Realignment

Mark stared down Scaramouche, thinking about what his next move should be.

"Perhaps I should keep it simple. He wants the gnosis, but he won't cause a scene in Mondstadt. Perhaps I should use that secret Joestar technique and hope he doesn't catch me."

Mark sighed as he held on to his claymore, trying to play it cool, but Scaramouche's smirk only increased the tension he felt. He was the 6th Harbinger for a reason, something that the game didn't fully explain. Sure, he was a puppet made by Ei, but one thing wasn't mentioned clearly: his powers.

"Huh, to think you'd be so obsessed with getting this gnosis. I thought you'd be busy with other things, but here you are, trying to fight a random nobody for the sake of a little trinket."

Scaramouche laughed, wakling closer to Mark, who instinctively backed away.

"A trinket? You enjoy playing the fool, I see. Were it just a trinket, you wouldn't have stopped Signora from taking it."

Mark didn't bother to listen any more, so he decided to do as he had thought before. In a heartbeat, he was already pacing away, running as fast as his legs allowed him to, using Anemo to increase his speed.

Just as he thought he was getting away, a kick came in from the side, and he found himself hurled away, crashing against a tree.

"Shit! Not good." 

Mark rose to his feet, claymore on his back, focusing on hand-to-hand combat. He lacked experience in both, but he expected his body to move faster when it didn't have to haul a large chunk of iron.

"To think you'd try to run away. This is why I dislike you, disgusting creatures."

Mark heard the voice echo around him, unable to pinpoint the source.

"Well, you say you hate humans, yet isn't it because you thought they hated you first?"

His words were met by a strange type of silence, anger floating in the air. In the nick of time, he managed to dodge a punch that came for his stomach, but the next one made sure to try and knock him out.

He felt his jaw throb with pain as Scaramouche showed himself once more, a twisted look of enjoyment and rage on his face.

"Just who are you, mortal, to dare talk about my past?"

Mark chuckled despite his entire body forcing him to run away once more.

"Ah, struck a nerve, did I?"

Both were glaring at each other, unwavering.

"Shut that mouth of yours if you wish to keep it. I won't hesitate to cut your tongue out."

Mark's skin crawled, yet he fought back those emotions.

"Always the short guy with anger issues. Call me a fool or whatnot, but you're the idiot between us. You lacked the concept of death and took it as being left behind. Lies above lies; you believed that damned doctor, like a fool."

Scaramouche clenched both fists, a twisted expression on his face.

"You vermin... I'll make sure to exterminate you."

Mark took off both his claymore and the scabbard he carried on his back, switching to a battle stance with both hands set before him, right leg shifted behind him.

"Exterminate me for speaking the truth? You know damn well that my words here are close to what you know. Each event I spoke of, you've lived. Take my words as they are: Dottore is twisted beyond insanity."

Scaramouche didn't bother to listen more and struck Mark from all angles. Mark was barely able to block a few hits, but the rest made contact, breaking him down blow after blow.

"Shit! Well, this will hurt, but there's not a lot I can do. Running won't work, and trying to use my powers would be useless, but I could still try. As for my secret powers, let's leave them be for now; better to keep my aces for another time."

With a loud scream, Mark began infusing his body with Anemo, using the wind to increase his speed. A few of his hits struck Scaramouche, but to no avail. It was like hitting iron, and nothing seemed to work as it would on a human.

"Was to be expected."

With a strong gust of wind, he tried creating some distance, but Scaramouche remained unbothered.

"Pathetic... I expected at least some fun from all this..." 

He struck Mark in the solar plexus before punching him in the face, rendering him cold.

As Mark's body laid down on the cold ground, Scaramouche kept kicking it, hitting every part of his body. This went on for a few minutes, after which he searched the body and found what he was looking for. He left just as he came, silent and hidden, away from where anyone could see him.

Mark was left there, beaten to a pulp, unconscious.

... 

Ras was outside, training in the gentle heat of the afternoon sun. He had taken his shirt off as he trained, making sure to wipe himself with a towel whenever he took a break from swinging his sword all day.

Thud after thud, he kept hitting the wooden dummy that stood before him, carving line after line within the old wooden dummy. He kept moving from one leg to another, trying to improve his basic technique before moving on to elaborate combos.

"Phew, this training sure is taking its toll on me. I wonder where my human battery is," chuckled Ras, looking around as if expecting Mark to just pop up beside him.

He shook his head,a soft smile on his face, as he put his sword down before wiping himself. His muscles were tonified, and training helped him maintain that form. Lucky wasn't enough in his eyes to describe what had happened during that time, yet he feared that more energy would do more harm than good.

"I should try experimenting, but only with small amounts of energy; at least I make myself turn into dust like I'm a monster in Undertale."

He drank some water before picking up his sword again, focusing on horizontal strikes this time. He moved his sword slowly, getting a feel for the blade alignment, before increasing his speed, moving his body along, using his sword like it was part of his body. 

Just as he was about to put his mind into it, he heard Lisa call out to him. She walked slowly towards him, taking a good look at his muscles.

"Oh my, that body of yours sure looks tasty."

Ras chuckled, feeling a slight blush appear on his face.

"Heh, I guess that it's salty now, from all this training."

Lisa chuckled, sitting down on a bench, patting the spot next to her, waiting for Ras to sit there. He did just that, waiting for Lisa to say what it was that she wanted.

"So, Ras, I have a question about Mark. It might sound out of place, but something happened, and I'd like to hear some things from you."

She faced him, looking pretty serious as she spoke.

"Could you be honest with me?" 

Ras nodded, breathing slowly. 

"I see. Did he do something stupid?" 

"Perhaps you could call it stupid. As far as you know, was Mark the type to go around breaking hearts for fun?" 

Ras was a bit taken aback by this question, nearly chocking on his own spit. 

"What? No, quite the contrary. As far as I know, he had some interactions with women, but it was usually the other way around. His notion of love is old-school, and he's against a lot of premarital things." 

Lisa nodded, listening attentively. 

"I see, so you wouldn't call him someone who takes advantage of the feelings of others, right?" 

Ras nodded, gulping down a mouthful of water. 

"Exactly. Also, speaking of Mark, do you have any clue as to where the idiot went?" 

She shook her head, shrugging her shoulders. 

"Last time I've seen him was earlier in the morning." 

"I see. Hopefully, he didn't go around getting himself into trouble. From what he told me, he went one night to fight a hypostasis, despite being as tired as I sometimes am of life." 

Lisa chuckled, nudging him playfully. 

"Come on, don't be so down. Life is beautiful, you just need to know where to look. For example, spending time with a pretty lady should make life enjoyable, right?" 

She clung to his arm, smiling merrily as Ras blushed a bit. 

"Perhaps you're not wrong." 

He got up, grabbing his sword again, walking towards the dummy. 

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some training to do." 

Lisa smiled softly as she got up, watching him swing his sword. 

"Oh, so a beautiful lady is not enough for you? I'll make sure to use more charm next time." 

She winked at him and went about her way. Ras remained there, alone, training until the sun went down and the moon began rising.