There were so many things going on that she was both shocked and confused. What was the worst that could happen if she took the black seed? Become poisoned and die? That didn't seem to be the case at all, why would Abdin waste all this time to kill her? He could kill Laluri so she shouldn't be a problem. Or maybe she would be trapped in a loop? But that was the best-case scenario for her. It confirmed the presence of the loop and she would now be part of it, which was a good thing.

So, she flung the Ayrid into her mouth. The seed dissolved as soon as it came into contact with her saliva.

Abdin smiled. He finally won her over. "Good choice. Remember, come back here as soon as possible. We have so much to talk about."

Her vision blurred and she fell.

The last thing she remembered was Abdin supporting her so she wouldn't fall to the floor. It was a nice, warm feeling.

***

The next time she opened her eyes, she found herself furiously galloping on a stallion.

***

On his part, Abdin had summoned the castle. Then, just like the first day, he surrounded the castle with mist.

A couple of hours later, he stood on the wall and waited for Juwaira and her team.

He stood there for five hours but no one came.

Another six or seven hours passed slowly, and still, no one came.

Juwaira was now aware of the loop so there might be some delays on her part as she tried to navigate through all the confusion brought about by the new development, but she should have arrived by now.

He looked for a place on the wall and sat. Twelve hours passed by slowly and no one came.

Did someone stop the princess? His face was slowly turning into a frown.

A day passed and the team still hadn't arrived.

By now Abdin knew something must have happened. Ideally, there shouldn't be any change to the loop. Since there was a change, then it must have come from the princess' side.

Maybe the events that were happening had taken a toll on her and she needed time to calm down... but Laluri was with her. She didn't have the strength to get rid of the maid, so she needed Abdin as soon as the loop reset.

Sigh.

The princess ran away from home because she didn't want to marry prince Jubu. The marriage proposed by the two families was uncommon. Once the bride and groom were tied, and they knew each other as husband and wife, the princess' cultivation would stop progressing. Instead, she would be helping Jubu to strengthen his pol in an attempt to break through to the next realm. She would be a cultivation vessel.

All over the continent, there was no Deva. Prince Jubu was the first person below the age of fifty to enter the realm of pseudo-Deva. It was believed that the young man would be the first person to enter Deva. Therefore, emperor Biyakin had all his attention on him.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Emperor Shen of Shurein wanted a Deva to be found on the continent. They had no Deva for centuries and the neighboring continents had been putting their eyes on them. Emperor Shen preferred to ally with a neighboring nation than to allow a foreign country to dominate him - especially since his daughter would be married into the family of the future Deva. If Jubu succeeded in entering the sacred realm, it wouldn't be difficult for him to help Juwaira enter the realm of pseudo-Deva.

While the higher-ups were making the decision, Juwaira didn't voice her disagreement. Everyone was relieved that she agreed. And then... she fled. Before anyone realized what happened, she had already left Shurein.

She traversed the continent for a couple of years. Ultimately meeting Abdin and joining the time loop at the end of the previous restart.

Sigh.

His scent was already on her. It would take some time for Silver Mask to find her. As long as she could escape from the clutches of Laluri, she would be fine.

Should he go after her?

After some thought, he decided against it. It would be difficult to find her now that she was in the loop. And he couldn't leave the castle after already summoning it.

He waited for three more days but there was no sign of Juwaira. In such a situation, staying still and doing nothing while waiting was the most excruciating thing for him. Therefore, on the fourth day, he went to Nanila.

It wasn't to look for the missing princess but to initiate the next phase of his plan. As for the princess, he believed she turned up eventually.

Nanila.

One-third of the small town had fled. The same thing was happening in Wuran. This was because of the people dying in the villages. The local representatives of Biyakis in town had fled to the capital 'to get help for the epidemic'. Many were associating the deaths with dark witchcraft but the authorities had refused to speak on it. Even after three days, the parent empire had not sent anyone to monitor the situation.

On his way to the town, he noticed that most of the villages on the way were in ruins. Hundreds of people, adults and children, were falling sick for no apparent reason. Abdin was responsible for the deaths but he didn't know about the ailments - something else was at work there.

After some thought, he decided to ignore it.

For the people this was a plague, for him this was an opportunity to expand his castle. Imagine thousands of people fleeing their homes for safety and such people were presented with a lifetime opportunity of joining a beautiful castle.

It was easier for him this time around. There were only a couple of people guarding the town head. He sneaked at night and knocked the old man unconscious. After storing him in his magic bag, he went to Wuran and grabbed the other head.

In just a few days, he was back in the castle.

In a small room, Abdin faced the two men who couldn't stop trembling.

"You can call me Commander. I brought you here." They didn't see his face when he knocked them out so he thought it necessary to introduce himself.

He had also tried not to scare them but his words did exactly the opposite. The two men started shaking.

"Do you want to live?" Abdin asked patiently. The two men might be the worst weaklings but they were still essential to his next plan. Inviting them to the castle would be equivalent to inviting thousands of people from the two towns. These thousands of people would be the first foundation of the kingdom to come.

The two looked at him before nodding. It was the head of Wuran who nodded first. He was sturdy despite his apparent old age. His head was mostly bald and the remaining hair had turned gray.

As for the other town head, there was no gray hair on his head but Abdin had the feeling he was much older than the other. He had a short beard, which was now full of dirt, and a trim mustache.

"Tell me your names."

They opened their mouths to speak but looked at each other and hesitated.

Abdin turned his head to the side, encouraging them to speak.

"Sulat Hadi," the town head from Wuran said.

"Renga Biya," the town head from Nanila said.

Hadi and Biya were small tribes that were mostly known within this area. However, through his research, Abdin found out they were old tribes that had been present since the establishment of Biyakis. Nonetheless, they were not the original inhabitants of the place and had not been cultivators. They only began to gradually settle into small villages later on. As a result, they did not receive much attention in the capital of Biyakis. It was the same for many towns on the borders.