Realization

Ras walked outside Mondstadt, waiting at the crossroad for none other than Mark, who had gone out during the day, only to not return. He waited and waited, but he was alone. Tired, he decided to head back and sleep, until he noticed two figures approaching in the distance, a little something floating around them.

"Aether, Paimon, and..." he took a better glance, "Amber. Where exactly are they coming from, and why are they running?"

It was in that moment that he noticed something: both Amber and Aether were carrying someone, with Amber holding the person by the legs while Aether had them grabbed from beneath the shoulders.

Paimon came floating over at Ras, a worried look on her face.

"Ras, hurry! Mark, he's-" 

Ras began running, using his energy without as much as blinking. The moonlight began glowing more as he got closer, revealing the bruised face of someone he knew: Mark.

He grabbed him by the legs, and Amber went back and helped Aether carry him.

"Where did you find him?" asked Ras, his voice frantic.

Amber could barely speak between huffs.

"Wolvendom... in the forest... alone, dead cold, with a pack of wolves surrounding him. If not for Razor, we couldn't have taken him out."

"They were protecting him, as if they realized what was going on," added Aether, trying to get a better grip on Mark.

They walked together inside Mondstadt, where Amber wanted to get a stretcher to carry Mark on, but Ras heaved him on his own and carried him all the way to the headquarters, placing him on his bed.

Lisa went out to try and find Barbara, while Amber went ahead to search for Diluc, since he might be able to at least find out something about what had happened to Mark.

Aether and Paimon stood by Mark's bed, together with Ras, who was holding his head in his palms, elbows placed firmly on his knees. In a single day, their entire adventure turned into something far worse. A dream shattered as Mark was barely breathing, his whole body covered in bruises that Ras knew were actually worse than they looked. Mark had proven a few times before that it takes a lot of force to make him bruise, and even then, it doesn't look that bad.

His face was mostly intact, except for a few scratches and a bruise, but the rest of his body was in shambles, as if someone took their sweet time to grind down his body piece by piece.

"Paimon is sure Mark will recover. After all, he did help in defeating Stormterror," said Paimon in a soft attempt at comforting Ras. She tried to pat him, but Ras was too stuck in his own mind to bother.

Aether took a seat next to him, looking over at Mark.

"I know words won't do much to comfort you, but perhaps it's better when they are said. Mark will recover; I'm sure of it. He's strong, and I saw that with my own eyes."

Ras nodded absent-mindedly, his head bowed, eyes fixed on the floor as he slowly rocked back and forth, shaking slightly. His mind kept racing around, trying to figure out what might have happened, and it suddenly washed upon him, hitting him like a tsunami.

"His pockets!" shouted Ras as he got up, checking Mark's jeans, finding nothing in them. Luckily, by Mark's standards, his phone had been left in the room, yet Ras only then realized Mark's sword wasn't there.

"His sword... do you know where it is?" asked Ras as he checked Mark's coat, but to no avail.

"We saw it beside him, yet we didn't bother to take it. I hid it under some leaves and marked the spot." said Aether, looking at Ras with a bit of a worried look.

"I see. Thank you. If you'd be so kind as to retrieve it with me later, I'm sure Mark will throw a fit when he wakes up and can't find his weapon."

Aether smiled a bit as Paimon nudged him playfully, both of them glad that Ras chose to believe in Mark.

"God, I know Mark always believed in you, which I can't say I truly do, but please... save this idiot."

This thought flared in his mind, going out just as fast, like a leaf blown by the wind, gently floating around until the breeze made sure to take it away.

"So, I think I have a clue. Mark had Venti's gnosis on him, which was what Signora came looking for. I think the Fatui are behind this."

"The Fatui!?" asked Paimon, her voice a loud squeak.

"I'm afraid this would be the case. It checks out. As far as I know, they have strong people on their side, stronger than your average person."

He went for the door, motioning for the others to follow him. Outside the building, Diluc talked with Kaeya, their discussion coming to a halt as Ras stepped out, both facing him with serious looks on their faces.

"I take it that you at least have an idea of where we should start from."

Ras nodded, stepping beside them, noticing that he was a fair bit taller than them.

"The Fatui, that's the verdict..."

Diluc nodded, but Kaeya felt a bit out of the loop.

"Just like that? The Fatui? On what basis?"

Diluc stepped in, glancing over at Kaeya with a cold look, his voice stern like usual.

"Mark had something that the Fatui wanted to get their dirty hands on. I'll go ask my informants if they know something about this. Perhaps they would have at least seen or heard about someone from the Fatui walking around Mondstadt."

He left, saying nothing as he did so, yet Ras could feel a certain anger coming from him, something more than what one would feel when a supposed 'comrade' is hurt like that.

Kaeya sighed, looking over at Ras and Aether before glancing once over his shoulder.

"Huh, just the usual. So, he had a certain 'something' that the Fatui wanted so much that they sent someone who beat him to a pulp. I can't say I'm surprised. They've always been an aggressive bunch, but this is going over the line." 

Ras nodded, trying to piece together whatever little knowledge he had from the game. He himself hadn't played Genshin, not even looking into the plot apart from Inazuma, but he had a little clue about some things from what Mark had told him. 

"Well, I suppose they are like that... I just hope he'll wake up and heal before we head to Liyue. He was eager to go there, going as far as saving up mora for whatever we might need." 

Paimon patted him on the back, hoping to at least cheer him up a bit as his gaze met the ground once more. 

"Paimon is sure it will be fine. Before we know it, he'll be up and running. And, to be honest... Paimon does find Mark to be a bit... unusual in more than one way." 

"Which way are you talking about?" asked Ras without as much as skipping a beat. 

"He always seems to have too much energy, WAY too much. Is it normal for someone to go to a region such as Dragonspine, walking all the way there, only to explore the place and fight a lot of scary monsters, then come back to fight an even bigger one?" 

She crossed her arms, shutting her eyes tight, as Aether looked at her with a bit of annoyance. 

"Calm down Paimon, it's not abnormal. He's simply full of life," said Aether before glancing over at Ras. "Don't worry, we'll try to help with whatever we can." 

Kaeya gave Ras a light smack on the back before departing as well. 

"Find me at my usual drinking spot if you wish to talk with me." 

He left, waving goodbye, his back turned to the group. 

"Well then, I think investigating is not something we could do, but I could at least try to increase my control over my powers. Aether, how about going to take Mark's sword?" 

He nodded, already walking before Paimon could even notice. 

"Hey! Don't leave Paimon behind!" 

Ras smiled, feeling his sadness subdue. He didn't want to think about it, but in the worst possible case that Mark didn't heal or something worse was to happen, he could at least count on someone and aid them, carrying on Mark's flame that came in the form of a simple wish: make it a happy ending for all.