When Harley swung hard backwards, she was shocked to find that there was nothing there.
However, the three present heard the words mixed with a chilling cold that appeared and disappeared behind the flute sound of the Far North. And when it dissipated, the clouds over the Himalayas finally cleared to reveal an even deeper, beautiful and terrifying starry sky.
"I heard..." Little Bruce barefooted walked to the door, then opened the window on the corridor, shouting into the empty valley, "I see you, I know your name, respond to my call, from that huge dark room, from your Ebony Palace..."
The next second, Little Bruce felt himself thrown to the ground, his head spinning as Barry frantically grabbed his shoulder, Harley emotionlessly standing beside him. Barry shook Bruce earnestly, saying, "Wake up! Bruce! You nearly jumped out of the window of the corridor! What happened to you?"
"He's been bewitched." Harley's indifferent voice came in, followed by a sigh, she said, "Just like those students who attacked in the school, he was bewitched by that creature."
"He's not a monster." Little Bruce, who lay on the floor, looked dazedly at the ceiling and said, "He is an outside dancer and singer who worships the Dark II, blind, dumb, foolish..."
"Dark II?" Barry sharply caught onto the terminology, then his eyes and mouth widened in surprise as he exclaimed, "'The door to the secret room has been opened, beware those who oppose the successor!'???"
He stared at Little Bruce Wayne, while Harley held that piece of paper, silently telling herself, "So that's why you had me write that sentence on the wall, huh? Who exactly lives in that so-called Dark II, filled with the incessant screaming of flutes and rumble of drums, and where countless godly spirits dance?"
The grey whirlpool let out a sigh.
"Answer me." Repeated Harley.
"Truth demands a price."
"What do you want?"
"Your friend Bruce Wayne has responded to the call of the stars: Nyarlathotep, one of the three gods, has left an old mark on him, allowing him a glimpse into that mysterious palace. You must defeat him, send this terrifying Outer God back to his palace."
"Who is Nyarlathotep?"
"Go back and get your book, it has all his secrets... all of ours."
Nyarlathotep did not appear on the screen, but from Little Bruce's actions and words, everyone could see that some mysterious entity was influencing him.
The Book of the Dead and the words Professor Shiller was saying in his office appeared almost simultaneously.
"In the depths of the stars, there is a group of mysterious beings. People call them Outer Gods, but they call themselves fan gods. They sing and dance around a huge dark room, with the sound of flutes and drums, everything is mad and joyful. To humans, there are countless unknown fears..."
"Nyarlathotep, the 'Nameless Fog' and the chaos in 'Chaos', he lives in the Ebony Palace in the Far North, with flute players playing music for him. He is almost the only rational one among the Outer Gods that can be understood by humans, and he is nearly the most purposeful among all blind and foolish gods. He more closely resembles the tempting demons in human mythology..."
"No wonder," Zatanna touched her chin and said, "Like you said before, the assailants in the school attacks had a purpose. They weren't entirely crazy, their heads weren't at all mixed up, they could even rationally control magic. They were most likely blinded, specifically blinded."
"We were also blinded by him." Bruce shook his head gently and said, "Remember the tentacles behind Jennifer Maw? Everything is about recognition. I think this is the characteristic of this deity system."
"If you were this insightful in psychology, your professor would be very pleased." Shiller gave a small smile and said, "But you're correct, human understanding of them is indeed the greatest influence they can exert on humans."
"Once humans really comprehend them, they will inevitably be affected by them. Most Outer Gods are not interested in whether humans perceive them. Like stars hanging in the sky, whether humans see them or not, they will continue to exist eternally."
"But Nyarlathotep is an exception, he likes to consciously disguise himself, leading humans to recognize a side of him without realizing it. Humans will then be bewitched by him, work for him."
"Does he need the faith of humans?"
"Absolutely not." Shiller shook his head and said, "But you all must understand, not everyone does things expecting something in return, some people just want to watch the world burn."
Instantly, all eyes were tightly focused on Shiller.
But Shiller had no shame at all. On the contrary, he seemed to enjoy the attention. He stretched out his arms, like an artist introducing his own works, and said, "To make the world go mad, to make all tragic art focus on you, and burn more fiercely because of your existence, is a supreme pleasure that cannot be put into words."
"As for Nyarlathotep, he can do more. He kindles his own flame of tragic art in every rational and wise race, making them burn even more fiercely."
"But his actions are far from noble." Miss Pamela, her arms crossed, voiced her dissatisfaction, "Twisting students' cognition, causing them to fall into madness to attack others, what kind of art is this? It's downright absurd!"
"So how do you think it should be done? Miss Pamela?" Shiller, with no anger at his narrative being interrupted, just squinted and gave a smile, curiously looking at Pamela.
"He should look for the real storytellers among the students. I can see that many of them experienced unimaginable tragedies before starting this pilgrimage."
Pamela's voice grew solemn as her gaze hinted that she seemed to have entered another world. She said, "They have obtained their stubborn convictions from these tragic stories. This means that no cognitive distortion is needed at all. A little guidance, and stubborn conviction would turn into the best stick for the fire of madness."
Harley's notes appeared quickly on the second page of the Book of the Dead, right below the information about Nyarlathotep, she wrote quickly with flamboyant pens.
"The poor will do everything to gain wealth, the lonely will offer all they have for companionship, those who have lost will disregard all laws to get it back, the superfluous will throw away even when at a dead-end——this is the best way to drive people into madness, it's not about grandeur, it doesn't need magic, madness that can be achieved by humans, is the best madness."
"Then prove yourself to him, I will be watching.
"That will suffice."
Harley finished the last stroke of the word and closed the book without any hesitation, while Helen was standing behind her.
"You've opened it."
"And more than that."
As Harley turned around, grey-blue tendrils crawled out from the dark pupils at the center of her brown eyes.
"I've made a pact with him, not just him, but them."
"You're absolutely insane, Harley Quinn!" Helen came forward and looked into Harley's eyes, "Do you know what you're doing? That's a mysterious, ancient entity that even The Ancient One might not be able to handle... You even... You've even entered a pact with Xeseon! He's no good person either!"
"He is a waste"
Helen was speechless. She took a deep breath, put her hands on her hips, and moved her gaze to the book next to Harley. She walked up to the table and then said, "Well, in that case, tell me what this book is all about and what it has to do with the campus attacks…"
This time, it was Barry's turn to dream.
In his dream, he saw many bubbles. Some consciousness told him that they were individual universes, shattering one after another due to countless time reversals and space travels.
"Can you feel this great power?" A voice asked.
"I only think you are cruel," Barry instinctively answered.
"It's not cruelty. The power contributed to me by my countless counterparts from many universes allows me to do even greater things. You should join me too."
"I think you've got me wrong. I don't even know who you are."
"But you have a certain talent."
"I'm just an ordinary person."
"One who traverses universes?"
In an instant, his dream turned upside down. Barry found himself standing in an endless starry space, and under his feet… was a book.
A gigantic book floated in the starry sky and became solid ground. The book's pages contained many mysterious words, but Barry could hardly make out any of them. He only knew that this huge book, emitting a strange red light, was the only thing that kept him from falling.
"Splatter."
An elegant afternoon tea round table, two Victorian-style single-person sofas, a set of exquisite white porcelain tea sets and steaming tea fell onto the center of the page. Barry found himself sitting in a chair, and the chair across from him turned around, causing Barry to exclaim.
"Professor Strange?!"
"Oh? Have you already met the me from that universe? Under what circumstances? In that ridiculous Magic Academy?" Another Strange, his skin slightly pale, revealed a sneer and asked.
Barry tightly leaned against the soft leather chair back, he swallowed and said, "You aren't Professor Strange! Who are you? What do you want to do with me here?"
"Calm down, kid. This is just your dream, and I just happened to dreamwalk here."
"Just happened?!"
"Well, it's not that simple." This strange Strange poured himself a hot cup of tea, picked up the cup with his fingers, sipped the tea, and said, "Your universe is a bit peculiar, almost reaching the limit of my dreamwalking. This implies that you are very far away, but it might also imply that there exists a greater force brewing here. Are you willing to reveal this secret for me?"
"Do I look willing to you?!"
Barry seemed to suddenly explode. He sat up straight, like an angered lion, roared at Strange opposite him, "I just received an acceptance letter to attend school. I thought I'd meet kind teachers and classmates, learn knowledge I'll need in the future, or at least experience the wonder of magic!"
"But what am I doing now?! I'm in a room six thousand meters above sea level, listening to a lunatic talk about the Dark II's nonsense! People keep getting attacked at school, and I only know two people here, both of whom appear to be planning to duel at the competition!"
Barry grabbed his hair in frustration and shouted.
"And now are you about to tell me that you want to form a pact with me and then have me kill everything?!"
"Um, I…"
"Alright, I'm willing! Let's sign!"