Chapter 2174

"Shut up. No crying," Reuben commanded in a cold voice. Thalia paused and looked up at him with teary eyes. Then, she let out a louder wail. Reuben's eyes flashed with a flicker of panic and agitation. "Don't cry!" Still, she bawled louder. Reuben sighed and reached behind her to pick her straight off the ground in one clean motion. Thalia's wails paused in surprise. The next moment, she found herself in warm, wide arms. Reuben carried her swiftly through the woods until they arrived at a secluded valley of flowers. With a wave of his hand, the valley stirred and formed a vivid fox of petals, whirling in circles around Thalia. Thalia had long stopped crying. Her eyes sparkled as she watched the petals twirl around her and reached out her chubby little hands to catch them. With a flick of Reuben's fingers, the fox turned and dashed away. Following another flick, the toddler in his arms lifted into the air. Guided by his power, she drifted along with the fox and flew through the flower fields. Crisp and bright peals of joy rang out across the valley. By the time the sun began to set, Reuben returned to the mountain villa where Louise and Edmund awaited, with one arm cradling the sleeping baby. Louise seemed to be waiting. When she saw Thalia in his arms, her only reaction was a faint raise of her brows. Reuben pressed his lips together and handed over the soundly asleep youngling. "She's yours." Louise snorted but still reached out to take the baby. The moment Thalia smelled her familiar scent, she wriggled a little and nestled into a more comfortable position in Louise's arms and slept more peacefully. Just as Louise reached out to pluck a flower petal from the baby's hair, a delicate emerald fox figurine dropped gently onto Thalia's chest. When she looked up, Reuben had vanished and left behind a casual voice carried by the wind. "A gift." Shannon's divine soul watched it all unfold. At some point, a smile tugged at her lips, and the timeline once again shifted. Foreign invaders tore across the land, and Edmund perished in the flames of war. Losing her loved one, the gentleness in Louise's eyes disappeared forever. She returned to Wynthorpe Manor with Thalia. But Shannon's divine soul no longer followed them. Instead, it drifted onto the battlefield, where she saw another familiar figure amid the scorched earth and ruined corpses—Zidane. To be exact, he was the Zidane of this timeline. Clad in a pale blue robe, he stood amidst the destruction and was jarringly out of place. His androgynous face carried traces of human-like compassion and silence. Out of instinct, Shannon approached, only to lock eyes with him. She froze. He could see her! But in his eyes, there were traces of wariness and unfamiliarity. He clearly didn't recognize her. Shannon's heart leaped with unknown emotions of joy or surprise. She opened her mouth to speak, but the Zidane before her vanished. In his place was the Zidane she knew, dressed in a beautifully tailored suit. Unlike the unfamiliar Zidane, she'd seen this side of him. There was a sly and teasing glint in his eyes as he looked at her and clicked his tongue. "Let's go. I'm taking you home." Shannon was stunned. Not only could he see her divine soul, but he was also specifically here to take her back? "How did you know I was here?"