The new planet headed straight to his home planet. The two stood side by side. It was clear that the new planet was bigger than his home planet. It was probably five to six times bigger, maybe more.

The enormous planet moved closer until it stuck itself to the smaller one. Almost instantly, the smaller world shook and cracks appeared on it.

It stopped moving after a long while, and then it shrunk while the bigger planet got bigger.

The change had been subtle at first, but gradually, it became more pronounced.

The bigger planet was sucking the smaller one. Abdin abruptly stood up, his mouth widely opened. All plans of hiding were forgotten.

It wasn't just water, air, and ki that were being targeted, it was the whole planet. No life would survive this.

Up until a few minutes ago, Abdin had entertained the thought that he could escape Silver Mask without any confrontations, but he had just realized that that had been wishful thinking.

Even if he would flee to the world's end to hide, he would still die if Silver and his cohorts win.

The only way to escape with his life was to kill them first, after thwarting their evil plans.

Expanding the castle to his taste wouldn't do him any good when the planet got chomped down.

The bigger planet was likely the so-called Origin which the other man had spoken about. Signs of life and development were apparent on it even from such a distance. He wondered what the world would look like from the inside.

Time passed slowly.

In a week, the bigger planet had swallowed the smaller one. It was even bigger now and a bright glow crowned its peak.

Abdin glanced at the countless ships that were flanking him from both sides. It could only mean that the passengers of these ships were the only survivors from his home planet and the millions who had once occupied it had all perished.

What savagery!

The ships collectively moved toward the bigger planet.

It was time to decide for Abdin. The ships would be entering the new planet. Either he allowed himself to enter with them or he killed himself and reset the loop.

Going by what he heard from Silver Mask and emperor Biyakin the other loop, he understood that it was very dangerous to enter another planet. Those that entered Abdin's home planet had gotten their memories wiped away in the process.

There was a likelihood of the same thing happening to him if he entered the planet before him. Although, there were others inside the surrounding ships and they came from the same world. Wouldn't all of them suffer the same thing? Would Origin kill its allies?

He took the courage and stayed put.

A few minutes later, the ships reached the threshold of the new planets.

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Instead of going forward, Abdin's ship shrunk. It released stinky fluid from the hulk.

Abdin leaped in the air to avoid it. Suddenly, laughter erupted from the ship. It was the childish voice of the ship and Abdin was sure he was the object of its glee.

He had tried several times to break free of the ship but all in vain. Even if he escaped now, his home planet was gone and there was nothing left for him but space.

The ship seemed to understand this. It shrunk further and released massive amounts of the same fluid. Anything that came in contact with the fluid would dissolve and evaporate.

Abdin could dodge the fluid from the floor and the sides, but the one dripping from the roof was too much. Besides, the ship was continuously shrinking.

A touch of the fluid burned like the scorch of flames. The steam from it filled every corner of the ship and Abdin had no option but to breathe it all in.

He was now certain there was no escape. But still, he fought.

He transformed into a dark bolt of lightning and hit the hulk.

The ship laughed.

He transformed into a red bolt and hit the roof.

The ship laughed it off again.

He turned into a dark river of furious lightning and filled every corner of the ship.

The ship only laughed.

The ship's laughter was the last thing Abdin heard before darkness overwhelmed him and he fell.

***

Abdin stood in the middle of a forest when he awoke later.

[You have died at the hands of the enemy. You have lost three and a half years.]

He took a deep breath and sat down in meditation. The conspiracy was bigger than Biyakis. It had never been a matter of resources. It was about swallowing the whole planet.

A bigger planet had set its eyes on them.

He needed men. Powerful cultivators. He would deal with people like Silver Mask, Biyakin, and Nánata. It was only then that he could face the real offenders hiding behind these figures.

If Silver Mask and Nánata were sent to Biyakis, then others were sent to the East and South as well.

Were the people sent to the East and South more powerful than Silver Mask or was there something important about Biyakis? You couldn't send someone like Silver Mask to a level 1 empire, that would be overkill. Abdin felt there was something still not clear about the whole thing. Silver Mask was too powerful to be kept in a small place like this.

A long sigh escaped him.

At least one thing was clear: the attack on Biyakis was a conspiracy so vast that he alone wasn't powerful enough to confront it at one time. But with the help of the time loop and other people that would want to protect the planet, he could do it.

New plans took shape in his mind.

He needed to be cautious of the spaceships flying around. Any one of those would be capable of leveling the castle before the first expansion. As the castle expanded, it would become stronger. There might come a time when the buildings would not be destroyed by a mere ship.

Abdin gritted his teeth as he remembered the ship's laughter. Though he couldn't be certain if it had been a man or a woman, he believed it was intelligent.

Destroying such ships would be at the top of his list once he raised his cultivation. He was only lacking pol. A mere ship couldn't be allowed to have its way.

A while later, Abdin stood up and summoned the castle.

Abdin and Juwaira sat facing each other across a table. About twenty days had passed since the loop had been reset.

Like always, Abdin summoned the castle and also invited Juwaira and her team.

A few moments ago, he had successfully assassinated Laluri. Then Juwaira along with Denyanu had run over to investigate the ruckus. But unlike in the previous loops where he would follow them to the wall, this time he was having a nice chat with Juwaira.

It was the beginning of a new plan.

Even as they spoke, Silver Mask was outside the castle on his horse. Will of San had its army surrounding the castle. But Abdin didn't care. It didn't matter, not today.

The princess frowned slightly. "Whatever that witch told you is a lie. What did she say, anyway?"

The princess thought Abdin had summoned her because of Laluri.

Abdin shrugged. "I know she was lying. And I also know she was taking you to Enula. They have already kidnapped the heirs to the four emperors of the continent. They are going to use you in a few months to bait the empires into a war.

"Ura would stand against Shurein and Dadiyan against Biyakis. They are going to infiltrate and subsequently destroy the continent."

She was at first expressionless as she listened, but then she frowned. She stared at him for some time, waiting for him to laugh and call off the joke, but that never happened.

His gaze remained unwavering.