It seems that what some speculated was correct... That the exact timing of our shed blood doesn't matter within the spread of the next two months.

[Bad! Tiring. This cult can't even stick to schedules.]

Which means they have no incentive to keep us alive even outside of these rituals that affect us.

Nope!

[ soooo he's going to edit the list of potential locations he compiled during the minievent before he gives it to the npcs to take out anything that could end up being interpreted in a deadly way... ugh. ]

The monster thing too... originally they made it sound like that was completely unrelated to the ritual and we could pretty much opt out of it if we wanted. And now it turns out that oh, actually, they can use them to turn us into brainwashed murder machines. Cool.

[COOL!! He presses his lips into a thin line, displeased.]

Being tethered to something that can take control and behave in such a way is... [Bad? Discomforting? Upsetting?? SUPER CREEPY. All of these things and more. He shakes his head, rather than finishing the sentence.]

Moreover, if people do begin to find their partners, the number of dead we could face in a week will rise exponentially...

[ yeah!! all those things!!!! doesn't help that pestilence kept calling it being "infused" with a monster, which just. bleh. ]

Yeah... ugh. I still feel like it's safer not to, but I don't know how many will agree with that.

I agree, at the very least. You have the right idea.

[At least as far as he's concerned... Smashcut to some effect next Monday making life even more difficult for people who don't want to find their partners.]

If the only incentive is a wish provided by the same magic this cult relies on, there's a high chance it won't turn out in the way one might hope, anyway.