The Death Knell

"Down to...what?"

Bruce walked down the ladder in a daze as his little granddaughter said. What appeared in front of him was a scene full of religious feeling.

The stained glass windows, the lit candles, the white altar, and the sharp knife that suddenly appeared in his own hand.

His clothes changed again, turning into a red hooded robe. Not far away, a woman with short hair and no hair was lying on the altar.

Beside him were a group of people wearing old-fashioned wigs that looked a bit like the Court of Owls, but they all had bat symbols on their clothes.

"Do it quickly, Bruce."

"The Bat Ceremony is ready!"

"Hurry up, we don't have much time."

They were urging him to kill the woman as a sacrifice.

But it was too late, there was a strong explosion somewhere, everyone was unstable, and some even fell into the raging fire.

"It's too late, Barbatos is here!"

People passed him, running toward the ladder to escape the basement.

"No, that woman, I want to save her."

Braving the flames and high temperatures, he moved closer to the altar, and the flames even licked his robe.

However, the woman sat up and looked at him calmly.

"They will not come to save us, they have nailed the doors, and after I melt in the fire, they will build a city on my tomb, marked as your city, for whom I died. "

Bruce's red robe instantly turned into a bat suit, and he dropped his sharp knife. He knew that this beautiful woman was actually the embodiment of his former girlfriends, and they all died for various reasons.

The woman just pulled up a piece of burning cloth to cover her spring sunshine, and smiled at Bruce, with the look of a bat in her eyes.

"They thought I was the door, but I was actually just a stepping stone that allowed you to see the outside through the window, and also allowed the outside to see you. Barbatos saw you."

Bruce gritted his teeth and closed his eyes: "No! That's enough!"

..................................................

The book turned the page, and he found that he and three other ordinary people in bat suits were being chased by the citizens. The clown mayor had ordered that there would be no taboos tonight!

Anyone can hunt Batman.

At this time, a little girl dressed as Batwoman next to him said to him: "We must hide, hide and survive..."

Car lights were approaching not far away, and the strong light illuminated the street. Countless Gotham citizens were chasing after them brandishing sharp weapons.

"Damn it! I can kill Batman today too!"

"Yes! It's so fucking cool!"

Several people in bat costumes around him grabbed Bruce and ran into the dark distance: "Run quickly, what are you waiting for?"

"Yeah, if we hide in the dark, we'll be safe."

Bruce shook their hands away and watched them disappear into the darkness, standing on the street watching the lights approach.

"No, I won't run away, not again."

Bruce knew these were all fake and he had to find a way to break free.

....................................

Turning the page, he returned to the chemical factory. He caught up with the murderer, but he jumped into the pool of chemical raw materials with a strange smile.

"Tell me, tell me what you saw?"

The melted, corroded murderer made a sound from the green goo.

"I......"

He suddenly found that the scene had changed, and he became his grandfather Alan Wayne, who was sitting on a tall building in Gotham, looking at the entire city through a telescope.

Under the special telescope, he saw many buildings in Gotham at night exuding different colors.

"I saw it...hell, they mixed amber gold into the steel at Wayne Steel! The buildings in downtown Gotham are mixed with amber gold, and the buildings are like a mountain range... ....”

Just when he was about to turn around and leave, a man wearing a hood with round glasses suddenly appeared from behind, and stabbed him in the back with a beautiful dagger engraved with an owl, causing blood to fly.

"For the sake of the court! Allen Wayne, you will follow the path we have arranged!"

"No...I will find a way..."

..................................................

Turning the page, he appeared in Gotham during the day.

He was running wildly on the streets in his pajamas. The streets with people and cars were what they looked like in Gotham a few decades ago. At that time, Gotham had just been established and people's lives were very peaceful.

Two policemen carrying wooden batons ran over. They originally planned to catch the pervert, but after recognizing Allen Wayne, their attitude obviously changed.

"Mr. Wayne, is there anything we can do to help you?"

"I...I need to find a door, or a window..."

At this moment, the two policemen suddenly disappeared. Bruce noticed a skirt disappearing into the crowd, which caught his attention.

"Heroine?" He chased after her: "Is that you? Diana?"

Diana disappeared into the sea of ​​people, but her voice rang out from within Bruce.

"It's me, Bruce, hold on. Now we convey our thoughts through the resonance of 'metal'. Slade has promethium and n-metal here. We are coming, hold on..."

Suddenly, a black hole appeared under his feet, and he fell into it, the sound far away from him.

.............................

The story turns another page, and he appears on a spaceship. In the distant universe, you can see that the earth has been shattered. He and Harley Quinn are the only two people left alive.

Some bird-shaped space fighters are chasing them, shooting them with black energy beams.

"Harley? What's going on?"

"Did your head get smashed? You and I ascended the Dark Curtain all to avoid war."

He recalled that he was still trapped in the Dark Multiverse.

"I know, there is a window here, I can go out..."

He broke the glass of the spaceship and jumped.

.............................

The story returns to the starting point, the scene of the murder of the chemical plant director. Gordon and the police were escorting the prisoner, and everyone had smiles on their faces.

But the voice of little granddaughter Janet came from nowhere.

"Grandpa, your case has been solved. Look, Director Gordon gave you a medal, and the mayor, he smiled so happily on TV..."

But Bruce held down the page and did not turn it. The scene still stayed at the murder scene.

"No, dear, this is the real story, the story of the bat and the bird..."

"Batman, who are you talking to?" Chief Gordon turned to look at him. The matter was over and it was time for him to close the team.

"These bloodstains...are from birds."

He turned around and looked at the blood-stained window. The blood stains on the glass gradually turned into the shape of a bat. The faces of the police around him suddenly changed and turned into the Justice League, but he turned a blind eye. He bypassed everyone and walked straight to the window. Heading towards the stairs, he found it.

"Birds are attracted to the reflection of broken glass, and metal will also reflect light. This scene is where I use the blood of my enemies to remind myself that everything before was an illusion, and I will find the real way out of here."

.............................

"Bang!" His granddaughter Janet snatched the storybook and closed it: "No, Grandpa, don't change this story, it's too terrible... I don't want you to..."

"No! I have to find a way! I need the truth!"

The little granddaughter who was acting coquettishly in her arms suddenly turned cold. She turned her head in a weird posture like a clockwork puppet, looking directly at him with bloodshot eyes, her face cracked, and her entire gum exposed.

She spoke in a terrifying voice, like a ship ramming an iceberg on a cold winter night: "Then I'll show you the truth!"