Chapter 6 - The contract.
The scroll dissolved into fragments of starlight, vanishing into the night air as if it had never existed. Yet the words etched themselves deep into his mind, refusing to let go.
For the first time in his life, his thoughts were clear—not about survival, not about luck, but about choice.
[MAKE YOUR CONTRACT.]
The words shimmered before his vision again, sharp and commanding. The air thickened, and shadows stretched unnaturally around him. From the darkness outside the convoy's broken walls, shapes began to stir. Crawling, slithering, whispering. Dwellers.
"Nicolo!" The name wasn't spoken aloud. It rang inside his head, carried by a voice older than time. "Choose me. I am already here."
21's throat went dry. "What… what are you?"
A ripple in the air beside him shaped itself into something vaguely human, with eyes like shattered glass and a grin too wide for its face. It leaned forward, ignoring the chaos, ignoring the monster feeding on 12. "I am a Dweller of Paths. If you call me, you will walk roads no other can. But the price… oh, the price…"
The voice lingered, oily and sweet.
21's eyes darted back to 12. The fear on her face as well as the three other kids.
His flaw. His luck. All of this was because of him. And now—now it demanded he decide whether she lived or died.
"I don't care about the price," he hissed, teeth clenched. "If I can save her, I'll pay for it."
The Dweller's grin widened, splitting its face further than skin should allow. "Then speak the words."
The scroll unfurled once more, its starlit letters blazing.
[CONTRACT FORMATION: DO YOU ACCEPT THIS DWELLER AS YOUR LINK?]
"Yes!"
A searing heat rushed into his veins. His compass shattered in his hands, fragments of glass and metal embedding into his skin, but he didn't feel pain. Instead, his body glowed faintly with silver lines racing across his arms like constellations being drawn upon flesh.
The monster before them stopped moving, lifting its head as if it sensed something unnatural. Its red eyes locked on him, lips curling back over bloodstained fangs.
[CONTRACT COMPLETE. LINK ESTABLISHED.]
The Dweller's voice echoed through his skull. "Wayfinder Nicolo Mancini… let us walk."
The glow spread, his chest tightening as if the weight of the stars themselves pressed against his ribs. He staggered forward, eyes locked on the creature that held 12. Fear tried to drag him back, but the Dweller's whisper surged through him like fire.
"Command me."
And for the first time in his cursed, luck-driven life, 21 realized he wasn't simply surviving anymore. He was about to fight.