Constantine was even more astonished, he said: "Satan! How could you have become so weak?! ... No, could it be that you've already… wait, wait…"
Constantine hurriedly picked up the cigarette at his feet, then threw it across the road, feeling uneasy, he ignited a cluster of flames in his hand, rubbed it into a fireball, and smashed it at the cigarette, until it was completely burnt to ash, he finally felt relieved.
Constantine knew that he couldn't stimulate Bruce with violence. So, he helped Bruce up from the ground, held him over to the steps nearby, then knelt down in front of him and said with his hands on his shoulders:
"Bruce, I know, you think I'm a person who can't be relied on, okay, I admit, I'm a rotten person, I got addicted to drugs when I was 14, just for fun, you know, it's what my peers were doing."
"I'm not like you, I wasn't born in a rich neighborhood, my parents didn't care for me, from a young age I hung out with a bunch of bad influences, they took me to do these things, I also found it interesting..."
"Yes… yes… it was nice at first, God, I thought I could laze around on the couch all day, but back then, I was too young. Just like you, I didn't realize how dangerous it really was…"
Constantine let go of his hands, then placed them on his knees, saying: "No matter who introduced you to this stuff, there is still time for you to stop."
Constantine took a puff from the cigarette in his hand, then snapped his fingers, exhaling a cloud of smoke.
Suddenly, a phantom of a demon appeared on the street in front of him. Constantine walked over, pointed at it and said, "See, I can summon a physical demon, that's the courage I have to do these rotten things."
"If someday I don't want to be this rotten anymore, I can sell my soul, to trade for decades of peaceful life, but Bruce... Bruce... look at me..."
Constantine cupped Bruce's head with both hands, turned it towards him and said: "Can you summon demons? Do you have magical talent? Can you turn back time and start everything over?"
"If you can't, then don't do this!"
"But everyone here is doing this." Bruce looked at the lights on the street ahead and said: "They treat this stuff as medicine, to heal their incurable diseases. People selling it really think of themselves as doctors, and those ingesting it really consider it as medicine."
Constantine fell silent, as he finally understood what Bruce was saying. He asked, "Are you feeling sympathy for these people? You think they can't afford medicine, so they have to resort to this. Are you feeling sad because of this?"
Then, Constantine saw Bruce smile. The cigarette in Constantine's hand fell to the ground. As the ashes hit the ground, they looked like radiant fireworks.
"No, I'm happy…" Bruce's lips began to tremble, he sped up his talking in excitement, "I'm happy that I'm in the midst of it, striving to become one of them…"
Although Constantine didn't understand this analogy, he could read Bruce's current state, because he could see straight to the soul. He squatted down again in front of Bruce, hugged his knees, lowered his head and said:
"Batman, do you know why I'm trying to stop you from doing this?"
Bruce looked at him, without any questions in his eyes, but his gaze was very focused. He was now better at listening to others.
Constantine moved his hand and said, "I know, it might be a bit cheesy to say this, but I've been living for so many years, rotten for so many years, and you're the first one to genuinely want to save me."
"Did you know? I was very confused at first about it." Constantine sighed, "I truly could not understand why you felt this need to save me."
"Of course, there are people in this world who saved my life first, intending to take advantage of the debt of gratitude. They all know what kind of abilities I have, some people want to be my friends just for immortality, some people show me kindness, just for me to kill for them."
"It's not hard to see through these emotions, because I can directly see a person's soul. I can distinguish whether you're lying and I can tell your feelings while you're saying those words...yes, I can read minds."
"But when I first read your soul, I found out that you genuinely wanted to save me, and your reason for saving me was because you wanted to save everyone in this world."
"I was stunned because you were serious." Constantine stared into Bruce's blue eyes, looking as if he was gazing at the ocean floor. Through the soul, he was speaking to the little boy lying under the dark tide, he said:
"You shouldn't be this kind, what you've gotten from this society is far less than what you've given, so I was very surprised."
Yet, Bruce shook his head, saying: "Hasn't society given me enough? Endless wealth, favorable living conditions, the confidence of not having to worry about livelihood…"
Constantine paused for a moment, then said: "But this is not what society has given you, this is what God has given you, you couldn't choose where you were born, and nobody in this society has control over that either."
"...while holding these things, I had a very long dream. In my dream, I turned into a bat, hanging high in the attic, worrying about my mission for revenge…"
Constantine's gaze softened a bit as he watched Bruce, he asked: "Are you feeling guilty for not having saved the world sooner?"
"No, I just find it funny." Bruce showed a very stiff smile, as if his facial muscles weren't accustomed to him making this expression. He said:
"While I stayed in the house, the masters here were dying by the thousands, and I was just sleeping in the attic, moved by the logic in my dreams."
"During that time, many people made a big noise to wake me up, saying I should get a grip, but I said they were crazy."
"The masters of the house couldn't bear it anymore, they kicked me out. I always failed to understand them, thinking they were so foolish, shortsighted and easily swayed by rumors."
"I told myself, I didn't need that house, I would stand on the roof and save them. After discovering that did not work, I found a small door and sneaked back in."
"Then, I finally uncovered the truth. It wasn't that they didn't take life seriously, or that they were used to treating everything like a game, laughing frivolously and absurdly."
"But rather, ordinary people's lives are filled with such absurdities and ridiculous occurrences. Nothing is completely in their control, so how should they face suffering?"
Bruce stared into Constantine's eyes. The light from the street lamp reflected in his eyes, like the sunset over Gotham, he said:
"They can't cry, because crying is too draining…"
"So, what else can they do besides laughing?"