Time moves faster when you don't notice it. Life in Nevermore had been peaceful and quiet. A few days had passed since they were chased by the cult and since the message appeared on Agnes' phone. Viktor hadn't left the school grounds; he spent his days going to class, hanging out with friends, and occasionally checking in on Agnes from time to time.
Viktor was worried the cult might use his sister to get to him, so he prepared carefully. The Soul World was slowly stabilizing, and now its evolution was affecting the animals. These are the animals that were kept in Nevermore, whether for food, experiments, or sometimes as pets.
Viktor also learned that Wednesday had finally met Tyler. He only knew this because Rowan was dead, or so Wednesday said. Nobody believed her except Viktor, though, of course, he didn't show it.
He sat on a bench, typing something on his notepad and humming to himself. He was planning how to become stronger, and he saw three possible ways. The first was to level up his Soul World. Naturally, the stronger his world became, the stronger he would get. But this required two things: he needed to absorb 100 living beings and the soul of a Level 1 creature.
The second option was to use the Evolution Page on himself, but he had no idea how to do that. To evolve, he needed to absorb the energies of the world. But how could he absorb energies that were already part of him? After some thought, he decided he might be able to harness them, like borrowing the energy to cast spells or strengthen himself. But that would be difficult without proper knowledge.
The third way was to learn martial arts and swordsmanship. Viktor always relied on his invisibility to escape, but running wouldn't work forever. He needed to learn how to fight.
After listing the three options, Viktor decided to start with the easiest, martial arts and swordsmanship. Just as he put away his notepad. His phone rang. He took it out and frowned.
"I see you, child of Dusk," the message read. It came from an unknown number.
"Who are you?" Viktor typed back.
No reply came. It was as if the message was sent just to provoke anxiety. Viktor scanned the area; only a few students were around. Then a thought struck him.
'How did they get my number? Only two people know it, Agnes and my aunt.'
When he lost his parents, the original Viktor had stopped using this number entirely. There was no one left to send or receive messages from. Only Agnes and his aunt knew it. But it was impossible that either of them had sent it. Agnes would never do that, and his aunt lived in another part of the country.
'Unless someone took my phone and memorized the number... or perhaps...'
Viktor pulled out another phone, the one belonging to the victim he had discovered during the ritual. He played it again, and a voice came through.
"I tried calling 911, but there's no service. For some reason, I can't call or text anyone, but the internet works—"
Viktor paused the video as he tried to analyze the man's words. The man couldn't call or text anyone, yet the internet still worked. Even without service, the man could still open apps. There were several messaging apps on the phone, so it should've been possible to contact someone. That was why the man had been so confused; he had internet access, but couldn't text or call anyone.
So, Viktor thought, the owner of the number was probably someone with the ability to manipulate phones, or maybe a hacker. Slowly, a clue began to form, but another problem arose. How does he find them?
But how?
He couldn't exactly go around asking people, "Hey, are you a hacker?"
And now, Viktor realized the clue might be useless after all.
Suddenly, someone sat beside him. A faint scent of fresh rain on stone and the musty smell of an old book drifted by. He smiled, seeing it was Wednesday.
"So," Wednesday said calmly, "I've decided to reward your usefulness. A theme park. You and I. Consider it a form of gratitude."
"What?" Viktor frowned, brow furrowed. "If you need my help, you can just say so."
Wednesday's brow lifted, a small smirk curling her lips. "Direct and perceptive. I was beginning to think you were terminally dull. Perhaps there's hope for you after all."
Viktor glanced at her. He didn't find her words offensive; if anything, he found them amusing. He shrugged. "Unless I live in a different reality, the Wednesday I know would never ask anyone out."
After a long silence, he asked, "So where will it be?"
...
At night.
Outside the Nevermore gate, a car was parked. Inside was Tyler. Wednesday climbed into the front seat, and Enid opened the door on the other side, surprising Tyler.
"What—? I thought this was a date," Tyler said, clearly caught off guard.
"Uh, excuse me? A date?" Enid's eyes widened. "Wednesday, I thought you invited me because we were having girl time! Seriously, what is going on?" She huffed. "You know what? Forget it. I'm leaving—"
"No. We will hang out later," Wednesday said, then glanced back. She stared at the empty seat behind Enid, just as Viktor slowly appeared, smiling.
"I'm here."
"Good." Wednesday nodded once.
"Viktor?! Oh my god, you're here!" Enid gasped, a wide smile spreading across her face. "You have no idea how relieved I am. I was starting to panic, like 'where on earth is Wednesday dragging me this time?' But now, phew, I feel so much better!"
"Actually… we're going somewhere dangerous." Viktor smiled.
"What?"
Tyler drove through the quiet streets. The night outside was unnervingly still, the dark trees looming like sentinels. An ordinary person would have been scared to even walk here. Viktor glanced at Tyler through the rearview mirror. Tyler was focused on driving, chatting with Wednesday as they went deeper into the night.
No one knew but Viktor that Tyler was a Hyde. Many thoughts ran through his mind. Should he reveal Tyler's secret? And if so, how? Besides, Viktor couldn't help thinking Tyler might still be useful.
'In the show, I think Tyler really loved Wednesday. He saved her more than once, and even when he had the chance to kill, he never did. But what if... I can use Tyler against the cult? Wednesday has already been marked by them, and Tyler will probably transform into the Hyde the moment she's in danger.'
Viktor didn't believe Tyler was truly a bad guy. In his mind, Tyler probably just wanted to live a quiet life until Laurel Gates made him her pawn. But if Tyler really was a monster, then Viktor would have no choice but to trap him in the Soul World.
He smirked at the thought. 'If I do that, he'll know what loneliness feels like.'
Then an idea struck him, a strange but exciting one. 'Wait… why not? Hydes, Werewolves, other Outcasts, I could build a civilization inside my world. They'd help me grow stronger, and they'd benefit from the Evolution Page too.'
Some people might not know this, but Outcasts, no matter how rich or powerful they were, were never truly accepted by the world. Even the people in Jericho quietly discriminated against them, hiding it behind fake smiles. And in George Town, where most Outcasts lived, they suffered even worse discrimination.
That's why there were special schools for them, because they could never be accepted in normal human schools.
But what if there was a world where only Outcasts lived? Maybe that's what the owner of the letter meant: that Viktor needed to save the Outcasts.
Viktor was about to take out his phone and make a note when Enid nudged him. He turned to her, and she whispered, "Psst! Look at them! Tell me I'm not crazy, but Tyler is totally giving Wednesday heart-eyes right now. Like, seriously, do you see this? He's so into her. Sooo… why are you just sitting there? Shouldn't you be, I don't know, doing something?"
He glanced at the front seats, then back at Enid with a mischievous grin. Leaning closer, he whispered, "Actually, I like you."
"What?!" Enid gasped, loud enough to make everyone turn.
"That was a joke." Viktor shook his head slightly. He didn't have feelings for Wednesday, or Enid, for that matter. Romance was the last thing on his mind right now. He'd just said it because her flustered reaction was cute.
Soon, Tyler parked the car in front of an abandoned house. Everyone stepped out. Viktor studied it carefully. It was the home of the doctor; he'd seen it in the files before.
'I thought we were going to the Gates' house.'
"Wait, wait, wait… are we actually going in there? Into that totally haunted-looking house? Because, um, newsflash, I did not sign up for a horror movie tonight!" Enid asked, her voice trembling. She clearly didn't understand why they were here.
Everyone ignored her as they approached the entrance. Wednesday tried the door, but it was locked. She calmly pulled a pin from her hair, picked the lock, and a sharp click echoed. The door creaked open.
"Enid, with me. You two, investigate down here," Wednesday ordered, heading upstairs with Enid reluctantly following.
Tyler and Viktor exchanged glances and nodded before splitting up to search the ground floor, but when Tyler turned around, Viktor cursed in his mind.
'Why did you leave me alone with a Hyde, Wednesday?'
There were only a few rooms downstairs: a kitchen, a living room, and a guest room, so the search was over quickly. Viktor had no idea what they were looking for. From what he saw, everything seemed… normal.
He suddenly heard a thud from the ceiling above. Instantly, he ran for the stairs. As he stepped onto the first one, he saw a shadow standing behind the stair for a brief moment before it darted away.
'Tyler?' he wondered.
Shaking the thought from his head, he rushed to the second floor. There, he found Enid holding a book beside Wednesday. It looked like they had discovered something in the doctor's bedroom.