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The deal had been made, and as promised, Finn gave his firstborn to Dahlia.
Did it hurt him to hand over a child to the witch? Yes, it did.
But he knew, in his current state, that he could never defeat her.
So he did what had to be done. He spent the night with the woman Dahlia had chosen, and by the next day, he was gone, carrying Freya and Mikael.
He left them in a safe place, and when they awoke, Finn had departed with Sage.
The atmosphere between them was tense. He had shared himself with another woman in front of his wife, and though she said nothing, guilt weighed heavily on him.
Even when they avoided the topic, Sage would sometimes try to bring it up, only for Finn to deftly change the subject.
He had wanted to take Freya with him, but it was impossible—not with the enemies he had made over the centuries and now realizing that witches were far more terrifying than he had imagined.
It wasn't long—less than a week—before the cost of having a child began to claim him. Finn started feeling weak, his body slowly mummifying.
"Love… what's happening?" Sage's voice trembled.
"Just the price… I didn't think it would be this much," Finn murmured.
His eyes closed, and Sage immediately enveloped him in her shadow, shielding him from the world.
Five months passed in agony and frailty. Hunger was never an issue; Sage's shadow fed him constantly.
But the sensation of weakness, of helplessness, was unbearable.
Finally, he awoke. Their reunion was tender yet charged with a raw intensity.
They shared a romantic dinner, and later, retired to the privacy of their room, where playful intimacy erased some of the months lost.
Sage's eyes sparkled with curiosity and desire, subtly encouraging Finn to explore boundaries he hadn't yet been ready to confront.
But he remained silent, letting the moment linger in tension.
Four hundred seventy years passed. Finn finally had the time he needed to fully recover and decided to approach the family once again.
He did not reveal himself but kept close enough to observe, creating several nobles to stir subtle chaos in the world.
He watched his siblings and the transformations time had wrought. Rebekah, rebellious and consumed by blind love, often forced Elijah or Klaus to intervene to protect those she allowed near her heart.
Kol had immersed himself in the magical arts of light, isolated from the others, supported by a small harem of witches and vampires.
Elijah struggled with leadership, an irony Finn found delicious, while Klaus grew wilder, more desperate, teetering dangerously close to becoming the hybrid the world would recognize in later years.
Finn cleverly ensured that none of the siblings would elevate any new vampires to noble status, fearing rebellion.
Even the nobles they had created were manipulated into believing they were ordinary vampires, their powers restrained.
Yet comfort was a dangerous luxury; the siblings began drawing attention, their immortality obvious.
Finn had to curse them, posing as Mikael, to terrify them into submission once again when he departed.
Four hundred ninety years had passed. Katherine appeared. Finn saw her first, sensing her approach before she reached his siblings.
He played with her without revealing his identity, and she was intrigued—but she followed her predetermined path, entangling herself in a love triangle with Klaus and Elijah.
Klaus sought only sacrifice; Elijah saw her as a placeholder for Tatia.
Finn, however, sought nothing but amusement—and Sage delighted in the idea, marking the first time Finn entertained her suggestions about their own relationship.
Katherine, meanwhile, returned to Finn secretly, convinced Sage was unaware.
Was it heavy for him to take the woman his brother desired? It was—but also a form of revenge against Elijah, the bastard who had always tried to usurp him. Finn loved all his siblings, but vengeance was its own pleasure.
When the day came, Katherine discovered the truth about vampires. Finn offered her a taste of Klaus' blood, long hidden, along with a secret potion of his own that she adored.
Slowly, Finn and Sage realized Katherine was falling for him when she transformed and sought to escape with him.
But Katherine believed they had perished. The grief was crushing. She wandered through empty halls, haunted by memories and shadows, whispering to the silent air,
"I thought… I thought you were gone… and yet, I can't let you go from my heart."
Her nights were restless, filled with aching longing, every heartbeat a painful reminder of their absence.
The sorrow made her vulnerable, yet it also intensified the fire of her desire—a bittersweet mix of grief and craving that left her raw and alive.
Finn used the same curse he had applied to deceive his siblings, faking his and Sage's deaths once more.
The moment of their true return was electric. Katherine's eyes overflowed with tears, but also burned with fire—her longing and devotion undeniable.
Finn could feel the depth of her pain, the intensity of her belief that they were lost forever, and it sharpened the bond between them all.
The air crackled with unspoken promises, stolen glances, and the tension of centuries-old desire.
Six hundred years later, Finn traveled to Asia. There, he encountered witches and warlocks who practiced martial, physical magic alongside swordplay.
Humans trained in their craft were not as powerful as the witches Finn had known, but their skills fascinated him.
Finn reveled in their attempts to identify him as a demon, swiftly proving himself as the legendary Chinese zombie.
He also transformed a faction of dark warlocks, establishing a reign of chaos across the land for a time.
Seven hundred years passed. Finn arrived in Japan, where he met the Yomioji—a group of warlocks and humans capable of exorcising demons and monsters.
He discovered all manner of creatures, immersing himself in their world and delighting in their astonishment.
There, he created a noble named Muzan, erasing the young vampire's memories and convincing him he had lived over a thousand years.
Finn taught him the art of elevating ordinary vampires to inferior nobles and instructed him in competing against such nobles before vanishing once again with Sage.
A thousand years later, Finn returned to Mystic Falls. He was there at the very beginning of it all…