When Shiller opened his eyes again, he saw a pair of white wings. Through the blurred vision, the ceiling of the room didn't resemble the one in the world he knew. Before Shiller could fully wake, Lucifer's voice echoed in his ear.
"Shiller, your madness has once again shattered my perceptions. Do you even know what you've done?!"
Shiller slowly opened his mouth, feeling a profound exhaustion. Lucifer waved his hand, and a light fell on Shiller. He sighed, approaching the bed and said, "This is Satan's palace, my bedroom."
"And Death?" asked a somewhat dizzy Shiller. He coughed lightly, "And that Fate with a book, is he not here either?"
Lucifer's face suddenly changed. He stared at the pale-faced Shiller on the bed and said, "You're not planning on revenge against those two, are you? You can't be."
Lucifer leaned over, staring into Shiller's eyes, "Don't tell me, you actually knew what you were doing. You didn't plan this, did you?"
Shiller, feeling stiff all over, only managed to shift his gaze to Lucifer and said, "What do you think?"
Lucifer gritted his teeth, cursed under his breath, and stared at Shiller's face, "Why would you do this? Do you harbor that great a grudge against them?"
"Tell me first, what happened?" Shiller slowly asked.
"The Prime Universe has been rebooted," Lucifer answered snappily.
"You transported the soul of Batman from the Prime Universe into your Thought Palace and then killed yourself. The door of your Thought Palace was closed, and Gray Mist couldn't save you in time. So, you died, and the Primary Universe Batman, tangled with your soul, also died."
"When Death came, she was at least stunned for two minutes. She couldn't understand why one death had two victims, one of whom was the absolutely unkillable Primary Universe Batman."
"The Joker couldn't accept it—he personally facilitated for another Joker to live and die with Batman, and promptly had a mental breakdown. His soul nearly shattered into tens of thousands of pieces."
"Now, both Batman and Joker from the Prime Universe are all gone, and the plotline has ended."
Lucifer grew more irate with each word, his chest rising and falling rapidly. He took several deep breaths to calm himself before saying, "Shiller, don't tell me you didn't know the plotline couldn't end like this!"
Yet, Shiller suddenly started to chuckle. Although weakened by his soul condition, he continued laughing until he was out of breath.
"The Joker wins again," a sentence emerged from the laughter. Shiller coughed lightly, "The vengeance Batman couldn't exact, Joker did it for him. Joker has won again…"
"You madman!" Lucifer, gripping his own hair, nearly hissed, "How could you go mad like this?!! "
"You barely spent three days there, and managed to kill both Batman and Joker of that universe! The continuation of the storyline prematurely ended! The timeline collapsed into a chaotic mess, and God had to step in and restart the universe! Death, Fate, and I all got scolded!"
"How did God scold all of you?" asked Shiller, still maintaining his smile. His amusement was apparent.
"'Three gods can't watch a single human!'" Lucifer angrily stared at Shiller, "You acted too quickly! By the time the story line collapsed, I didn't even have time to reverse time! You did it on purpose, you madman!"
"Calm down." Shiller reached out, lightly stroking Lucifer's wing.
Lucifer whooshed his wings back and watched Shiller cautiously, undeterred by Shiller's tender gesture.
He had just discovered that Shiller's "tender moments" were simply a prelude to causing big trouble. Just days ago, he had adjusted the Batman family affairs, treating Jason's illness, and counseling Batman's psychology, yet the very next day, Shiller had wrecked the Prime Universe.
"If I weren't fast enough, how could I baffle you omniscient and omnipotent beings and prevent you from intervening?" Shiller slowly replied.
"Terrified you a bit, didn't it? Threw you into panic? Who was it who forced me into the Book of Destiny thus disrupting my peaceful life, forcing me to live in another universe?"
"Arrogant, Greed, was right to say! You are the most petty among all Shillers!" Lucifer gritted his teeth, "Is this necessary?!!"
"We are all arrogant. I think you should learn from me. For saving me, I could teach you everything I know…"
"No need!"
Lucifer let out an exasperated breath, helped Shiller up, and had him lean against the bed headboard. He then said in irritation, "The bad news is, you've been banned by the Prime Universe, you will never be able to go there again."
Shiller shot him a frosty look, but Lucifer, spreading his hands, said, "Don't look at me, I wasn't the one who did it."
After finishing his words, Lucifer extended a hand, and a small speck of light appeared in it, evidently the Prime Universe from his narration.
At that moment, a ring of text, brighter than the lighting pixel, encircled it— "Shiller and all other Shillers are not allowed in!"
Shiller nonchalantly nodded his head, appearing completely indifferent. But at that time, Lucifer leaned in close and whispered to him, "God sent Gabriel there to watch over that place, which was also the universe he rebooted."
"But I know you hate reboots. Don't look at me like that. I know about the mess you made in another universe because of a reboot. So, Batman's memories have been retained. He still remembers you."
Shiller shifted his gaze back, staring at Lucifer, "So, you're trying to distance yourself from them?"
Lucifer sighed, "Before meeting you, I thought that being omniscient and omnipotent would enable me to control everything in all the universes. Now, I realize that being omniscient and omnipotent is not enough. To control madness, one needs to be madder than madness itself."
"But I'm not at all interested in the insanity you lot harbour, and I don't want to descend into madness myself. So, for my sake, since I've been so good to you, don't mess with us, and don't mess with this universe!"
Lucifer looked sincerely at Shiller, his face seemingly etched with the phrase, "Our temple is small, can't you just go wreak havoc next door?"
Shiller closed his eyes slowly and said, "The Prime Universe has blacklisted me. I can't return there. But do you really think it's all over?"
"I vaguely recall an angel having ambiguous connections with the magic families in our universe, sending someone to blow up my bookstore. I remember a miserable mage tearing himself in half just to scare me. I recall that someone locked the door of the Thought Palace when I travelled to another universe..."
Lucifer's expression stiffened. He was indeed the real Satan, but when Shiller's light, humorous voice echoed in his ears, it was all too reminiscent of a devil's whisper.
"And you, my friend, I know you would save me. So, I've prepared a gift for you. Watch. Soon someone will come begging you."
When Batman opened his eyes, he found himself in his bedroom. He opened his mouth to utter a name, but suddenly found that he was unable to pronounce the syllables.
Batman's eyes widened slightly, but he soon furrowed his brows, his mouth curling downwards to reveal a classic expression of doubt.
Just as he stepped out, Alfred approached him, saying, "Master, your assistant just called. The Lincoln March you met at the conference yesterday is interested in discussing investments in Gotham City. He's waiting in the guestroom of the Wayne building. Would you like to go?"
Batman's eyebrows quivered lightly, and he asked calmly, "Alfred, what's the date today?"
"Today is the 23rd, sir. If it's not convenient, I can call back and inform them that you're busy today."
"That's not necessary. Get my clothes and car ready."
A few hours later, the Batman who returned from the Wayne building confirmed that time had reset, but his memories hadn't.
As soon as he returned, he bumped into Jason, who had come to pick up some stuff. From Jason's expression, Batman knew he didn't remember Shiller; otherwise, he would've immediately queried about his relationship with Shiller.
After returning to his room, Batman didn't stay. He immediately changed his clothes, gathered his gear, and went to his study. Then, from a drawer, he pulled out a brand new notebook and began to write with a pen.
First, he tried the English spelling of Shiller, "Schiller", and when there was no response, he then tried the German spelling, "Schiele".
Sure enough, as he drew the first arc of the first letter, he found that he could not continue the stroke.
Batman's hand exerted a little force, but it seemed an irresistible force was blocking his pen strokes. Batman squinted his eyes, the corners of his mouth curling downwards even more.
"No one can stop me because I am Batman."
Batman instinctively uttered these words, then his writing was smooth for a moment, but the next second, with a crackling sound, sparks flew, and the pen flew out of Batman's hand.
Batman wasn't startled. He quietly picked up another pen and started to write, but this time he didn't start with that name but with the sentence "Because I am Batman".
Sure enough, starting to write that name went smoothly this time, but when he finished the first letter, he couldn't continue. Batman contended with that power, and the end result was the pen would be knocked away.
Batman scoffed disdainfully and slowly walked to the bookshelf, pressing a button. With a clattering noise, the bottom shelf toppled like a falling box, revealing over twenty thousand pens.
After several hours, the study was filled with crumpled paper and scattered pens.
Finally, as Batman picked up another pen, a golden glow flashed, and a weary angel appeared in the corner of the room. She extended a hand toward Batman, saying, "Stop!"
"Stop writing, Batman! I beg you! It's for your own good and the good of this universe. Stop writing that madman's name!"
Batman gave her a brief glance, then looked down at the pen in his hand and uttered a single word, firm and steady: "Illusion."
And then he picked up the pen and started writing again.
Gabriel was on the verge of despair, shouting, "It's not an illusion! I'm not an illusion! I am an angel! Can't you see my wings?! You two damned lunatics!!!!!!"
Batman paid her no mind.
Gabriel extended a hand, wanting to use magic to stop Batman, but after Batman uttered, "Because I am Batman," all her magic became worthless.
Finally, Gabriel covered her face with her hands, murmuring in frustration, "Lucifer... Lucifer!! Please, I beg you, think of something, Lucifer!!!"
"Fine, fine, I told you, you're in cahoots with that madman. Dammit, Lucifer, you won that battle by the Holy Spring! Is that enough? Hurry and figure something out!"
"Don't you dare cross the line, Lucifer..."
Gabriel gritted her teeth. But soon, Batman began writing that name again, and the seal hanging over the universe began to totter.
Seconds later, Gabriel's despairing cries echoed across several universes-
"Brother!!!!!!"