> “Oil and metal mingle in the air, the whirring machines drowning my thoughts. My hands ache, skin cracked and stained; the weight of now.
I close my eyes, hear the village bell echoing across time. The Batal Stone whispers my name, a promise I once scoffed at.
As dawn creeps in, I vow to seek the path foretold, to forge more than steel but a destiny anew.
✴”
— Scene 1, *The Hero’s Stone* ⟁
_Batal Vol.2 · Ep.2 · Scene 1 – Factory Manager · Factory Floor_
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📖 **Excerpt from the book:**
> Factory Manager: It’s defective. Another defective piece. What on earth is the problem!
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