Minutes later…
The brothers arrived at the entrance of a certain building. They passed it, entering another building a few steps over. Stepping inside, the duo noticed a number of people gathering in queue.
"Stay here." Dante waved, joining the queue.
Missio sighed, scratching the back of his head. Without anything to do, he stood blankly near the entrance. After a few minutes, Dante reached the front of the line. A sweet lady sat at the counter, intertwining her fingers.
"May I see your ticket?"
Dante drew his phone. "Yes, wait a minute, please."
He scrolled for a few seconds before turning his screen towards the receptionist. The lady took the phone from his hand, checking it. Her eyes widened, hands freezing above the keyboard.
"D-Dante deus Augustus?"
"Yes…?" Dante blurted.
"Oh, um, Nothing! Just, uh… wait a moment, please."
Putting the King's phone down, she furiously tapped her keyboard. Browsing the reservation system, she eventually crossed his name. Examining the ticket alongside the system's information, she noted something.
"Who is the other person with you, sir?"
"Oh, My brother." Dante said.
"Okay, then… do you have any bags or anything?"
Dante curled his lips and shook his head. "No, we don't."
"Can I have your and your brother's passport then?"
Dante dug into his back pocket, drawing his passport.
"Here."
Snapping his head around, he waved Missio over. Missio perked up, rushing towards his brother.
"Your passport."
Missio blinked. He pulled out his passport and handed it to Dante.
"Now, go."
The transcendent left without another word. Dante handed Missio's passport to the sweet lady. The receptionist took it and put both passports side-by-side. Confirming their validity, she performed a few more menial tasks. Then, she handed their passports back.
"Just a bit longer, sir."
"Take your time, I'm not in a hurry." Dante tucked his passport back.
A minute later, the receptionist placed two tickets in his palm.
"Enjoy."
"Thanks." Dante left the queue.
Heading over to his little brother, he reached his hand out.
"Take yours."
Missio took his tickets from his brother's hand. The siblings left the building and headed over to the museum. Entering a small room, they stood alongside 35 other individuals, all waiting to see Leonardo da Vinci's most famous work of art. Minutes went by before a guide arrived.
"Ladies and gentlemen, let me have a moment of your time."
The people present all snapped their heads towards him. The guide raised a finger, a smug grin spread across his wrinkled face.
"Today, you'll be seeing one of the most famous depictions of Jesus and his apostles from the later Golden Age… so, scan your tickets here and follow me into the room."
The latter stepped back in the other room. Lining up one-by-one, the people formed a queue and scanned their tickets. Minutes later, they were all inside a small room. The guide raised his hand, adjusting his cuff.
"Since, we wish to preserve the painting as much as possible without repainting it. The government of Rome has made a protocol to keep it behind a climate-controlled room so… this may take a minute or two."
Right then, the doors behind them sealed shut. Disconnected from the outside world, the room began to balance the atmospheric conditions to that of the room. A minute later, the doors in front of them opened. The visitors swarmed the room. Missio gasped for air, pressing his chest. Taking a moment to breath, he relaxed his body. Then, he looked in the direction where all the others were looking.
"Oh…"
His mouth fell slightly. Dante stood beside him, admiring the painting together. Ahead of the swarm of tourists enclosed a singular, utterly captivating mural.
Christ sat at the center of a long trestle wooden table, forming a calm, symmetrical pyramid shape with his arms slightly spread out. His 12 apostles, differentiated into four distinct groups of three, expressed emotions of shock, denial and grief.
Missio peered at it for a while. The mural seemed not the end at the wall alone, making it seem as though there was a world beyond the table. However, Missio knew this wasn't the paintings true beauty. There were slight cracks, faded colors and minor damage done to the mural over the course of its lifetime. Nevertheless, it didn't deny its artistic perfection that drew one's gaze towards the center.
Minutes passed like a blur as they watched the painting until eventually…
"Alright, everyone. That's it." The old guide clasped his hands.
The people didn't complain, only lamenting they hadn't gotten to stay longer. After entering the small room once more, the same process occurred before they were let back out. Departing the museum as another group entered, the brothers stepped back into the sun.
As they did so, Dante turned towards Missio.
"So, how was it?"
Missio smirked.
"Simply marvelous."
Dante rubbed his chin.
"Appreciating Christian art now, eh? That's new from you."
Missio tilted his head, meeting Dante's gaze.
"Don't jinx yourself."
Dante laughed, patting Missio. After, the royal siblings headed off once again. Traversing the central city, the crowd seemed to only grow larger with each passings second. As they reached the edge of the historic city center, the supreme commander turned towards his little brother.
"Missio, listen up."
Missio's ears perked up.
"I've booked a studio session here."
"For what?" Missio blurted.
"Your transcendence, duh." Dante put bluntly. "You've done painting, sculpting and now… it's time for music."
Missio paused, his lips parting. Before he could say anything though, his brother spoke first.
"Three days. You have three days to make a song and produce it in the studio. It can be on any topic you want, any beat you want. Every creative decision is yours. Then, you can transcend."
Dante tilted his head. Missio didn't speak for a moment, contemplating his brother's words. Then, a wide grin tugged at his face as he locked eyes with the supreme commander.
"I got it."