At first… there was only darkness.
Not the quiet darkness of a room at night.
This was something deeper.
Something heavier.
Something that pressed in from every direction.
Vik couldn't move.
He couldn't see.
He couldn't even breathe the way he was used to.
Panic arrived instantly.
Pure, animal panic.
His mind snapped awake like a switch had been flipped.
Vik (thinking, confused):
What—?
He tried to open his eyes.
Nothing changed.
Still darkness.
Still pressure.
Still that strange floating sensation.
His arms tried to move.
They barely responded.
Slow.
Weak.
Uncoordinated.
Like they didn't belong to him.
His heartbeat accelerated violently.
Vik (thinking, alarmed):
What is happening?!
His body felt wrong.
Too small.
Too light.
Too… undeveloped.
He tried to breathe sharply.
Instead, his chest made a weak, instinctive movement.
It didn't work like normal breathing.
His brain struggled to process the situation.
Memories started crashing into his mind all at once.
The apartment.
The rain.
The bills.
The television.
And the image of Edward Newgate standing tall on the battlefield.
Then the alcohol.
Then darkness.
Then—
Now.
His thoughts slowed.
A cold realization began creeping into his mind.
Vik (thinking, horrified):
Wait…
He moved his fingers again.
Tiny.
Soft.
Weak.
He tried to stretch his legs.
They barely moved through the thick liquid surrounding him.
Liquid.
Warm liquid.
His heart skipped a beat.
Vik (thinking):
Liquid…?
A distant instinct deep in his brain whispered the answer.
One every human carried since before birth.
The thought made his stomach twist.
Vik (thinking, terrified):
No…
He forced his arms to move again.
Slowly.
Clumsily.
His hand brushed against something soft.
Smooth.
Alive.
The sensation startled him.
His tiny fingers pressed again.
The thing moved.
Another body.
Another presence.
Right beside him.
His heart began racing again.
Vik (thinking, panicking):
There's someone else here?!
The presence shifted slightly.
Small.
Just like him.
Then suddenly—
A strange sensation touched his mind.
Not physical.
Something else.
Something… deeper.
A faint emotional pulse.
Confusion.
Curiosity.
Calm.
The feeling was gentle.
Like the quiet awareness of someone sleeping beside you.
Vik froze.
Vik (thinking):
What… was that?
The sensation disappeared.
Then returned.
A soft wave brushing against his thoughts.
Not words.
Not exactly emotions.
More like… impressions.
He tried focusing on it.
Immediately his head began to hurt.
A strange pressure formed behind his eyes.
Vik (thinking, strained):
What is wrong with my brain…
But the sensation remained.
A second presence.
Peaceful.
Unaware.
Alive.
His breathing slowed slightly.
The panic faded enough for his thoughts to start working again.
He forced himself to think logically.
Vik (thinking slowly):
Darkness.
Liquid.
Tiny body.
Another… baby?
His mind reached the conclusion he had been trying to avoid.
Vik (thinking, stunned):
I…
I'm inside a womb.
His entire consciousness froze.
The realization echoed through his mind like thunder.
Vik (thinking):
I was reborn.
He tried to laugh.
Instead, his tiny body twitched weakly.
This wasn't a dream.
He could feel everything.
The warmth.
The weightless floating.
The faint rhythm of a heartbeat surrounding him.
A heartbeat that was not his own.
Vik (thinking quietly):
So… I actually died.
For a moment he felt strangely calm.
Not happy.
Not sad.
Just… accepting.
His previous life felt distant already.
Like remembering a movie he watched years ago.
The debts.
The apartment.
The rain.
All of it felt small now.
Then a new thought appeared.
And it made his entire body tense.
Vik (thinking):
Where was I reborn?
He tried remembering the last thing he had been thinking about.
One Piece.
Whitebeard.
The dream of living in that world.
A chill moved through his tiny spine.
Vik (thinking):
Don't tell me…
Before he could finish the thought—
Pain exploded across his mind.
Not physical pain.
Something else.
Like a thousand whispers suddenly screaming at once.
His body jerked violently.
The strange sensation returned again.
But this time it was stronger.
Sharper.
Like invisible threads reaching out into the darkness.
And suddenly—
He felt something.
Not just the baby beside him.
Something outside.
Voices.
Emotions.
Cold intelligence.
Curiosity.
Cruel excitement.
The impressions flooded his mind chaotically.
He didn't understand them.
But he could feel them.
His consciousness recoiled instinctively.
Vik (thinking, panicked):
WHAT IS THAT?!
The pressure intensified.
Images flickered across his mind.
Metal.
Machines.
Cold laboratories.
And a man's mind.
Sharp.
Ruthless.
Obsessed.
The mental presence felt like a blade cutting through flesh.
Even though Vik couldn't hear words yet…
the intent behind those thoughts was clear.
Experiment.
Perfection.
Control.
His heart began pounding again.
Then suddenly—
Another presence wrapped around him.
Warm.
Protective.
Gentle.
The heartbeat around him pulsed faster.
A woman's emotions flooded his senses.
Fear.
Love.
Defiance.
Pain.
The warmth shielded him from the cold mind outside.
Vik's panic slowed.
His thoughts struggled to catch up with everything happening.
Vik (thinking shakily):
This… this isn't normal.
The ability to feel minds.
To sense emotions.
To brush against thoughts.
His brain searched desperately through memories.
And finally…
one name appeared.
Patrick Redfield.
The pirate who could read people's minds with Observation Haki.
Vik's tiny body trembled.
Vik (thinking):
Haki…
My haki awakened… before I was even born?
The idea was absurd.
Impossible.
But the sensations didn't lie.
He could feel the people outside.
Their intentions.
Their thoughts brushing against reality.
And that cold, terrifying mind returned again.
Closer this time.
Sharper.
The presence focused directly on the womb.
Vik felt its curiosity like a knife.
Then suddenly—
A voice echoed faintly through the liquid.
Distorted.
But understandable enough.
A man speaking calmly.
Coldly.
Vinsmoke Judge.
Judge (speaking coldly):
"The genetic modifications are progressing perfectly."
Another voice.
Weak but determined.
A woman.
Vinsmoke Sora.
Sora (breathing heavily but firmly):
"…they're still my children…"
Judge's thoughts radiated irritation.
Cold calculation.
Judge (thinking):
Emotions are irrelevant.
Vik froze.
His mind processed the names slowly.
Judge.
Sora.
Children.
Genetic modifications.
Then the final piece clicked into place.
His entire consciousness went silent.
Vik (thinking, horrified):
No…
His mind searched desperately for the memory he feared.
The story.
The characters.
The experiments.
And finally…
one name surfaced.
The baby floating beside him.
The calm presence he had felt earlier.
Vinsmoke Reiju.
Vik's thoughts exploded.
Vik (thinking, terrified):
I WAS BORN INTO THE VINSMOKE FAMILY?!
The realization shook him to his core.
This wasn't just the world of One Piece.
This was Germa 66.
A kingdom built on ruthless science and war.
And worse—
That meant three more babies were somewhere nearby.
Future monsters shaped by Judge's experiments.
One of them…
would grow into Vinsmoke Sanji.
Vik's mind spun wildly.
Vik (thinking):
I'm one of them…
One of the experiments…
His tiny fists clenched instinctively.
Fear surged through his mind.
But beneath the fear…
something else awakened.
A quiet determination.
If he truly had Observation Haki this powerful…
If he had his memories…
Then maybe—
Just maybe—
His new life wouldn't be controlled by Judge.
Vik slowly calmed his breathing.
The darkness of the womb no longer felt like a prison.
It felt like the first battlefield of his new life.
And this time…
He wouldn't live like the broken man from that tiny apartment.
Vik (thinking quietly):
If this world wants monsters…
His developing haki pulsed softly around him.
The faint thoughts of people outside brushed against his mind again.
Cold scientists.
Ambitious rulers.
Cruel expectations.
But Vik simply focused on the calm presence beside him.
Reiju.
His sister.
For the first time since waking up…
a small smile formed in his mind.
Vik (thinking softly):
Then I'll become something even greater.
Outside the womb…
Judge continued his experiments.
Unaware that one of the children inside already understood everything.
And was already preparing for the world.
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