The aroma of coffee and bacon still lingered in the air of Alexander Corvinus's laboratory, mingling with the metallic smell of equipment and the salt of the river outside. The sun, now high in the London sky, bathed the room in a bright light, which for Daniel was simply an invitation to life. For Selene, still clutching the cup of blood, it was a constant reminder of her new and disconcerting vulnerability, and at the same time, of her unprecedented protection. The revelation about Viktor and the possibility of redemption for William hung in the air like a dense, palpable, and consequential fog.
Alexander Corvinus, his head bowed, seemed to carry the weight of millennia. The pain of Viktor's betrayal and cruelty, and the tragedy of his children, was a burden that oppressed him. His eyes, normally shrewd and distant, were now clouded with grief. Selene, the cup of blood still untouched in her hands, watched the scene with a mixture of shock and growing fury. Daniel's words about Alexander's daughter, Sonja, echoed in her mind, painting a picture of betrayal she had never conceived.
Daniel, however, maintained the same unshakable calm. He finished his breakfast with the same nonchalance with which he had begun, setting the empty cup down on the table. His blue-gray eyes, which had witnessed the rise and fall of countless civilizations, now fixed on Alexander with cold determination. He was not here to negotiate, but to declare.
"I will do everything," Daniel said, his voice low and firm, leaving no room for doubt or argument. The tone wasn't one of arrogance, but of absolute certainty. "I will heal your son, William. I will let a certain werewolf kill Viktor. And whoever opposes me will be the death of you." Each word was a hammer striking an anvil, forging a destiny. The room was electrified. Selene shuddered, her eyes widening. Alexander Corvinus lifted his head, his eyes fixed on Daniel, a mixture of hope, astonishment, and an almost frightened recognition of the power radiating from the being before him.
"Nothing can stop my power when I want it," Daniel continued, a faint smile playing on his lips. It was an undeniable truth, felt by every cell of Alexander and Selene. Daniel's power wasn't just brute force, but a fundamental manipulation of reality, an invisible web of influence he could extend wherever he pleased.
"And times are changing," Daniel mused, shifting his focus for a moment, a gesture that further unnerved the other two immortals. He raised a hand and touched his long white hair, which fell over his shoulders. "Big hair isn't in style anymore." He laughed softly, a sound that seemed completely out of place amidst the gravity of the situation.
Alexander and Selene watched, confused, as Daniel simplyhe thoughtThere was no movement, no sound, but in the blink of an eye, his white hair, once long and flowing, was transformed. Now he had a modern, almost futuristic cut, reminiscent of a contemporary actor's style. Short on the bottom, just an inch long on the sides, and slightly longer on top, with six-inch strands that could be combed back or to the side. It was a sleek, bold look that accentuated the angular features of his face and the intensity of his eyes. He looked like he'd stepped off the cover of a fashion magazine, perfectly adapted to the 21st century.
"Let's get this sorted," Daniel said, his attention returning to the main topic, the smirk still present. The change in appearance, though trivial for an immortal, was a subtle demonstration of his absolute control, of his ability to shape reality to his will, even in the smallest details. It was a way of saying:I am the master of my own being, and I will be the master of this new future.
Alexander, recovering from the shock of this display of power, nodded slowly. There was little choice. The promise of healing William, the annihilation of Viktor… these were things he deeply desired. "What do you intend to do, Daniel?" Alexander asked, his voice low, almost a whisper. "How do you intend to cure William? And who will be the werewolf who will kill Viktor?"
Daniel looked at Alexander, a knowing gleam in his eyes. "William's healing involves reprogramming your bloodline, Alexander. He's not just a werewolf; he's the essence of the Lycan form. I can rewrite that essence, infuse it with a part of myself, so he can control his transformations, so he can become fully human, retaining his strength but without the madness, without the savage instinct that consumes him. It will be like a bridge between the two worlds, a fusion of your power with human consciousness."
Selene, who had approached, felt the gravity of Daniel's words. The idea of William, the legendary monster, becoming human was almost inconceivable. But Daniel spoke with such conviction, with such profound knowledge, that she began to believe him. And the mention of Viktor's death... The fury in her chest began to burn brighter, mingling with the hope of revenge she had suppressed for so long.
"As for Viktor," Daniel continued, his voice hardening slightly, "the werewolf who will kill him will be Lucian." Selene's eyes widened. Lucian, her forbidden love, Viktor's sworn enemy. It was a cruel but perfect irony. "He deserves revenge, and Viktor deserves death at the hands of the one he so despised and mistreated. It will not be an easy fight, even for Lucian, but with my subtle intervention, the outcome will be assured."
Daniel looked at Alexander, his eyes piercing his father's soul. "Your indifference, Alexander, was the spark that ignited this war for centuries. The death of Sonja, your daughter, was the fuel. The love she felt for Lucian, an aberration in Viktor's eyes, was transformed into an act of barbarity. You saw this tragedy unfold and did not act. I will not make the same mistakes. Love, as I said, is the greatest power. And the lack of it, the greatest poison."
Aboard the ship, the gentle sound of waves against the hull was the only sound besides Daniel's voice. It was a conversation both intimate and monumental, a debate about destiny, power, and redemption. Daniel wasn't talking about authors or painters now, but about concepts that transcended time and space, a wisdom that only a being over a million years old could possess. He had witnessed the rise and fall of eras, the evolution of human consciousness itself. He had seen empires of dust and light rise and crumble.
"I have seen time as a rushing river, Alexander, from when the Earth itself was a mass of fire and rock in the making," Daniel said, his voice an echo of primordial ages. "I saw the first single-celled life forms stir in the primeval oceans. I witnessed the explosion of life in the Cambrian, the rise of the dinosaurs that trod this Earth with thunderous strides. I walked among them, Alexander, I observed the majesty and brutality of their dominion. I felt the tremor of the impact that changed the course of history, the smell of ash and death that spread across the planet."
Selene and Alexander listened, mesmerized. The breadth of Daniel's experience was overwhelming, almost incomprehensible. They were ancient, yes, but Daniel was antiquity itself, the embodiment of the passage of time.
"I saw mammals emerge from the shadows, evolve, adapt. The first human tribes, with their rudimentary languages, their simple beliefs, their daily struggles for survival. I observed the invention of the wheel, the mastery of fire, the construction of the first cities in Mesopotamia, the flowering of the Nile. I saw the pyramids being built stone by stone, the sweat and faith of the men who built them. And I knew, in every moment, the glory and the ephemerality of it all."
Daniel gestured with his hand in a smooth, almost imperceptible motion. An empty coffee cup on the table filled up again, steaming, steam curling upward. He took the cup but didn't drink. It was just another demonstration of his mastery over reality, a subtle way of maintaining control of the conversation without revealing the source of his power.
"I saw the rise of Rome, Alexander. The marching legions, the Pax Romana that spread across a continent, the intrigues of the Senate, the grandeur of its emperors and the rot of its courts. I saw the arenas, the bloodshed, the crowds thirsting for spectacle. And I saw its fall, slow and inevitable, the empire that seemed eternal disintegrating into a thousand pieces, swallowed by barbarity and its own internal corruption."
He looked at Selene. "You know history from books, Selene, or from the memories of your elders. I lived it. I was there. I saw the barbarian invasions, the decline of civilization, the darkness that fell over Europe in the Middle Ages. I saw the Black Death sweep across the continent, bodies piled in the streets, despair in the eyes of the survivors. Humanity, always resilient, always finding a way to rise again, but always repeating the same mistakes, the same wars, the same hatred."
"And then," Daniel continued, his voice taking on a more vibrant tone, "the Renaissance. The flowering of art, science, philosophy. Minds like Leonardo da Vinci emerging, challenging the status quo, seeking knowledge. I reveled in their creations, in the insatiable curiosity of their minds. I saw the Protestant Reformation, the religious wars that tore Europe apart in the name of God, a God I knew so well, and who certainly did not desire such bloodshed."
Alexander Corvinus listened with growing reverence. His own existence, however long, was but a blink of an eye compared to Daniel's eternity. He had been transformed by a plague; Daniel seemed to be a manifestation of creation itself.
"The Enlightenment, the French Revolution, the industrial revolutions that transformed the world," Daniel continued. "I saw the invention of the steam engine, electricity, flying cars... Oh, no, not those yet." He laughed, a laugh that echoed in the room, an unusual sound amidst such solemnity. "But technology, Alexander, it advanced at a dizzying speed. I foresaw every leap, every innovation. And I knew how to position myself, how to invest, how to prosper in each era."
He looked at Alexander and Selene, his eyes shining with the accumulated wisdom of millennia. "I have no clan, as you do, Alexander," Daniel repeated, directing his gaze to Selene. "I am not bound by bloodlines or blood oaths. My loyalty is to time, to truth. And to balance. The hatred between Lycans and Vampires, this centuries-old war, is an imbalance. A gaping wound in the fabric of existence. And I am here to stitch it together."
Selene, with the blood in the crystal goblet, saw past and future intertwined in Daniel's words. The enormity of her experience dwarfed her, but also inspired her. Revenge against Viktor, once a solitary flame, now seemed part of a greater purpose, a plan orchestrated by a being operating on a scale she could never have imagined.
"Viktor is a cancer, Alexander," Daniel said, his voice returning to its icy tone. "He poisoned your bloodline, manipulated your history, and his death will be the catalyst for a new era. Lucian will have his revenge, William will have his cure, and this war, or at least the way it is being fought, will come to an end."
Daniel's promise was not a negotiation, but a declaration of a new decree. The sun shone brightly outside, a new day that brought with it the promise of a new era for the supernatural world, shaped by the will and power of Daniel, the vampire who walked in the light, the being who had lived for over a million years. The game was on, and Daniel, the master of time and fate, was ready to play his cards.