Four Winds' Temple

Their steps echoed through the hall, bringing back certain memories that Mark would have rather left uncovered. For some reason, empty halls make him anxious. He instead focused on Amber and Kayea, who were whispering as they got closer to Jean's office. Mark spoke to Ras, his voice faint, almost silent.

"Dude, I just realized they'll ask me things about my Anemo powers. I have no vision, so this'll be fun."

Ras glanced at Mark, shrugging, before whispering back.

"At least you know what your deal is." I saw a flash of light on my wrist, then it was gone. For some reason, I feel like I have a lot more energy than usual."

Mark's face lit up.

"So I'm not crazy. Well, either way, we'll have some explaining to do."

The sudden sound of Kaeya knocking on a wooden door scared the two of them, their heads shooting back as if talking was the least thing they could have been doing.

"Come in," said a female voice from inside the room.

Kaeya went ahead, followed by Amber, Aether, and Paimon. Ras and Mark went in last, and they couldn't help but notice that everyone else was noticeably shorter than them, except for Kaeya.

"I brought all of them," said Kaeya with a stern voice. "It seems that we have a lot more travelers during these dire times than expected."

Jean studied all of them for a minute, another woman dressed in purple watching from the side. Mark's eyes met hers, and she winked at him, nearly throwing Mark's mind off its tracks. His eyes darted back, his face tainted by a slight blush.

"Mondstadt welcomes you, windborne travelers," said Jean, talking in a soft yet formal voice.

"Glad to be here," said Mark, arms crossed together, trying to keep his cool.

"So this is the Acting Grandmaster? Maybe I'll think about settling in Mondstadt after all," said Ras, getting a chuckle and a soft laugh out of Kaeya and Amber.

The woman in purple stepped forward, standing beside Jean.

"Jean, how about you introduce me as well?"

Jean nodded before glancing back at the travelers.

"This is Lisa, our resident Librarian." 

Ras looked at her, his lips curling upward.

"Maybe I should visit the library some more from now on."

Lisa laughed softly, watching them with curious green eyes, smiling softly.

"You should; I'll make sure to be there," answered Lisa, winking at Ras.

"So, are you sweeties here to help us out?" Her eyes were transfixed on Aether and Paimon.

"You're so adorable," noted Lisa before looking back at Ras and Mark, her eyes betraying a certain playfulness, "and it seems we also have two strong, reliable men out here to help us. I sure feel like I'm in safe hands."

Mark couldn't help but smile like an idiot, chuckling slightly before straightening his back.

"I wouldn't call myself strong, but thanks for the compliment either way."

Ras did the same, watching Lisa with interest.

"So, let's leave these things aside for now and focus on the important matters. I'm sure Miss Jean didn't just call us here because she fancied it."

Jean looked at Mark, nodding silently.

"Thank you..." 

Her words lingered, and only then did everyone realize that they had forgotten to introduce themselves.

"Name's Mark. This guy next to me is Ras."

"Glad to make your aquintaces," added Ras.

"I'm Aether, and she's Paimon."

Kaeya nodded, arms still crossed.

"Glad we took care of names. Now," began Kaeya, his voice changing to a more serious note, "let's switch back to business."

He pointed a finger at Mark, his arms still crossed.

"From what Amber told me, you could use anemo, but I haven't seen you use a vision."

Mark's face didn't betray any hint of fear; it did quite the opposite.

"A man can have some secrets, can't he?" replied Mark, his voice stern all of a sudden.

All eyes were on him, mixed feelings filled the room.

"Don't worry about me. Had I been the bad guy, you guys wouldn't chat with me like this."

The tension seemed to have subsided a bit, yet Mark couldn't help but feel a heavy gaze laid on him.

"Ok, let's calm down for now. No one is accusing anyone, Mark. It simply is something...unusual..." said Jean, seemingly deep in thought.

"We're grateful you took care of this crisis. Everyone saw you hold on to Stormterror's back, unyielding as it kept trying to throw you off. For that, all of Mondstadt is grateful."

Mark nodded, waving a dismissive hand.

"It's fine; I'm merely following God's rules."

Jean fell silent, forcing Lisa to step in.

"Alright cuties, for now we need to take care of something rather important before Stormterror decides to attack again."

She glanced at Jean, who was now out of her daze.

"With Stormterror attacking Mondstadt, we might have an opportunity to cut off this problem at the source."

She glanced at everyone in the room, making sure they were paying attention.

"Lisa has revealed the sources of Stormterror's power with her detection magic."

Mark's eyes twitched at the mention of the word 'magic'.

"I'll have to ask about it later," thought Mark, placing an index finger under his chin.

Lisa stepped in, "They're located in the abandoned Four Winds' Temples. Stormterror's ability to whip up these kinds of storms can be attributed to it drawing power from the temples."

Ras looked at Lisa, a certain idea crossing his mind.

"Why the temples? Is it like he's using some power like 'faith' to become stronger?"

Lisa chuckled softly.

"Oh my, you sure seem to know some interesting things. Sadly, that's not the answer. Those temples contain some form of condensed power that Stromterror can draw upon."

Ras nodded, trying to figure out how such methods would work.

"Our objective is to deal with three of these four temples. I trust everyone knows why we're dealing with only three."

Both Ras and Mark shared a questioning glance, while Paimon and Aether had the same issue going on.

Lisa glanced at the travelers, watching them with interest.

"So, sweeties, will you join me?"

Amber finally spoke up, taking a step forward.

"I could also use a hand."

Kaeya took a step forward as well, smirking.

"It would surely be more interesting if I were to work with someone."

Mark thought for a minute before finally sighing.

"So, I guess we'll tackle them all at once? Then splitting up would be the best choice. So, who's going with who?"

Silence once again as everyone thought about who to go with. Mark sighed once more, already feeling tired of everyone.

"Screw this." 

He looked at Lisa.

"Let's go, Lisa."

Mark walked outside, not even glancing back, waiting for Lisa to follow. Shortly after, she came out, smiling in her usual way.

"Oh my, someone sure was eager to spend some alone time with me."

Mark couldn't help but smile at her playful tone, her words seemingly tingling his ears.

"Well, how could I allow myself to let a beautiful lady such as yourself take care of a tedious task like this on your own?"

She laughed softly, walking alongside Mark as they made haste for one of the temples.

"You sure are a charmer."

They walked together a great deal until they were face-to-face with two large stone doors, triple Mark's size. He couldn't help but feel awe at the sight of the intriguing design of the gates.

"This place sure feels imposing. Let's get this over with quicker."

He walked to the doors, and surprisingly, they opened rather easily. His eyes betrayed his thoughts, and Lisa could easily read his mind.

"You expected them to open with more than a touch, am I right?"

Mark nodded, walking inside, staring at the thick layer of dust beneath their feet, eyeing the cobwebs scattered around the ceiling.

"This place sure feels old, and for some reason there are footprints in the dust. Did someone come here before us?"

Lisa walked beside Mark, carefully looking around.

"Must be hilichurls. Watch your step."

They walked deeper inside the temple, making their way across floating platforms, riding air currents as they went deeper inside.

Mark noticed something inside the room ahead of them.

"An Electro Monument. I'll take care of that, don't worry."

As they walked inside the room, Mark's eyes shot to the side, his body moving in that very moment, punching a hilichur straight in the face, throwing it backwards, but at the same time he felt his fist hurt.

"Shit!" 

Before they could move, Lisa waved her hand, making for a spectacle Mark wasn't going to forget. In a flash, all of the hilichurls were down, purple flashes of Electro visible for brief moments. With the same movement, she activated the Electro Monument.

"Thank you, Mark. I should be more careful. This time, I was lucky to have you by my side."

Mark tried to play off the pain in his hand, waving it slightly.

"Just doing my job, no biggie."

With the hilichurls out of the way, they finally reached the innermost chamber, where a light blue crystal, shaped like an egg, lay exposed, Anemo twirling around it.

"Now we have to destroy it, then we can go back."

Mark walked close to it, feeling a gentle gust of wind brush against his skin. He reached out, placing a hand on the crystal, and rather than breaking it, he took a deep breath. A strong gust of wind filled the room, forcing Lisa to hold on to something or be thrown back like a leaf in the wind.

Mark's eyes were of a faint blue hue for a few moments, glowing softly as the wind seemed to gather within him, entering through his mouth. In a few moments, it all calmed down, leaving Mark in a daze with the crystal nowhere to be seen.

"In my defense, I planned to do that," laughed Mark, looking at Lisa with a carefree gaze.

She rushed to his side, watching the spot where the crystal should have been.

"Impossible...did you-" 

"Absorb the power and claim it as mine? I think I did just that."

Mark had a soft smile on his face, walking as if nothing had even happened.

"Let's go back, Lisa. I think our job here is done."

She looked at Mark with a worried look on her face, walking ahead, stopping in his tracks, looking closely at him, their faces too close to one another. way more than Mark would have liked.

"Just who are you, Mark? How could you do something like that?"

Mark shrugged, closing his eyes as he raised his brows.

"Lisa, I'm as confused as you are. I touched it, and somehow I felt like I could do that. Trust me, I'm as human as you are, despite being able to do some funny things like this one."

Her gaze was still hard, her eyes not leaving Mark's, staring intently at him for a few seconds before letting out a soft breath.

"I guess I'll have to do some reading once we get back. You sure are an interesting one, Mark. I just wonder if the others are the same way."