Demonic Po*nstar System Chapter 696: He Is Ashborn

"Kaiden Grey is an Ashborn."

Kaiden selected it with a tap.

The message stretched out considerably. The user MyExLeftMeNowITrackGuilds had clearly invested plenty of effort into crafting it.

"I realize this might seem outrageous. Please hear me out.

1: Magnus Ashborn wouldn’t normally act like he did today toward outsiders. For three years, I’ve followed New Dawn’s open events closely. Magnus has never directly faced off against a rival himself. Not in the Solaris affair, where another group snatched four of his seasoned warriors. Not in the Hargate controversy, when their secret dungeon paths got exposed. In both cases, he dispatched attorneys. But today, he soared to a cliffside and yelled at a young man. That isn’t businesslike. That feels deeply personal.

2: The Ashborn kids stay concealed until they awaken. Everyone knows this. Selena Ashborn remained a secret until her awakening at 16. The twins stayed hidden until theirs at 17. Alice Ashborn emerged at 15. The family has never revealed the full count of their offspring. Should a child fail to awaken, no one outside would even know they were there.

3: The chronology lines up. Kaiden Grey is 22 years old. Selena Ashborn is 24. The twins are 20. Alice is about to turn 17. A space exists between Selena and the twins that perfectly matches room for another child.

4: Resemblances in facial features. I grabbed images from today’s broadcast and matched them against Magnus Ashborn’s profile in the Association. The jaw and forehead lines match closely. I also checked footage from Vespera Ashborn’s conference last year. The likeness to Vespera is more understated yet noticeable, especially in the eyes and cheek positions. See the images attached.

5: This detail pushed me to post all this. Rewatch every video where Kaiden Grey snaps in anger. Those rare bursts of true rage. His mana aura carries the identical mark as Vespera Ashborn’s.

Not the strength, mind you. The quality. How the atmosphere thickens when he’s mad compared to when he’s battling. It has this oppressive density, a fateful burden as if doom has already struck and you’re just catching up.

Wrapping up: Kaiden Grey is an Ashborn offspring who never awakened publicly and was kept secret. Magnus’s outburst today wasn’t a leader protecting his domain. It was a dad seeing his unclaimed son shame him before the whole globe."

Responses varied widely.

The leading reply, boasting four hundred upvotes, came from Sir_This_Is_A_Wendys: "This comes off as totally wild lol. You penned an entire thesis just because two dudes share a jaw shape? Magnus was furious since Kai wiped out his newbie squad and wrecked his team’s ranking in the tourney. It’s not that complicated, dude."

SomeoneStoleMyGoat: "those jaw comparison shots are killing me, somebody confiscate this guy’s conspiracy wall"

Deeper in the thread, the vibe changed.

A comment with eighty-nine upvotes, marked by a verified awakened-researcher badge, from ManaBroke: "I dropped in expecting a chuckle, but the mana signature angle is intriguing. Folks in the awakened fighter field blow up often, but you seldom sense pure hostility piercing through the broadcast. Not claiming the other bits stick, but that particular note merits more than quick ’lol’ brush-offs."

MyTherapistQuit: "Did anybody verify the official count of Ashborn kids? I wasted twenty minutes digging, and they haven’t specified. The clan has never issued a declaration on their total progeny."

RatJuror: "I replayed the video post this read. That instant when Kaiden queries ’why do you care about me’ and Magnus freezes without responding. Study his expression closely. That’s not someone at a loss for words. That’s a guy with a reply he’s forbidden to voice."

DungeonDropout: "alright but if this holds water, then Kaiden declaring to Magnus ’I don’t answer to you’ live on air is straight-up one of the rawest moments ever in interpersonal history"

Kaiden set his phone down and gazed across the valley.

A gradual, authentic smile crept over his features.

’Perfect timing.’

He had sown those hints intentionally. The clash. The inquiry. The feigned naivety. The wording crafted to spur a million onlookers toward the single query Magnus couldn’t field without unraveling his whole facade.

Now the web was handling his task, tugging at strings he’d purposely dangled, with each one pointing to the secret Magnus had labored to suppress.

The real thrill lay in not requiring them to uncover the facts. He merely wanted the doubt to linger, to hover, to turn into that nagging undercurrent no one like Magnus could quash.

’Good luck muzzling a million whispers, dear old dad. Can’t wait to see the attempt.’

He skimmed beyond the discussion and nearly continued, yet a fresh banner snagged his attention. This bore a heavier tone.

WHITE HOUSE PRESS BRIEFING - UNOFFICIAL STATEMENT RE: KAIDEN GREY

He clicked into it.

The release was concise, precisely phrased, and credited to an assistant press aide Kaiden didn’t recognize. That signaled it was deniable yet endorsed at the top.

"The administration acknowledges comments by Mr. Kaiden Grey in a live tournament feed where he mentioned the Office of the President. The White House views these as neither a defiance of government power nor a political declaration. Mr. Grey stands as a prominent national awakened fighter enduring intense strain in a pressurized battle setting. The administration appreciates the distinct stresses on awakened participants and deems the issue resolved."

Kaiden scanned it two times and let out a laugh.

’Significant duress.’ ’High-intensity combat environment.’ ’Considers the matter closed.’

Classic moves. Same player. The commander-in-chief who’d fastened awards to Kaiden’s uniform amid the ChronosX saga hadn’t acted from thanks. He’d staged it so the nation witnessed its leader towering over its emerging deities, distributing accolades like a monarch granting titles, affirming human grip on the levers. Kaiden had spotted the maneuver right as he mounted the platform and clasped the man’s hand for the lenses.

This notice mirrored that. A decorated champion uttering ’or the president himself’ on a stream with millions watching chipped the facade of command. The notice aimed to mend it. Not out of concern for Kaiden Grey, but for the image of the leader himself.

’Guess we’re on the same page.’

He stowed the device, propped back on his hands, and allowed the crisp peak breeze to envelop him. The sun dipped further, casting a golden hue over the valley, and briefly, the quiet seemed well-deserved.

Then he retrieved the phone and navigated to a contact lacking any label.

Merely digits. Unlisted, untrackable, funneled via three encryption tiers Vespera had arranged personally. The confidential channel known to perhaps five souls globally.

He dialed and lifted it to his ear.

It rang.

Kept ringing.

Continued.

The mechanical cutoff sounded, blunt and conclusive. No message option. The connection skipped it.

Kaiden drew the phone back and eyed the display.

He redialed. Identical outcome. Six tones, then silence.

Something was off.

Vespera invariably answered the secure line. Without fail. Regardless of the hour, her tasks, or the diplomatic firestorm pulling her focus. The secure line earned its status because those with the code outranked all other demands.

Kaiden had rung it at three a.m. during finals once, buzzed in his dorm, and she’d answered on ring two, enduring his drunken ramble for forty minutes without probing his reason.

She never ignored this line.

He fixed his gaze on the device for an extended beat, then tucked it away.

’Interesting.’

He couldn’t decipher it yet. Lacked the details to grasp its import. Yet her missing reply carved a void his strategic thoughts rushed to populate with scenarios, none reassuring.

He’d attempt once more soon.

...

The sound emerged from his rear, recognizable like faded wounds.

"Kaiden Grey."

He stayed facing forward.

"We must discuss this immediately."

Selena Ashborn’s tone held the sharp command of someone raised to instant compliance.