Evening of the day - in dining hall
The scent of roasted bread and bitter coffee drifted through the Nevermore dining hall, carried by the chatter of a hundred voices. Sunlight streamed through tall windows, turning dust into drifting gold. Laughter filled the air, clashing with the clinking of plates and silverware.
Sid Edward walked through it all like a ghost moving through noise. His calm steps drew small, curious glances. He carried no tray, no hunger in his eyes — only the Ryuzen Book, pressed against his chest like something sacred.
His presence felt different — quiet, but heavy. The kind of quiet that demanded attention.
He sat at an empty table in the far corner. The sunlight didn't quite reach there. Ryuchi peeked out from under his sleeve, tongue flicking lazily.
"This place reeks of noise and perfume," the serpent hissed.
Sid smirked faintly. "You sound like you miss the storm."
Across the hall, Enid was the first to notice him. She elbowed her roommate.
"Wens, there's the new guy again — the one from the North Spire! Doesn't he look like he walked straight out of a dark fantasy novel?"
Wednesday didn't look up from her notebook. "If you mean pale, underfed, and brooding — then yes, he fits the genre perfectly."
Enid rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. You've been staring at him since last night. Don't play the 'emotionless investigator' thing again."
"I wasn't staring," Wednesday said flatly. "I was studying him. There's a difference."
"Uh-huh. You study people with your eyes for ten straight minutes now?" Enid teased.
Wednesday finally looked up — and sure enough, her gaze found Sid immediately.
He sat alone, head slightly bowed, one hand idly flipping through his book as if the rest of the world were irrelevant. He looked like silence made flesh.
Wednesday's eyes narrowed. "That book — it wasn't in the library's records."
Enid shrugged. "Maybe it's just a journal?"
"No," Wednesday murmured. "It's alive."
Before Enid could ask what she meant, someone else noticed Sid.
At a nearby table, Agnes hesitated with her breakfast tray. She had been thinking about him since last night — the boy who'd stood under lightning, the serpent around his wrist, the calmness that made the air itself feel slower.
Her fingers trembled. She didn't want attention, not with her unstable invisibility. But something inside her whispered, "go."
She took a deep breath and walked toward him.
Sid didn't look up until the shadow of her tray fell across his table.
"Is this seat taken?" she asked softly.
He shook his head. "No."
Agnes sat down slowly, trying not to spill her coffee. The silence between them felt like a glass wall — fragile, transparent, and ready to shatter.
She tried to smile. "You're… Sid, right? From the North Spire?"
He nodded, flipping another page. "That's me."
"I heard it's haunted."
He looked up, eyes unreadable. "If it is, the ghosts are polite."
Agnes blinked, then laughed before she could stop herself. It wasn't a big laugh — just a small, nervous one that escaped her lips.
"You're… weird."
Sid smirked slightly. "I'll take that as a compliment."
Then her hand flickered — half invisible for a second, the fork vanishing with it. She gasped, trying to hide it.
But Sid didn't flinch. He just looked at her with calm, understanding eyes. "You're new to controlling it, aren't you?"
Her eyes widened. "You… know what this is?"
"I've seen power lose balance before," he said softly. "It doesn't make you weak — it just means you haven't learned how to listen yet."
Agnes stared at him, heartbeat loud in her ears. For the first time, someone didn't look at her like she was broken.
But before she could reply, a familiar, cold voice cut through the air.
"Teaching magic lessons at breakfast, Mr. Edward?"
Sid turned.
Wednesday stood beside their table, plate untouched, eyes sharp as blades. Enid hovered behind her, smiling awkwardly.
Sid leaned back. "Just a conversation."
Wednesday's gaze dropped to the Ryuzen Book. "That's an old symbol on the cover. Older than Nevermore itself."
He smiled faintly. "You have a good eye."
"I have many good eyes," she replied. "Especially for secrets."
Their stares met — quiet lightning between them.
Agnes looked between them, feeling invisible again — this time not because of her power.
After a long pause, Sid closed the book and stood up. "Secrets aren't always dangerous," he said. "Sometimes they're just… waiting for the right person to understand them."
He turned and walked out of the hall, Ryuchi slithering faintly beneath his sleeve.
Wednesday's eyes followed him until he disappeared around the corner. Only then did she sit down beside Enid, muttering under her breath,
"He's hiding something. And I intend to find out what."
Enid grinned. "Or maybe you just think he's cute."
Wednesday glared. "If I ever start thinking like that, shoot me."
Across the room, Agnes sat frozen, her hand trembling over her untouched food. Her reflection flickered again.
But this time, her invisibility didn't come from fear. It came from something else she didn't understand — a strange, magnetic pull toward the boy from the forbidden dorm.
The corridors of Nevermore were quiet now, washed clean by the storm that had passed hours earlier. Sid Edward moved silently, footsteps soft against the stone, carrying the faint weight of the Ryuzen Book in his arms. The North Spire loomed ahead — a forbidding tower, empty except for him, Ryuchi, and the whisper of shadows.
As he climbed the final staircase, the wind howled faintly through the broken windows, rattling dust and loose stones. He paused on the landing, listening. The echo of distant laughter and the faint murmur of students far below reminded him of the world he had temporarily left behind.
Ryuchi slid from his sleeve, coiling lazily around the banister.
"Dinner was… entertaining."
Sid smirked faintly. "I'm not here to entertain anyone. Only to learn. And observe."
The door to his room groaned as he pushed it open. Inside, everything awaited him as it always had: the Ryuken sword in its corner, wrapped and silent, the Ryuzen Book glowing faintly, and the quiet, expectant shadows of the spire itself.
Sid placed the book on the desk, brushing his fingers lightly over the cover. Its runes shimmered in the candlelight, almost alive.
"What secrets do you hold tonight?" he murmured.
The book whispered back, a low hum only he could hear.
"The one in black watches. The one afraid follows. The one from the storm will decide."
Sid's gaze flicked to the balcony. Across the courtyard, the faint glow of Wednesday's dorm could still be seen. She was nowhere in sight, but her presence seemed to linger in the air — cold, calculating, aware.
He stepped onto the balcony, letting the night wind whip around him. Lightning flickered faintly in the distance, illuminating the courtyard below.
Then he saw it — a faint shimmer near the trees. A figure half-visible, flickering with unstable invisibility.
"Agnes DeMille".
She had followed him. She didn't speak, didn't move closer, but the pull toward him was undeniable. Her heart pounded in her chest, visible even through the faint distortions of her power.
Sid noticed immediately. He didn't flinch. He merely observed, calm as the night itself.
"You shouldn't risk your control," he said softly.
Agnes froze, surprised that he knew. Her lips parted slightly. "You… you can see me?"
"Yes. Not because I am special, but because you are close to losing yourself."
Her invisibility flickered again, stronger this time, like the air around her was alive. She took a cautious step back. "I… I just wanted to… see you."
Sid tilted his head. "To see me?"
"Yes," she admitted, voice barely a whisper. "I… I don't know why. But I feel… drawn."
The serpent, Ryuchi, hissed softly.
"Curiosity and attraction are not the same, child. She is bound by fear. Observe carefully."
Sid didn't answer. He only watched her, expression unreadable. The wind lifted strands of her hair, and for the first time, he felt something stir within him — a strange awareness, gentle and unfamiliar.
A sudden shadow fell across the balcony. Sid's gaze flicked up.
"Wednesday Addams."
She stood silently, watching from across the courtyard. Her black eyes glinted in the moonlight, unreadable. She didn't call out. She didn't move closer. She merely observed.
Agnes's breath caught. She shrank slightly, trying to disappear into the night, but her invisibility faltered again, sending ripples of faint shimmer through the air.
Sid stepped slightly, not to shield her, but to acknowledge the tension. "She's curious," he said softly. "And cautious. Like all hunters of knowledge."
Agnes nodded, barely breathing. "And… you?"
Sid smiled faintly, the corner of his lips lifting. "I observe first. Then I decide."
For a long moment, the wind and night were the only sounds. Across the courtyard, Wednesday remained unmoving, silent but sharply focused. Agnes trembled under his calm presence. And Sid… felt the strange gravity of their three worlds colliding for the first time.
He turned back to the balcony, watching Agnes's flickering form. "See yau,Tomorrow," he said softly.
"To... Tommorow"
Agnes's thought trembled in her mind, unanswered.
Ryuchi coiled around his wrist, eyes gleaming faintly.
"The storm is over. But storms can live in hearts as well."
Sid nodded, quietly, watching the distant shadow of Wednesday across the courtyard. For the first time, he realized the story had begun — a story of curiosity, fear, and something more dangerous, more magnetic… and more eternal, than any of them could yet understand.
The candle in his room flickered, throwing shadows that danced along the walls. He closed the balcony doors and turned toward the desk. The Ryuzen Book opened slightly on its own, and the glowing words formed, answering the unspoken question in his mind:
"The three have been noticed. Paths will cross. The first lesson begins under moonlight."
Sid smiled faintly, leaning back in his chair.
"Good. Then we begin."
--Next morning --
The sun rose pale and cold over Nevermore, casting long shadows across the stone courtyards. The North Spire remained quiet, the wind still carrying the faint chill of the night's storm.
Sid Edward descended from his forbidden dorm quietly, the Ryuzen Book tucked under his arm. Ryuchi, coiled around his wrist, hissed softly.
"They are awake. The storm stirs again, not outside, but within them."
Sid's eyes flicked toward the distant dormitory windows. Across the courtyard, Wednesday Addams' silhouette lingered behind the glass. She hadn't moved. She had watched him through the night, unseen, her black eyes still sharp with curiosity.
He didn't respond. He only adjusted the book in his bag and walked toward the dining hall.
---
The hall was lively, students chattering and eating, but Sid moved like a shadow through the noise. He noticed Agnes DeMille at a quiet table, her tray untouched. Her invisibility flickered faintly, betraying the tension in her body.
She had spent the night thinking of him — the boy from the North Spire, calm, enigmatic, almost untouchable. Her heart raced, the memory of his soft, knowing gaze lingering in her mind.
When Sid approached, she instinctively tried to hide, but the pull was too strong. Her power faltered, shimmering faintly. Sid noticed immediately.
"Good morning," he said softly. His voice carried calm warmth, drawing her attention.
Agnes swallowed. "G…good morning."
"You didn't sleep much, I see."
"I… couldn't," she admitted, voice barely above a whisper. "I kept thinking about… you."
Sid's eyes softened just slightly, though his expression remained composed. "Curiosity is not a crime. But it can be dangerous."
She looked down, fidgeting with her hands. "I know… I just… I wanted to understand. I want to control it."
Sid tilted his head. "Fear and desire are the same wind. You cannot push it away. You must let it guide you… gently."
Before Agnes could respond, a shadow fell over the table. Wednesday Addams appeared, pale and composed, black eyes sharp as knives.
"Learning lessons at breakfast now?" she asked, her voice calm but cutting.
Sid's gaze met hers briefly. "Only conversation."
Wednesday's expression didn't change, but her eyes lingered on him longer than necessary. Agnes felt a strange flutter in her chest — part jealousy, part awe.
Sid rose gracefully. "I should return to my room. Breakfast is not for lessons."
Agnes's lips parted. "Wait… please—"
Sid gave her a small, polite nod. "Tomorrow," he said softly, "we will continue."
And with that, he walked away, Ryuchi coiled on his wrist, silent and majestic.
---
The hallway was quiet as Sid ascended the stairs to the North Spire. The wind tugged at his coat, carrying with it the faint echoes of the students below.
He paused at his balcony, looking out at the distant towers. Across the courtyard, Wednesday watched from her window, still silent. And somewhere below, shadows shifted — Agnes, lingering despite herself, drawn irresistibly toward him.
Ryuchi hissed softly.
"Three paths converge, Sid. One sees the dark, one fears it, and one is drawn by it. The lessons begin soon."
Sid smiled faintly, calm and unreadable. "Let them come."
The Ryuzen Book lay on his desk, its pages glowing faintly in anticipation. Outside, the morning wind carried the whisper of storms yet to come — storms of fear, curiosity, and the slow, subtle pull of hearts destined to collide.
Sid leaned against the balcony railing, gazing at the distant silhouettes, feeling for the first time the faint stir of something he didn't yet understand — the warmth of connection, the slow bloom of something… more.
And in that quiet, only the wind and the Ryuzen Book whispered back:
"The first lesson is always observation. But observation is only the beginning."