The Ultimate Regressor System

Mark stared at Sera a moment, processing what she had said.

He blinked, his expression carrying disbelief.

"Okay, that’s — that’s a big leap. Sera, She’s scared, she’s disoriented, and you’re building an entire theory off one fire accident and a few slow answers."

"It’s not just that. Something about her feels wrong. I can’t explain it better than that, but I know what I saw."

"You *think* you know what you saw. In the dark. After a full day of fighting Golems." Mark rubbed a hand over his face. He was clearly exhausted of this now...

"I get being cautious. I do, I really do... But we can’t just decide some random woman we found is some kind of monster because she answered a few questions slow and didn’t flinch at a spark."

"I’m not making it up though" Sera pressed, quietly hoping that Mark would believe her.

"Besides," Mark said, "You saying that she’s not human because she didn’t flinch at a fire is wild. It’s probably her ability or something."

"It’s not just that though. Why didn’t she hide her hand?"

"I don’t know," he said, "she probably has her reasons or something."

"That doesn’t make any sense and you know it." Her eyes flickered to Wisp again. "She said it was cold..."

Mark raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"You clearly meant the fire... But she didn’t know that..."

"Like I said, she probably didn’t notice."

"But that doesn’t make any sense." Her voice rose a bit now. "Even Lucas who’s literally fireproof says that he can feel the flame even though it wouldn’t hurt him—"

"Sera." Mark called, his voice firm and his brows knitting together...

Sera exhaled shakily. "But everything about her is weird. Heck, even her name is odd. Wisp? Come one. Her parents could do better than that..."

Mark deadpanned. "Okay, now you’re just hating."

"I’m not making this up though..."

He exhaled. "I never said you were making it up. I said you’re probably reading too much into it." Mark’s voice stayed level, though frustration was bleeding through his voice now... "She’s alone, scared, probably traumatized. Cut her a little slack before deciding she’s secretly a beast wearing a person like a coat."

Sera crossed her arms, jaw tight. "Fine. But I’m watching her."

"Watch all you want. Just don’t accuse her of anything without actual proof. Save me the stress would ya?"

They returned to the fire in uncomfortable silence, where Wisp was still seated exactly where they’d left her, watching the flames with the same unsettling stillness.

Nobody spoke much for the rest of the night....

***

They set off together the following morning, an awkward kind of tension hanging in the air as they walked.

Wisp walked with them, trailing slightly behind, and Sera was watching whenever Mark’s back was turned.

The silence didn’t last long...

[Ding!]

[Warning: Bora Class Entities Detected.]

[Objective: Slay the beasts.]

[Survival Probability: 72%]

Mark’s face brightened. As far as he knew, this was the highest survival probability he had ever seen since coming here...

But he knew that no matter how high the survival probability was, letting your guard down was never an option.

Anything could go wrong at any moment...

The first Bora ambush hit them not long after— smaller and weaker than the golem variants they’d grown used to, and Mark couldn’t stop the urge to grin as he rushed forward and clashed with one head on...

"Ahh..." he voiced, "Been a while since we fought the classics," he said, driving a punch into its flank. "Almost nostalgic."

"Focus, Mark."

"Ay, ay, don’t pressure me. I am focused."

Though as he said that, a tail tore past him, almost grazing his face and he looked at Sera, meeting her deadpan.

"Yeah... very focused."

The fight went on easily, Mark and Sera falling into rhythm with each other , and the second Bora fell just as quickly to Sera’s sword moments later.

It was the fourth beast that almost made the whole situation take a dangerous turn.

It emerged from a blind spot near Wisp’s position, its tail already lashing toward her before either Mark or Sera could fully react.

"Move!"

She didn’t move. She simply stood there, staring at the incoming strike with a flat, unreadable expression as the tail was just inches from going through her head...

However, Sera was able to make it in time... she lunged, shoving her clear before the tail would have met her but she took a shallow graze across her own forearm in the process.

"What was that," Sera demanded breathless, ignoring the pain that was moving through her body.

"Why didn’t you use your ability? Anything? You just stood there!"

Wisp blinked at her, the movement slow and strange. "I... panicked."

"You didn’t even flinch."

"I panicked," Wisp repeated in the same flat tone.

Mark frowned, and Sera backed off when she saw it.

They continued moving in silence but Mark’s expression tightened, Sera’s warning sounding in his mind...

They pressed on after a tense pause, and it was another hour before Wisp spoke again, gesturing toward a narrow, trail branching off from the main path.

"We should go this way," she said. "It’s faster."

Mark glanced at the trail, brow furrowing. "That doesn’t look safe. Looks like it cuts straight through a ravine."

"It’s faster," Wisp said again, "Trust me."

Sera’s stomach dropped, and her gaze shot towards Mark, hoping that he was seeing how strange this was now... even if it was a little bit...

"No," Sera said before Mark could answer. "We’re not taking that path."

"It’s faster," Wisp said a third time, something in the repetition— the utter lack of any real argument behind it sent ice down Sera’s spine.

’This can’t be good. There’s no way this would be good...’

She glanced at Mark, and this time, something in his own expression had finally shifted. She was silently relieved that he was gradually seeing what she was seeing.

"Mark," Sera said in a firm tone. "We need to talk. Now."

"...Yeah," Mark said slowly, eyes still fixed on Wisp’s unnervingly still posture. "Yeah, I think we do."