The morning sun flooded Alexander Corvinus's laboratory, a golden glow that seemed strange in that room filled with scientific equipment and an air of ancient secrets. Selene, still reeling from the shock of her experience with daylight, observed Daniel, the enigmatic figure who challenged all her certainties. The pallor he had assumed upon meeting Alexander persisted, an almost translucent tone that, paradoxically, made him seem even more vibrant, more alive than any vampire she had ever known. His blue-gray eyes shone with an intensity that seemed to see through everything.
Alexander Corvinus, though immortal, looked exhausted. The previous conversation, which had laid bare centuries of pain and regret, weighed heavily on him. The weight of his choices and the consequences for his children, which he had carried for so long, was visible in his weary eyes. The silence in the room was thick, filled only with the soft hum of the monitors and the rhythmic rocking of the ship on the waters of the Thames.
Daniel broke the silence, his voice sounding unexpectedly light and jovial. "Alexander, let's have breakfast. I'm hungry." He gestured toward a small common area in the corner of the lab, where a metal table and a few swivel chairs were arranged. "And relax, it's not blood. I like food. I'm not like them, ruled by blood, forced to feed on blood." He looked at Selene with a subtle sneer, a gentle taunt to the vampire who was still processing the freedom of feeling the sun. "It's just an excuse, sometimes a necessary one. Food, on the other hand, is a gift. Tasting, feeling the tastes, the smells... do you agree, Alexander?"
Alexander Corvinus blinked, surprised by Daniel's change of subject and relaxed tone. It took him a moment to process the idea of a vampire, let alone an immortal of such power, wanting to "eat food." A small, almost imperceptible smile played on his lips. "Breakfast... Yes, Daniel. Sounds like a nice idea." He signaled to one of his bodyguards, who discreetly withdrew to take the order. "And yes, Daniel, food... it's something I've come to appreciate over the centuries. One of the few simple joys life offers, even for us Immortals."
Daniel then turned to the vampire. "Selene," he said, his voice a little softer, but still with the authority of someone who wouldn't accept refusal. "Ask for a blood bag, or perhaps a cup of blood wine, to nourish yourself. No need to deprive yourself." He didn't ask if she was hungry, just assumed. It was a strange courtesy, coming from someone who had just destabilized his entire world.
Selene, still dazed, simply nodded. Her throat was dry, and instinct urged her to accept any form of nourishment offered. She watched Daniel sit at the table, with the relaxed posture of a man without a care in the world.
"Shall we continue our conversation, of course, if you wish?" Daniel asked Alexander, a glint in his eye that indicated he definitely wished to continue.
Alexander nodded. "There is much to discuss, Daniel. Your presence here is... unexpected, and full of new perspectives."
Minutes later, one of Alexander's bodyguards returned with a tray. On it lay a hearty breakfast: scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, golden toast, colorful jams, and a steaming pot of coffee. For Selene, there was a perfectly packaged IV blood bag and a crystal goblet beside it.
Daniel picked up a piece of toast, spread it generously with butter, and bit into it, savoring each bite with almost childlike delight. The aroma of coffee filled the room, a refreshing contrast to the laboratory's lingering scent of blood and metal. "We immortals sometimes miss the most beautiful things, don't we?" Daniel said, glancing at Alexander, but his eyes flickered briefly to the window, where the sun was now shining brightly. "Like, for example, the sunrise. It's beautiful. For some, the night," he looked directly at Selene, with a barely perceptible smile, "is the hunt. For others," he looked away to the horizon, "a tryst."
As Selene poured the blood from the bag into the crystal goblet, she felt the weight of Daniel's words. The night had always been her ally, her domain. The idea that it could be more than a hunting ground, or that the day could be lived in, was revolutionary and frightening.
Alexander Corvinus poured himself a cup of coffee, his eyes following Daniel's gaze to the sun. "Yes. The sun... It's a constant reminder of what was lost. A price for immortality." He took a sip of coffee, the warmth and bitterness seeming to bring brief comfort. "You have a peculiar view of time, Daniel. One that I... envy, in a way."
Daniel finished his toast, taking a piece of bacon. "But there's one thing I have to do first. Let out my anger toward a certain person. And Viktor doesn't deserve to live, and you know that as well as I do." The calm in his voice as he uttered those icy words was chilling. It wasn't a threat, but a statement of intent, a fact he'd already decided.
Selene paused, the cup of blood halfway to her lips. Her eyes widened. Viktor? Daniel's words were like a bolt of lightning. Her master, the patriarch she had served loyally, whom she believed had died at Lucian's hands. And Daniel knew of her betrayal.
Alexander Corvinus closed his eyes for a moment, a gesture of profound pain. He knew. He had always known, somehow. The truth about Viktor, and the depth of his cruelty, was a burden he carried. "Viktor…" Alexander murmured, his voice almost a whimper.
Daniel looked at Alexander, his expression serious now. "Let's talk about this hatred. Between these three people: Viktor, his vampire son, Marcus, and his werewolf son, William. While one wanted his brother's love, Viktor wanted to imprison or kill him. Just as he killed his own daughter, Sonja, for falling in love with a werewolf." Daniel saw the shock on Selene's face, but he kept her silent with a look. He knew this truth would be devastating to her, but it was necessary. "Alexander, you let your two sons loose, allowed this war to drag on for centuries, and did nothing. Love is the greatest power there is. That's my opinion."
Alexander leaned back in his chair, his head bowed. "I couldn't... I was weak. I chose non-intervention, and it doomed me. Watching my sons fight, and one of them, Viktor, become so... cruel. Sonja's death... it's a wound that never heals." His voice was choked with the pain of a father who has witnessed the destruction of his own lineage.
Daniel chewed his bacon, the sight of Alexander's pain not stopping him from enjoying his breakfast. He had no mercy for Viktor. "I am over a million years old, Alexander. I have seen civilizations rise and fall, empires rise and fall. I saw the rise of Rome, the Mongol Empire, the Age of Enlightenment. I saw humanity destroy itself in endless wars, I saw the Black Death claim millions of lives, I saw the son of God judged and killed by mortals." His voice was a whisper, but it carried the weight of a time Alexander could barely fathom. "I knew the time when the Earth was dominated by gigantic creatures, when the oceans were cradles of monsters. And then, I saw humanity emerge, evolve, struggle. But always the same pattern. Hatred. Betrayal. Lust for power."
He looked directly at Alexander. "You see your immortality as a burden, a nightmare. Each passing age is another pain. For me, every moment, every sunrise, every new invention, every new culture that emerges, is a gift from God. It's a gift. I see time as a constant flow of possibilities, not as a chain that binds me."
Selene, still holding the cup of blood, felt the enormity of the time Daniel had lived. Over a million years... She, with her centuries, felt like a newborn. The revelation of Viktor's betrayal, and the truth about Sonja, were beginning to take root in her mind, planting seeds of anger and revenge. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Alexander, then at Daniel, who continued to savor his breakfast.
"Alexander," Daniel continued, his voice serious and measured, "now, a proposal. I know that the hatred between your sons, Marcus and William, is at the heart of this entire war. Marcus, seduced by Viktor's power, William, consumed by his form and pain. I can make your werewolf son, William, control himself and become human. Not just his hybrid form, but his original, conscious, thinking form."
Alexander Corvinus lifted his head, his blue eyes shining with a nearly forgotten hope. "You can... You can do this? Control William's transformation?" The idea of his son, the first and most savage of the Lycans, being able to regain his humanity was something he had never dared to dream.
Daniel nodded, taking a sip of coffee. "Yes. It's a complex process, requiring a deep understanding of bloodlines and the mind. But it's possible. I've seen many things controlled over the millennia. The question is: what are you willing to do to make it happen? And what will we do with Viktor? He's a cancer that needs to be removed. His existence only fuels hatred and war."
Silence fell again in the room, but this time, it was a silence charged with tension and possibility. Selene, hearing Daniel's words about Viktor and the possibility of redemption for William, felt the flame of revenge ignite in her chest. Daniel's proposal was bold, dangerous, but it could be the key to ending a millennia-long war. That breakfast, which had begun with the lightness of a social gathering, had turned into a council of war for the future of the supernatural world. The sun outside was shining brightly, and Daniel, the daytime vampire, was the only one who seemed completely at ease in its light.