It was a bar on the outskirts of the city where Nik and Caroline were talking to Slater.
"Am I going to die?" Slater asked, fearful.
"Probably," Nik replied indifferently.
"Nik." Caroline lightly tapped his arm.
"You're not going to die. If everything goes wrong, we'll interfere," Caroline said, calming Slater. "My boyfriend here can be an idiot sometimes, but he would never let one of his own die without defending them."
Nik just shrugged.
"Yeah, yeah, let's get this over with. I want to play," Nik said irritably, and KOL walked into the bar already a bit unsteady. Nik laughed. "For a vampire to stagger because of alcohol… he must be really bad."
Nik snapped his fingers, and he and Caroline disappeared.
"Go on," Slater heard the voice of the void, and even without seeing them, he knew they were there.
--++--
KOL Mikaelson was having the worst week of his life.
First… he discovers a bunch of vampires with magic… Worse, vampires he knew, like Katherine.
Literally everything he had spent his entire life trying to recover was in the hands of copies of him. He was an Original—he deserved magic.
Then he found out from his newborn nephew that his traitorous mother had tied his life and all his siblings' lives to his suicidal brother.
All he could do was go out drinking.
That's when a man bumped into him.
"Watch where you're going, idiot," the man said, brushing off his shoulder.
KOL immediately noticed it was a vampire—and a young one, judging by the small amount of magical power.
"Young ones are always arrogant," KOL smiled. It was the perfect way to release his tension. "Hey, you piece of trash… come back here."
KOL shouted, calling the vampire back, and when he turned, he saw the vampire attacking him with a clawed hand.
'I'll let the idiot break his hand,' KOL thought, watching the hand coming toward his face in slow motion.
But then the vampire's hand turned black and morphed into steel blades.
KOL's eyes widened. Since the hand was already too close to his face, even as he moved aside—
His face was still cut.
'The same magic as the girl,' KOL thought in shock. 'What the hell is happening? Do all vampires have magic now?'
He didn't waste time and kicked the vampire's torso, his leg hitting something that felt like a steel bar.
Even so, he sent the vampire flying, and when he hit the ground, he began vomiting blood.
KOL moved instantly, grabbing him by the neck.
"How do you have magic too? Tell me," KOL growled, staring into the vampire's eyes.
"My teacher taught me," the vampire said in a robotic tone.
"A teacher, huh? So this magic is learned?" KOL asked.
"Yes. All vampires have it, but they need certain requirements to awaken it," the vampire continued mechanically.
"I see… I see… so that's it. I could never get my magic back because I never searched the right way, huh? A thousand years wasted trying to recover magic, and I was looking in the wrong place," KOL said bitterly. "Take me to this teacher."
"Yes," the vampire replied.
---++---
Slater walked, with KOL following behind him calmly but cautiously.
Slater had to do his best to pretend he was under Kol's compulsion so the Original wouldn't suspect anything.
They were near the abandoned church. Churches have a unique type of magic—the magic of belief.
What many humans fail to realize is that everyone has magic—even humans, though in very small amounts. But believing strongly in something, concentrated in one place, can either create a divinity… or turn that place into a bomb of magic.
So it was the perfect place for the ritual.
"Ohhh, a church. I feel a lot of magic in this place," Kol said, looking at the church as he entered behind Slater. "So… where is this teacher of yours?"
"Right here," Klaus's voice came from behind him, and when KOL turned, he saw Nik.
"Good morning, uncle," Nik laughed and pushed KOL, who fell into a pool. "Remember—you need to accept it, not reject it. It's the only way."
Everything went dark for KOL, and he passed out.
--++---
Bonnie, Sheila, and Abby began chanting as the water around KOL started to glow, and the church itself began to tremble.
Gradually, the chants turned into screams, and soon Kol's body began to convulse.
Then the three witches finished the spell—and the bloodlines were broken.
A wave of magic began circulating through the church.
"Now!" the entire Bennett clan rushed into the church.
When the lines broke, Pearl and Anna screamed in pain, Katherine as well—to the point that her inner vampire took over to protect its host.
Jeremy tried to run to his girlfriends, but Nik stopped him, telling him not to move.
Then the magic bomb came, and Bonnie made a motion—and a torrent of magic entered each of them.
The church exploded in magic, and soon dust rose into the air.
--++--
At that moment, all over the world, hundreds of millions of vampires fell to the ground in pain. Their skin turned red, veins bulging.
They all thought they were dying.
But soon the effect passed, and they returned to normal.
--+++---
The Originals screamed in pain, collapsing and lamenting. Klaus nearly cried, thinking his mother had finally found a way to kill Finn—and consequently all Originals connected to him.
"I just found out I have a child—I can't die now," he cried, but soon the pain stopped and the effects disappeared.
--++--
Esther watched in shock as her eldest son writhed on the ground, and she saw a torrent of magic leaving him.
She understood immediately.
"Nooooo!" she screamed, tears of hatred in her eyes. Her plan had completely failed—someone had used it to break the vampire bloodlines. Now, it didn't matter if the Originals died—it wouldn't kill all vampires in the world.
At the same time, she felt the magic leaving her.
"No, sisters, don't abandon me!" Esther screamed in agony.
"You are no longer useful. Vampires will no longer all die now. What a waste of time," a voice echoed through the wind.
Esther was once again a very powerful witch—but not as powerful as before.
--+++---
--++--
There was no more church.
There was no water.
There was no sound.
Only a dense, suffocating void, as if the world itself had been torn away from around Kol, leaving only… him.
For a moment, he thought he was dead.
But then something moved.
--++--
A presence.
Behind him.
Heavy.
Ancient.
Wrong.
Kol turned slowly, his eyes narrowing as instinct screamed within him—a primal warning he knew well… but had never felt like this.
And then he saw it.
--++--
It was him.
But it wasn't.
The form was identical—face, body, every detail… but the eyes were different, completely consumed by a deep, wild, almost animalistic darkness.
And the smile… had no control at all.
--++--
"What kind of trick is this?" Kol snarled, already stepping back, his body shifting into a combat stance without thinking.
This didn't make sense.
It wasn't normal magic.
It wasn't an illusion.
It was… more intimate.
--++--
The thing tilted its head slowly, as if analyzing him in the same way.
"You really don't understand," it said, the voice being his… but distorted, like a broken echo.
Kol narrowed his eyes even more, irritated.
"I don't have time for games," he snapped, stepping forward. "Whatever you are, I'll rip you out of me."
--++--
He attacked.
Fast.
Violent.
Without hesitation.
But the moment he struck—
There was no impact.
--++--
The thing simply absorbed the blow.
As if it wasn't solid.
As if it couldn't be hit.
--++--
Kol stopped, confused for a single second.
And that second was enough.
--++--
The creature moved.
Not to attack.
But to get closer.
Too close.
--++--
"You always do this," it murmured, inches from his face. "Fight. Deny. Control."
Kol shoved it away, stepping back angrily.
"Shut up," he growled. "You're nothing."
But even as he said it…
Something inside him hesitated.
--++--
Because that presence…
Didn't feel external.
Didn't feel like an invader.
It felt… familiar.
Ancient.
Like something that had always been there, but he had never truly faced.
--++--
"I'm nothing?" the creature repeated, a slow smile forming. "Then why can you feel me?"
Kol didn't answer.
But his silence… already was one.
--++--
He tried attacking again.
Stronger.
Faster.
More brutal.
But the result was the same.
Nothing.
No effect.
--++--
And this time, irritation turned into something else.
Frustration.
And… doubt.
--++--
"What kind of magic is this…" he muttered, more to himself than to it.
Then—
A memory.
A phrase.
Clear.
Recent.
"remember—you need to accept it, not reject it. It's the only way"
--++--
Nik.
--++--
Kol froze for a moment.
His expression hardening.
His breathing slowing.
--++--
"No…" he murmured.
As if rejecting the idea itself.
As if it were too ridiculous to even consider.
--++--
The creature simply watched.
No attack.
No rush.
Waiting.
--++--
Kol ran a hand through his face, irritated, pacing like a caged beast.
"Accept?" he muttered with disdain. "Accept what? This?" he pointed at the creature.
But as he spoke…
The pieces began to fall into place.
Against his will.
The familiarity.
The impossibility of attacking it.
The feeling that it… wasn't separate.
--++--
He stopped.
Slowly.
And looked again.
Truly.
The creature didn't move.
Didn't advance.
Didn't provoke.
It simply… existed.
Waiting.
Kol let out a heavy breath, irritated with himself.
"This is pathetic…" he muttered.
But he didn't attack again.
--++--
Instead—
He stepped forward.
Slowly.
Cautiously.
Like approaching something dangerous…
But inevitable.
"If you can't be destroyed…" he began, his voice lower now, more controlled, "…then there's only one explanation."
He stopped right in front of the creature.
Eyes locked.
"You are me."
--++--
The silence that followed was different.
Heavy.
But… right.
The creature smiled.
Not mockingly.
Not this time.
Kol closed his eyes for a moment.
Took a deep breath.
And for the first time in a long time…
He didn't try to fight.
"Alright…" he murmured. "Then let's do this the hard way."
--++--
When he opened his eyes again—
He didn't attack.
Didn't retreat.
Didn't resist.
He stepped forward again.
And let it happen.
The creature moved at the same instant.
Not like an enemy.
But like something inevitable.
--++--
And then—
Collision.
Not physical.
But internal.
Memories, instincts, impulses, hunger, violence…
Everything crashing at once.
Trying to dominate.
Take control.
Kol's body tensed.
His mind almost gave in—
But this time…
He didn't push back.
He held.
Accepted.
Recognized.
And little by little…
The chaos began to organize.
When it ended—
The void began to fade.
Reality returning.
Kol opened his eyes in the water.
His body stopped convulsing.
His breathing steady.
He stood up slowly.
Water dripping from his face.
His eyes… different.
Deeper.
Quieter.
He looked around.
Then at Nik.
For a long second.
--++---
"What did you do to me?" KOL asked angrily, trying to get up—but his soul almost screamed in fear when he saw a stake.
"Bye," Nik smiled as he drove the stake down, and KOL closed his eyes in fear—
Punk.
The sound of wood breaking.
KOL opened his eyes, realizing he wasn't dead—and saw his chest completely black, like steel.
"So, uncle… how does it feel to have magic again?" Nik smiled at him.
The silence that followed wasn't relief.
It was… understanding.
Kol was still on his knees, breathing heavily, his eyes fixed on his own chest where the stake had shattered as if it had struck iron. Slowly, he brought his hand to the spot, running his fingers over the darkened, rigid, living surface.
It wasn't just defense.
It was response.
--++--
He stood up slowly, without taking his eyes off his hand, opening and closing his fingers as if relearning how to use his own body. The sensation was… unlike anything else.
It wasn't magic like before.
It wasn't something external he pulled from.
It was… instinct.
--++--
"This…" Kol murmured, his voice low, almost fascinated despite the clear anger. "This isn't witch magic."
Nik tilted his head slightly, the smile still there, but now more attentive.
"Of course it isn't," he replied naturally. "You spent a thousand years looking in the wrong place."
--++--
Kol lifted his gaze to him.
And this time… there was something new there.
Not just anger.
Something deeper.
Something… dangerous—and then he disappeared.
--++--
He reappeared in front of Nik, too fast even for Caroline to fully follow. His hand closed around his nephew's throat—
But stopped.
Just centimeters away.
Trembling.
Not hesitation from weakness.
But… control.
--++--
"I should rip your head off," Kol said quietly, his eyes locked on Nik's. "For all of this."
A second of silence.
Heavier than any scream.
Kol stepped back, running a hand through his wet face, laughing again—this time with a hint of disbelief.
"But I won't," he finished.
--++--
Nik smiled.
"Good.I wouldn't want to have to beat you up and send you back to my father's house all battered and bruised. ."
--++--
Kol smirked, looking at his hand again as he focused.
He flexed his fingers.
They began to turn black and shift shape.
This time… truly, he could feel the magic inside him. The void was no longer there.
--++--
"I won't thank you either," he said, his voice calmer… but far more dangerous. "You didn't give me magic."
He lifted his gaze.
A faint smile forming.
"You showed me where it always was."
--++--
Around them, the rest of the group was still recovering from the overload of energy.
Bonnie was leaning on Sheila, breathing heavily.
Abby maintained an unstable barrier around them, almost by reflex.
Jeremy still watched, torn between running or staying.
And Katherine…
Katherine was quiet.
Too quiet.
--++--
"But this magic is different from what I had," Kol murmured, more to himself than to the others. "Not that I'm complaining."
Nik smirked slightly.
"It is different," he replied. "Vampires are made of magic. Yours was always in you—it was just altered and sealed."
Kol looked back at him.
"That 'teacher'… the boy mentioned," Kol began, tilting his head slightly. "It was me all along."
"A thousand years…" he said with a laugh, running a hand through his hair. "A thousand years trying to recover something that was never stolen."
The laughter slowly faded.
His eyes darkened, and he dropped to the ground laughing like a madman—then soon began to cry.
"Nephew… can I ask what you did to me?" KOL asked.
"I broke the bloodlines. If your mother manages to kill you, the other vampires won't die with you," Nik said sincerely. "I don't want part of my family dying because of you."
"I see…" Kol nodded. "You know… you could have just asked. I would've loved to frustrate mother."
"I couldn't take that risk."