Chapter 50: Before the Nightmare

                                    

                                          
3RD PERSON P.O.V
After gaining enough distance, Paimon is shocked to discover a high-ranking Harbinger in Sumeru and that the Fatui were also involved in the sages' plot.
With no other leads to go on, the Traveler's party decides to visit Tighnari.
Making their way to Gandharva Ville, Aether, Adam and Paimon are ambushed by an Eremite group led by Tashfin, although they manage to repel the mercenaries.
Arriving into the ville, they find Collei, who's glad to see them. She remarks that her Eleazar condition has gotten worse recently and as such, Tighnari ordered her to stay at the ville.
She also reveals that he went to Pardis Dhyai for reasons unknown.
Pardis Dhyai is a subarea located in Ashavan Realm, Dharma Forest, Sumeru.
It is a research site for Amurta scholars.
Arriving at Pardis Dhyai, the trio ran into Nahida, who had escaped Dottore's grasp by mind-jumping at the last second.
Paimon: "Wait, look who it is...!"
Aether: "Nahida!"
Adam: "...."
Paimon: "Thank goodness, you're okay! We were so worried about you..."
Aether: "You ARE Nahida, right?"
Adam: "You haven't been reprogrammed by The Doctor, have you?"
Both of them asked with narrowed eyebrows, giving the benefits of doubt.
Paimon: "Hey Aether! Adam! This was supposed to be a touching reunion, but you two are ruining the moment!"
Nahida: "Actually, it's very smart of you two, to be wary of me right now. After all, The Doctor has shown that his technology can apparently even control human minds..."
Nahida: "Plus, it's not like you could've known what happened after we split up, and I was facing The Doctor by myself."
Adam: ". . ."
Nahida: "Even a pool of stagnant water after a torrential storm can occasionally pass as a patch of sky."
Paimon: "Hmm... Paimon feels like only the real Nahida could come up with such an obscure analogy."
Aether: "I agree."
Adam: "I believe you."
Nahida: "Huh? But I wasn't trying to win your trust or anything. All I wanted was to clarify my point..."
Paimon: "Well, we understand that point now! Please, Nahida, tell us more about what happened. Are those poor people alright?"
Nahida: "When you three left, I was still in the middle of restoring everyone's minds. Thankfully, when The Doctor mentioned "depositing information into the subconscious," he didn't mean engraving information into their minds... ...Instead, he did something closer to creating hallucinations. That was still within my power to fix."
Aether: "I see..."
Nahida: "Luckily, I managed to finish my restorations and mind-jump away from him just as he was about to capture me."
Nahida: "But.."
Adam: "But, What?"
However, she believes he might trap her in the Akasha system, forcing them to double their efforts.
The Traveler explains that they're looking for Tighnari and she assists them in the search.
When they arrive at the greenhouse, they run into Haypasia.