The face in the shadow was not clear, but the exaggerated grin of the Joker was particularly prominent. He chuckled softly and said, "Nock, nock... Thief, guess what, the owner of this house is back."
"You..."
Arthur's eyes suddenly contracted, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his face. He recognized the Joker before him. "You're Bruce? You're alive and have become the Joker?"
"Hahaha..." The Joker let out a strange laugh, almost falling from above. "That's a strange name. Do you know, the last person who called me that, he... let me think, you should have met him, right? That poor old butler."
Arthur was still in shock. He had considered many possibilities, but he had never thought that his long-deceased brother, Bruce Wayne, would not only come back to life but also become the Joker.
It was truly ironic. He, the Joker, had become Batman, while Batman had become the Joker. Such absurdity could only exist in a bizarre dream, right?
With heavy Joker makeup on his face, Bruce laughed and added, "By the way, I don't go by the name Joker. You can call me—The Batman who laughs. Because I was supposed to be Batman, but you stole that from me, so this is all I've got left."
"The Batman who laughs..." Arthur shook his head abruptly. "No, this can't be real... Bruce, what happened? I saw you buried with my own eyes..."
"What's so surprising about that? If even you can become Batman, then what happened to me is not surprising at all." The Joker, or rather, Bruce, leaped down from above.
Arthur could now see his long-lost brother up close. His upper face was covered with sharp iron spikes for protection, while the lower half was painted with red lips, with an exaggerated and crazy smile, reminiscent of the Joker.
Despite the drastic change, Arthur could still vaguely see traces of the cute and smart Bruce Wayne he once knew in this eccentric figure.
"Arthur, my dear brother, you really should think about what made someone who should have been sleeping peacefully in the grave climb out and stand up again. Really, you should ponder this question."
Bruce gestured while scrutinizing Arthur from side to side, marveling, "Batman, oh Batman."
"You're filled with hatred!" Arthur took a deep breath and stared at him. "You hate me for taking away your rightful identity and honor... but why did you hurt Alfred? Do you know he feels guilty every moment for not being able to save you that night? Do you know how he risked being consumed by flames to rescue both of us from the fire? Bruce, no matter what, you shouldn't have laid a hand on him!"
"Ah, such a kind soul, You are right, but there is a question - why did you survive in the end, but I was sent to the grave?." Bruce put his hands on his hips and grinned crazily: "Arthur, you are half right, hatred can only make me climb out of the grave, but what supports me and stands in front of you - is chaos and madness! You know, from the moment I saw you, I saw the darkness and chaos deep in your heart. I should have been afraid, but I was inexplicably attracted, because I found that such chaos is so beautiful and the darkness is so intimate, so I choose to embrace it! "
"You were bewitched by the Joker, Bruce!" Arthur's expression became more complicated when he heard this. He felt that the root of all this tragedy might be himself.
"Hehehe... Joker?" Bruce seemed to hear a funny joke and laughed so hard he couldn't straighten up. "Arthur, you really don't understand the Joker at all. What do you think the Joker is? Is it you, or me, or some specific person? No, no, no, the chaos is the Joker, the Joker is a virus. As long as chaos breeds, he will appear. Everyone has the potential to become the Joker, you, me, Commissioner Gordon, Alfred... Arthur, you were supposed to be the ideal candidate, but you gave up, and more importantly, I'm more suitable than you. It's a mutual choice!"
Arthur was stunned. He remembered the night when he fell ill and saw countless Jokers...
At that time, his Joker self had also told him: You don't really understand the Joker.
Indeed, Arthur didn't understand enough. Before entering this world, he had not completed the transformation yet. Even though he was stimulated by the video exposure of the Quiz game, he still failed to become the Joker.
And when he came to this bizarre world and regained his sanity and thinking as a normal person, Arthur instinctively began to reject the option of the Joker.
So, the Joker virus, or the chaos factor, targeted the young Bruce Wayne. Rendered and transformed him into the Batman who laughs at present.
Arthur finally understood why the darkness and chaos in his heart had disappeared, because they had all gone to Bruce Wayne.
He clenched his teeth and said in a deep voice, "Bruce, you're Batman... How could you fall into becoming the Joker? Forget about that fire, I've already avenged you and your parents..."
Bruce's loud laughter interrupted him, "Hahaha, enough, Arthur. Look at yourself now, do you remember anything about your own fate? What right do you have to say such things? Think about your performance in the quiz game, how you mock Gordon and Batman?
Do you know, it's not surprising that Batman becomes the Joker, but it's truly a joke for the Joker to become Batman! Because that will always be a clumsy imitation!"
Arthur fell silent, and then he heard the other person laughing and saying, "Oh, one more thing — about that night of the fire, guess what I did?"
"You!" Arthur suddenly widened his eyes, a bizarre speculation arose in his heart, shaking his head, "No, this can't be!"
"Why can't it be? Arthur, whether it's Gotham or Wayne, I've had enough of this kind of evil, hypocrisy. Burn it all to ashes, what else could be more satisfying than that?" Bruce's mocking words were like sharp blades, deeply piercing into Arthur's heart.
He never expected that Bruce had a hand in that fire that night.
Now, thinking back, there were indeed many suspicious points about that fire, even though it was later confirmed that the League of Shadows orchestrated everything. However, the process went too smoothly. When Arthur reconstructed the scene based on the point of origin of the fire, he felt as if there was a mole in the mansion.