Viktor and Enid were about to leave when they ran into Wednesday in the hallway.
"Perfect timing," Wednesday said bluntly. "I was just about to tell you, the cult is preparing for another ritual."
"We already know." Viktor held up his phone, showing her the message. "I got this a little while ago."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go." Wednesday turned and started walking, expecting them to follow.
"Hello? Am I the only sane one here?" Enid said, throwing her hands up. "If we're going to stop them, we need weapons. And can three of us even do this alone? They're a cult, a group of actual killers about to summon a god!"
"You're right," Viktor said calmly.
Enid almost sighed in relief, until she heard his next words.
"We need weapons!"
"This isn't a movie where a few kids save the world with nothing but bicycles!" Enid protested.
"Come on, Enid. We're the only ones who can do this," Viktor said.
"No, we can't!" Enid shot back. "They're a cult! They're trying to summon a god or whatever. We need backup, call someone, call the police—"
"Don't worry. I already called the police." Viktor held up his phone. "I'm not stupid enough to fight them head-on. The plan is to disrupt their ritual just long enough for the police to get there."
"The more we stand here talking, the more time we waste," Wednesday cut in.
"Enid." Viktor placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and met her eyes. "If we bring other people into this, we might get them killed. That's why we just need to stall the ritual until the police arrive, then we get out. Safe."
Hearing his words, Enid nodded reluctantly. The trio grabbed whatever weapons they could find, sword, spear or axe anything that looked like it could do damage, and rushed to the Nevermore gates.
Tyler's car was parked nearby. Viktor wasn't sure why, after the Hyde incident, Tyler had all but disappeared. For a brief moment, he wondered if Tyler had been killed. It's pity, if he really did.
Wednesday got behind the wheel, as always.
"Wait, wait!" Enid said as Wednesday started the engine. "How do we even know where this cult is right now?"
The question hung in the air for a moment. Enid was right, they'd been in such a rush that none of them had stopped to consider that part. Then Viktor spoke.
"Wednesday... what about that ritual site we found a few days ago?"
Wednesday glanced at him through the rearview mirror, then started the car. The tires screeched against the road as the vehicle shot forward.
A few seconds later, Agnes dropped her invisibility and watched the car disappear into the night, she titled her head.
"My big brother... you lied to me again."
...
"Guys, shouldn't we make a plan? How are we even supposed to disrupt their ritual with just three of us?" Enid asked she was almost in panic.
"Wait," Viktor said suddenly. "Enid, can you transform into a werewolf during a full moon?"
"I... I don't know. I don't think I can."
But Viktor knew she could. She had done it before, when she saved Wednesday from the Hyde. He just needed to figure out what triggered her transformation.
The night stretched on, and the silence in the car grew heavy. No one spoke for a while, until Enid finally broke the quiet.
"You know... I still can't believe this," she whispered. "We're actually going to save the world."
"Are you afraid?" Viktor asked, his tone calm.
"Yes," Enid hesitated staring out the window. ""But also... no. I'm terrified we'll die trying to stop them. I am afraid of dying... But at the same time, I... I want to do this. Because it feels right. Like this is what I'm supposed to be doing. My mom always expected so much from me, expected me to wolf out, to be the perfect werewolf I never was. And maybe... maybe this is my way of proving I can be something. Just... not the version she wanted."
Her voice faltered. Viktor gently patted her shoulder, noticing the tears welling in her eyes.
"You know," he said quietly, "if you're scared, I won't be angry or disappointed if you want to turn back. This is dangerous."
"That's not it," Enid said, shaking her head. "I'm your friend. And… right now I finally feel like I belong, with you two, trying to save the world. Not at some stupid party, pretending. This feels right. I can't walk away and leave you alone when I don't know what'll happen to you."
"Thanks, Enid."
After a small talk, Viktor leaned back, closing his eyes. He needed to prepare.
When he opened them again, he was standing inside his inner world, the cabin he had built from World Energy. It had changed since the last time he visited. The interior now had a sofa, a cabinet, a proper bed all conjured from the World Energy.
He stepped outside. The moon reflected across the silent landscape. The world inside him mirrored the time outside, and it was night here, too.
A book materialized in his hand. Opening it to the Population page, Viktor saw the progress within his world. There were now twenty animals living here, slowly evolving as time passed. He still hadn't chosen a mythical beast, Principal Weems had agreed to let him select two tomorrow, but only two. Any more would be too dangerous without proper strength or knowledge to control them.
After checking the Population page and making sure all the animals were alive and well, he flipped back to the Status page, it was time to edit himself.
First, Viktor strengthened his physical abilities, pushing all his stats to Peak Level 0. Then he enhanced his regeneration and stamina recovery, and boosted his mastery over weapons, all temporarily just for tonight.
Cracks began to spread faintly across the sky before stopping. Viktor frowned. Using too much power strained the balance of this world. He had already pushed the limits by upgrading his weapon mastery and regeneration, any more, and he risked destabilizing the entire system.
For now, it was safe.
He had considered making more drastic changes, adding wings, armor, new physical traits, but such modifications required proper genetic or energetic foundations. Creating them recklessly could twist both his body and soul.
Instead, Viktor summoned an earthen sword, swung it through the air, and felt power surge through his body. His enhanced strength made the weapon whistle as it cut the air.
He was ready.
"Once this is over, I need to figure out how to edit my strength without having to come here," Viktor muttered to himself. "There's still so much I need to do."
He sighed as various motes of energy flickered around his fingers, blue, orange, yellow, and white, before vanishing into the air.
His world had so much potential, but for now, it was limited to affecting only his inner self. That wasn't enough. Viktor needed to master everything, but the cult was moving too fast, forcing him to act before he had the time to fully understand or control his powers.
He lay down on the grass, ready to wake himself back up. "First thing I need to learn is entering this place without sleeping," he said with a sigh. "If only the person who sent me that letter had just taught me everything from the start, I wouldn't be like this."
He shook his head and closed his eyes, when suddenly, something small jumped onto his chest. A black rabbit stood there, staring at him with its beady eyes. Then, to his utter surprise, it stood upright like a human and slapped him across the face before bolting away.
"What the..." Viktor sat up, stunned, rubbing his cheek. "Did that rabbit just slap me?"
He quickly opened the book and checked the Population page. There it was, the rabbit, marked as Nacho, slightly intelligent, with a note that its intelligence seemed to be slowly increasing the longer it lived here.
Nacho had once been someone's pet, and Viktor realized it just before it was too late.
"So you're mad because I brought you here, huh?" Viktor said with a half-smile. "Alright, I'm sorry. But your life will be better here."
As an apology, Viktor conjured a large pile of fresh carrots. Nacho sniffed them, started nibbling, and then, with perfect aim, threw one straight into Viktor's face before hopping away again.
Viktor sighed, shook his head, and woke himself up.
When his eyes opened, he was back in the car and alone. Enid and Wednesday were gone.
"They didn't even wake me up," Viktor muttered.
He stepped out of the car and quickly spotted them not too far ahead, their flashlights cutting through the darkness. He grabbed the sword and spear he had taken earlier and jogged to catch up.
"Why didn't you wake me up?" he asked.
"You were sleeping like a corpse," Wednesday said flatly. "It's better not to wake the dead."
Enid shrugged with a sheepish smile. "You looked totally wiped, so we figured we'd let you crash. Don't worry though, we left you a recording on your phone. You know, just in case you woke up and thought we'd ditched you or something."
As they walked into the woods together, Viktor played the message again and again.
"Hey, Viktor," Enid's recorded voice chirped. "So, um, if you're hearing this, it means we already went ahead. I couldn't just let Wednesday go off by herself, you know how she is. But don't freak out, you totally know where we're headed."
"Oh my gosh, you can stop now," Enid said, giggling at her own message.
"What?" Viktor grinned as he kept playing it. "I like it. I think I'm going to make this my alarm clock."
Enid laughed. "No way! My voice sounds so squeaky and desperate. Ugh, delete it, delete it right now!"
"Too late," Viktor teased, already hitting play again.
Enid's laughter echoed through the trees. "You're the worst. Seriously, I am never leaving you a voicemail again."
The mood lightened a little, and Viktor couldn't help but laugh softly. At least their morale was improving, though Wednesday wasn't amused.
"We're here to interrupt a god-summoning. Success = civilization. Failure = apocalypse If romance is your priority, kindly trot back to campus and leave the heroics to those who care." She said sharply, turning toward them.
Before anyone could respond, a scream tore through the night like in a pain and so loud that it woke the birds up.
All three of them froze for a split second, then turned toward the sound.
Without a word, they ran.