The next day…
The brothers walked through the historical center of the city of water. Dante wore a white shirt with vertical blue stripes which was tucked into his brown pants. Missio wore a black shirt, jeans with light brown sneakers. Dante glanced over at the boats on the other side. He stepped onto the bridge and Missio followed him. Both passed over it and halted near one of the gondolas.
"How much for a ride?" Dante asked, leaning forward.
The man glanced up, looking at the brothers. "For two? 90 Aureus down the grand Canal."
"Let's do it then." Dante stepped on.
Missio followed behind. Both sat comfortably opposite of each other as the man paddled the boat off the dock. As they entered the canal, Missio took a deep breath. He gazed around at the beauty of the city – it's architecture, vibe and new feeling.
"Enjoying Venice, aren't you?" Dante inquired.
"Yeah, It's beautiful." Missio replied, locking eyes with his brother. "Your first time too?"
"Yeah…" Dante leaned back. "I'm always cooped up in Rush city so, this is a breather for me."
"Being the supreme commander is a hassle, isn't it?"
"Would it not be? I have to wake up at six o'clock every day. I get ready, meet up with Chris and Nyx. Then, we head over to the Main building to discuss important matters. Last time, it was about the Golden hour tournament."
"That… seems like a lot of work." Missio said.
"It is. That's why I took it." Dante replied.
"That's why you took it…?"
"When people want to get into a position of power, most of the time, it's because of how important that title is or how much fame they will gain from it. They want to feel important but never want to do the work that comes with it – just the bare minimum. It's the same mindset I had when I stood for President during High school."
Dante raised an arm.
"But when I lost, I found out how tiring that job actually was. The guy who won President didn't do much – just the bare minimum. That's when I realized the weight of that position."
Missio lowered his head. "I guess I had the same experience as Lieutenant General."
"You sure did…" Dante crossed his arms. "But it's embedded in every man's nature to achieve something great. We always put ourselves before the world – knowingly or unknowingly."
The boat crossed the small canal and arrived in the water of Venice's grand canal.
"While here, I want to change your mindset to something better than before. You need not become the person before your trauma. You must emerge from it, a better person like a caterpillar emerging form a cocoon."
"Is that my training?" Missio raised a brow.
"No – That's just one part." Dante stated. "You're going to learn to control your mind here."
"Why?" Missio blurted.
"To advance to the next level of Transcendence." Dante replied.
"Oh…"
"As I said before, you need to do three things to advance in the Pillar of Transcendence." Dante raised three fingers, watching another boat pass by them.
Missio leaned in, wanting to hear what his brother would say.
"First you need to refine your soul but your soul is already refined enough to reach paragon level."
Missio's eyes widened. "Is that so…?"
"Yeah." Dante shrugged. "Next, you need to align your mind with your concept and lastly, you need to master your powers to a certain degree."
"I see… that's all?"
"Yes. It seems simple but it's very hard to advance each time." Dante crossed his arms.
Missio narrowed his eyes, remembering his advancement to breaker.
"Then, how was I able to transcend to Breaker without any training?"
"I beg your pardon?" Dante laughed. "You've used your creation powers how many times in 18 years? Also, your mind was at a low frequency when you ascended."
"What do you mean by frequency?" Missio inquired.
"Imagine Creation is at a certain frequency and you at another. You need to adjust your frequency to creations to align your mind. Since, your frequency was so low, it already fit inside creation." Dante pressed his thumb and index finger against each other.
"What about now?"
"You're still at a low frequency." Dante replied. "But with this training you'll be at a normal one."
Misso nodded, leaning back. The brother enjoyed the view of the Grand canal. The splash of the water against the driver's paddle echoed in the Breaker's ear. The chatter of the tourists across from them also settled into his mind. Eventually, they reached Piazza San Marco.
Dante got off and pulled out his phone. While Missio did the same, the rower drew his phone as well. He told the supreme commander his number and Dante transferred the money to him. The man received a notification of the transfer.
"Have a good day, sir." He stated.
"You too." Dante replied, heading off with Missio.
The brothers strolled down Piazza San Marco. Just then, Dante matched Missio's pace.
"Hey, I need to buy something…"
Missio raised a brow. "What?"
Dante stopped and so did Missio. The king pointed to the side with his thumb, curling his lips. Missio rotated his head to the right. He heaved a sigh. The reflection of the jewelry stores sign forming in his eyes. He locked eyes with his brother.
"Sure." He shrugged.
Dante smiled, wrapping his arm around Missio's shoulder. Both stepped onto the marble floor of the jewelry shop. The interior, illuminated with brilliant light feature many pieces of jewelry. Dante stopped in front of the front counter where a young man met him.
"Good morning, sir. Welcome to our humble shop. How may I help you?" He said with a perfect smile.
"I've seen good reviews about you online. Can you show me your ring collection in gold." Dante replied. "I'd like to order a custom ring – 24 karat but no diamond."
"Your wish is my command." The boy chuckled, pulling a screen towards himself. "Now, how do you want your ring to be made again?"
Missio stared at his brother with dumbfounded eyes. He remembered last night Dante had been scrolling through his phone without telling him why.
'Is this why he didn't tell me…? He was too embarrassed to tell me he was buying a ring?'
His lips couldn't help but curl up. A slight chuckled released from him as he covered his mouth.
'Classic him.'
Dante repeated his order. The boy tapped the screen, entering Dante's order into their system.
"Do you want anything embedded onto the ring, sir?" he asked.
"Yes." Dante replied. "Put Dante and Isabella on there but with the ampersand symbol, okay?"
"Yes… yes… but are you sure you want no diamond?"
"Nah, I like classic." Dante waved.