The truck hit Ben Ross like a brutal exclamation point—sharp, sudden, final. One moment he was hunched over a spreadsheet, grumbling about deadlines and the extra weight around his stomach, and the next the world snapped apart in a blur of noise and motion. Tires screeched.
Something slammed into metal. He didn't even have time to look up.Then—silence.Not peaceful silence, but an empty one. Everything was white, bright enough to make his eyes ache. He blinked, confused, checking instinctively for his phone, his laptop bag, something familiar. But he wasn't wearing anything. He wasn't even sure he had a body.That's when the figure appeared—tall, ancient, glowing with a soft kind of power that bent the light around it. The being's face shifted between youth and age, like it couldn't settle on one.
Still, it smiled with this weird, warm amusement."Welcome, Ben Ross."Ben's mind scrambled for logic. Any logic."…Am I dead?""Mm-hm," the being replied cheerfully, as if confirming a lunch order. "Good news, though. You've been reassigned.""Reassigned?" Ben repeated. "To what?""In your world's… terminology?" The being's eyes sparkled. "You've been Isekai'd to The Vampire Diaries."
Ben froze. Not in shock—no, that lasted less than a heartbeat. The strategist in him, the guy who planned imaginary escape routes during office meetings, roared to life."If I'm going," he said, "I want insurance. Do I get wishes?""Three," God answered, almost grinning now. "Make them good."Ben didn't even think. He'd spent years fantasizing about the perfect loadout for a dangerous world."First," he said, voice firm, "make me Niklaus Mikaelson's twin brother."The being nodded."Second, give me the ability to siphon magic—like a Heretic."Another nod."And third… I want the strongest human body possible. Stronger than any human of that world's history."The being gave a low whistle, impressed. "Not subtle, but efficient.
""No cheats," Ben added quickly. "No alternate universe where everything is easier. I want the real story. Real characters. Real stakes.""You'll remember everything," God said. "And you'll have a System to track progress. That's all. The rest is up to you."Ben exhaled once—and fell