Demonic Po*nstar System Chapter 730: No More Darkness

Vespera narrowed her eyes into thin slits.

"So, yeah. This wonderful woman..." Kaiden went on, his arms squeezing tighter around her shoulders, "is the one who brought me into this world."

His words escaped, and the room suddenly lit up.

The shadows vanished as though they had never been there.

Emilia witnessed it all.

In one moment, they pooled over the broadcast room floor, crept up the walls, pushed against the frame's borders, and in the next, they disappeared completely.

Not fading back or retreating to corners. Erased entirely, like a switch flipped within the Shadow Monarch, halting the darkness's existence.

The chill vanished too. That icy visual in the feed since Vespera appeared shattered instantly. Lighting surged from dim to cozy to radiant. The area behind them transformed from a shadow-devoured void into a normal room with plain walls and standard light, the change so abrupt it resembled a cut from one broadcast to another.

Vespera’s eyes had narrowed into slits. No longer.

The sharpness faded from her features. Tension eased from her brow and stayed gone. Her shoulders relaxed. She leaned back, pressing into her son’s chest, head tilting under his chin, and for the first time since awakening, viewers saw Vespera Ashborn not poised like a blade.

Then came her smile.

It was subtle. Just a slight curve at her mouth's edges, barely noticeable on others. On Vespera Ashborn, it shattered every assumption the audience held about her.

Emilia’s chat overlay exploded.

— 44xStorm: SHES SMILING??? THE SHADOW MONARCH IS?!

— VesperaFearless: I have been a Vespera stan for eight years. I have Never seen this woman smile. Ever.

— SinnerDevotee: The shadows evaporated the second he said it. The SECOND

— NyxWife4Life: The cold murder machine is smiling because Kai called her wonderful I cannot do this anymore.

— BastetThrone: She is leaning on him. The Shadow Monarch is leaning on Kai like a normal mother. On camera. I need to sit down...

— GigaAsh: Forget the loser cuck this is the best content I’ve ever seen. Every stream is a fucking movie

Leia let out a sound from the floor. It resembled a brain overwhelmed by too many impossibilities in too little time, voicing its overload with a choked wheeze.

Sarah burst into laughter.

It began as a small puff through her nose, then escalated. It rose beyond amusement, beyond shock, past where laughter needed humor, surging until Sarah laughed uncontrollably.

"The woman who blotted out the sun leans on Kai because he called her wonderful! Our Kai!" she gasped amid loud wheezes.

Emilia stayed silent.

She remained on the kitchen floor, back to the cabinet, phone to her ear. Her interface feed displayed Vespera Ashborn’s face up close and vivid. The expression lingered. Tiny, genuine, achingly human, disorienting to behold.

Emilia’s eyes stung. She blinked, feeling heat trickle down her cheeks, and left it unwiped since her hands trembled too much.

She simply sat crying, eyes fixed on a mother’s smile.

Kaiden faced the camera. His grin persisted. Vespera still rested against his chest, eyes shut, the room now bright, warm, free of shadows.

"Now." He stood straighter. "I know you’ve all been wondering about something."

He looked up. The dark halo above throbbed once.

"Plenty of theories circulate about this."

The halo throbbed again. Brighter, particularly when he touched it.

"This," Kaiden declared, "is my beloved little sister."

"Huh?" Emilia gasped.

The halo fragmented.

The form overhead broke into specks of white and black, and a figure appeared behind him amid a golden flash so intense the feed blanked for a split second.

As the glow faded, a girl emerged.

Tears already poured down her face.

Before her form fully shaped, sobs flowed from her cheeks, and her cry pierced as a shrill squeal that made Emilia flinch.

"Big brother!" Alice Ashborn launched onto Kaiden’s back and latched on. Arms clamped around his neck from behind, legs hooked his waist, the impact jolting him forward into Vespera, whose eyes stayed closed. Their size difference left Alice’s feet dangling.

Alice’s smile stretched painfully wide, tears flowing.

"I don’t have to hide anymore!" she proclaimed to the camera, voice breaking. "Everyone, listen up! I’m his sister! His only sister! Screw you, Selena!!! You don’t deserve the privilege!"

She pressed her face into Kaiden’s hair from behind, shaking her head furiously, nose rubbing hard, legs clamping tighter around him, buzzing with energy that forced Kaiden to steady against Vespera.

"I’ve always been his sister!" she went on, voice muffled, raging, joyful. "He’s my big brother, my only big brother! Screw you too, Cassian and Calix! I’ve been sitting on Kai’s head for weeks and I couldn’t say anything and it was the worst thing ever and now I don’t have to pretend anymore!"

She hugged harder. Kaiden wheezed.

"Alice-"

"He’s mine! He’s my big brother and everyone knows now! The whole world knows!"

She drew back and faced the camera. Her hair split half-black, half-white down the middle, eyes mismatched. The reconstruction altered her, and Alice flaunted it like a prized trophy.

"My DNA is different now. Maybe." Her grin expanded. "Actually, I’m still waiting on the test results. Because if it turns out that the reconstruction changed enough, then technically I might not be his sister anymore, so then-"

Vespera growled.

A deep rumble, more sensed than heard, vibrating through Kaiden’s chest from his mother’s lean. Her eyes remained shut. The faint smile stayed. She rested serenely against her son while emitting a predator’s warning, the clash so ridiculous Kaiden chuckled.

"Alice-" He got interrupted.

"No."

"Mom’s growling."

"I don’t care! Hmph!"

"I stood up for you the last time. I might not do it again."

Alice’s hold slackened at once. Her body wilted against his back, and peeking sideways at his face, she wore the look of betrayal from her idol.

"You wouldn’t," she breathed.

"..." Kaiden stayed silent.

"Cruel big brother..."

Alice’s grip eased by a fraction.

Emilia’s chat overlay stopped scrolling. It flooded instead.

The messages formed a blurring wall of color, racing too fast for readability. She glimpsed words flashing by: "Ashborn." "Halo." "Alice." "WHAT."