"Huh?"
Everything around him vanished in an instant. Viktor opened his eyes, sweat beading on his forehead; his body felt paralyzed for a moment before he slowly relaxed.
"Are you okay, big brother? You were acting weird." Agnes asked with concern.
"Just a nightmare…" Viktor managed, but when he turned to her, Agnes gasped and yanked him by the sleeve. "Your eyes…"
"What's wrong with them?" he asked.
"I don't know, but there are symbols in them. What's happening to you, big brother?"
Viktor frowned and fumbled for his phone. He opened the camera and checked his reflection. There, in both pupils, was a strange spiral, a black swirl with three concentric rings and a tiny dot at the center. Faint silver lines stretched from the spiral into the whites of his eyes.
'Is this because of that world? Or from the beings in my vision?'
Viktor rubbed his eyes and blinked, hoping it was just his imagination, but the mark remained. A strange, heavy feeling settled in his chest, as if the world had just grown more complicated.
His life was starting to feel like a spiral of unknowns: first, he was thrown into a world where he was the brother of a character from Wednesday, then a letter told him to save the Outcasts, and now these marks appeared in his eyes.
"For God's sake, I just want to live peacefully…" he cursed silently. The situation was getting worse by the minute, and he felt powerless, which made him angry.
Viktor sighed and forced a smile. "It's probably an awakening. Dad said we have a secret lineage."
That was the only explanation he could offer. For an Outcast, it wasn't unusual for strange things to happen to their bodies, scales, fur, even a head full of snakes, so a mark appearing in his eyes didn't seem all that shocking, at least not to Agnes.
Agnes pouted in jealousy. "That's not fair… I want something new too. My power's useless. Invisible, invisible, invisible.... It's boring. I'd trade it in a second if I could."
"Hey, you should be grateful for what you have," Viktor said with a grin.
Then, without warning, he vanished into thin air.
A few steps away, a man who had been harassing a homeless person suddenly tripped, falling face-first onto the ground.
Viktor reappeared right next to Agnes, smirking. "See? Who said it was useless?"
"Hey!"
The man scrambled to his feet, glaring at Viktor.
Before he could give chase, Viktor turned to his sister, who was already giggling. "Let's run."
Agnes nodded eagerly, and the two of them dashed off, laughter trailing behind them.
They stepped out onto the street. It was packed with people, alive with chatter and movement. The air carried a mix of fresh greenery and the faint scent of the city. But the moment Viktor noticed all the glances directed at him, he decided to buy a pair of sunglasses right away.
As they continued walking, Viktor's eyes caught a familiar sign: Weathervane Café. A strange feeling stirred in his chest. This was the very place where Wednesday and Tyler had first met.
'I should take a look after I buy sunglasses,' he thought.
Wednesday was one of his favorite shows, so he felt a little excited at the idea of seeing familiar places, and meeting Tyler might help him figure out what year he was in. From what he remembered, Wednesday joined Nevermore mid-semester, but he still didn't know which timeline was mid-semester.
Knowing the timeline would help him prepare, though the world's appearance and the strange visions made him doubt how faithful this version of Wednesday's world really was.
At the glasses shop, Viktor slid a pair of shades onto his face and looked at his reflection in the mirror. A tall, handsome young man with black hair stared back at him. Somehow, the glasses amplified his presence, even made him look a little dangerous.
In the show, Outcasts who wore sunglasses during the day were usually Vampires, and Viktor couldn't deny that the look suited him. Yoko, one of his favorite characters and one of his crushes, had always made sunglasses look effortlessly cool.
'Everyone might mistake me for a vampire,' Viktor thought with a smirk, 'but at least I look good.'
He pulled out his phone and snapped a selfie just as Agnes came running up, her face lighting up.
"Wow, big brother! Those shades look amazing on you! I want a pair too, so we can match. Then we'll be partners!"
"Alright." Viktor chuckled and picked a pair for her.
After paying, they stood together in front of the mirror and took a selfie. Viktor set it as his new phone wallpaper before the siblings stepped back out into the sun and headed toward the café.
Only a few people were inside, and their presence didn't draw much attention. Jericho was a town for Outcasts and sat close to the academy, so students often lingered there.
A female waiter took their order. Viktor felt a twinge of disappointment when it wasn't Tyler. They waited a while before their drinks arrived.
A sheriff entered the café and sat at a table behind Viktor. He took a sip of his coffee, pulled out his phone, and began to speak into it.
"Take a look at this. No, scratch that. I want you to dig into it. They're calling themselves the Cult of Shadows. I need to know who they are, what they're after, and if they've got ties to Nevermore. Outcasts like them are stirring up more trouble than this town can handle."
Viktor couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. He peered over his shoulder and realized the man was the sheriff, the same man who was Tyler's father. The sheriff looked drawn and pale, his expression businesslike and tense; he barely touched his coffee.
Viktor listened as the sheriff spoke about a cult. In the show, there had been nothing like that near Nevermore or Jericho. The discrepancy confirmed a sinking thought: this world was different from the one he knew, and that unsettled him.
The world of Wednesday was already dangerous. Viktor sighed and rubbed his temples.
'The world is becoming more unpredictable. Danger will surface soon. I have to get stronger. I need to understand the world inside me, what power this mark in my eyes will bring. I need to know everything.'
Thoughts crowded his mind. He had arrived in this world only hours ago and was already being pulled into unknown dangers. He was just a student, too young, too inexperienced. He found himself wishing it had been someone else who'd been dragged here. He loved Wednesday, but he never wanted to be trapped in this universe.
A small hand squeezed his. Viktor looked down: Agnes was watching him with worry in her big eyes. "Big brother… you've been so different lately. It scares me. Please… tell me what's wrong. I just want to understand."
"Sorry, I've just got a lot on my mind," Viktor said, forcing a smile. "But don't worry, I'm fine."
Seeing Agnes eased something in him. The past was past; he was here now. If he left and couldn't return, Agnes would be alone in this world, like he had been in his previous life. Loneliness was a slow, killing thing, and he wouldn't let that happen to her.
"Is this about Nevermore?" Agnes asked gently, her smile tremulous. "If it makes you unhappy, don't force yourself. I'd rather it just be us, just the two of us. Who cares about inheritance? We can make our own lives. Maybe we could even rob a bank together, partners in crime."
"Hey…" Viktor chuckled, then stopped himself, remembering that a sheriff was sitting right behind him.
"You Nevermore kids?" the sheriff said gruffly, clearly having overheard. "Do yourselves a favor, keep your heads down. Don't go looking for trouble."
He glanced at their sunglasses, narrowing his eyes. "New around here?"
"Yes," Viktor replied with a polite nod.
"Alright. Just stay out of the mess. Outcasts have caused enough headaches lately." He shook his head, muttering as he returned to his coffee.
But Viktor saw this as an opportunity. "Sheriff... could you tell me something?"
Galpin didn't look up right away. "About what?"
"The Cult of Shadows."
The sheriff froze mid-sip, then slowly lowered his cup, giving Viktor a sharp, probing look. "Best advice? Mind your own business."
"I heard about them before," Viktor said quickly. "My parents once encountered them; they said it was a group of Normies and Outcasts who worship some Shadow God. I just never thought I'd hear about them here. Maybe I could provide you with some help."
It was a complete lie, but Viktor had to try.
The sheriff leaned back, studying him. After a beat, he set his phone down with a sigh. "Few days ago, we pulled bodies out of the river. Strange marks carved into them. During the sweep, we caught one of their strays, a Normie doctor, a low-level member of the cult. He spilled a little."
"So what did you learn?" Viktor asked.
Galpin sighed. "That their grand plan is to 'turn the world into shadow.' Sounds like lunatic talk, but I've already got a murder investigation on my plate, now these psychos show up." He shook his head, finally taking a sip of his coffee.
---
After lunch, Viktor and Agnes took a short break before hiring a car to drive them to Nevermore Academy. It took them a while to find a driver; most normies still avoided the school if they could. The unease in their eyes whenever Viktor mentioned "Nevermore" made the trip feel longer than it really was.
At last, the large wrought-iron gates loomed ahead, the word 'Nevermore' carved into the arch above. As they drew closer, the gates creaked open on their own, the sound echoing like a warning.
They followed the cobblestone path, their footsteps soft but distinct in the quiet. Before long, they passed a janitor sweeping near the edge of the grounds, the same man Viktor remembered seeing in Season 1. He barely looked up, and neither sibling said anything, though Agnes slowed her steps to sneak a glance.
Nevermore's silhouette dominated the horizon, its dark towers and arched windows cutting against the sky. The building was stunning, like something out of a gothic painting, but there was a heaviness in the air that made Agnes grip Viktor's sleeve.
"This place is… intense," she whispered.
Viktor just nodded, scanning the campus.
As they stepped through the entrance, the noise inside quieted. A dozen curious pairs of eyes turned toward them.