The man nodded. "Can I see your lodge or campsite reservations and your tickets?"
"Sure." Dante pulled out his phone.
He scrolled for a few seconds. Then, he directed his device towards the man's face.
"Here's our ticket…"
The man leaned forward, narrowing his eyes. Then, Dante pulled back swiping to another page. He showed the man their campsite reservations. He nodded, pushing a piece of paper and pen towards them.
"Put your names here."
Dante gripped the pen, jotting their names down. He placed his signature on the corner of the page and pushed it back to the man. The man checked the page, raising his brows in surprise.
"Augustus? Have fun, your majesty."
Dante chuckled. "Thanks. We will."
Missio and Dante spun around, stepping off the porch. They passed the building. They walked along the pavement for a few minutes until they hit a dead end. Missio lifted his head, looking at the sign that pointed them towards the left. It read 'Valcroce (3 – 4 hours).' In big bold red characters. He turned his head towards there, seeing a dirt path along a snowy meadow. Missio gasped, his eyes widening.
"Snow!" he exclaimed rushing forward.
Dante let out burst of laughter, watching his little brother squeal in happiness. Missio crouched, feeling the snow like a little child. The smile on his face was undeniable as he formed the snow into a ball. As his brother approached, a devilish formed on his face. Dante stopped behind him
"Having Fu–?!"
Dante's voice cut off as a snow ball splashed onto his face. Missio erupted into laughter, running away from his big brother.
"You son of a…" Dante's eye twitched as he wiped his face.
Missio grinned wickedly, bending down. Dante raised his hand.
"You don't want the smoke, little bro."
Missio pressed another ball. He stood up, licking his lips. Without responding to his elder brother's warning, he swung his arm. The snow ball escaped his palm, flying towards Dante at breakneck speeds. The supreme commander reacted instinctively, blocking the strike. The ball exploded on impact, scattering across the ground.
"I'm warning you again…" Dante smirked.
Once again, Dante gave a warning that Missio ignored. Right after throwing, he formed another ball. He drew his arm back and pressed his foot firmly to the ground. His hand snapped forward. Dante activated his attribute. Electricity sparked around the supreme commander, shattering the snow ball. Time ground to a halt. Dante moved swiftly, forming tens of snow balls.
One by One, he threw them at Missio. They froze in the air like the rest of the world. After his supply had run out, he tucked his hands into his pockets. Time resumed. The snow balls shot forward, crashing into Missio. Missio's pupils dilated as fell back, snow stuffing itself into his mouth. He coughed, forcing the snow out of his body.
"Told you, you didn't want the smoke." Dante laughed, approaching his brother.
"You used your attribute! That's not fair!" Missio sat straight.
He wiped his mouth, cough the remaining snow out. He jolted up, dusting himself off. Dante placed his hand on his shoulder.
"We can play later. First, we need to get to camp."
"Fine…" Missio rolled his eyes.
Dante hand slid off as he passed his little brother. Missio spat his saliva out, spinning around. The siblings trailed the path, leaving the modern world behind. They descended a hill that led them straight into a flat snowy plain. They continued walking along the cleared path, passing by the beautiful scenery. Missio gazed around at the scenery. He felt…oddly at peace. A shiver went down his spine as he glanced at a frozen lake in the far distance.
'It's… beautiful…'
His mind relaxed. He tapped his headphones, transitioning them into full transparency. Natures voice slipped into his ears – the flutter of the bird's wings, the rustle of the leaves, the ripples in the water, the air pressing against his skin. His enhanced senses caught it all. He treaded forward, walking beside his brother. Out of the Blue, an animal jumped in front of them. Missio and Dante halted in their tracks – not out of surprise but out of curiosity.
Missio leaned forward, checking the animal out. Its's height reached to about his waist and it's skin covered in gray fur.
"What's that?" Missio inquired.
"I dunno." Dante shrugged.
"You don't know?" Missio blurted – surprised.
"I don't know everything. Plus, I hate biology." Dante scowled.
Missio raised his brows. The duo waited for the animal to step out there way. Eventually, it growled and walked away from the path. Missio and Dante's eyes trailed it for a few moments. Dante grabbed Missio's hand, pulling him forward. Missio's eyes widened in surprise as he was pulled ahead. He escaped his brother's grasp and stood beside him. Eventually, they reached a small wooden bridge that stood over a small frozen stream.
"A bridge." Missio called out in delight.
Dante stepped on, making it creak. Missio hesitated, hearing the creaking. He sighed and stepped on as well. The sound of the flowing water soothed his mind, sending another shiver down his spine. Their feet pressed against the snow on the small bridge. They passed over it and continued on.
After a few hours, they finally reached the campsite at Valcroce. Dante passed the entrance without even looking at it. Missio stopped at the entrance to the campsite. Dante halted as well, turning around.
"What?" The supreme commander blurted.
Missio pointed at the camp. "Aren't we staying here?"
"No." Dante shook his head. "We're camping at Alpe di Siusi. It's only like nine hours from here."
"Holy – Nine hours?! That's long." Missio blurted.
"We're… literally… The time is for normal humans – Not us chaos incarnates." Dante face-palmed.
"Oh…" Missio raised his brows.
"Now, Come on." Dante waved, spinning around.
Missio curled his lips, rushing behind his elder brother. They passed Valcroce, continuing towards the next campsite. The sun hovered above as the clock struck peak noon. Dante shook his left wrist, looking at the time. He lowered his hand, sliding his thumb into the straps of his bag. He curled his hands around the straps, lifting the bag a little. They strolled through the land, passing by a cold river that stood beside the path.
Their feet brushed against the snow. Eventually, the flat snowy terrain led them to the base of a steep hill covered in white. Dante stopped in his tracks, taking off his bag. The heavy weight dropped to the ground. Missio stopped before his brother as Dante began unzipping the bag.
"What are you doing?" Missio took off his bag as well.
"Getting my boots? We're gonna need them for this part." Dante replied.
"Alright, got it." Missio nodded, unzipping his bag as well.