Caelan's pupils contracted sharply as he watched his soul bell shatter before his eyes. His already weakened demon form, drained by the Soul Tree, nearly collapsed entirely with the destruction of the bell.
Just as his demonic soul was on the verge of disintegrating, a wisp of black fog surged out from within him.
The black fog, thin as a thread, swiftly wove through the cracks in his soul, mending what was about to fall apart. At the same time, the soul bell, though shattered, rapidly reassembled itself midair.
The bell, once a burnished bronze, now glimmered faintly with a dark hue.
It flew back to Caelan, the black fog vanishing as it nestled against him, once again appearing unchanged to the naked eye.
Unnoticed by everyone, the matching soul bell bound to him on the Soul Tree above had begun to darken, its color subtly tainted. The blackness, nearly invisible, crept ever so slowly along the branches of the tree…
…
At the Cooper residence in Seastone City, Shannon and Benjamin stood quietly as they gazed at the teen boy before them.
The teen, now 15, had clearly grown taller compared to three years ago. Upon seeing her, he remained as respectful and courteous as ever.
"Hello, it's been a while."
The teen was none other than Henry, Benjamin's chosen heir, selected from one of the Cooper branch families.
When Benjamin "disappeared" back then, Cooper Group swiftly weathered the storm thanks to his advance arrangements and the Jensen family's intervention.
Though Henry hadn't formally taken over, he had already begun learning the ropes, guided by seasoned executives, and had started participating in company affairs.
In Benjamin's absence, Henry had effectively become the stand-in owner of the Cooper residence.
Shannon naturally hadn't forgotten this heir. Before finalizing the choice, Benjamin had made a point to have her meet him.
Despite his young age, there was a practiced maturity to the way he spoke—measured, proper, and entirely serious.
The sudden shift of topic caught Shannon off guard. Instinctively, she turned to Benjamin.
They had indeed talked about a wedding in Celestria, but how did the news already spread when they had only returned yesterday?
Benjamin stayed silent. He might or might not have mentioned it to Julian so he could get started on the preparations. Who would've thought he would tell that to Henry?
"There's… no rush for that," Shannon said.
She had said yes to Benjamin, but letting a kid prepare their wedding felt odd.
Henry seemed to catch on to her hesitation and simply replied, "A union between the Jensen and Cooper families is no small affair. Starting preparations a year in advance can hardly be called rushed."
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