The sharpened bone descended once again as fresh blood appeared. The crystal skull accepted another offering and vitality drained away while bodies weakened. Another circle ended.
Then another began.
Time slowly slipped away like that and the gathering continued in complete silence apart from occasional groans and the old man's commands.
Every prisoner eventually approached the effigy, every prisoner offered blood and every prisoner staggered away weaker than before. Lin Mu quietly counted as nearly an hour passed.
The final ordinary prisoner completed the ritual.
Only the old man remained.
Thud thud thud
He slowly limped toward the effigy, his crude peg leg clicked softly against the stone. The crowd watched in respectful silence as the old man knelt. He removed the sharpened bone from his tangled gray hair once again.
This time, he did not immediately stab himself. Instead, he lowered his head. His voice became quieter than before... Almost reverent.
