Heiress Unmasked: Shaking the World With Geomancy novel Chapter 1652

Shannon's expression revealed not the slightest trace of surprise. She simply looked at Luke and stated, "That's not what I want to know. I want to know where the real Benjamin is."

Luke replied, "That's him."

"No, he isn't." Shannon's voice was firm. There was a stubborn determination in her eyes even she failed to realize.

Luke let out a small sigh and rubbed his nose as if troubled. Then, after pausing to think, he asked, "Have you ever read mythology novels?

"In those stories, deities descend to the mortal world to undergo calamities and return to the heavens afterward. Even after they returned, they remembered everything that happened.

"But to them, those memories feel more like watching someone else's life unfold in a movie. His experiences as Benjamin and the head of the Cooper family are now just a small fraction of his memory. They're no longer his entire existence."

Shannon remained expressionless as she questioned, "So, what you're saying is that I was just a calamity he had to endure?"

That might be one way to put it, but Luke swallowed the words at the tip of his tongue the moment he saw her expressionless face. Instead, he quickly corrected himself, "That's not the right way to put it!

"The whole calamity thing was just a metaphor. You were never just a calamity to him."

Though Benjamin had never made it clear, Luke could feel that Shannon was the first person in a thousand years the former had ever wanted to stay for.

"As you know, the Dragon Vein is different from all other demons, ghosts, and supernatural beings. He's the only existence that relies on sleep to accumulate power."

The National Dragon Vein of Crisea represented the fortune of the entire nation. Each time he slept, he gathered energy to protect against future disasters.

The world was filled with putrefaction, which manifested as catastrophes, human suffering, resentment, and pain. Every few centuries, the Dragon Vein would take human form and descend into the world to use his own being to purify the accumulated putrefaction.

Luke sighed. "It's not that he didn't want to tell you, but he simply couldn't."

Just like how mortals shouldn't casually speak the names of deities and ghosts, Benjamin could never openly speak of his identity, even after awakening his Dragon Vein consciousness.

As the Soul of the Dragon Vein, he'd just awakened a portion of the Dragon Vein consciousness. But if he were to say it aloud, it would trigger the full awakening of the entire Dragon Vein consciousness. Once that happened, the Soul would automatically return to its true form.

"He might've just wanted to stay with you a little longer," Luke said softly.

If not for Seastone's stolen fortune, Luke believed The Enigma would've preferred to remain where he was and stay by her side for as long as he possibly could.

Shannon's eyelashes trembled. At least, she finally understood the helplessness and silence Benjamin carried in his eyes that gazed at her.