***

On the first continent to the South, on the highest mountain in the Jud-Hawzan sect, a scholar was walking in haste.

Men fell before him in greetings as he passed.

But the scholar never stopped to look at them, probably because of his haste or perhaps for his ego.

Not long after, he reached a large building and went on his knees. "Teacher," he called. "Disciple Umaru offers his greetings."

The man who called himself Disciple Umaru was a great scholar in the whole of the South. But, before the Teacher, he was merely one student.

Someone cleared his throat from inside the house, giving a heads-up for the man to speak.

"Teacher, the contingent we sent has informed us that men from Yusta'Diyum have gone West. They are currently on a little continent to the west. Barahan is their commander. What are your orders?"

"Barahan?" A soft voice asked from behind the door.

The voice paused before it went on, "He couldn't do it the last time, why do you think he can do it this time? Do you want me to go out myself?"

Disciple Umaru shivered at the tone.

"Teacher, I shall go out myself and complete the task, if you command me. By Teacher, I shall not return until I fulfill your orders."

"Who would take care of Yusta'Diyum if you leave? Our priority is to bring the level 6 empire to its knees." The voice sighed. "Send fifty Deva to every level 5 empire. Disciple Usanyu and yourself to lead them. Yusta'Diyum lacks the power to save them at the moment."

"It is done, Teacher."

The disciple rose to leave, but the teacher stopped him. "Give them the choice when they are on their last breath. Would they accept me as the sovereign ruler or would they die astray? Be sure that they realize who reigns between us and Yusta'Diyum."

Disciple Umaru answered respectfully and turned to leave.

The rest of humanity would have vomited blood in shock if they had known that the man called disciple Umaru, who was just ordered around, had surpassed Deva for centuries and had already attained the Truth stage.

But to think he would bow down to another! Who was this man called Teacher?

Beyond the door sat the Teacher on an ancient mat, his legs folded beneath him meditatively. He looked like a young man in his twenties with fair skin and bright eyes.

And before him was the head of a maiden.

If she had still been alive, the owner of that head would have been the same age as the Teacher. But the head would lack the wisdom and calm visible in the Teacher's eyes.

"Rahana," the Teacher called.

"Yunus," she replied, staring at him. Her expression was neither scared nor calm. As if this were some respectful discussion or a heated debate.

The teacher sighed deeply. At his age, he was at a stage where very few things ever disrupt his attention or even irritate him.

But the bodiless head that sat before him was one of those few.

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"This will be over as soon as I have the world under my control, bear with me. As I promised, you shall only cease to exist after you bear witness that the world has become mine."

The skull sighed and replied, "I would probably not die if that's the case. Besides, I don't like being here this way. Why won't you just kill me, perhaps I would forgive you when I finally die."

The Teacher's face clouded. He smiled wanly after some time. "I forgot to tell you something. Your little brother hasn't yet attained the core formation stage.

"The last I heard of him wasn't sweet either. Rumors said he has gone west." The teacher shook his head with another sigh that was forced. "Man is a sinner. Even you, a woman of great cultivation haven't cleansed yourself from the sin called greed. I have no option, despite you being my family. Only the flames of Nuhu and time would cleanse your selfishness."

He shook his head as if truly upset by that thought. A while later, he breathed towards the head. Black flames engulfed it and the air was soon filled with screams and wails from the woman once called Rahana.

Some cleaners sweeping the lawn exchanged looks before finally going on with their sweeping.

They would hear those wails thrice a day every day: once at dawn, once in the afternoon, and once at nightfall.

***

Far away in the West, in a cottage at the Biyakis empire, two people sat in a room.

One was a woman in her thirties wearing a gray robe adorned with demon fur. The other was a man in a leather outfit, his face concealed behind a silver mask.

While the man seemed to be relaxing, the woman was going through some scrolls with an angry countenance.

"Eleven thousand men!" She bit out.

"And no one saw when they were killed!" She glanced towards Silver Mask fuming. Her annoyance wasn't directed at Silver though, and her gaze was bereft of any anger toward him.

Silver didn't respond. Not even a cough from him showed that he heard what she was saying.

She sighed and looked away. Her colleague might have killed the suspects, who carried the scents of the victims, but she wasn't satisfied. There were things she didn't understand and she didn't like them.

Silver suddenly sat up. The woman turned towards him, for, very rarely, had the man ever displayed such reactions.

"Anything wrong?"

Silver Mask was quiet. He stood up after a while and said, "Someone just spoke my name. In the South, Jud-Hawzan."

The woman sighed. Barahan was a man she still hadn't understood. He was a man with a great arsenal of skills, and one of the few who could hear when someone mentioned their name.

But she saw no reason why he would be so worked up by a mere call.

"Only three people know my name in the South. Yunus, Umaru, and Usanyu."

The woman was quiet, then she nodded. She now understood. "You think one of them spoke it?"

Silver Mask frowned in thought before waving his hand dismissively and stepping out of the room.

***

In the same Western continent, Abdin stretched back on the clouds, his face looking up.

He had come to this town to unravel Silver Mask's plot.

During the previous loop, he had read in a paper that the Biyakis capital had been under attack.

He wanted to have a glimpse of the army, first-hand, for one reason: to see where the allegiance of the Biyakis lay. Some indications signaled an alliance between the Biyakis and Silver Mask. Whereas others pointed at the emperor being the sole leader to have burst Silver Mask's bubbles, and in essence had been trying to stop him.

One instance was during that particular loop when the castle first expanded and for days the Biyakis had never come. Abdin had been sure they had seen it. Besides, some while later, a man who had called himself Kininura, a first division commander of Biyakis, had arrived wanting to meet with Abdin.

If he truly had been Kininura, then there was no doubt that Biyakis and Silver Mask were allies.

But, Abdin had also read in the previous loop that Biyakis had tried to stop the Ura army from reaching Shurein. And the emperor had also tried to go in person to Dadiyan to quell the brewing war on the continent.

All these pointed at the emperor not being in support of Silver Mask causing chaos on the continent.

Abdin eventually decided to come and see things for himself. Even if the emperor happened to be innocent, elites like Kininura, in his government surely had a hand deeply in this.

It would take four months before the capital would come under attack if everything unfolded just as in the previous loop.

Abdin looked toward the capital.

Men could be seen going to and fro. Some of them were merchants, others were schoolchildren, and the rest were at home.

Flying wasn't banned in the capital, but security always made sure to confirm that anyone flying above the city's skies was legitimately licensed.

Abdin groped around his bag and brought out a document. A white hen adorned the cover, signifying the Biyakis flag.

He had acquired the document even before he had first summoned the castle. And since he had been short of the required cultivation for registration at that time, Abdin had to bribe the officials before he had gotten it.