The contracts kept burning through the chamber, each one like a thread of shadow tying me to another restless soul. The amulet against my chest had grown so hot I could feel it even through my shirt, its surface shifting beneath the fabric like something alive.
"This amulet's being unusually loud, is it because of the ritual, or is it because of the spirits?"
[Contract Established: 2,104/3,746]
Nyx lingered at the edges of my perception, her amusement a quiet hum beneath the weight of the dead. She didn't speak again, but I could feel her watching me, measuring, waiting to see what I would do with the army I was gathering.
The hydra's minds moved faster now, their calculations smoother, their processing nearly effortless. Three thousand contracts would have taken me weeks to establish on my own. With their help, I'd be finished in hours.
Maybe even less.
[Contract Established: 2,687/3,746]
