When he opened the door, the spectacle of a man sitting majestically astride a horse and suspended in the air greeted him.

The man's face was covered in a silver mask. He wore a leather outfit and his horse was also silvery.

Queen Aureya's subjects were out staring at the man. And the guards were shouting at him to descend or face the consequences. The core formation cultivators among them had already flown up to face him.

Silver Mask raised a finger and pointed toward the middle of the castle.

The rumbling of thunder, just like earlier, cut through their ears, but unlike before, it was without lightning or any other light - just the rumble. Nothing happened for three seconds, and then, people began to fall. One by one, all of them fell. None moved again afterward.

The four core formation experts also fell from the sky, lifeless.

Abdin clenched his jaw. The building that had sheltered him began to glow and eventually faded.

He stood rooted to the spot for a long time afterward. The castle slowly faded away. Only Silver Mask, who was still in the air, and a confused Abdin, who stood on the ground where the castle had just been, remained on the scene.

Silver Mask turned and faced him.

They stood there facing each other for a long time before Silver said, "From what realm are you?"

Abdin arched his brows. His brain hadn't fully processed the skill employed by the man to kill all the castle inhabitants in one instance. Silver Mask's question merely compounded his confusion.

How many realms were there? Was there any realm other than the one they were occupying at the moment?

The look on his face made Silver Mask turn around and fly west without another word.

Abdin frowned and gritted his teeth. Did that mean he wasn't worth killing?

He shook his head after a long while. The man's inattention was at the moment for the best.

He was safe, for now. The castle's inhabitants had died taking his scent along with them.

Besides, Abdin could summon queen Aureya and her subjects back to life whenever the loop resets.

He strode to the heart of the forest and sat down meditatively.

The first time it happened, five months had passed by before they had been able to track him down in Nanila.

To solve that problem, he had gotten himself ready to fight Silver Mask. But he ended up losing. He had underestimated the man's strength, earning himself death in less than a month.

Now the third time, he changed tactics and transferred his scent to queen Aureya and her subjects. But it took only nine days for Silver Mask to follow the scent.

Silver Mask hadn't killed him because he was free of the offending scent. Or maybe there was another reason.

Abdin couldn't raise his cultivation without his castles. What then was he going to do now?

He sat there for three days before coming to a decision. He had discovered many things during the previous loop when he had gone into the city.

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He would also do the same this time.

But instead of Nanila, he would visit the Biyakis capital this time. He was sure to get more information in the capital about these occurrences.

However, from his location, it was a long journey to the capital even when not accounting for the demon beasts that pestered the route.

Abdin needed help to reach the capital on time.

He retrieved a pen and a scroll and drew a seal on his bare chest.

His body glowed. An orb of light emerged from the chest, which slowly morphed into the bodiless head of a young man.

Abdin stood up and bowed in greeting. "Good day, brother Yunus."

The head didn't open its eyes or made any indications to tell that it heard him.

Abdin smiled wanly. "I know it's been long since I called on you, but I told you when I saw you last that this might happen. The occurrences these days are what deter me."

Still, the head didn't move.

Abdin clenched his teeth. Brother Yunus was named after their grandfather Yunus. They went to the same cultivation sect and also grew up together.

Originally, Abdin and Yunus both possessed the castle summoning skill. But eventually, their trainers informed their parents that the skill employed by the kids were two halves of the same skill.

In short, one of them had to give it up for the other. Rahana Samu, Abdin's elder sister, was the one who sat down with Yunus' parents to make a decision.

A competition was set up for the two kids, which Abdin won and also took sole possession of the skill.

But soon after his skill had been taken from him and handed over to his cousin Abdin, Yunus committed suicide.

To avoid hurting the kid, the skill hadn't been sheared off from the roots. Only the part that would give Abdin the chance to specialize was removed. But that hadn't stopped him from committing suicide.

Abdin had felt that it was a tremendous waste to let Yunus rot in the grave, so at midnight, he dug him out and sapped out the remnant of the skill.

Abdin still needed some part of his cousin's body before he could fully control the skill, mainly because the skill hadn't been removed when he was alive.

That was how he had come to possess the head that now stood before him.

"Yunus," Abdin called. "Fine, if you aren't going to help your brother." He took a deep breath in feigned resignation.

Only then did Yunus open his eyes. It was just a bodiless head, but the way the eyes were snapped open looked a lot like any living human.

"I shall be the one to kill you," the head vowed. It was a cool voice, like any man's, but the words chilled Abdin to the marrow.

"Alright, you can kill me if you have the chance. But since you are bodiless now... I think it's better to give it up."

The head smiled softly. He didn't seem at all offended by Abdin's words. "What do you want?"

"I need to activate the full power of the castle golem," replied Abdin.

The head looked disgusted. "You are useless. Still asking for help after all these years. In your place, I would've already lord over the world. Die off and make way for me."

Abdin sighed. "Your soul has the remnant of my skill. I know that it gets weaker whenever I make use of it. And if I go on with that, it will gradually wither and disintegrate. But I need you now. Hope my brother would understand."

The head still looked disgusted. After staring at each other for some time, a holographic castle appeared between them.

Miniature figures of people were seen going about their businesses in the holograph.

Yunus' head gave off a bright glow, and in return, another glow emerged from Abdin. The two glowing orbs intertwined and entered the miniature castle.

About ten seconds later, a red glow exited the castle and entered Abdin's chest. The castle darkened before vanishing.

"Never call me again." The head warned. "Or else, I shall change my mind and kill you now."

With that, it morphed into a glowing orb and returned to Abdin's chest.

Abdin sighed.

The temperature in his body was already going up, and every part of him was trembling in response. Pol coursed through his flesh and a dark glow was coming out through his mouth and eyes.

It took him a minute before he returned to normal. His body stopped shivering and the dark glow disappeared.

A smile brightened his face. It had been quite a while since he had felt as strong.

Even though it was temporary and his body would eventually return to how it had always been, still, Abdin was elated.

The only problem was, the people from whom he had just taken pol to enhance his own, had forever lost their cultivation. They could never regain it even if he would summon the castle in the future. And Yunus' soul that had enabled him to do so would also weaken.

He sat down cross-legged as the pol circulated his body.

He nodded his satisfaction a while later and flew into the sky.

He rose higher among the clouds. He turned to look at the east and then the west before choosing a path.

The feeling of being among the clouds calmed him the more. He hadn't enjoyed it ever since he came to this continent.

He spent several days flying before he reached the capital.