“Grease-coated hands, the machines groan lo…” — Scene 1

> “Grease-coated hands, the machines groan louder in this silence—I drown in gasping breaths, marooned in this metal forest.

Grandfather’s voice whispers from the Batal Stone, stories of choices engraved long before I could speak.

Tomorrow, I will stand unyielding, forge our fate anew under dawn’s honest light. ✴”
— Scene 1, *The Hero’s Stone* ⟁

_Batal Vol.2 · Ep.2 · Scene 1 – Factory Manager · Unknown_

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📖 **Excerpt from the book:**

> Factory Manager: It’s defective. Again, it’s defective. What on earth is the problem!
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