*bit of a shorter chapter cuz today I wasn't feeling it. This part of the story in-game has a lot of 'filler' (all random stuff for the story, not much action) so I have to move the thing myself. Hopefully I'll write some more tomorrow. Peace out and Deus vult.*
The road back was quick, but instead of reaching the Divination Commission, they arrived back at the Exalting Sanctum. Fu Xuan was a bit upset about it, but Tingyun was quick to explain that something was blocking their path. Mark wiped away at his nose, tired of the stinging pain that accompanied him thinking too much about the foxian lady, yet he had no choice but to endure.
March didn't hesitate to show her confusion at Fu Xuan's divination, her words sounding odd for the normal person. Mark sighed, not letting the words get to him, but he couldn't suppress a tiny smirk when she mentioned the complex methods the Divination Commission used to interrogate someone the proper way. Quick was the way she eyed him, quick was Mark to eye her back, silently saying 'I know a thing or two; don't play with me' before looking away, playing dumb.
In the end, she went ahead first, sending someone to get them from the plaza. With a sigh, he walked there, already annoyed by too much back and forth in this whole ordeal.
"Why do we have to keep walking like crazy idiots all the time? I'm starting to lose it. I'm this close to just diving head-first into it all."
Welt fixed his glasses, speaking in his calm tone that made him seem way too wise even for his years.
"Mark, I suggest you don't do anything rash. Diving into anything without clear clues could end up with more issues than good results. The last thing we want is the Cloud Knights considering us enemies."
Mark scoffed, his metal pipe at his side all the time, thudding against the ground. Stelle crossed her arms, already having a decent idea of the thing he could do, be it while thinking or not. March just looked around for the one supposed to guide them.
"No worries, Mister Welt. I got this. Don't worry, we'll fix the crisis. I'm just trying to... how do I put it... let them know that we're not exactly to be troubled with. Sure, things go smoothly; we have Kafka, and you saved my ass, but we need to show them that, should they think the wrong thing, we're still not going to just easily accept it and let them imprison us."
Mark's words were exactly what he hoped to hear, quite the contrary—they were part of why he feared for the mission. Still, nothing had happened until that point, despite Mark's obvious antics.
Once in the plaza, the sight of people gathered around worried them. Of course, they went ahead and joined the group, only to notice a Cloud Knight on a stretcher.
"What the?"
His confusion was soon answered as the knight began convulsing, his body twitching like possessed, every muscle fiber jumping in a purely chaotic way. Roots began growing through the armor, from the skin, moving into the eye socket, entering without as much as an issue. A bright flash of light signaled that the transformation was over, and soon the mara-struck stood up, screeching out in a hellish voice.
From behind, a tiny creature came running at full speed, leaping in the air and spinning, striking the mara-struck over the head with her tail, knocking it out.
"Give him this medicine and make him lie down!"
She handed them a gourd, only for more mara-struck soldiers to stand up from their spots and come towards her like zombies. In that moment, the Express was quick to join the battle. Mark, noticing that medicine was on the line, despite it not being effective from what his memory told him, chose not to kill the soldiers and try to incapacitate them.
"Seeing as Bailu knocked it out cold with one hit aimed well, I guess the others can be brought down like that too? Heh, weird, I only bashed them like zombies who kept getting up... oh, I see, I went for the kill, so smacking them over the head just ended their lives. Oops..."
With a bit less force in his strikes, he hit them over the head, shutting off the lights easily. Stelle did the same, her battle senses were sharper than his, so noticing his decrease in power used was nothing.
Soon, they were all sprawled down on the floor. While Stelle and March talked away with her, Mark focused on the soldiers, checking the mara. The plants that grew from within were odd, and he even found a weird pulse in them, as if they were part of the organism. The curse frightened him slightly, since the effects could range, Hazy as it was, he could recall that the mara made one lose their sanity, thus leading to specific cases of crazed murderers.
"This mara sure is something. I had my little theory, but I'm not sure I could apply it... or at least not without someone who could work with memories. What was their name?"
He pried deeper in his mind, pulling out the bit of information that hanged on a loose threat. It wasn't something important to the plot, at least not on a large scale, but he had heard it in Herta's lab that an organization called Garden of Recollection existed, and they could influence memories or something along those lines.
"Garden of Recollection. No use thinking too much since it seems to make my head bloat and my legs weak. Just good to know that someone like that exists."
Bailu looked over at Mark, noticing how close he was to the mara-struck soldiers.
"Hey, get away from the patients!"
He sighed, backing down, too tired for arguing.
"No need to shout, ok? I got it."
He moved away, at that point too annoyed and tired to even care about waiting around. With a sigh, he tapped his pipe to the ground rhythmically. Stelle nudged him in the side, wondering where his mind was off to.
"Everything alright, Mark?"
He nodded, looking over to Welt and March, who stood by her side.
"Yes, it's all fine. I'm just too tired of waiting around. I'll head off alone for a while and see what I manage to find. It's not like I'll get lost or something, so no worries."
Welt let out a distressed breath, his silent way of showing that he's a bit worried, but nevertheless, stopping Mark was pretty hard to do without using force.
"I understand, Mark. However, make sure to be careful. If something happens, contact us."
Mark shrugged, thinking about it.
"Welp, my phone runs on a different OS, so no way I can contact you all. I might need a new one. Plus, it's left on the Express since I have no more battery for it. Anyway, don't worry about me: I only have to check in about some things with someone."
With that, he walked off, leaving the three members on their own. March scoffed, trying to not be too loud.
"Just how come he gets to walk around freely all the time?"
Welt fixed his glasses in place, holding on to his cane a bit more firmly than usual.
"There's more to him than meets the eye, I'm sure everyone is aware of that. He knew where to go looking for Kafka, since he managed to get to her in what seemed like no time."
Stelle looked at him, pondering the words.
"Do you think that he's a member of their ranks?"
March suddenly looked mad, the idea that she had been lied to pushing her nerves to the limit.
"All that talk back in Belobog being just a lie? Oh, when I catch him, I'll...I'll...I'll...gah..."
She was left speechless. The idea sounded weird until you connected the dots. He chose to trust Kafka back on the Express, knew where to go ahead of time to meet and talk with her, and most importantly, he's keen on walking alone around the Luofu, the very area where Blade is roaming freely.
Meanwhile, Mark headed off to the Divination Commission, taking his heart in his chest, hoping that maybe, just maybe, he won't end up in shit that's too deep for him to swim away from—funnily enough, he can't swim at all.
On his way, the Cloud Knights were giving him odd stares, but they all answered when he asked for directions. It had to be the General's work at hand. "So, how the fuck do I ask if she didn't see me in her fate readings without asking that? Hell, she'll know for sure I know about their techniques, and then she'll just ask for more information that I can't provide. What the fuck do I do to find out what I want and still walk out unscathed?"