[Main Pov]
After introducing myself, I begin carefully analyzing their reactions, trying to determine whether they're enemies or allies. The man looked puzzled and a bit startled, while the woman instantly snapped into a combat stance the moment I appeared. At least, that's what I assumed. I couldn't get a good look at her after stepping forward, because something around her was melting my snowflakes. Still, the open space in the snow made it clear—she had her guard up.
One of the biggest downsides of my snow is how easily it melts. Depending on the environment, it can become practically useless. For instance, in places with low humidity, this becomes painfully obvious. I once tried to use it on a dry day, and it vanished almost instantly. I was stunned. After that, I ran some tests and found out that low humidity and lack of nearby water sources make it difficult to generate and control snow. In arid regions, like the desert, creating snow—even with my powers—is virtually impossible.
Thankfully, my ice isn't nearly as limited. Based on my experiments, I can control ice regardless of external conditions, so I'm able to use it in the scorching desert heat just as easily as on a Himalayan peak.
After this brief reflection, I came to the conclusion that they were likely ready to fight—at least, that was the impression I got from the woman's reaction. If they wanted to fight, then so be it. I was more than ready. With that in mind, I started to move the nearby snowflakes toward her, shaping them into small ice arrows beneath the surface, ready to strike instantly if she got too close to my golem.
Once I had the ice arrows in place, I turned my attention back to my snow golem. Honestly, I mainly use him in combat to tire my opponent out. Most people assume the golem is a real person and waste time attacking him. What's funny is that it's fairly obvious he isn't alive—but people go after him anyway. It makes for a perfect decoy. A lot of folks only figure out where I'm hiding after spending hours trying to destroy the golem, which is ultimately a massive waste of time. Since he's made with my powers, even if he's sliced, burned, or decapitated, he always reassembles himself.
There have been plenty of times when I've used my abilities just to pass the time or toy with a target—but this wasn't one of those moments. Right now, I'm in a delicate situation, one that could turn extremely dangerous. I don't even know if more enemies are hiding somewhere beyond my field of view. I shake off the thoughts and begin preparing to strike.
Just as I'm about to launch an attack, the man steps in front of the woman and begins scolding her. I'm not entirely sure what happened—my snow vision is terrible—and to make things worse, I still haven't figured out how to use snow to hear sound. All I've been able to capture so far are images. I really hope that one day I'll be able to hear through snow—if that happens, my powers would be insanely effective. It would be the perfect spying ability.
After what looked like a reprimand, the man suddenly bows to my golem. That gesture put me slightly more at ease. Most vampires are incredibly arrogant, and the fact that he bowed to the golem says something about his character. Maybe he's not such a bad guy… or at the very least, maybe he doesn't want a fight.
"From the man's behavior toward the woman, I assume they just want to talk. Still, I can't let my guard down. Things could change in an instant, and this whole setup might be a trap.
I don't know what the right move is here. I take a moment to think it through, trying to find the most peaceful way out of this. I could fight them—maybe even win—but I'd rather understand my enemy first. That's the smart thing to do. I don't know how powerful they are or whether they belong to a coven with real influence. From what I remember about Twilight, before the Volturi came into power, there were two major covens—the Romanians and the Egyptians. And right now, I really don't want to mess with either of them.
So taking them out here and now is off the table. Doing so could put us in even greater danger. That's why I felt I needed to speak to them face-to-face, to learn their true intentions.
With that decision made, I use my golem to communicate and invite them to follow.
I make the golem walk slowly to buy time in case I need to come up with a battle strategy. If they turn hostile, I want to be ready. If Sulpicia weren't here, maybe I'd even consider running, worst-case scenario. But with her here, fleeing is not an option. No matter what. Still, I hope it won't come to that. Maybe I'm just overthinking things, but I live by an old saying from my homeland: "The cautious one died of old age."
The golem leads them to the spot where I'm hiding. As they get closer, I can finally see them clearly. The man was Egyptian, with black hair, red eyes, and stood about 5'8" (1.73 m) tall. I recognized him from the movies—if I'm not mistaken, his name is Amun.
The woman beside him was breathtaking. For a moment, I was speechless. She might be one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. She wore traditional Egyptian garments adorned with various accessories that only enhanced her figure and angelic face. I'd never seen her before. She probably doesn't appear in the books or movies—because if she did, I definitely would've remembered her. No way I'd forget someone that stunning.
They were walking casually, completely unaware that I was already watching them. Using my control over the snow, I created a protective layer around the house to block their enhanced vampire vision, keeping myself hidden while I planned my next move.
But knowing Amun, I'm aware of his strong survival instincts—and the truth is, he's a decent guy. As long as I don't pose a threat to him or his family, I'm pretty sure all this worry will turn out to be unnecessary.
If Amun is here only to maintain peaceful and diplomatic relations, this might be the beginning of my future plans. And, in order to succeed in negotiations, I've already shown part of my power. If I show a little more, the chances of him trying something against me decrease. And if I want his help, I better impress him."
With that in mind, as we approach the house, I speak to them through my golem:"We've arrived. This is our residence. You may now speak directly to me."
I notice their surprise, and I can tell they didn't fully understand my words, but their curiosity certainly intensifies—I see it in their faces. While I speak, I dissolve the layer of ice that surrounded the castle—and they're dazzled by what they see.
Our castle is simple, yet very well built. They observe it for a while until, suddenly, they stop when they notice my presence right at the entrance. When I see their eyes fix on me, I rise from the ice throne and make it disappear. Then I walk toward them. With each step, I gradually reduce the use of my powers, dimming the glow in my eyes.
Upon reaching them, I utter a few words in Neo-Egyptian and open my arms in a welcoming gesture. Then, I snap my fingers and create three ice chairs and a picnic table. Atop it, a vase with beautifully sculpted ice flowers.
I sit in one of the chairs and say,"Please, take a seat. I prefer to negotiate while sitting."
The man is the first to sit, and the woman follows shortly. I try to stay focused on Amun, but with that woman there, it's hard—almost impossible—not to be distracted by her stunning beauty. I'm pulled out of these thoughts when Amun begins to speak:
"First of all, sir, I didn't mean to trespass on your land without permission, but I was curious to meet this new clan I've heard so much about. We came only for a civil conversation."
I listen attentively and feel more at ease. Even though I'm strong, I prefer battles where I have a 100% chance of victory. That's not cowardice—it's intelligence. After reflecting for a moment, I reply:
"I must apologize for this whole snow and ice situation. It happened because I didn't know whether you were enemies. We have many enemies... And in such a vast world, distinguishing friend from foe becomes increasingly difficult. That's why we're always on alert."
At the end of my words, the falling snow begins to cease. The snow accumulated around us slowly vanishes, and even the golem—who stood a few steps away—melts away.
With everything cleared of snow, my eyes stop glowing and return to their light blue color, and the surroundings go back to normal—as if they had always been that way. The woman seems enchanted by the change and smiles as she looks around. She looks even more charming that way.
I force myself to look away. At that moment, Amun, with almost perfect timing, addresses me again:
"Your powers are magnificent. But I still don't know exactly what you are. I can hear your heart beating, and there's heat radiating from your skin... I'm sure you're not a vampire, but your body doesn't seem like that of a regular human either. Your temperature is higher, and your heart beats much faster than any human I've ever met."
I smile slightly and reply:"Actually, my friend, I am a vampire... but not only that. I'm also human. My father is a vampire, my mother was human. It's a rather complex situation to explain now. Perhaps we can talk more about it another time."
He listens carefully and appears intrigued—just like the woman beside him. I can see the surprise on both of their faces.
He remains silent for a few moments, then finally says:"Truly fascinating. I didn't know that was possible. And forgive me for the delay in introducing myself. My name is Amun, and this is Kéfera."
I smile to myself. Now I know the name of that beauty. Maybe in the future, I'll be able to get closer to her. Once again, Amun pulls me from my daydreams:
"Where are the other members of your clan, sir?"
I realize I've been silent for too long—which could be misinterpreted. So I reply:
"They're all away at the moment. And, actually, we're not officially a clan yet. And please, no need for formalities. Also, forgive me for not introducing myself earlier—my name is Morpheus."
Amun smiles and responds:"It's a shame the others aren't here. I hope we can become great friends in the future. I'm glad we had this conversation, Morpheus. And, by the way, your Egyptian is really impressive."
I smile mentally at the compliment. We remain briefly in silence until I finally look at Kéfera and speak:
"Hello, miss. When you were coming here, at the moment my snow golem appeared, something happened to you. What was it?"
She hears me and responds:"That strange man who brought us here... is he the snow golem?"
I smile and say, looking into her face:"He's not a man. He's part of my powers. It was me speaking to you all along."
They're surprised by the revelation, and I see even more curiosity in their eyes. To demonstrate, I raise my right hand slightly, and my right eye begins to glow. The snow golem reappears before them.
Kéfera jumps up from her chair, nearly knocking it over. Then she begins examining the golem like it's a toy. Seeing her react this way, I make the golem move. She's startled for a moment, but quickly breaks into an even bigger smile.
She turns to me and says:"He's so cold... Colder than vampires themselves. Your powers are really cool. I have supernatural abilities too."
Then, she starts releasing yellow lightning from her hands—something that surprises me and explains why I couldn't see her before while using my powers.
Even from a distance, I can feel the heat radiating from the bolts. I look at her and speak. Before saying anything, I activate my necklace, making the golem speak in unison with me:
"Your abilities are also incredible. Beautiful lightning... as beautiful as your eyes."
She's amazed that both I and the golem are speaking in sync, but she blushes slightly when she notices my last sentence. Her reaction was adorable. I hope to see more of it.
Amun watches the interaction with a smile and comments:"Looks like the lovebirds are getting along well."
I get embarrassed. I wasn't expecting to hear that from him—it really caught me off guard.
Right after, I remember I had matters to discuss with Amun, assuming he wasn't a threat. And, apparently, he isn't. I think for a moment before speaking:
"Amun, I wanted to talk to someone from Egypt about some merchandise shipping deals. And now that you're here, I'd like to know if you know any good and trustworthy merchants."
Amun thinks for a moment until he seems to recall someone and says:"Morpheus, there's a certain human merchant who's been growing a lot in recent years. Some say he's a business genius. If you'd like, I can introduce you. But there's one thing: he doesn't like to leave Egypt much. You'll probably have to go there to meet him."
To be continued…
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[N/A] If you've read this far, thank you! And since I'm terrible at handling compliments, please, insult me instead!