Demonic Po*nstar System Chapter 732: The Truth

He shifted his grip on Vespera and looked back at Alice, who remained latched onto his back, her legs swinging loosely and her face hidden in his hair. Neither one had any plans to release their hold.

"So," he began, facing the camera again. "In the Ashborn family, there’s an ancient custom. Kids stay hidden from the public until they reach adulthood. The belief is that growing up normally, far from fame and schemes, forges stronger individuals." He shrugged. "If that holds water is up for debate, but it’s the rule."

"Post-Mana Apocalypse, the custom evolved slightly. Children got unveiled not at a fixed age, but upon awakening and signing up with the Association. Awakening turned into the key event. You awaken, register, and step into the world as an Ashborn."

He halted briefly.

"I never awakened."

The statement was straightforward, delivered casually, yet the chat slowed down. Emilia observed the messages dwindle as millions absorbed the implication.

"All my family members awakened. Father, mother, all four siblings. Against the probabilities, every last one. Everyone but me."

"They were awful to him!" Alice snapped.

Her wild energy had vanished. She stayed glued to his back, but the delight had fled, swapped for a dull tone that felt off.

"Father saw him as broken, and Selena plus the twins followed suit since they’re rotten to the core!" Her arms squeezed Kaiden’s neck harder. "Kai was the sweetest soul in that home, yet they discarded him like worthless trash!"

Vespera then spoke up.

"Ignoring all that..."

Her eyes fluttered open, the earlier rapture gone as she declared, "remains my deepest regret."

Kaiden looked down at his mother. Then he turned to the camera, his gentleness fading.

"No one gets to fault or condemn my mother."

His gaze shifted.

A burst of crimson flared in his irises, Wrath emerging briefly, and the stream’s heat rose noticeably.

"If anyone in this chat, any forum, any site starts blaming my mother for my past," Kaiden snarled, utterly menacing, "we’ll have serious issues. Clear?"

The chat erupted in one emoji. Endless lines of saluting figures, hundreds flooding in each second, forming a blurring cascade of 🫡.

— 44xStorm: 🫡

— BastetThrone: 🫡

— VesperaFearless: 🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡

— GigaAsh: 🫡 understood boss. Understood completely. Not a single word

— NyxWife4Life: 🫡 sir yes sir. Not breathing wrong in her direction

— SinnerDevotee: His eyes literally turned red. He activated an entire combat stance to defend his mom’s honor...

Emilia’s gut twisted. In the stream, Vespera’s face had altered. The woman leaning on her son had frozen. Her eyes lowered.

"That’s why I left," Kaiden went on. His eyes returned to normal, brighter now. "Headed to college for a regular existence, everyday pursuits, discovering myself beyond the Ashborn label and its crushing pressures."

He let out a chuckle.

"Plus, being a young guy without oversight and tons of bottled-up anger, I made certain... choices." The smirk returned. "Put it this way: I joined a specific type of video production."

A pause hung.

"Using my actual name."

— GigaAsh: BRO

— 44xStorm: LMAOOOOO

— NyxWife4Life: I am screaming.

"Mother got alerted because she’d secretly hired a monitoring firm to trail me, guarding me from afar without me knowing." Kaiden’s smile dimmed. "She understood what Father would unleash if an Ashborn kid tarnished the family honor in his eyes. She knew he’d hunt me down, with my siblings in tow."

"Big brother!!!!!!" Alice whined, pouting hugely.

"Except for Alice, naturally," Kaiden laughed, then continued, "So Mother disowned me. And I get what you’re pondering. She’s the Shadow Monarch. She could’ve blocked Father and challenged him to act. Why not that?"

He stopped. Looked at Vespera.

"Because it would’ve left me forever glancing back. Still tied to an Ashborn legacy that loathed me. Still bracing for Father to test Mother’s shield. She saw my long misery and chose more than protection. I required total freedom from them."

Vespera’s voice emerged, soft yet distinct, her stare falling to her feet.

"I wanted you to truly live, beyond mere survival."

"I appreciate it deeply," Kaiden responded, embracing her closer. "She granted me the name Grey, erased me from the records, figuring that without Ashborn ties, Father and my three siblings had no cause to pursue. The family’s reputation stayed intact as I gained liberty."

Alice snorted. "Yet even that fell short."

She lifted her face from Kaiden’s shoulder toward the camera. Tears vanished, icy resolve in their place.

"Mom sacrificed her son to keep them off him, but they hunted him regardless because it wasn’t sufficient!" Her speech was firm and biting as she hurled, "Magnus Morvane. Selena Morvane. Cassian Morvane. Calix Morvane."

"Every one attempted to slay my brother with the world watching, and Selena even severed Luna’s arm until Mom intervened and halted them."

The room grew darker.

A twitch. Shadows near Vespera’s feet rippled momentarily before calming, and the space cooled by one degree.

The chat froze.

Leia’s voice rang from the phone, humor erased.

"Hold on." She’d straightened up now. Emilia heard the floor groan. "I’m only now piecing it together! If Kaiden’s Ashborn, then... Magnus dispatched his kids to assassinate their brother, his own boy!!!"

Sarah stayed silent. No dots to connect; she’d eyed the full image for weeks.

"That’s not guild feud—it’s a dad commanding his son’s cold-blooded death!" Leia yelled.

"Precisely," Sarah murmured. "That’s exactly it."

Emilia slumped on her kitchen floor, pressure crushing her chest.

The chat stirred.

Hesitant at first, bits of stunned reactions and doubt, then accelerating as millions reached Leia’s realization.

Bits formed phrases. Phrases turned to charges. Doubt soured into fury, fury ignited, and soon the chat blazed with one shared fury: Magnus Morvane had sought to kill his son.

He would answer for it.

...

Magnus Morvane perched at his desk, palms pressed flat, the stream displayed in his interface.

His left hand shook.

Grace positioned to his right. Arms clasped behind her. Disgust plain on her face toward him.

A knock sounded at his door. Another. Then a desperate third, fists pounding the wood.

"Guild Leader!!"