The Death Knell

If the style of the corridor on the first floor is a clean and bright modern minimalist style, then as the man steps up the stairs step by step, the surrounding environment is gradually changing. By the time he reaches the seventh floor, everything he sees has almost become indescribable. Weird fantasy style.

More and more mysterious substances appear in the field of vision. They look like the roots of some plants or the blood vessels in the human body. These twisted purple veins climb on the walls and even the ceiling, exuding a purple glow. of light.

This feeling is like walking into a dream from reality. More and more conditions that do not conform to the physical rules of the material world are appearing, such as gravity disturbance, changes in air composition, light distortion, temperature mutations, etc.

But none of this affected Batman. His willpower was extremely strong, and it was wishful thinking to try to make him flinch through some trivial tricks.

"."

He just glanced at the twisting fire pipe as he passed it, but in the end he didn't say anything.

Because he found that this was the third time he had seen this thing, and even the amplitude of its twists had not changed. The purple-colored ground left sticky traces, as if earthworms had passed by.

Batman also knows something about the term 'maze of consciousness'. Perhaps it would be easier to understand in terms of Death Knell from another world, which is the so-called 'ghost against the wall'.

Not only do you encounter this situation when you encounter malicious spirits, but sometimes you also have similar abilities when fighting spellcasters.

So when this scene of infinite looping stairs appeared in Arkham Tower, Batman still had a way to deal with it. His solution was very idealistic, which was to close his eyes, keep moving forward, and believe that he could get out.

This tower was originally designed as a castle tower. It can be said that it is erected as a rectangular parallelepiped with the same width from top to bottom. Therefore, the staircase structure on each floor has not changed. This refers specifically to the fact that there is no change in the material world.

So as long as you remember the height and step angle of the steps on the first few floors, close your eyes and follow each step, you can theoretically replicate the success.

If your feet don't lie to yourself.

Yes, he has realized that the surrounding space is no longer completely the real material world. The power of nightmares is affecting the nearby environment, and many things seem to be illusory.

If you don't lift your feet, but the nightmare gives you the feeling that you have taken a step, then this may lead to you being completely trapped.

But never mind, if it comes to that, the Dark Knight has other backup plans.

He silently counted the number of times he lifted his feet in his mind, turning when he should turn in his memory. Even if he walked thirteen steps to the halfway floor last time and took fourteen steps this time, he didn't waver at all.

Trust your own judgment. The more isolated and helpless you are, the more you must trust yourself.

Around him, the purple roots turned into tentacles and smoke, flying around him, but none of them could catch his neck or wrap around his hind legs.

Just like that, one floor after another, when Batman opened his eyes again, he had reached the 14th floor he had calculated in his mind.

However, the environment here is no longer like the tower corridor, but another world, like a deep forest.

The purple trees are tall and dense, and their branches are twisted and intertwined. The faint moonlight passed through the gaps between the leaves, caressing the earth, and reflected strange scenes.

In the distance, many figures seemed to appear. They were busy working or standing motionless.

Those people wore ancient and strange clothes that contrasted with the purple surrounding them. But when someone came, these strange eyes were like small searchlights, turning around with their heads in an instant, staring at Batman. shining.

Batman stood still, not rushing to judge the direction of travel, he was observing.

He glanced back the way he came, only to find that the stairs had disappeared, replaced by another Arkham Tower.

The scale of this building is stunning, like an extremely huge black tree, and the wavy and twisted spire is like a hand reaching out towards the sky, almost touching the moon.

‘The level of dreams’

Batman turned around. He had no intention of going to the tower because the building was too big and the intention to attract his attention was too obvious. He knew it was a trap at a glance and there was no need to step into it.

What happens when you walk over? Maybe he rolled down the stairs in real life?

When he turned around, he found that the strange black figures working in the forest were gone, and only the quiet sound of wind was left in the forest, caressing the leaves.

But the bats can feel that there is strong malice lurking in the darkness not far away, as if there is something, and they may attack at any time.

However, this may just be used as a way of testing. If Insomnia wants to use this method to stop himself from moving forward, then when he moves in the right direction, something will definitely jump out and block the way.

The truth is this, you are right to go where the enemy does not want you to go.

With the corners of his mouth curled downward, Batman chose a direction with the most evil thoughts and took his steps.

There is a sea of ​​purple flowers at his feet, but when you look down, you will find that the big flowers are like twisted grimaces. Skeletons and bones are densely scattered among the flowers. These human bones have The mottled flesh and blood seemed to have been eaten by something, but the bones did not have the weathered appearance of being chewed clean.

In this regard, the Dark Knight said nothing. Such an environment could not even cause a single ripple in his heart.

Because he felt the familiar darkness and madness here. He was Batman, and he was at home in this environment, just like a carrion beetle doesn't care who is dumped in a mass grave, or how miserable the death is. They are just doing the job given by nature.

"Don't leave, Batman, you can't make it, hee hee!" At this moment, a figure flashed out from behind a tree in front of him. The shaking of his head and the flaming red lips on his pale face already showed that he was Identity: "I'm doing this for your own good, why bother with the nightmare?"

"." Regarding the clown disguised by Nightmare, or the illusion of the clown, Batman didn't bother to answer a word.

"I know you have accepted the reality, but many people cannot accept it. What I do is to let everyone clearly understand their inner desires, realize what salvation is in the dark side of this world, and find the only way to That unique and eternal peace that is all your own.”

The fake Joker followed Batman and jumped around him like the real thing, harassing him like a flea.

"Death from a nightmare that you can't wake up from is not peaceful." Batman has determined the direction he is going. This fake does not intend to let himself go to the 11 o'clock position on the left front, where the door should be: "So... get out of here. .”