Fungal spores crusted Alyssa's lashes as silver veins scorched the sage cord on her wrist. Beyond the seventy-third step, moonlight through the Wolf Mother's pubic arch illuminated mountains of malformed bones—wolf-headed infants, spines erupting through thoracic cages, stillborn twins with lily roots entwined in ribcages.
"Crone's toy chest overflows." She lifted a bronze collar tagged "73001" with a raven beak, its inner spikes snagging swaddle fragments where ouroboros wolves succumbed to azure mold.
The central altar's phalange trembled, shaking off bone ash to reveal 73rd Blood Moon Sacrifice. Her hair writhed sans wind, tips spearing altar cracks to suck three-century-old prenatal blood. The rancid deluge brought retinal explosions of memory shards— Seven-year-old Kane with amber eyes nailing a wolf pup to the altar, the phalange drinking its brain matter as his "Mad King" sigil spread.
"Snacking vermin." Reality merged with phantom as Alyssa recoiled, severed hair trailing blood that coalesced into vampiric runes. Kane's projection loomed above the altar, his sigil oozing golden-red fluid onto the phalange: "Think these failures scare predators?"
The bone pile collapsed. A bloated stillborn rolled to her feet. Her blade split its womb, extracting a placenta tangled with silver hair—ends fastened to a "L." engraved copper ring. The placenta ruptured, rot-fluid eroding "73" into First Reborn.
"Two-way games sweeten." She slid the ring onto the phalange. A three-century-old contract materialized: Subject 73001 requires final fusion at 73rd Blood Moon. Lily-seal wax dripped, burning through disguise fur to reveal her pulsating First brand.
Kane's true form shredded the projection. Crushed bones wailed like newborns as he yanked her hair around the phalange. Sparks illuminated the vaulted ceiling—thousands of bronze collars dangling like cursed fruit, each engraved with "73" variants.
"Think you're the first awakened?" He crushed a collar, its ash revealing a blonde woman's phantom—her silver veins devouring his sigil. "The thirty-seventh iteration spoke the same drivel."
Alyssa's dagger suddenly stabbed her collarbone. Blood splattering the phalange triggered resonance. All sockets blazed azure, assembling Wolf Mother's celestial map. Kane's sigil raged uncontrollably, golden threads shredding constellations.
"Vessel modification 68%." He flicked star fragments, his subcutaneous layer showing her infant self. "Laine spiked the prenatal brew."
Lily roots drilled through walls below. Retreating, Alyssa tripped over a femur, palm slamming a stela carved with generations of nail marks. The freshest gouge read: Alyssa Silvermoon - Blood Moon 73 Frost Month Azure ooze identical to her veins' secretion glistened along the edges.