The early sun cut through the glass window, painting a bright stripe across the boy's face. He groaned, his eyes opening slowly. He pushed his hands against his eyelids and let out a big yawn. Sitting up, he leaned back against the hard wooden headboard. He looked around the room, his mind still fuzzy with sleep.
Then, his sleepiness vanished, replaced by a cold jolt.
This was not his room. His room had white walls and a messy desk. This room was… fancy. Too fancy. The walls were a deep, polished wood. A heavy dresser with detailed carvings stood against one wall. The blankets on the bed were thick and embroidered. It looked like a room from an old movie, the kind set in the 1800s.
"What the…?"
He threw the covers off and got out of bed. The floor was cold under his feet. He turned in a slow circle, his heart starting to beat faster.
"Where the hell am I?" he muttered to himself, the words sounding too loud in the quiet room.
His eyes landed on a tall, standing mirror in the corner, next to a big wardrobe. He walked towards it, his steps careful. He saw himself in the glass. Brown hair, a little messy from sleep. The same familiar face he'd seen every morning. The same height, the same build. It was him. Alex. That was his name. Alex.
But nothing else was right.
A sharp, sudden pain stabbed into his skull. He gasped, his hands flying to his head. It felt like a hot spike was being driven right behind his eyes. His knees buckled, and he dropped to the floor, gripping his head. He clenched his teeth, not making a sound, just riding out the wave of agony.
As the pain faded, a flood of pictures rushed into his mind. It was like watching a very clear, very fast movie inside his head. He saw a different life. A boy who looked like him, but with different clothes, living in a different city. He felt the boy's feelings—happiness, boredom, then a deep, hollow sadness.
Parents. Car accident. One month ago.
The memories settled. They were his memories now, but they weren't. He was still Alex, but he was also this other Alex. This Alex's parents had died. They had left him a house. A house in a town called Mystic Falls. He was supposed to start at Mystic High School today.
Alex slowly got up, using the bed for support. He sat on the edge of the mattress, one hand pressing into the soft surface.
"Mystic Falls," he whispered.
A cold trickle of fear ran down his spine. That name… he knew that name. It wasn't from any real map. It was from a TV show he'd only seen a few episodes of, but the core premise-and names like Damon and Stefan Salvatore-were unforgettable. A show about vampires, witches, and werewolves.
"This can't be real," he said to the empty room. "It's a story."
But the wood of the bedframe under his hand felt solid and real. The sunlight was warm on his skin. This was no dream.
Panic buzzed in his chest. If this was the real Mystic Falls, then the dangers were real too. How was he supposed to survive? He was just a normal guy. If he crossed paths with a vampire, he'd be a snack. A misunderstanding? He couldn't even fight a human football player, let alone a century-old vampire with super speed.
He was sitting there, trying to sort through the mess in his head, when a voice spoke. It had no source. It was inside the room and inside his mind at the same time. It sounded flat and mechanical, like a computer.
[Host Detected.]
Alex flinched, looking around wildly. "Who's there?"
A pale blue, transparent screen flickered into existence in the air right in front of his face. It hovered there, glowing softly. He scrambled back on the bed, putting distance between him and the strange hologram.
Then, a thought clicked. A system. He'd read stories like this. People getting transported to new worlds with a helper system. Was that what this was?
The machine voice spoke again.
[Congratulations, Host, on the complete fusion of your soul.]
"Fusion?" Alex asked, his voice shaky. "So… the guy who lived here… he was a part of me?" It explained why the body was a perfect match. It wasn't someone else's; it was a missing piece of his own.
[The fusion is stable,] the voice confirmed. [You have a novice gift. Do you wish to open it?]
A gift. In a world of vampires, a gift could be the difference between life and death. He felt a flicker of hope, quickly followed by worry. The memory pain had been awful. Would this hurt, too?
"Sure," he said, hesitant. "Yes. Open it."
There was a brief pause.
[Congratulations. You have obtained the Lucifer Morningstar Bloodline (Television Version). Beginning integration.]
"Wait, what? Hey, you fucking wait!" Alex blurted out. He braced himself, innerly cringing. "I do not want that pain again!"
But the expected agony didn't come. Instead, a comfortable heat spread through his body. It started in his core and flowed out to his fingers and toes. It felt like every muscle was being warmed up, stretched, and gently made stronger. It wasn't painful; it was powerful. A feeling of incredible strength buzzed under his skin, a hum of pure energy. He felt like he could lift a car, outrun a train. For a moment, the whole world seemed clearer, brighter.
He looked down at his hands, turning them over. He clenched his fist. He could feel the new power coiled inside him, waiting.
The blue screen in front of him changed. The old message vanished. New words formed.
STATUS SCREEN
Name: Alex Smith
Bloodline:Lucifer Morningstar (The Devil)
Strength:50 times peak human
Speed:50 times peak human
Immortality:Eternal Life and Youth. No weapon in this universe can harm you.
Abilities:
· Devil Face: Manifests involuntarily during extreme anger.
· Wings: [LOCKED]
· Devil Transformation: [LOCKED] (Increases all attributes by 10x.)
· Hell/Heaven Access: [LOCKED] (Complete certain events to unlock.)
Alex read every line carefully. His breath caught. Immortality. Invulnerability. Strength beyond anything a human—or a vampire—could have. A wild laugh bubbled in his throat but didn't come out.
Then he saw the last two lines. Locked. He would need to do things to unlock his full power. He looked at the empty air around the screen.
"System? How do I unlock the wings? What events?" he asked.
The screen simply flickered and faded away. The room was silent again.
"Hey! Come back!" he called. No answer. The system was gone, leaving him alone with its incredible, only-partial gift.
He swung his legs off the bed and walked back to the standing mirror. He needed to see if there were any changes in the appearance.
He looked at his reflection. His face was still his, but… better. His features were a little sharper, his eyes seemed a brighter shade. He looked more… compelling. He pulled his shirt off. His body, which had been average, was now lean and perfectly defined. A set of six clear abdominal muscles showed on his flat stomach. He looked like he'd trained for years, but without any bulk, just sleek, efficient power.
A small, real smile finally appeared on his face.
The crushing anxiety from ten minutes ago was gone. He thought about the Salvatore brothers. They were strong, sure. But they could be staked and needed blood but I don't.
According to the screen, he was stronger. Much stronger. And no weapon here could hurt him. He was immortal. He didn't need to drink blood to keep his power.
He took a deep, steadying breath. The sun was higher now, filling the strange, old-fashioned room with light.
"Okay, Mystic Falls," he said to his reflection, his voice calm and low. "Here I am come."