Dusk (BL Light Novel)

The stadium suddenly grew restless.
What is it? Who’s Dia?

Without even meaning to, my gaze drifted automatically toward Gang Jaegyung.
And just like that, our eyes met—he was looking at me steadily, not at the screen.
I hadn’t expected him to be facing my way, and my shoulders jerked up on reflex.
Ah, fuck. The fact that I flinched just from making eye contact was so embarrassing I wanted to crawl into a hole.
He was focused on the trailer this whole time, so why the hell was he suddenly staring like that?
—"I couldn't help my curiosity when I heard you were honing a new technique, so I committed a bit of a discourtesy."

"Why?"
Gang Jaegyung, who of course had no way of knowing what was going through my head, spoke to me like it was the most natural thing in the world.
I forced myself to take a breath first, calming down so I wouldn't snap at him for no reason.
"Who’s Dia?"

"Ah. The High Priest of the Jeoba Tribe."
Ah, okay.
"……."

...Why the hell is the High Priest showing up on the side of Aideas?
When I turned back to the screen, the trailer had moved along while I was talking to Gang Jaegyung.
Dia had thrown back a huge hood, revealing a face brimming with sanctity as he greeted Abrea with a gentle smile.
—"It’s an honor to meet you, brother."

The screen cut to black right after that smile, and the last line echoed low across the stadium.
—"Dia Saira, High Priest of the Jeoba Tribe and supreme leader of Aideas."
When the lingering resonance of that voice faded, white text floated onto the black screen:
‘UPDATE: November 24’

Immediately after, from the silhouettes of the new classes drawn next to the central screen, violet and golden lights flared upward, and the official illustrations were unveiled.
The Penitent and The Warlock.
Abrea was revealed as the representative NPC for the Penitent, the new class wielding a scythe.
Title: The Sound of a Door in the Mirror Maze Was Foreshadowing
Posted by: [Jeoba] ForbesSelectedItDaughter

When you clear the dungeon, that door sound you hear after 2 minutes—it was in the trailer too.
Also, turns out the ceiling opening up in the second maze was connected to the Silver Spider. Crazy.
(43 Comments)
【Best Comment】 Didn’t notice? Play this with the volume up: https://utu.ve/srGxtKPnbI. The sound’s super quiet.

└ It’s insanely quiet, dude. Honestly thought it was just background BGM and ignored it.
└ If you listen right at the maze location, it’s a little louder.
└ 【Best Comment】 You pervy bastards, lol.

【Best Comment】 Classic kimchi gamer trait: after clearing a dungeon, they type "sugohaeseo" and bolt out immediately.
└ LOL facts, half the players don’t even finish typing "sugo" before they’re already gone.
I didn’t even realize that sound was a thing.

└ Same.
└ It’s a pretty recent easter egg. Even Retaking probably didn’t know yet.
If you hear it 2 minutes after clearing the dungeon and finishing the investigation quest, then based on the trailer timeline, it’s dungeon clear > investigate > Abrea opens the door?

└ Seems like it.
… (more comments) …
***

Brilliant effects exploded across the massive electronic display.
At the same time, deafening cheers and the excited voices of the announcers filled the stadium.
The match was a clash between the strongest players in each class, and it was intense—no one side gaining a clear advantage, the momentum swinging back and forth.
Even though it was a brand-new type of content, the basic rule was simple: fight and rack up points.
Thanks to that, people got into it easily without any awkwardness.

And I should’ve been one of them.
"Faction war?"
Still stuck in the aftermath of watching the trailer and showcase, I couldn't focus on the arena match at all.
Maybe it wouldn’t have felt so bad if it were just me struggling to get my head back in the game, but there was someone else beside me who was stuck exactly the same way.

Naturally.
Gang Jaegyung was way more of a hardcore story-immersion player than I was.
"They said besides the Penitent and the Warlock, two more new classes are coming later too…."
We were deep into talking about the main quest storyline—well, more like he was talking and I was just listening—and now the conversation was starting to shift toward content updates.

Gang Jaegyung, more excited than anyone else here, was rattling off all the possibilities he’d predicted while watching the huge showcase that followed the trailer.
Honestly, he was so worked up he might even put the announcers to shame.
"So far, except for the Assassin class which doesn’t have a set faction, we’ve got two classes each under Witherahit and Aideas.
Now that Aideas is getting two more, odds are the next batch will be Witherahit.
Then it’s 4 vs 4.
If they let the massive pool of Assassins choose a faction, it’ll be 5 vs 5, and a faction war would finally be possible."
"Yeah."

"And the trailer even showed the Jeoba Tribe and the Via Tribe joining forces under Aideas!
The setup’s totally there, don’t you think?"
"Makes sense."
"Right?"

Gang Jaegyung looked straight at me with eyes full of anticipation.
"If it really happens like I’m predicting, a real faction war would be awesome."
Saying that, he shifted his entire body even closer to me, using the excuse of the noisy surroundings.
The casual way he closed the distance made me hold my breath without thinking.

I wasn’t someone who usually felt burdened no matter how much other people got up in my space, but this…
I instinctively glanced away, awkward.
I couldn't help but think of those big friendly dogs that charge at you and start licking your face.
Making up an excuse about my back hurting from sitting twisted, I gently pushed him back into a straighter sitting position.
Gang Jaegyung, completely unfazed, kept smiling at me with his gaze fixed in place.
"I wanna try fighting on the same team as you."

His words were loaded with excitement, his eyes shimmering with the light reflected off the screen.
It fit him perfectly—he looked almost childishly thrilled—and I caught myself twitching the corner of my mouth in response.
He’s seriously like a kid sometimes.
But still, he really sounded like he wanted to do faction battles with me for real.
Honestly, though, if a faction war system did come out and we ended up on the same side, I was kinda worried.

We’d both naturally end up in commander-type roles during battles, and that could lead to fights over who called the shots.
Even if I backed off and let him lead, the way Gang Jaegyung gave orders on his streams was so different from my style that I could already picture us clashing before we even fought the enemy.
"Who’s gonna be the shotcaller? Only one person can do it unless we’re using voice chat."
"Obviously me."

The way he said "obviously" made me want to punch him.
I could shotcall too, you know.
"And me?"
"The shotcaller has to be someone smart."

"So you’re saying I’m dumb?"
"No, not that! It’s just… you seem more like the type to charge in and lead the charge."
"Whether you’re a frontliner or a strategist, what matters in faction fights is the timing of push and pull.
It’s way better for someone on the front line to make the calls."

"It’s actually more important for someone who can see the whole field to be the shotcaller.
If a frontliner’s making the calls, who’s covering the backline?
In other games, it’s always the ranged DPS, support, or healers who shotcall."
"There are plenty of cases where tanks or melee DPS call the shots too.
Even from the front, you can get a good grasp of the situation."
I wasn’t just bullshitting either.
Every time I’d led a faction battle before, I had people reporting the backline status to me, and I adjusted the calls based on that.

Gang Jaegyung seemed to know that too, but he still looked unconvinced.
"You think you’d know better than someone in the back?"
"What if it’s a situation where we need to retreat and the call comes too late and our stragglers get picked off?"

"That’s my job to calculate for."
"And you’re gonna heal at the same time?
The enemy will definitely dive you first.
If you get caught, you won’t even be able to type in chat."
"I’ve been handling it fine so far.
Don’t you trust me?"

"It’s not that I don’t trust you, but I don’t take shotcalling lightly."
"Why not?"
"……Because I hate following other people’s orders."

That was the truth.
I didn’t doubt Gang Jaegyung could make solid calls, but that didn’t mean I was the type to follow them obediently.
Even if he made a call, odds were high I’d just do whatever I felt like.
If that caused friction, it would be a huge pain.
"Besides… you, no—Jaegyung-ssi, you speak in such a commanding tone.
I can’t stand that."
"I sound commanding?"

"Obviously."
"I’m actually trying to sound gentle, though?"
"Where exactly do you think that’s gentle?
You’re like a one-man army."

When I said he was like a one-man army, Gang Jaegyung’s face immediately fell.
He looked so crestfallen that for a second I panicked.
Was I too harsh?
...No, I didn’t even say it that harshly.
Was he seriously trying to guilt-trip me?
I squinted suspiciously at him.
Maybe because of that glare, Gang Jaegyung made an even sadder face, muttered "Forget it," and turned his [N O V E L I G H T] body to face the screen.
This time, he looked genuinely upset.

"...I mean, it was just a comparison."
"But that comparison basically means you think I’m like a dictator."
I closed my mouth tightly.
Sorry, but I couldn’t deny that.

Anyone who’d ever heard Gang Jaegyung’s shotcalling would probably agree without hesitation.
Since I kept quiet, Gang Jaegyung’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
Seeing that, I struggled to add,
"I didn’t mean you actually are one, just… the vibe."

"Sure…."
I sneaked another glance at him.
Yeah, he was seriously sulking now.
This was exactly why "white lies" still exist in the world.
He could laugh off anything his viewers said in chat during streams, so why was he acting like this with me?