"It's all your fault, you damn parasite! Now we're stuck here, trapped and can't get out!!!" Barry gritted his teeth, using the most fierce tone he could muster up in his mind.
He found himself in a dark hallway, with broken patterns on the walls, and the ground beneath him was damp. Each step he took echoed through the silent, eerie labyrinth, sending chills down his spine.
Hugging his arms, Barry slowly moved forward, "I told you we should have taken the chance to climb out when we had it. Now the exit above us is blocked. Which way should we go now?"
"Why are you such a coward?!" Doctor Strange's voice echoed coldly in his mind, "To gain power, one must pay a price."
"I didn't come here for power," Barry replied tersely. "There's a highly dangerous energy core underground in Gotham City. I suspect it has something to do with Gotham's darkness. If someone is up to something, I have to know what they're planning."
"All right, righteous young man, turn left now. I can sense the energy traces getting stronger on the left. I think we're almost there."
After parting ways with Harley and Little Bruce, Barry was on a mission to find Batman in this universe. His aim was for Batman to find a way to send him back, and, ideally, to banish the strange voice in his head that had been driving him insane with its constant evil schemes.
At that moment, Doctor Strange showed Barry the magical flow from his perspective. For some reason, Doctor Strange, who possessed the Book of Dark God, was highly sensitive to the concept of darkness. Even in another universe, like a hunting dog with a keen sense of smell, he immediately detected the unusual traces of power within Gotham City.
However, his line of thinking differed from the others. While everyone else studied the dark energy within the metal, resolving to accumulate bit by bit, Doctor Strange, who had absorbed countless others of his kind, wished to directly obtain the greatest source of darkness. He then informed Barry that beneath Gotham was likely a highly dangerous energy source.
He wasn't lying. Barry knew that what he saw through Doctor Strange's perspective was real. He hadn't intended to risk his life initially, intending only to relay this information to Batman. But after searching around the city and finding no sign of Batman, coupled with the fact that the dark energy underground had begun fluctuating, he had to act independently.
Not knowing when the huge bomb of magic energy would explode, or if Batman would arrive in time to defuse it, Barry felt the need to take a look firsthand. Even if he couldn't defuse it, he could provide Batman with crucial information in time.
Thus, under Doctor Strange's guidance, Barry found one of the entrances to the Owl Labyrinth within Gotham's cemetery, and successfully entered the labyrinth.
The labyrinth that could confine Batman surely trapped an unawakened Flash with ease. Barry soon lost his way, and as soon as it triggered, the labyrinth's ceilings closed. He had tried to seize the opportunity to climb up, but the walls were too slippery, and he wasn't tall enough. After missing his chance, the labyrinth's ceiling came down once again, leaving him trapped inside.
After enduring the series of misadventures, Barry wasn't the same ordinary boy who'd scream at the top of his lungs anymore. During his rigorous practice in the Karmatige Magic Academy, he had touched upon the threshold of Divine Speed, but was unable to further develop it due to the absence of such power in the original universe.
Now that he was back in the DC Universe, whenever Barry focused his mind, he could feel everything around him slowing down. This symptom became more severe over time. Initially he could only maintain this state for one or two seconds before being mentally exhausted, but with just a small concentration of his mind, the sound of water dripping in the labyrinth slowed down dramatically, to several minutes per drop, although it had previously been dripping every second.
And Barry found that under this kind of condition, the strange voice in his head was unable to disturb him. When he was in a trance for more than ten minutes, it only resulted in a few seconds passing in the outside world, providing him with more time to ponder.
"We should be heading this way. Keep moving forward, it looks like there's a door ahead." Doctor Strange's voice continued to sound in Barry's mind, but as usual, there was no response. He had to start shouting, "Barry! Barry! Wake up! Stop daydreaming!"
Barry finally snapped back to reality and took another step forward. Doctor Strange's voice expressed surprise in his mind, "What's the matter with you? Why are you zoning out for longer and longer periods?"
"It's nothing, it might just be that the environment here is making me feel a bit uncomfortable." Barry rubbed his arms to warm them and exhaled a cold breath. He then started walking towards the great door at the end of the dark labyrinth hallway.
It was a grand and massive wooden door, similar to the drawbridge of a castle with two huge door rings being bit by dragon heads, their eyes sparkling with strange lights.
"I can feel a tremendous dark power inside. Go in, our success or failure hinges on this."
Barry slowly pushed open the door. He thought it would be heavy, but it was not like the doors of ancient tombs that hadn't been opened for centuries. Rather, it was a door to a room that was frequently used. Although Barry had to use some strength, he managed to push the door open just enough to squeeze through.