At the moment of raising his glass, Ethan had the impulse to take out the enhancement potion and place it in front of Bruce, but he ultimately resisted, lest things develop in an even stranger direction.
"Alright, I think we should just be straightforward. This kind of conversation is troublesome for me."
Tony hated trouble. Bruce's constant probing during these conversations had already made him feel bored.
So, he simply laid everything out.
He explained that neither he nor Ethan were from this world. He knew what Bruce would do in the future, and he was curious about some of Bruce's thoughts, so he had specifically come to this world to find him.
When Tony finished saying all this in one breath, the two across from him were stunned. This reaction was not what Tony had expected.
"Was that my reaction when you told me all this back then?"
Ethan hadn't interrupted, just quietly eating. Only when Tony asked did he look up at the two across from him.
"Pretty much, but the sarcasm on your face was even stronger back then."
"I'm really grateful you didn't just attack me back then."
The looks of "idiot" and "lunatic" from the two across the table made Tony furious. He almost couldn't resist raising his hand to throw an Arcane Missile at them.
"Sorry, I find it hard to believe what you're saying."
"Parallel universe theory, you should know it."
"Of course I know... it's just..."
Bruce certainly knew about the parallel universe theory, but it was only conjecture with no evidence to support it.
Now, two strangers appeared and claimed they were from another world. A normal person's reaction would be to treat them as lunatics, right?
"Just what? Because there's no evidence?" Tony spread his hands and pointed to himself. "Now there is, right in front of you."
Bruce didn't know how to respond. He could only look at the other party with an awkward but polite smile and casually ask a question.
"So, how did you get here from another world?"
Tony could answer this, but Ethan saw that such a ridiculous thing couldn't be believed by words alone, so he decided to answer himself.
"With this!"
A blue light suddenly flashed between the four of them. As Ethan gently moved his fingers, the beautiful ball of light kept changing, evolving into mysterious symbols, and forming a magic circle in the center.
Magic, on Earth, had wide recognition. The magic circle in particular was extremely well-known. Even people who knew nothing about legends or origins of magic could recognize that it was a magic circle.
At this point, even without Ethan saying "It's magic," Bruce already understood what the other party meant.
But whether he believed it or not was another matter.
Alfred still looked at the magical scene before him with eyes full of astonishment, wonder, and also a hint of suspicion.
He had actually seen similar scenes many times in Wayne Manor over the past two months. From initial absolute doubt, to gradually beginning to wonder if magic truly existed, he had now started to somewhat believe it.
But Bruce was different. He still didn't believe in mystical powers. His first thought was that Ethan was using some kind of technology. This light and shadow could be a holographic projection released by special equipment. Compared to magic, a hologram, which at least existed in theory, seemed more acceptable.
Bruce reached out his hand, wanting to confirm whether these lights and shadows were just projections, but was surprised to find that his hand could actually touch them.
"How is this possible?"
Normally, when magical energy appeared in this dissipated form, it seemed illusory, and touching it wouldn't create a real sensation.
But Ethan had specifically enhanced the "density" of the magical energy, knowing Bruce would definitely try to test it with his own hands.
As Bruce reached out, Ethan slightly moved his hands. The magical energy floating in front of them suddenly twisted and wrapped around Bruce's arm. It turned into blue chains, tightly binding his hand so he couldn't move at all.
After years of training and trials, Bruce's strength was already beyond ordinary people, though not at the level of a true powerhouse.
Yet under the binding of these chains of energy, he couldn't move at all. The tactile sensation was as if he were really bound by chains.
"So you used magic to get here?"
Ethan gently hooked his finger. The chains wrapped around Bruce transformed back into symbols, then condensed into a clear image in the center of the light.
Two spheres floated there. Looking closely, one could see within them countless galaxies, like miniature universes.
"You can think of these two as your universe and our universe, like two houses." Tony glanced at Ethan with a half-smile, but Ethan ignored him. "I can use magic to break the barrier between these universes, just like building a door between two houses."
The analogy was simple and easy to understand. With the accompanying images, anyone of normal intelligence could grasp it.
Bruce's intelligence far surpassed most people. He immediately asked, "Can your magic only travel to certain fixed worlds, or can it go to any world you want?"
Ethan thought for a moment. He wasn't completely sure, but so far there hadn't been a world he couldn't enter.
"Currently, it seems I can go anywhere I want."
"You mentioned my destiny earlier. How many worlds have you been to where 'I' exist?"
Tony gave Bruce a few extra glances. His reaction was quick.
"This is the second one."
"Is that so... So that's why you said it was my destiny."
Bruce realized from Ethan's words that the world they had visited before must have been very different, otherwise they wouldn't have come here again.
"Parallel universes, huh."
Bruce had the impulse to ask what his counterparts in other worlds had done, what Gotham became in the future. But after thinking, he suppressed the urge.
Since they were parallel universes, those things had no real meaning for him, and might even interfere with his judgment.
From the fact that they had been to another world where "Bruce Wayne" existed, it was clear that even the same person could be very different. Trying to determine his own future from another world's version of himself was pointless.
Bruce lowered his head, lost in thought. Neither Tony nor Ethan disturbed him. Instead, Alfred asked more questions.
Ethan withdrew his magic and answered.
There was nothing to hide from this loyal old butler. Alfred had always been Bruce's strongest support and assistant.
"So Master Bruce will become a vigilante wearing strange clothes, living a double life every day for the rest of his life!"
"You've summarized it very well."
Although blunt, this was indeed Bruce's future.
Bruce, who had been silent, had been listening. After hearing Ethan describe the clothing, he suddenly felt that this was indeed his choice.
"A bat?"
Facing the thing he feared most, and turning that fear into terror for criminals, wasn't this exactly what he wanted to do?
If there had been doubts before, Bruce was now gradually starting to believe Ethan and Tony. It seemed they really were from other worlds, and knew about him in advance. Otherwise, how could they know about the things hidden deep in his heart?
"I really hope none of this happens."
Alfred looked at Bruce with a serious expression. Having finally found the last member of the Wayne family, he only hoped Bruce would return home, reclaim everything the Wayne family owned, and manage Wayne Enterprises.
If Bruce wished, he could use Wayne Enterprises to benefit Gotham and its people.
During this time, he could marry, have children, and let the Wayne family prosper again.
In Alfred's mind, walking in darkness in strange clothes to fight crime should absolutely not be Bruce's future.
When he learned of this, the thing he wanted most was to make Bruce give up the idea.
But Bruce had already affirmed his inner thoughts. After returning to Gotham, he would observe the city's current state while building his battle suit and equipment. Even if much of the equipment was rare and expensive, with Wayne Enterprises as a cover, there was nothing he couldn't acquire.
Having made his decision, Bruce looked up again at the old butler full of worry. He raised his wine glass, imitating Ethan's earlier posture.
"Just as these two gentlemen said, Alfred, this is my destiny."
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)