The man didn't know it, but he had already ruined Viktor's mood. Deciding not to think too much about it, Viktor resolved to find a few animals in the woods and call it a day.
But the words of that man kept lingering on his head.
'Child of dusk? What does that even mean?'
"Child of dusk", it sounded like something out of a prophecy, the kind where you're destined to save the world. But if powerful gods were involved, Viktor figured he must be unlucky to be part of that kind of story.
He tried searching it on Google, but even the all-knowing search engine had no answers. He typed in keywords like "dusk" and "child of dusk" but nothing useful came up. All he got was the definition of dusk, the darker stage of twilight, the onset of night.
"A puzzle to solve. Great. I'm not even good at this."
He kept walking through the woods, but something felt off. It was too quiet, unnervingly so. The sun had begun to set, but he still hadn't seen a single animal. He had already dropped his invisibility; staying invisible took too much mental stamina to maintain for long.
Viktor decided he would search for a few more minutes before heading back. He didn't want the teachers to notice his absence. But then, a sharp stench of blood suddenly hit his nose.
He raised an eyebrow and moved closer. The smell grew stronger with every step.
Soon, bodies began to appear. At first glance, they looked as though they were simply sleeping peacefully, almost serene, but the metallic tang of blood betrayed the truth.
What bothered Viktor most was the strange mark carved into their bodies.
It was the same mark that appeared in his own eyes.
Viktor crouched beside one of the bodies, his frown deepening as he traced the mark with his finger. It matched perfectly, down to the smallest detail. Whoever had done this… they knew exactly what the mark meant.
He followed the trail until he froze. Ahead of him was a grotesque sight: a mountain of corpses, stacked with an unnatural precision that made his stomach turn. The arrangement was so meticulous it felt deliberately staged.
Viktor pinched his nose and fought the urge to vomit. Surrounding the bodies were six candles, placed in a perfect circle. Strange patterns had been drawn in the dirt, connecting each candle, forming a ritualistic symbol.
Just then, he noticed movement and quickly hid behind a tree.
A figure walked into the clearing, and Viktor immediately recognized her.
"Why is she here?" he whispered.
It was Wednesday. She stepped carefully through the macabre scene, her expression cool and unreadable, with only the faintest hint of seriousness. Unlike Viktor, she seemed completely unfazed by the grotesque display, as if the sight of the corpses didn't affect her in the slightest.
"Someone went to great lengths to make a point. The question is, who? And why indulge in theatrics when subtlety kills so much better?"
"This all looks familiar," Wednesday said. "It has all the markings of a cult, psychopaths indulging in their little theater of delusion."
'Wow… as expected of Wednesday. Only she could say something like that,' Viktor thought, just as his phone started ringing. Jass was calling. He quickly silenced it, but the sound caught Wednesday's attention.
"Who's there?" she demanded.
Viktor hesitated. He started to turn invisible, but then stopped, a thought crossing his mind.
'Should I show myself? If I work with Wednesday, maybe her visions could help me figure out who's behind this cult.'
Wednesday's psychic visions could reveal the past or future of whatever she touched. If he wanted to find out who had done this, he couldn't do it alone; he needed her help.
After a moment of thought, as Wednesday drew closer, Viktor slowly let himself become visible.
"Hey… It's me," he said quietly.
Wednesday's eyes narrowed. "It's you. Why are you here? What are you doing in a place like this?"
"I was looking for animals," Viktor said. "But then I stumbled onto this place. I followed the trail of dead bodies and… well, I found this."
"Animals? You were looking for animals in the woods?" Wednesday's tone was skeptical. "That's a strange reason."
She clearly didn't believe him, but Viktor quickly added, "I was just shocked to see you here. I thought Principal Weems sent you to find me. Isn't that why you're here?"
Wednesday gave him a sidelong glance. She didn't look convinced, but she turned back to study the bodies, ignoring him.
Viktor took the chance to step closer. "Who do you think did this?"
"Someone with a taste for performance," Wednesday murmured, crouching near one of the corpses. "But talent alone doesn't interest me. Motive does."
"This place looks like a ritual site," Viktor said as he scanned the area. The candles, the symbols in the dirt, the marked bodies, everything suggested a ceremony. "Do you think they were summoning something?"
While searching the bodies, Viktor found a phone. Surprisingly, it had no password. He flipped through the messages, but they were all ordinary, conversations with family and work contacts. He opened the gallery app and found a strange video.
"Wednesday," he called, motioning for her to come closer. Then he played the video.
It was dark, too dark. There was no moonlight, only the faint glow of the phone screen. The camera shook, as if the person holding it was hiding in a car.
A trembling voice of a man sounded on the phone.
"I tried calling 911, but there's no service. For some reason, I can't call or text anyone, but the internet works. It's strange. I know that I'm going to die now. I cannot fight them; they are too strong. So I decided to record this. If anyone finds this, please contact the police. These lunatics… they'll harm our children, they'll harm the whole town."
His voice faltered. He sounded as if he'd already accepted what was coming.
Suddenly, a scream pierced the night, high and animalistic, like a demon howling in agony. The man cried out in fear. A moment later, the trunk of the car was yanked open.
The camera caught only a blur of a shadowy figure wearing a mask, who grabbed the man. He fought back, but the figure was far too strong.
The phone slipped from his grasp, landing on the ground at the perfect angle to capture what happened next.
What Viktor saw made his stomach twist. His hand trembled, and a wave of nausea hit him so hard he almost vomited.
"If you can't handle it, give me the phone. I'll watch it myself." Wednesday glanced at him as she said.
"I'm fine..." Viktor continued to watch the video,
The figures in the video began slaughtering every living person. They stabbed each victim in the neck with ceremonial daggers, letting the blood pour into a massive drum. One by one, they dragged the corpses, stacking them carefully until a grisly mountain took shape.
Then, another masked figure approached. In his hand was a small, still-beating heart. He placed it at the peak of the corpse mountain as if crowning it.
Moments later, the drum, now brimming with blood, was lifted and poured over the entire pile. The crimson liquid cascaded down like a macabre waterfall, soaking every body.
The ritual continued, chanting faintly audible in the background. When it finally ended, one of the masked figures picked up the phone. For a second, it stared straight into the camera.
Viktor felt a chill race down his spine. For a moment, it felt as though the masked figure was looking directly at him through the screen. Then the image went black.
"Judging by the time stamp… this happened just last night," Viktor muttered.
The silence that followed was heavy. Even Wednesday seemed shaken by the display, though her face betrayed little. The air suddenly grew colder, and a sharp wind swept through the clearing. The sun had fully set, and the night had fallen.
Viktor glanced around warily. Darkness pressed in on all sides. "We need to leave. Now."
Wednesday spoke as she followed him. "These masked figures… they're done playing games. A show without a motive is boring. Which means there is one, and whatever it is, it requires corpses."
"I don't know what their goal is," Viktor said, his shoulder shuddering at the coldness of the night. "But this town is in danger. And so is Nevermore. Judging by who they killed… they didn't target Outcasts at all. Every victim was a normie adult."
Wednesday turned slightly, her dark eyes narrowing. "Selective slaughter. Adults gone, children untouched. They're pruning society like gardeners trimming weeds."
Viktor frowned. "But why just the adults?"
"Authority. Stability. Rules," Wednesday replied. "Adults are the spine of any community. Break the spine, and the body collapses. It's an efficient strategy."
Viktor shivered. "You sound like you admire it."
"I admire the logic," she said coolly. "Not the execution. Their theatrics lack subtlety. And subtlety is what separates genius from butchery."
He stared at her; he started to admire Wednesday. "You're not scared?"
"Fear is unproductive," Wednesday answered simply. Then, after a pause, a faint smile ghosted across her lips. "Besides… if they're hunting adults, I suppose we're safe. For now."