner Number: 37-999
Prisoner: Kim ■■ (Agent Name: Grapes)
Team: Black Tortoise Team 1, Dispatch Rescue Unit (Status: Suspended) Initially transported for a simple 24-hour psychological assessment, but due to unusual circumstances discovered during the initial interview, return delayed.
Formal imprisonment under discussion.
The agent's grip tightened briefly, then he turned the page.
Click.
Day 1:
Prisoner transported to the glass prison as part of an inspection procedure for an agent who had undergone a special supernatural restriction.
The restriction confirmed lifted (entity involved: Daecheongbong Tiger General). A simple interview and physical examination conducted.
1 Anomaly found during the interview.
Prisoner voluntarily refuses all statements regarding the supernatural entity responsible for the restriction, its timing, or nature. Examination procedure halted. Switched to interrogation.
Initially, the interrogation was mild.
Questions about why the statements were refused, if there was physical pain, when the restriction occurred, and what type of restriction it was. Investigators cautiously proceeded, believing the prisoner was showing a trauma response due to shocking events.
However, the response to all questions was singular: Prisoner entirely
refused to answer any questions.
Concern began to rise among the staff.
Suspected of intentionally evading testimony, anticipating the interrogation methods of the glass prison.
Thus, from the evening of Day 2, the real interrogation began.
Interrogation Intensity: 3
Expert interrogators dispatched.
Persistent, detailed questioning, trap questions, insinuations hidden within casual inquiries, questions structured so that silence itself was an answer... The intensity gradually increased.
After three days, even the prisoner persistently evading all questions
succumbed to the situation.
Interrogation Intensity: 7
The prisoner's body restrained. Head and eyes fixed to prevent avoiding gaze, and silence treated as affirmation.
A gag employed during questions to prevent meaningless interjections as evasion.
It became possible to ascertain clear 'yes' or 'no' answers from the prisoner.
Thankfully, interrogation methods involving environmental pressure weren't
employed, considering the prisoner's physical health—although this was not
particularly effective.
Day 5:
Prisoner status: Poor.
Politely declined offers of sleep and food.
Requested release, citing sympathy for their assigned Goblin Flame. Denied due to concerns over escape attempts and unforeseen incidents. However, items favored by goblins introduced into the cell for emotional stability.
The prisoner expressed gratitude.
Special note: Interrogator's personal observation.
-It seems another restriction might be present. Recommend transfer to a specialist facility for further exorcism or ritual proceedings.
However, directly asked if under another restriction, the prisoner clearly responded 'no,' deemed truthful by the glass prison.
-This could be a suggestion making the prisoner believe they're not under any restriction.
Despite the investigator's personal opinion, the transfer was withheld.
Turning the page.
Another day, the prisoner's condition worsened.
Day 6:
Prisoner status: Poor.
Provided special meal (mung bean ginseng chicken soup) was provided due to concerns about
the health of the prisoner. left untouched
until the next day.
No interview responses.
Proposal for deeper interrogation via Nightmare Labyrinth suggested but strongly opposed by field agents.
"...."
"That's up to yesterday."
The next pages were not records, but conjectures.
Speculations on the prisoner's identity.
Information available only to current interrogators and marked 'Absolutely
prohibited for external distribution.'
Suspected of espionage.
The agent tightened his hand.
Based on limited truths revealed under extreme conditions, prisoner's 'most avoided questions' inferred: Source of information. Purpose of employment at Disaster Management Bureau.
Entity imposing the restriction.
Vague pre-employment gap.
Various contamination marks.
Thus, a conclusion was drawn.
But the document didn't end there:
However, considering the prisoner's absence of moral defects, diligent completion of supernatural disaster tasks, and ethically verified behavior, coercive measures such as threats or spells are suspected.
Because the information that can be confirmed through short answers is limited,, strategies to induce a more cooperative attitude from the prisoner should be introduced.
The agent turned the page.
The final page included an appended note:
The reason he is here now. Special note: An agent from Black Tortoise Team 1, who initially transported the prisoner, strongly volunteered to interrogate over several days but was rejected due to protocol violation.
Another agent from Black Tortoise Team 1, also at the scene, confirmed as
interrogator.
Permission expected.
"...."
"Preparation is complete, Agent."
Ryu Jaekwan lowered the document and approached the glass marble for interrogation.
I blinked.
A transparent ceiling was visible.
Inside the narrow, hemispherical space were a bed, desk, chair, a few books, and food arranged neatly.
Beyond appeared as fog, invisible, yet the wall's transparency was clear.
'...So this is it.'
The glass prison.
Long ago, a goblin won a magnificent tile-roofed house in a game against Kim Seobang.
But Kim Seobang devised a trick and expelled the goblin. Angry, the goblin created a small marble, free from deceit, and invited Kim Seobang inside for another game.
The goblin won again, repeatedly, until taking everything—house, wealth, family, even name and lifespan.
Finally, leaving Kim Seobang with nothing, the goblin gifted him the marble and cave.
That defeated figure remains guarding the marbles even now, preventing any deceitful tricks.
The Bureau used this system for imprisonment, combining supernatural phenomena related to judgment.
Here, all supernatural phenomena were nullified, leaving only clear, precise reality.
No supernatural actions could occur.
'But now...'
I couldn't sleep.
Tension and resignation pulsed through me.
Another interrogation approached, and I braced myself.
And then...
Someone appeared beyond the glass wall.
"Prisoner 37-999."
"...!"
Agent Bronze.
Ryu Jaekwan stood beyond the glass, eyes dark.
"The interrogation begins."
A question I hadn't anticipated at all emerged.
"Where is your home?"
"...!"
The Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau used this to build the Glass Prison System.
These mysterious glass beads that block all supernatural phenomena—and the gatekeepers that guard them.
"They say some kind of supernatural element related to the afterlife and
judgment was mixed in as well."
Whatever.
It didn't matter.
What mattered was this: the place I'm trapped in now can only contain clean, precise reality.
Inside here, supernatural beings can only exist—nothing more. Any action that defies the logic of reality cannot occur. As if... this were reality outside the Wiki.
Here, even items are useless, and tattoos are just tattoos.
"All they took during the body search was the Glass Hand Gun I had tucked away."
My inventory tattoo wasn't even activated, so there was nothing for them to check.
But in that same sense, this place could be considered the safest possible space.
"There's no risk of suddenly getting pulled into a ghost story, after all." From a purely rational perspective, Agent Choi was right—it should be "safe" to rest here. I even heard there were people who voluntarily confined themselves here to escape things like curses or death. But...
I can't afford to rest.
My whole body pulsed with a mix of tension and resignation.
Just like the past few days of interrogation.
The interrogations in the Glass Prison kept getting more intense. I've been desperately dodging their questions, but they've already squeezed a fair amount out of me.
"They must suspect something."
That I'm suspicious.
That maybe—I'm a spy.
"If so, they might start using even stronger methods now..."
The Bureau can be utterly ruthless when it comes to selected "wrongdoers." Just thinking about the interrogation methods I do know made cold sweat trickle down my spine—from the "housing play" onwards. "Damn it."
Maybe Agent Choi expected me to confess everything from the start, once the Ban was lifted.
Maybe he hoped I'd resign myself, since I couldn't go back to Hoisa anyway.
The problem is, my secrets don't stop there.
There are things I know that can't be explained just by calling me a spy.
I don't even know how much I'll end up confessing—or what'll happen to
me if I do.
Things like:
My original world,
The dream incubation chamber,
Various contaminations,
And... the Dark Exploration Logs.
"If I was going to confess, I should've done it from the beginning—kept it simple, stopped at the 'spy' explanation."
But in that case, what would've happened to Yeong-eun and Heo-un, the
ones who came in with me?
What about my wish token?
"That was the best option at the time."
...But even as I tell myself that, I know the truth.
I'm nearing my limit.
Exhaustion sinks in, but I force myself to stay alert.
Soon, it will come—that nerve-wracking interrogation session, full of traps and bait.
I swallowed hard, trying to calm my nerves, and carefully went over in my
mind the things I must never say.
And then...
I heard the sound of glass shifting.
From beyond the glass wall, a figure approached.
The interrogator, appearing on the other side.
But it wasn't the same person as yesterday's officer.
"...Inmate 37-999."
"...!!"
Agent Bronze.
Ryu Jaegwan stood on the other side of the glass with somber eyes.
Wait.
"Agent Bronze... is today's interrogator?"
The method had changed.
I tensed and quickly took in the situation.
Agent Bronze didn't avoid my gaze. He spoke slowly.
"...Pre-interrogation notice: You are free to tell lies. However, every lie will
be transparently revealed."
I know that.
In the Glass Prison, if you lie, the truth automatically appears on the glass.
Only silence can protect you.
—A note from an inmate from the Dreamscape.
So I couldn't say a word.
Because lying here is no different from confessing the truth.
But even my silence would seem suspicious.
They'd wonder if I already understood how this prison works.
Of course.
"And that... is the truth."
Even I would have suspected me.
I clenched my jaw as I stared at Agent Bronze.
'So they've decided to use someone I know... as the new direction for this interrogation.'
It was, in its own way, a merciful approach... But I couldn't deny-it was also effective.
"We will now begin the interrogation."
I swallowed dryly.
And then...
A completely unexpected question came.
"Where is your home?"