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"That's a good question. Would you be okay with someone entering your head?" Stephen asked.
"Enter the brain?" Bruce frowned and asked hesitantly, "Is there anything you need to explain?"
"For example, are you willing to reveal your deepest memories and darkness to me?" Stephen answered honestly. It's like a patient seeking medical treatment. Before treatment, you always need to let them know the side effects of the medication and the potential pitfalls of the treatment. Especially in this situation, concealment is completely unnecessary. Once you're inside someone's head, they'll know everything.
Stephen didn't want to do anything to Bruce, so in order to avoid any bad situation, he had to explain everything to him.
"Memory? Darkness?" Bruce silently pondered the words several times. He held so many secrets and darkness within him, none of which he wished to share with anyone. If he were the man before Thanos, he would have flatly refused, considering finding a way to heal himself. But after experiencing Thanos, he could now face his own darkness and secrets.
"Will you know all my memories?" Bruce asked calmly after a moment.
"Part of it. Human memory is vast, unless you deliberately try to think about it. But generally, only the most vivid memories, or the ones you care about most, will surface first and be seen by me. Generally speaking, I won't take the initiative to explore your deeper memories and secrets." Stephen responded to Bruce's question very carefully. He knew that you had to dispel the other person's inner resistance first before you could talk about the follow-up.
"You seem very concerned about my condition?" Bruce didn't agree or refuse. Instead, he changed the subject and asked a seemingly insignificant question. He always felt that if it was just his personal problem, it didn't seem worth Stephen's attention.
"I care about all events that are eroded by the power of the dark dimension. Especially when it threatens the safety of the universe. Remember those fallen mages I mentioned? Each of them has brought huge hidden dangers to the world. Ordinary people don't know about it, only because we resisted it in advance. If I discover your abnormality and don't manage it, the consequences will not only be your personal problem, but also a big problem for this world and this universe. I don't want to say how righteous I am, but just think of it as us protecting our own territory." Stephen corrected and explained.
"I'm fine. What should I do?" A glint of understanding flashed in Bruce's eyes. After getting the answer he wanted, he agreed without delay and said that he had made the corresponding mental preparations.
"You just need to empty your mind and don't resist my power. We'll see you later." Stephen said.
…
Bruce, who was empty-minded, first came to his spiritual world, and then a familiar figure, Stephen, appeared beside him as if suddenly.
"It looks like your mental world has been severely eroded. Are you experiencing severe self-destructive emotions? Or has too much darkness accumulated within you?" Stephen observed Bruce's mental world and exclaimed in amazement. This mental world hasn't gone mad or schizophrenic yet. Should we praise Bruce's tenacious mental will and ability to self-resolve?
"Is this my spiritual world?" Bruce was silent for a moment as he looked at the gloomy and depressing environment around him, which made people feel desperate and uneasy.
"This is the manifestation of your spiritual world at this moment. It can ignore everything and reach directly into your heart. In other words, it is the place that best represents your inner emotions and state." Stephen observed his surroundings carefully and explained to Bruce.
They were in a desolate, gloomy landscape. They couldn't see the sky above them, nor could they see anything more than ten meters ahead, left or right, because of the thick fog surrounding them. The entire environment was oppressive and chilling, instilling a sense of low spirits and paranoia. An ordinary person, trapped in this spiritual world, would likely be led by it quickly to gradually collapse, go mad, and ultimately self-destruct.
"What should I do next?" Bruce looked at Stephen. He was wearing his Batsuit, and he instinctively wanted to give himself a sense of security, even though he knew this place was fake.
"You can feel if there is anything unusual." Stephen's gaze fell on a certain direction in the mist. "For example, is there something calling you? Or do you have an urge to go somewhere?"
Bruce closed his eyes again upon hearing Stephen's words, taking in the moment. Suddenly, his body began to move, the mist around him dissipating before them. Bruce, eyes closed, strode in one direction. Stephen followed behind, a mind link connecting his and Bruce's hands. This would help, even if something unexpected happened; even after they separated, Stephen could still use the mind link to determine Bruce's direction and condition.
This is a crucial measure. In the spiritual world, like fairy tales and dreams, even the most absurd situations can occur. Even if Bruce is right before his eyes, he could vanish from view the next moment, forever lost. And in the boundless and directionless spiritual world, trying to find someone is like searching for a needle in a haystack. Only by preparing in advance can one be prepared for unexpected events and risks.
But the journey was smooth, so smooth that even Stephen was a little surprised. He thought that some force would find a way to separate him and Bruce, but there was no such thing.
Can't? Or don't care?
These two may represent completely different meanings.
The former means the opponent hasn't completely eroded Bruce's spirit and become an inseparable part of him. This situation is naturally the best and the easiest to resolve.
The latter is more complex. It could be dismissive, as if some conspiracy is waiting for them; or it could be that they believe they have a sure win and really don't care.
But no matter what, Bruce finally brought Stephen to the destination safely.
That's a familiar manor!
The Wayne family's manor!
But it looked like it had been abandoned for a long time, covered with vicissitudes of life and weeds. Those dark windows that absorbed all the light were like the night, easily stirring up people's inner doubts and fears.
Flutter!
The dense sound of flapping wings echoed in the manor's buildings. It was black bats flying around.
"He's in there! He knows we're coming!" Bruce opened his eyes and looked at the bats. He looked at the building in front of him that looked like a man-eating mouth and gave people a sense of oppression and fear, and spoke as a reminder.
"Who? The owner of the power of the dark dimension?" Stephen asked softly, feeling the dark atmosphere around him suddenly become thicker and gloomy.
"Another me, or rather, the fallen me from another universe." Bruce twitched the corners of his lip, hidden by his helmet. "Of course, he might also give us a big surprise. Because I think that's what he would do."
"Okay." Stephen shrugged and continued forward behind Bruce.
"Wait a minute, did you hear anyone crying?" Bruce suddenly stopped, looked around, and asked Stephen softly.
"No, I didn't hear it." Stephen shook his head, but then reminded, "But in the spiritual world, any sudden abnormality may involve something deep within you, such as memories? Emotions? I think this is that person greeting you."
Bruce glanced at the long-abandoned building, then turned around and headed towards the source of the sound he had heard. Stephen behind him didn't try to stop him, but simply followed him silently.
This was Bruce's spiritual world, so Stephen naturally had to follow Bruce's wishes. Generally speaking, Bruce was more sensitive here than he was, and his judgment was relatively accurate. While this judgment could be misled, Stephen, behind him, was there to provide a safety net.
The further Bruce walked, the more familiar his surroundings seemed. Eventually, he arrived at an abandoned well. Gazing at this familiar wellhead and listening to the sobbing below, he felt as if he had traveled back in time, returning to the terrifying memories of falling into this well as a child. The creatures that had terrified him in those images still stayed with him, becoming an indelible mark and totem.
Bruce jumped into the well under Stephen's gaze, and soon he climbed out of the well with a grappling hook holding a child in his arms.
The child's face vaguely resembled Bruce's, except that at this moment he was sobbing and wiping his tears with his hands. He didn't seem to care who rescued him, nor did he feel that he was out of danger. He just cried and sobbed, and then waves of fear, along with his falling tears, eroded and affected the surroundings.
Bruce's condition was obviously abnormal, and he seemed to be affected as well. He tried his best to comfort the child, but he couldn't do it no matter what. Instead, the child aroused the fear in his heart that he thought he had suppressed, and he fell to the ground with his limbs weak.
The entire scene suddenly became eerie. A child stood on the ground, weeping and wiping away tears. A man in strange clothes sat on the ground in silence and fear, lost in some kind of emotion. Stephen disappeared the moment Bruce jumped out of the well, and Bruce, as if his memory had been erased, was unaware of this anomaly.
Finally, just as the expression on Bruce's face became more and more decadent, the crying child suddenly raised his little face, which should have been blurred with tears. He reached out and wiped off the helmet on Bruce's face, looking at the dazed face hidden under the helmet. The corners of his mouth were pulled to the sides with an alarming amplitude, and a terrible and evil smile appeared on his tender face. At this moment, he seemed to have some overlap with the Joker's figure.
A black dagger suddenly appeared in the child's hand, and a shadow passed by, and the bat suit on Bruce's body was cut open almost without any resistance. However, just when the dagger was about to pierce Bruce's heart, Bruce, who fell to the ground, was suddenly pulled back by a huge force and narrowly avoided this insidious knife.
Bruce was also awakened by some frequent calls and the strong pull, as if he was awakened from a dream when he fell off the bed, and suddenly woke up.
Seeing the prey he was about to hunt successfully escape, the young Bruce's face twisted into a ferocious and terrifying expression, and then his whole body continued to expand like a balloon, exploding in front of Bruce's eyes, splashing a fine blood like rain.
Bruce was startled and shook his head. When he looked around again, he found that he was not in the area next to the wellhead, but was almost at the door of an abandoned villa building.
Bruce instinctively turned his head to look behind him, and this time he remembered Stephen. It was when he was slipping away from consciousness that he heard Stephen constantly calling his name, and there was a rope that always seemed like a beacon in the wind and rain, giving him a bright, insignificant hope, preventing him from sinking completely. He also remembered that it was Stephen's final, powerful pull that finally woke him up.
"Was that just an illusion?" Bruce thought he could remain calm and composed in the face of any enemy, but in this spiritual world, his mental fluctuations were extremely frequent and sensitive, making it difficult to conceal or suppress any emotional fluctuations. Even now, he was still terrified by the utterly real situation that had nearly killed him.
"A very sharp show of force. You must know that in the spiritual world, whoever has the upper hand has a higher probability of winning. All your weaknesses and everything will be used against you by the other party. Until your heart completely collapses and you are dominated by him. In the end, you become a fanatical follower of the master behind the power of the dark dimension." Stephen reminded again.
Bruce nodded silently. He knew that if it hadn't been for Stephen, he would have lost the initiative and been targeted step by step until he completely collapsed. After all, the opponent he was facing was himself!
"Also, your dark side may have already merged with the other party. I may take some drastic measures depending on the situation. You must be mentally prepared." Stephen added softly behind Bruce.
Undeterred by the crying, Bruce took the lead and pushed open the door of the villa. The old door creaked, and light shone into the dark room as it opened.
A thin, dark figure loomed just at the limit of the light's spread.