One second I was in my apartment.
TV remote in one hand.
Leftover pizza in the other.
Halfway through rewatching The Originals.
Then—
Nothing.
Darkness.
Not the lights-off kind.
Absolute. Endless. Suffocating.
Couldn't feel my body.
Couldn't feel time.
Only one thought bouncing around:
Where the hell am I?
Silence stretched.
Too long. Too empty.
Not peaceful. Just wrong.
Then something came.
A voice.
"YOU ARE DEAD, YOUNG ONE."
The words didn't just echo—they pressed right into me, from every side.
I steadied myself.
"…Who are you?" I said. "And what d'you mean I'm dead?"
"I AM WHAT YOU CALL GOD."
A beat. Then, almost casual—
"AND WHEN I SAY YOU DIED… I MEAN YOU ARE LITERALLY DEAD."
I frowned. Dead? That didn't add up. No pain, no memory of it happening. All I knew was—
"Name's Martin Knight," I said slow. "And I remember… TV shows. Movies. Light novels."
Just fragments. Nothing more.
"GOOD ENOUGH."
The voice didn't care. Not even a little.
"I WILL GRANT YOU A SECOND CHANCE."
That got my attention.
"YOU MAY BE REBORN IN A WORLD OF YOUR CHOOSING. YOU GET FIVE WISHES… AND PERKS."
I smiled. Yeah… I knew how this went.
"Alright," I said. "Stick me in The Originals. As Niklaus Mikaelson."
"THAT CAN BE DONE."
Course it could.
"STATE YOUR WISHES."
This needed thought. Not just raw power, not just scraping by. This was long game. And I wasn't doing it alone.
"I don't wanna end up on top with no one beside me," I said steady. "My family rises with me."
"FIRST — I WANT TO BE THE FIRST TRIBRID."
"SECOND — KOL BECOMES THE FIRST HERETIC."
"THIRD — TEN TIMES LEARNING SPEED… MY SIBLINGS GET FIVE TIMES."
"FOURTH—"
I paused. "Make us truly invincible."
The void went dead quiet.
"…THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THAT."
Before he could go on, I cut in. "Fine. Then only you can kill us."
Silence.
"…YOU CHEEKY BRAT."
I smirked.
"FINE. BUT YOU ONLY GET ONE PERK."
No problem. I already knew.
"A growth system," I said. "Our strength multiplies by five every ten years."
"DONE."
"One more thing," I added. "Save Henrik. Stop him from dying. Whatever way works."
"ACCEPTED."
I nodded. "Can I save the last wish for later?"
"YES."
Then the voice shifted—sounded almost amused now.
"FOR OUTPLAYING ME… AND PUTTING YOUR FAMILY FIRST— I'LL GIVE YOU A SYSTEM."
That was interesting.
"NOT THE USUAL KIND. TRACKS YOUR GROWTH, YOUR STATS. THAT'S IT."
No dumb missions. No cheap rewards. No handouts.
Perfect.
"YOUR FINAL WISH UNLOCKS LATER. NOW GO. A NEW WORLD IS WAITING."
Light tore through the dark.
Elsewhere…
A cry cut the air.
"Waaah… waaah…"
A woman held the baby, soft and warm. A man stepped up, took him—proud, solid, sure.
"Strong lad," he said. "Name him Niklaus."
She smiled. "Finn, Elijah… come meet your brother."
Two boys walked in. One older, one still little.
"What shall we call him?" Elijah asked.
"Niklaus Mikaelson," Esther said.
They nodded. Simple. Happy.
None of them knew—
I understood every single word.
Damn it. I sighed to myself. Should've asked to hold off on the memories. Now I had to sit through being a kid all over again.
Fine. I'd do it right this time.
Ten Years Later
Time moved fast, but I didn't waste a second.
Kol and I trained with Esther—magic, spells, control. We picked up everything she taught faster than she expected. Faster than she liked.
Ayana noticed too. That's gonna be trouble later.
Elijah… still Elijah. Honourable, predictable, annoying.
And Tatia chose him. Just like before.
Didn't bother me. That was never my story. I had a different one to write.
I studied the immortality spell. Tweaked it. Rebuilt it from the ground up. Blood, shadow, power that would belong only to us.
The Originals wouldn't just exist. We'd be better.
And somewhere deep down… something else was waking up. Not power, not ambition. Connections. People I hadn't met yet—but would. Not forced, not taken. Chosen.
I didn't know their names. Not yet.
Nine Years Later
I was nineteen. Henrik was thirteen. And everything was about to change.
I sat high in an oak, staring up at the full moon. Quiet. Still.
Then something shifted. A feeling—sharp, clear, impossible to miss.
I breathed out slow.
"…So it starts."
The night didn't answer. Didn't need to.
I already knew what was coming.
Kept every single moment you wanted, tightened the flow, made it sound like you're telling it straight—no extra fancy words, just hits harder and feels more like you. 😎 Want me to tweak anything or adjust the style later?