"Why are you here?" Abdin asked again. It didn't matter whether it was Yunus or Wosi; the first thing was to understand why he was there.

"I want my skill back," replied Yunus. "I have discovered a way to separate it from your soul without hurting you. I will make sure you have a good life up until you die if you follow my instructions to the letter."

Abdin smiled nonchalantly.

"Why would you show yourself if you truly care for your skill?" he asked. "I am sure that you don't expect to subdue me."

Abdin took a breath and waited. After a long pause without receiving an answer, he continued.

"I have nothing to tell you if that was all that brought you here. You can return to my castle and live if you like, but I forbid you from harming me or anyone in any way. And I order you to stop your mind control. I don't want anyone to leave without my permission again. Also, don't ever attack the towns on the castle's path. It is my choice what I do with their lives. I will let them live or die at my discretion. You don't have the right to meddle uninvited in such affairs."

Yunus blinked in surprise after listening to Abdin's outburst. "What will you do with Munniq?" he asked.

"As my brother, I am going to give you one last chance. Surrender now and give your allegiance to me. I shall remove the skill..."

"Wait." Abdin waved a hand to stop him. "Do you have a hand in it?"

This was a question Abdin had wanted to ask for some time. He knew that Rahana was murdered and even knew a few of the culprits. But he didn't know how many others were involved. Whether it was Yunus or Wosi sitting before him, each of them had a motive for killing Rahana.

"I was the one who ordered her to be killed," Yunus shrugged.

As if he had rehearsed this his whole life, he brought out an Ayrid seed from his pocket. He placed it on the table and powered it with his cultivation. The seed instantly transformed into video footage.

It showed the head of a young woman without a body in front of a man. They were staring at each other with murderous looks.

After a while, the young man blew toward the head. Black flames erupted from his breath and engulfed the head.

For ten seconds, the head clenched its teeth to suppress the urge to cry out. But shortly after, it could no longer endure and a chilling scream full of obvious pain erupted from its mouth.

It was Rahana's head, and the young man was none other than Yunus.

Abdin squeezed his eyes shut as he listened to the cries of his sister. The footage continued, but he didn't ask for it to be switched off. And Yunus didn't stop it until it ended.

Abdin's face didn't betray his feelings even after he opened his eyes again. He carefully bottled up his emotions, but he had already decided what to do with the man before him.

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"You hate me?" asked Yunus. When there was no answer, he continued, "I hate you too. But I also need you at the moment. The promise I made to you before was just a ruse because I have no intention of letting you live even if you surrender willingly."

Abdin sat calmly without replying. Only he knew the amount of pain he was feeling at the moment.

"Munniq and the Origin want to conquer the world, and only I can and rightly deserve to face them. Surrender your soul to save others."

"When are you going to take it?" Abdin asked. His voice was emotionless, giving the impression that he had agreed.

Yunus scrutinized him up and down. This was more like the cousin he always remembered. All his actions were deliberately done to frustrate Abdin into hitting him or something. But just as he remembered, Abdin had always been calmer on the surface the more he got annoyed.

That was how he ended up beating him during their match. The first thing he wanted to know was if Abdin was still the same as he had known him or if he had changed.

"I spoke with Munniq a month back," he said. "She knows about the time loop and wants to become a part of it by using parts of your body. I don't know what she wants to do with it, but whatever it is, it wouldn't be good."

He cleared his throat and hunched over to look at Abdin. "I summoned you to know if you have experienced any changes."

This was actually what brought Yunus. He wanted to know if Munniq had succeeded after a month.

Many things had become clear to Abdin from Yunus' speech. The main one was that he had been here before Munniq arrived. The second thing was that he was already in the loop. This suggested that it could truly be the real Yunus, especially since Wosi did not know the time loop.

One other thing was that Yunus didn't seem to know about the changes happening with Abdin's cultivation.

Does that mean he wasn't the one who had already started absorbing the cultivation bloodline from Abdin? Or was it a setup?

"Like what?" asked Abdin.

"Like, do you feel your control over Nuhu's bloodline reducing? If so, know that I am not responsible."

"Is that why you summoned me?" asked Abdin.

The young man nodded and slowly reached out for a cup, taking a sip.

Abdin still didn't show any feelings, but he was inwardly surprised. He could bet his life that Yunus wouldn't lie to him in such a matter.

The Yunus he knew would have boasted and arrogantly flaunted his success at him.

It was possible that Yunus wasn't responsible, as he claimed. But did it also mean that Munniq had control over Nuhu's bloodline?

"Munniq isn't Nuhu!" Abdin burst out. "Are you trying to tell me that she can use Nuhu's bloodline or something?"

Yunus frowned. "There are changes then? This was what troubled me. From my investigation, Munniq isn't from this world. She is highly skilled at fashioning golems at the Deva level. If I am right, her golems could use any skills as deftly as the original person. You have witnessed it firsthand since you have battled with her golems.

"But she needs some body parts to make them, hence the reason she cut off your right foot and left hand. She was afraid you might die and the loop would reset, so she healed you before she left."

Yunus stood up and paced the room before sitting down again. "How I wished I had killed you then and tried my luck before she had her way," he said.

He paused, then added, "Why don't we unite and kill this woman? I can take my skill back later on."

"Why won't you take it back and then go and kill her yourself?" Abdin asked. "Judging by the strength of your cultivation, I would be surprised if you can't do it."

Yunus grinned. "You are hoping I would die while you wait, so you can control my soul the moment I die. Or maybe go to my grave and have some fun there?"

"I can say the same of you," replied Abdin.

They stared at each other. Both of them had their doubts about the mechanics of the loop. They weren't sure what would happen after they die. That was why they feared dying to avoid the other gaining control over them.

But Abdin still had doubts about Munniq after his cultivation. He tended to believe that it was a setup by her and Yunus. At least Munniq had no relationship with Nuhu. How could an outsider wield the bloodline?

"That is why I want us to unite. You and I would kill her, and afterward, we can discuss how best you can return what you've stolen from me," Yunusu said.