Missio paused for a moment too long. Dante's words echoed in his mind repeatedly. It was… a philosophy so grand, he didn't even know if he had comprehended it properly. After a few seconds, he lifted his head. His lips parted, a question escaping his mind.
"Does it have any limits?"
Dante stopped in his tracks. He lowered his head, rubbing his chin.
"Good question… and the answer is yes."
Missio's mouth opened instinctively, wanting to ask another question. Dante raised his hand, stopping his brother.
"But it's not within your ability itself. It's just that the things you create… may not work all the time. Like how you created those daggers while fighting that fragment, that didn't work out very well, did it?"
"Well, yes…" Missio sighed.
"You can create anything. It's just that it's up to the universe to decide it can work or not." Dante clasped his hands. "Now… let's train, shall we?"
Missio nodded, raising his hand. Just then, he realized something. He glanced behind himself, catching the other travelers in his vision. He looked back towards Dante.
"But they're gonna see us." He pointed behind himself.
Dante tilted his head, spreading his arms. "Then… what can you do? What did I tell you?"
Missio paused for a moment. Dante's words rang in his head for a moment long. He sighed, squeezing his hand. His mind raced with countless thoughts. He grumbled, stretching his thoughts to their limits. Right then, something clicked. His eyes flew open, his grip loosening.
"Can that work…?" He muttered under his breath.
His grip tightened. He focused his mind. His imagination sparked, constructing something impossible. He activated his ability, mimicking his thoughts into reality.
Dante raised his head slightly. Their surroundings seemed to be covered by an invisible force. This force rose from the floor, distorting the view as it formed a dome above their heads. Finally, it completed itself. Missio opened his eyes, glancing around at his creation. He utilized his vision, observing a transparent energy covering them.
"What did ya make?" Dante inquired.
Missio smiled. "An invisible barrier that… reflects our surroundings and doesn't let sound travel."
Dante raised his brows. "Nice. You're getting it. Now… let's get to it."
The supreme commander strolled over to his little brother's side. He stood behind Missio, tucking his hands into his pockets. Missio licked his lips, narrowing his eyes. His imagination sparked like an inferno. He held it back no longer, allowing all his thoughts to escape. He gently swung his hand, releasing a small blade of air in front of himself. The blade collided with the barrier, dissipating into another form.
Missio brought his hands together. As he separated them, water formed in his palms. He blew on it gently. The water froze over in an instant. The solid fell to the ground, caught by the snow. A smile couldn't help but make its way onto his face as Dante patted his back.
"Good job, you're learning quickly."
He stepped in front of Missio, adjusting his glasses. He heaved a small breath, locking eyes with his brother.
"Now, I want your perspective." Dante stated. "What do you think you can do?"
Missio curled his lips, tilting his head. After a few seconds, his lips parted.
"Yeah… I can do pretty much anything." He replied.
"And more." Dante snapped his fingers. "I noticed that you were only making things in one form or another. You're still not thinking outside of the box."
"What do you want me to do then?" Missio pouted.
Dante elevated both his hands, forming a ball with his palms.
"You can create anything. Not only one form or another. Things you can't see like this barrier, you can create more of like sound."
Missio nodded, following along. Dante raised both his index fingers, spreading them outward.
"Also, more stuff like nuclear fusion, fission, heat, temperature, gravity, wind… and even more."
A chill crawled down his spine. Missio blinked. At that moment, something truly beautiful unfolded in his mind – the true nature of his ability. He had not thought of it deeply before but…
'If I can create anything… then I can create… anything…'
His brain throbbed against his skull as the structure of his logical mind slowly began to crack. Impossible and possible, theoretical and verified, biological and psychological, imaginative and real – anything and everything could be formed if only he believed.
Dante noticed his brother's reaction, a smile tugging at his lips.
"You're getting it… I'll feed your imagination even more. Forget fundamental or invisible forces, how about creating elements mid- chemical reaction? Bombs during their explosion, poison when it's already acting? There's an infinite number of possibilities, bro."
Missio's mind fluttered with colors. The image of a star formed in his head. The stars then, exploded into a supernova which then, condensed into a blackhole. The blackhole then began consuming everything around it.
"But remember… there's a hard limit to things like this." Dante interrupted Missio's thoughts. "When you're imagining such things, your conscious mind is at work. But what's actually creating those things? Your subconscious. If it doesn't have the correct info, it may not work out how you'd like."
"So, I mustn't create things that I'm not fully aware of?" Missio guessed.
"Yes, if you're not well versed enough in one field. Like if you tried to create limbs, it may not work out because you placed the blood vessels in the wrong place or you created the wrong bone and such." Dante explained.
Missio's lips parted slightly as he nodded. He took in every bit of that information, forcing himself not to forget it – ever.
"I understand." He stated firmly.
"Good." Dante touched his middle finger and thumb.
He snapped his fingers at a moment's notice. Missio froze. The surrounding chaos caved in, shattering his barrier. They came into sight once more as the invisible barrier dissipated.
"That's enough for now." Dante tucked his hands into his pockets.
"Wh – Why did you do that?!" Missio exclaimed in dismay.
"You can train creation later." Dante placed his hand on Missio's shoulder, pulling him along. "But for now, you've got to practice Sempiterne Swordsmanship."
"Oh…" Missio blurted.
"See! You almost forgot." Dante pointed at him with his palm.
"I didn't." Missio sneered.
"Yeah – Yeah." Dante rolled his eyes as they approached their tent.
Missio halted in his tracks, reaching out his arm. In his head, he formed a longsword forged from steel, preparing to create it. Right then, Dante's voice cut through the air.
"Don't make a steel sword, make a wooden one. I can't sweet-talk the rangers here."
Missio raised his brows in surprise. "How the hell did you know?"
"I read your brain waves." Dante stated. "Now, get on with your training."
Missio sighed, focusing his mind. He created a wooden sword, gripping it firmly. Then, his practice began.