Aster returned to Nocturne a few days after his visit to Lumen Enterprise. The portal opened with a quiet distortion of space inside his office, folding reality like paper before settling into a stable circular gate. He stepped through casually, hoodie still on, hands in his pockets as if he had simply walked between rooms instead of crossing continents.The office was unchanged. No clutter as usual as Elowen always makes it sure that it's clean.
Aster walked towards the window. As he stare below, he admire the many homunculi circling around the Dimension Bubble that the Lunarium it is. To most witches, such a feat remained firmly in the realm of impossibility.
Still.
Even Persephone, one of the strongest witches alive, could only manage a tiny spatial pocket large enough to store cosmetics and personal belongings. Charlotte, meanwhile, had casually built an entire looping space, filled with stalls and her coven in the middle. Going outside in her Alter Ego appearance, Charlotte walked around Nocturne. Beyond the Lunarium Reception Hall in Nocturne, the modest building that served as the school's public entrance and housed the portal leading into Charlotte's private dimension, Nocturne stretched across the cavernous underground world below. The city no longer felt hidden the way it once had. Charlotte's everlasting portal gates had changed that. Surface visitors now moved through its streets in steady streams, some wide-eyed tourists, others curious researchers, and many simply trying to understand how a city beneath the earth could feel more alive than the surface above it.
The more she walks around, the more she sees the once decaying place to something entirely different. Rows of stalls, floating signs, mana-lit pathways, supernaturals walking alongside Bareblood visitors, and group of tourists stopping to take pictures of a levitating bakery display.
Coming back, the school grounds had changed dramatically over the past few months. Lunarium was no longer just a school nor a simple coven in traditional terms. It was becoming something else entirely.
Charlotte watched in silence as warps back. Then she tilted his head slightly.
"…Huh."
That was the moment the idea formed. The idea arrived with the frightening speed usually reserved for her most problematic thoughts.
A very bad one.
A few minutes later, Charlotte Sweeiz appeared in a public channel. Charlotte remained comfortably seated in her office while the broadcast spread across the Witching Hour and beyond, appearing on phones, screens, enchanted displays, and communication crystals within moments. A live broadcast spread through Nocturne and outside the Witching Hour like rippling water. Screens flickered on across everyone's phones and even big families of the Witching Hour had now started using the internet, albeit the use of internet is completely overshadowed by magic, after the summit.
Within seconds, the signal stream started with her twirling her hair. A familiar face appeared. Charlotte smiled gently at the camera.
"Hello everyone."
A short pause then her smile sharpened slightly.
"I have three announcements today."
That line alone caused immediate chaos. At the Raven's manor, Persephone was mid-review when one of her attendants rushed in holding a phone in hand.
"Milady! Charlotte is about to announce something!"
Persephone didn't even look up.
"She does that when she's bored."
The attendant hesitated.
"This time… it's a global channel. Everyone's seeing it."
That made her pause.
Across the room, her granddaughters immediately leaned in, dragging a gadget of their own. Edith sighed from a nearby chair, already suspicious as she comfortably sit in Persephone's office.
"Why do I feel like this is going to ruin my afternoon…"
Valeria, sitting beside her, was trying to adjust her phone with visible struggle. Beside them stood Gladius. The Eidolon she won from the duels had now turned into something far more… different. Just like Theodore's, Gladius had a humanoid form, a man in his sixties, composed entirely of condensed mana, dressed in a butler's suit that looked too natural on him. He adjusted his gloves calmly.
"If it helps," Gladius said politely, "I believe my creator rarely announces anything without consequence."
Back in Nocturne, chaos was already spreading. Aurora burst into Charlotte's office without knocking.
"Why does it say that you're doing a livestream?!"
Emilia followed immediately behind her.
"Please tell me this is not another one of your bizarre thoughts—"
They stopped. Because Charlotte was already sitting there. Waiting. Smiling.
"I was wondering when you two would arrive."
Aurora narrowed her eyes.
"What did you do?"
Charlotte tilted her head innocently.
"Nothing yet. I'm still waiting for the view count to go up."
That made it worse. A small chibi-like figure swung down from Aurora's hairpin, dangling mid-air like a lazy snowflake given form. Iskaryon. Ice condensed into a tiny dragonoid shape, watching everything with bored curiosity. On Emilia's wrist, a small hydra-like construct coiled itself like a bracelet. It shifted slightly, blinking multiple tiny eyes. Blythe. Emilia sighed.
The broadcast continued. Charlotte leaned slightly forward into the camera.
"First announcement." She paused. The world collectively leaned in. Even those who hated her voice could not look away. "I am formally recognizing Lumen Enterprise as the first surface-world institution fully integrated into Witching Hour."
Silence.
Then confusion, outrage, and more confusion. Persephone narrowed her eyes.
"…Lumen Enterprise?"
Edith slowly looked toward Valeria.
"Isn't that—"
"Yes," Valeria said quietly.
Charlotte continued smoothly.
"This includes cooperation in magical research, infrastructure development, and several long-term projects that I believe will prove beneficial to both the Witching Hour and the surface world."
Aurora froze. Emilia blinked.
"…She's advertising."
"No," Charlotte said cheerfully, midannouncement.
"I'm endorsing."
Somewhere in Nocturne, someone dropped a cup. Charlotte lifted a finger.
"Second announcement."
Her tone softened slightly.
"Next, Eidolons." A short pause. "I've decided to make more of them cause why not."
That changed the atmosphere immediately. Even Gladius, an Eidolon himself, straightened. Aurora frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Charlotte smiled.
"It means Eidolons will no longer be limited to being artifacts, summons, or whatevs." She leaned back. "It means they can become companions. Tools. Extensions of identity. Fully stable magical entities capable of evolving alongside their user."
The broadcast tension peaked. Persephone leaned forward slightly now. Edith had stopped breathing normally. Valeria was actively recording. Across Nocturne, people began realizing something important. This was not just an announcement. This was another great change orchestrated by Charlotte. A foundation being rewritten as she nonchalantly says she's endorsing a new company that aspires to help the world using both magic and science and world-ending companions in the hands of everybody.
Charlotte raised her hand again.
"Final announcement."
Silence fell instantly. Even the air felt heavier. Aurora took a step forward, slowly not wanting to know what's about to be said.
"…Charlotte, what are you doing?"
Charlotte didn't answer. Instead, she smiled softly.
For once, it wasn't mischievous. It was calm. Almost fondlike.
"I think it's time you all met someone properly."
Aurora's eyes widened.
"Wait—"
Emilia's expression changed instantly.
"Don't you dare—"
Charlotte closed her eyes. Then dispelled the spell that changes her appearance into who she is.
The image shimmered. For a fraction of a second, Charlotte Sweeiz remained on screen. Then the magic fell away. And underneath it, a different face appeared. Short dark hair, relaxed expression, and eyes that looked far too amused for what he was about to do.
Aster Collins.
The entire broadcast froze.
Somewhere in the Witching Hour, something shattered.Persephone stood up so fast her chair nearly fell back.
"…That's imp—"
Edith's voice cracked slightly.
Aurora's soul left her body for half a second. Emilia simply stared.
"…Oh no."
Aster looked directly into the camera. Smiled. Then tilted his head and stuck his tongue out in a mock Einstein pose.
"Surprise."
A pause.
Just enough for the world to process betrayal, confusion, and existential dread. Then, he reached forward and cut the livestream like nothing happened.