Chapter 196: Revealing Everything

Words : 1270 Updated : Sep 23rd, 2025

Chapter 196: Revealing EverythingKaiden rested his hands on the comfy artifact seat’s armrest, his gaze observing the woman seated across from him. He could feel the tension spike. Vespera didn’t speak. She didn’t need to. The air around her warped, the surface of her teacup vibrating as invisible pressure pulsed outward. This time, it was not violent, not filled with pure malicious intent like earlier, but deeply... maternal. In a terrifying way. A monarch’s disapproval of her daughter’s actions. Alice met her mother’s stare with a determined glare of her own, jaw clenched. And just like that, the staredown between mother and daughter began. A single bead of sweat slid down her temple. Still, she refused to move. "I’m not getting off!" she decreed under her breath, arms crossed tighter. "It’s been years since I’ve gotten to sit in my big brother’s lap!" Another wave of quiet pressure rippled out from Vespera’s still form. Kaiden’s chair creaked. "I missed him so much!" Alice gritted, now speaking louder as though defending herself in court. "And besides! It’s perfectly normal for a little sister to sit on her big brother’s lap! Our relationship is perfectly healthy sibling bonding!" The shadows in the room grew a shade darker. "I saw it! On the stream! The purple-haired one does it all the time!" Alice grimaced, gesturing blindly to her left. "I’m your brother’s girlfriend, while you, little sis, is his full-bloo-" Luna replied, utterly amused. She’s never seen such an odd person before. But before she could finish, she was interrupted by a high-pitched, alarmed shout. "S-shut up! It’s not like that, and that’s the end of the story!" Alice snapped, then turned back to her mother. "I refuse to get off! You’ll have to kill me!" The room continued to tighten with unspoken gravity, a silent orchestra of judgment building toward a final crescendo. Alice was trembling now, visibly sweaty, but her arms remained locked. "I... I didn’t even get to greet my big brother for years... I’m... just making up for lost time..." Another pause. The air was thick. Her shoulders shook, both from strain and nerves. And then... It stopped. Just like that. No warning. No easing. No gradual fade. The pressure vanished as if a switch had been flipped. The shadows returned to calm. The warmth of breathable air rushed back into the room. Alice collapsed backward against Kaiden’s chest, sweat glistening along her forehead and collarbone. She was panting heavily, ragged breaths escaping her lips before she grinned triumphantly. "I won..." she whispered. Kaiden sighed through a small smile, brushing a few damp strands of hair from her cheek. Across from them, Vespera sipped her tea once more, unbothered, as though the entire power play had never happened. But the faintest twitch at the corner of her mouth betrayed something else. Something dangerously close to amusement. A momentary lull took over the conversation. Kaiden shifted, letting Alice settle more comfortably against him. His gaze, however, never left the woman seated across from him. He exhaled slowly, bracing himself to say what he had to. "I’m... once again shamefully bothering you, to ask a favor." Vespera didn’t reply. She didn’t nod, didn’t blink. She simply studied him. Unmoving. Unblinking. Waiting. The silence broke from another direction. "M-may I say something?" Julia’s voice was meek, barely above a whisper, like a child speaking up in a place she knew she shouldn’t. She looked toward Vespera. The Shadow Monarch’s crimson gaze shifted, slowly, deliberately turning to meet the woman’s eyes. She gave a single nod. Julia gulped and nodded back. "I... I just don’t understand... why does Kaiden hate asking for your help so much?" She glanced toward Kaiden, then back to Vespera. "You have more than enough resources. And... from what I understand after spending time chatting with you and observing your actions, you don’t seem to mind helping your son at all." Her lips trembled slightly, but her eyes were steady. "As a mother, I would be happy to give my daughter all the support she needs. So why... why does he resist you so much?" Vespera didn’t answer. Instead, she remained silent in contemplation before she turned her head once again, this time back to Kaiden. Waiting for his explanation. Kaiden met her gaze for a long moment, his fingers slowly tapping against the chair’s armrest. He didn’t respond right away. Soon, he sighed. Then he lifted his eyes and asked, "Is there any chance anyone might be able to listen in on this conversation?" "No," Vespera replied instantly. "No one can." But seeing his hesitation, she raised a hand and smacked two fingers together. *Snap.* The sound echoed with unnatural sharpness. In an instant, blackness exploded outward. The windows darkened. The walls disappeared. The light was swallowed whole. Shadows flooded the entire room, swallowing up every edge and corner in ominous silence. The world was gone. Only those in the room remained. "Speak freely," Vespera said. Her voice was calm. Hearing his mother’s statement, Kaiden’s eyes shifted, moving toward the three women seated beside him. Luna. Aria. Nyx. Each of them met his gaze. He didn’t say a word. He didn’t need to. One by one, they nodded. Supportive. Resolute. Unquestioning. A silent pact reaffirmed. Kaiden leaned back against his chair, exhaling slowly as he turned his eyes back to the woman across from him. Vespera didn’t pressure him. She simply waited. He stared at her deep eyes for a long moment, collecting the tangled thoughts that had coiled in his chest for some time now. Then he began. "When I was a dejected college student, I had no hopes of living life the way I wanted. I was stuck. Forgotten. Studying my ass off to become just another cog in the machine." He paused. "That all changed, however.. .when I died." Alice twisted on his lap, alarm flashing across her face. She spun around completely, straddling his legs now as she grabbed the sides of his face, inspecting him with frantic intensity. "You died?! Where?! When?!" Kaiden placed a calming hand on the hyperventilating girl’s head and ran his fingers through her dark hair. "I’m fine now. Let me finish, Alice." The twintailed teen pouted but paused her frantic search for mortal wounds on her big brother, instead folding her arms under her chest once again. Seeing that she had calmed, Kaiden continued. "I didn’t stay dead. Instead of falling into eternal slumber, I woke up once again. My broken body was healed. And there was a message staring at me, burned into my mind’s eye." He lifted a hand and manifested the same message he saw back then. A small, glowing screen flickered into existence above his palm. [Welcome to the Pornstar System, host.] Julia gasped sharply. Alice blinked once, then twice, then made a sound like a balloon deflating in confusion. Even Vespera—the unshakable Monarch of Shadows—raised an eyebrow. Kaiden let the screen vanish with a flick of his hand. "I’ve been doing my best to rank the system up, not just level myself. That’s why I’m getting stronger and stronger without needing to break through after hitting the usual cap of Level 25 like normal Awakened." "I can grow both through combat and through the system itself. It’s a dual path where the paths themselves reinforce each other." He spent the next few minutes detailing the last couple of months that had passed since gaining the system, its mechanics, how he fulfilled a hidden quest, and awakened his three girlfriends into Valkyries with immense potential. Once done, Kaiden turned his gaze to Julia.

Chapter 196: Revealing Everything

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