"So you resurrected?"
"Initially, I couldn't independently control this body's movements, I just had a vague consciousness, but I am the true master of this body. Eventually, I could control this body when Evans slept."
"I had work to do, so to prevent anyone from discovering, I managed to control Sheldon."
"But in the end, you killed him, why?"
"He was a selfish fool, shortsighted, only looking out for immediate benefits. I originally wanted to use his position to gather Gotham University's students at an Easter banquet and then set off an Easter egg explosion. Those special eggs were all prepared for the students."
"But that fool of a principal thought it would damage his reputation, he didn't use the eggs I gave him. Thus, I had to change my method, selling them in various grocery stores or giving them to Mob bosses."
"Why would you do such a thing? Just to create some chaos?"
"I was conducting an experiment."
The answer from Alberto was unexpected for Batman, but he instinctively asked, "What exactly is the substance in the eggs that can drive people crazy?"
"Eternal Life Factor."
"Eternal... what?"
"It is something that can grant one eternal life, to never die, do you understand?"
Batman remained silent for a moment, looking at Alberto as if he were a fool. Alberto felt his gaze and retorted angrily, "You don't understand at all!! It's what that great power relies on for survival! I have been researching for a long time…"
He took a deep breath, and then with apparent calmness, began to speak, "My contact with them was not in vain, I learned that they relied on something called 'Dionysium' to cultivate those powerful assassins."
"'Dionysium'? What is it?"
"In their narratives, this factor has a wine-like characteristic. It can drive people mad with intoxication, yet also bestow upon them eternal life."
"Using this factor, they created powerful assassins, and I firmly believe that it is the true power from Him, the gifts and rewards given to humanity. I am destined to receive this reward... "
"Give up on your strange and absurd theories. There is nothing in this world that can grant immortality."
Alberto revealed a mad grin, he cast his gaze toward the fissure in the center of the cathedral, where a faint green glow emerged. He said, "Thank you to that priest, thank you to that fool named Evans, I detected something different in this cathedral..."
Batman also looked that way, he said, "Don't tell me, it's beneath the cathedral."
"After the cathedral was damaged, this precious 'Dionysium' began to seep from the crack. I collected some and in the records of that mysterious organization, Dionysium needs to mature before it can be consumed, but I do not know its maturation period."
"So, I had to perform an experiment to find out the answer. I diluted it, turned it into a spray and put it inside the Easter eggs."
"The unripe Dionysium would drive people insane, but it doesn't matter... I got the answer I wanted."
Alberto took a deep breath, he knelt down, staring intently at the light in the crack. He said, "Dionysium needs to ferment and be aged like a fine wine. Tonight, it will ripen, and as long as I can obtain the purest Dionysium, I can live forever..."
Then he looked up at the crucifix in front of the cathedral, his voice trembling slightly as he continued, "Just like Jesus, I will be resurrected this night, and return to heaven, become a deity. Those who have afflicted me shall pay dearly..."
"Quit dreaming." Batman interrupted Alberto's reverie with a cold voice, "First, I think this so-called 'Dionysium' is a hoax, and secondly, I won't give you the chance to obtain it."
"You can't stop me!" Alberto saw, in the increasingly bright moonlight, the green light started to brighten, a strong aroma like that of some ripening fruit started emanating.
He charged forward crazily, trying to jump into the crack.
A bullet hit his shoulder first, and its recoil caused Alberto to fall backward. Then two darts hit his knees, immobilizing him.
Alberto collapsed on the ground, seemingly subdued, but Batman still cautiously did not approach him. He walked around the crack and approached Alberto from behind instead.
Just as he was about to reach Alberto, he saw a cunning smile on Alberto's face from within the shadow of his hair.
Batman retreated immediately, a violent explosion sounded from beneath Alberto. In an instant, the cathedral's floor burst open and the long crack widened to form a large hole. Amidst the flying debris, the cathedral's floor ceased to exist.
Batman stood on the collapsing edge and looked down, and he saw that the cathedral's basement had transformed into a large pool filled with an unknown green liquid. The liquid emitted a faint glow, its scent was kin to a strong liquor, even inhaling a little bit can make one feel lightheaded.
Batman stepped back, shook his head, and only after a gust of wind blew past did he start to feel better.
Since the last fire, Batman had fitted his mask with a gas mask, he slid down his face guard to cover his mouth and nose, then approached and looked into the green pool.
He did not see Alberto's figure, but Batman remembered, during the explosion, Alberto fell down with the collapsing church floor, likely landing in this green pool.
The liquid was too strange, Batman did not dare to handle it rashly. He didn't have suitable salvaging equipment on him so when he was about to turn and leave to prepare the necessary tools, he heard the sound of gurgling bubbles behind him.
Batman turned his head back, he saw a series of bubbles rising to the surface of the glow-emitting green pool, as though something was blowing bubbles from beneath.
Following that, a pale hand stretched out from the edge of the water, Gotham's cold moonlight shining on the back of his hand. The bones and blood vessels were protruding as though it was a mummy's hand.
The moonlight brightened, the wind lightened, and the air around the cathedral seemed to freeze. In this petrifying atmosphere, the crucifix impacted by the explosion collapsed and shattered.
In this long-lasting Easter, Jesus did not resurrect, but died entirely.
Instead, the one who resurrected in madness was Gotham's everlasting nightmare--
"Hahahahahahahahaha!"