Batara just laid there unable to move. Suddenly, Berg’s soul appeared before Batara and shouted in excitement “You really did it! I cant believe it!” Batara only planted his head to the ground as he mumbled in pain “Mmergh.” Berg tone turned serious as he kneeled before Batara and said “From the deepest of my heart and soul, thank you adventurer Batara. Because of you I can be reunited with my family once again and Jaram wont be able to spread chaos upon this world.” Batara heard what Berg said but he couldnt respond. Berg continued “Dont worry I’ve left signs so that others could find you here. I hope I could do more to repay you but I’m afraid this is all I can do.” Berg remembered something and said “Oh and one more thing, while helping you get through the ruin earlier I managed to engrave my memories in ancient language through your hooded vest. So as long as you used it, you should be able to read ancient language.” Berg’s soul then slowly reduced to ashes as he said “Goodbye Batara. I hope you have a wonderful life…” and Berg disappeared.
Batara scoffed sarcastically and thought “Great, I knocked on death’s door just to learn how to read.” He also thought about how even a benevolent lord with a blessed life like Berg could meet such a tragic demise. Such thought was what gave Batara a little hope on life. While Batara was still lost in thought, the crown he was holding slowly dissipated into the air as Batara felt something got sucked into his forehead. However before Batara coould react, due to the blood loss, mana depletion, and depression probably caused by Nihility, Batara finally lost his consciousness.
Batara then woke up in a room he didnt recognize and felt a sudden Dejavu. He got up and looked around the room that looked like a healer’s hut from the medical supplies lying around. Batara looked at the mirror and saw his body was covered in bandages. As he looked closer, he noticed there was a small black symbol on his forehead. He tried to rub it off but it wont go away. Batara then checked his belongings and his suspicion was correct, Jaram’s Cursed Crown has vanished and went into Batara’s forehead before he passed out. Then, a woman in a white robe came into the room and noticed Batara had woken up. The woman said “Ah you already woke up. You shouldnt walk around yet, your wounds were quite severe.” Batara then asked his signature questions “Who are you? Where am I?” The woman smiled awkwardly and said “Eh, straight to the point eh… My name is Katherine the priest stationed here in Cedar Village. We are in my hut right now at northern Cedar Village.” Batara replied “How did I get here?” Katherine replied “Eh another direct question?…” Batara got slightly annoyed by Katherine’s quirk of thinking out loud. Katherine continued “The hunters brought you in severely wounded. They said you’ve been missing for 3 days and found your body lying in front of an abandoned ruin.” Batara thought “Impossible, I’ve only spent several hours in the ruin.” and asked Katherine again “How long was I out?” Katherine nervously replied “This man really shows no courtesy… you have been unconscious for 2 days… after I took care of him and fed him for 2 days so he didnt die.” Katherine’s quirk was getting more apparent as she talked.
Batara was out for 5 days in total, and if what Katherine said was true, the realm where he fought Jaram mustve had a different time flow with the physical world. As Batara couldnt handle talking with Katherine anymore, he kept it short and asked “How much do I owe you?” Katherine replied “Please dont worry about it, you just suffered a tragedy so just focus on getting better… healing him constantly until my head hurts and feeding him should be at least 4 golds!” Batara then put 5 golds on the table before taking all his belongings preparing to leave. Katherine said “Hey wait where are you going? The hunters and the innkeeper are worried sick about you. And besides they said they will cover your treatment… and I probably will end up feeling too bad asking for it…” Batara didnt respond and left the room in hurry. Katherine said “At least let them know you’re leaving!” But Batara already left. Katherine then got irritated by herself and said “Ow this stupid quirk! Always got me in trouble!”
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Batara left Cedar Village as fast and sneaky as he could and headed back to Quarzith. He didnt want to bump into anyone in Cedar Village as he really didnt want to explain his situation when he didnt fully understand it himself. To Batara’s knowledge, Ajak didnt lie about there being an artifact and about the God of Deceit which may be the reference for Jaram who has shapeshifting ability. But what Batara didnt understand was how Ajak possessed the Hood of Facade when it shouldve been entrapped in the ruin along with Jaram’s Cursed Crown. However, Batara had lost his chance to ask Berg as he already left Eidel for good, so either he let it go or directly asked Ajak about it.
After walking for a while, Batara almost reached Quarzith as the sun was almost set. He thought about finding a new place to stay since he couldnt go back to Lorelai’s Reverie due to the things with Isha. Thus, as soon as Batara arrived at Quarzith, he asked the guards about the date and confirmed that he'd been out for 5 days. Batara found it unbelievable but everything that happened so far also felt like a dream except for his wounds. So, Batara braced himself and went to the crowded inn recommended by the guards. Batara then arrived in front of the inn named Wanderers’ Nest. He saw through the window and the inn/tavern was as lively and crowded as ever. He walked in a circle trying to overcome his fear of walking into the place before finally putting on his hood, clenching his fist, and entered the inn. Batara walked past the crowd as fast as he could hoping no one would notice him. As soon as he arrived at the reception desk, the innkeeper greeted him “Hell- whoa you got a lot of bandages, you mustve gone through a lot! What can I do for you?” As expected, the innkeeper was as loud as the crowd.
Batara kept it short and asked “I’d like a room.” The innkeeper replied “Sure, as this place is an inn and a tavern, the room came with a meal and it cost 2 silvers and 5 copper per night-“ before the innkeeper finished explaining, Batara quickly handed over the money and said “A room for one night… please.” The innkeeper smiled awkwardly and replied “A-alright here is your key, your room is in the second-“ Before the innkeeper could finish his sentence, Batara took the key and basically ran upstairs. The innkeeper got all confused and talked to himself “What just happened…”
Batara went inside his room and felt glad to find that the room was bigger than in Lorelai’s Reverie. He then put down all his equipment and sit on the corner of his room. He thought about getting something to eat but he’d rather sleep in hunger than having to join the crowd downstairs. So he started meditating instead to relieve the remaining headache. He started thinking about how powerless and terrified he was when he faced Jaram. He also thought about his depression when he wanted to give up his life for Jaram. As Batara went deep into his emotion triggering meditation, another strange magic appeared in his head. Batara tried casting the magic so that he can understand it, “False Promise!” the magic was not activated. However, Batara gained epiphany that the magic could enhance one’s ability only if the target believes in him. Batara immediately stopped his meditation and thought “what an absolute joke, who would I even use this magic for…” suddenly a person came to mind. Batara then decided to not give this matter another thought and went to sleep.
The next morning, Batara went downstairs in hope there would be no one in the dining hall. As he suspected, there is almost no one else there. He then walked up to the reception and asked about the meal to the innkeeper. The innkeeper said “The meals are usually available at night, but there should still be some leftover in the kitchen.” Batara was so hungry that he only replied “Alright I’ll help myself” and went straight to the kitchen. In the kitchen, there are still some meat stew and bread left so he put them on a bowl and head to the dining table. Batara inhaled the food as it felt like he hasnt eaten anything for the past 5 days. Even though the food has gone cold, Batara felt satisfied, until a man suddenly sit in front of him.