He didn't attempt to hold any more conversation with her after that and instead resorted to observing the rest of the men standing behind her.

Abdin arrived a few minutes later. He stood beside Walik frowning as he studied the newcomers. A lady in worn-out armor and seven men, all of them on horses. Five of them had arrow wounds. And the lady was also bleeding from her arm where a big chunk of flesh was missing.

Abdin immediately recognized the group. He had been waiting for them throughout the restart. However, a few things didn't seem right. For one, Juwaira hadn't covered her face today. And he couldn't see Laran and Janta, two of Juwaira's men who were at the core formation stage. There was also no sign of Laluri or the slave carriage.

For these reasons, Abdin didn't allow them into the castle immediately.

"Commander," curtsied Juwaira when she saw him. And while sighing, she said, "I have seen the progress of the castle in the short while I was away, accept my congratulations first."

At this point, she shook her head a little and said in a low tone, "I never thought my prayers were answered even without knowing Commander's true name."

Many religions needed a person's name to pray for them, but that wasn't the point. She didn't pray for him or the castle, that much was obvious, but why lie about it and even say she didn't know his name?

The sight before him was odd, to say the least: the princess seemed to be signaling something to him.

He scanned her with his spiritual sense. Everything remained the same as he knew it. He extended his spiritual sense toward the others behind her. It took him a while to find what he was looking for. He then looked up to scan the soldiers chasing them.

He glanced at Walik before he turned again to face Juwaira.

He could now see it. 'She is a prisoner.'

"Where is Laran?" Abdin asked.

"Dead," she replied, turning her head to glance at their pursuers, now hidden.

"I have committed a grave offense. I tried to warn my mother instead of following Commander's instruction to come straight here. Laluri intercepted my message and in the process of eliminating her, Laran and Janta lost their lives." She paused. "I shall endure any punishment Commander gives me."

She looked at her feet as she spoke.

The Juwaira he knew didn't blink when she spoke, but today, the princess blinked every few words.

While telling him about the death of Laran and Janta, she blinked twice. And she also blinked in her second to last statement, when she spoke about eliminating Laluri.

"What about those people?" He asked, pointing toward the trees.

"We met them on our way here," she said and then blinked again.

"I don't know if Commander is aware but there is an army of a thousand men waiting at Waira. It's kept as part of a bigger army that Biyakis is rallying against you. The men after us are from there. They are trying to keep everyone from coming this way to keep their plans a secret."

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Waira was the next big town from the castle. Biyakis had gotten wind of Abdin's adventures and were finally making preparations to stop him. But that was the least of his worries at the moment.

Juwaira was trying to tell him something, first by her false 'confession' that she didn't know his real name, and then by her constant blinks.

She had blinked twice when she spoke of not knowing his name. Assuming she told a lie every time she blinked, that meant that Laran and Janta weren't dead. That Laluri was alive and the men on their trail weren't from Biyakis.

Abdin launched his pol and mentally yanked at the black Ayrid in the princess's core. Juwaira felt like something heavy was hitting her chest, causing blood to be drained from her face. She slowly looked at Abdin. Instead of getting angry, she had an apologetic look.

Abdin retracted his pol. His little experiment just now confirmed to him she was the same woman he invited into the loop and she still had the black Ayrid in her. But the same couldn't be said when it came to the others.

At that moment, Saba stepped forward while holding his wounded leg and said, "It would be best if we discuss everything inside the castle." He looked around toward the others. "Commander, many of us are at our limits."

"He is right, we need to get inside before they change their minds and attack us again." About three voices answered in support of the young Saba's motion.

Juwaira also nodded in agreement.

They were wounded and in fear for their lives, but there was a problem. Saba was among the few that never spoke while in the presence of Denyanu. There was always this unspoken rule in the team that Denyanu spoke for the group almost all the time.

Another fact was that, despite Juwaira's nods of agreement, she stood aside, scratching her forehead - something she never did.

'She is nervous ...' Abdin realized.

Her nervous state was in line with his previous assessment of her being a prisoner. It would be best if he assumed that everything she knew about the time loop had been leaked out.

So they caught her and found out about the loop. Now they wanted more. It was only reasonable for them to capture Abdin for more details. That way, they would get themselves into the loop before eventually eliminating him and taking over the loop.

It sounded unbelievable. But as wild as it seemed, this wasn't the first time such a thing had happened.

For various reasons, Abdin had invited others into the time loop in the past. In such instances, to counteract the damage done, he reset the loop to before it got hijacked, thus wiping away everything.

But such an easy solution wasn't possible at the moment... Because of Yunusu.

Abdin glanced at Walik and his assistants eavesdropping by the side, he suddenly realized that his life was in great danger. What if one of them happened to be possessed by Yunusu?

It was clear that Yunusu or someone who knew about the castle was close by. Only that could explain how the six towns were evacuated on time. They must be privy to his adventures in the castle and knew when the castle was about to expand.

He might be assuming the worst, but he wouldn't let his guard down and allow himself to die in such a situation. What happened to the world after he died? Back when he thought he was the only person in the loop, he assumed that everything would come to an end after his death. But what if he was wrong, what if he wasn't alone in the loop?

What would happen if Abdin died but the world didn't come to an end, would Yunusu then use the chance to mend his soul and take away the castle? That train of thought seemed eerily familiar, it was something someone would do.

Abdin felt a sudden headache.

Would Yunusu remain alive for a week after his death? A month, a year, or more?

It didn't matter how long it would be, as no one would remember anything except Yunusu. This would explain how he never found out about his cousin until now.

His cousin could use the chance to mend his soul and take the castle even if the interval was as little as thirty seconds.

Abdin felt bitter in his throat. He who thought killing him was like giving him a chance to start afresh was now afraid of dying.

Yunusu changed everything for him.

The situation was still within his control. But he needed to stay alive until he identified where his cousin was hiding. He opened his mouth to give his order, but suddenly, Juwaira screamed.

***

A few hours prior...

***

Munniq gave her order: she needed four body parts of Abdin before sunset. Marrow, bone, blood, and skin. Her minions had accepted the mission.