Several months ago, Pamela arrived as promised to transform Schiller's garden. Although mainly altering the plants, the overall structure of the garden needed to be changed as well. It was during that time that Schiller discovered a cellar beneath his manor.
Of course, back then the cellar was just an ordinary one, but after seeing it, Schiller had an extraordinary idea.
When it comes to the intensity of the protagonist's halo, the Batman of the Prime Universe is certainly the strongest, as the world's attention is focused on him, and he is also going to be the main force in dealing with the Mad Laugh.
Therefore, reminding him of certain crises took top priority, and relying on messages from the Magic realm clearly wasn't dependable, since most Magicians were incompetent at doing anything, and Batman was also not adept at deciphering those mystical cryptic messages.
So, Schiller had to find a more straightforward method to remind him, which led to the Four Pillars God Sacrifice Square that Batman saw earlier, built right over Schiller's own cellar.
In a world without Owls, naturally, there wouldn't be an Owl Labyrinth, but Batman didn't know why there were no owls in this world, so let's assume there were.
As an Owl, Schiller was every bit as formidable as Bruce, only he took a different path. Under Bruce's leadership, the Owl was an extremely efficient formal company, whereas the Owl that Schiller pretended to be was an out-and-out heresy.
In the field of religious studies, Schiller also had numerous professional personalities, with the Bishop mentioned during the move being one of them.
Shiller had used religion to conceal his identity for his purposes in his previous life, but his disguise was never done haphazardly; in fact, the disguise was merely incidental, as he had genuinely studied religious studies and theology.
It was for this reason that Schiller was able to set up a religious sacrifice scene so flawless that even Batman couldn't find any faults, which was incredibly difficult because Batman's expertise in religious studies and theology was also high – any slight detail that was off would have been easily noticed.
One could imagine, with Batman's exceptionally long memory, that he would remember every detail of the sacrifice square and would surely sketch them out for repeated comparisons upon returning. The finer points had to be carefully studied to serve as clues; any contradictions would undoubtedly arouse suspicion.
Therefore, Schiller spent several months intricately carving every detail to perfection, from the overall structure to the traces of construction and the potential mistakes that a common person might make when working on the details, bringing everything to an impeccable state.
Next was to lure Batman into the scene. To make him discover the underground square and suspect Barbados without any flaws, it was impossible to simply shout Barbados's name in his ear through a megaphone. It had to be mentioned offhandedly, and yet by an existence with high credibility of life, power strata, and speaking conviction, unrelated to most of the people present at the scene.
During Pamela's garden renovation for Schiller, he naturally set his sights on All Things Green.
But to get All Things Green involved, he had to get Pamela involved first. If Pamela remained so calm and rational, indifferent to everything, she was almost impossible to be hooked.
Pamela had previously described to Schiller her psychological state, but at that time she didn't express any pain. And if a psychological state doesn't cause pain, there's no need to cure it.
However, clearly, academic pressure is a catalyst for all emotional illnesses. Approaching graduation, Pamela's mental state worsened, and what was originally a minor mental issue began to show signs of exacerbation.
Having known Schiller, it was almost impossible for Pamela to turn to any other psychologist. Naturally, she came to Schiller.
Even if it were just a brain issue, Schiller could have used pure psychotherapy to control Pamela's condition. However, since he had the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, he wouldn't refuse.
All Things Green, coerced by Schiller to resolve Pamela's condition, was naturally furious. A little push, and it wouldn't be surprising for an explosion of rage right then and there.
In truth, Schiller had not intended for Batman to injure Pamela. After all, even if she could be healed later, wounds would still hurt, and although Pamela wasn't his direct student, Schiller was unwilling to do such a thing.
But the trouble was, once Pamela was healed, the desires she had repressed were unleashed, turning her not just into a teenager but an exceedingly agitated one.
Schiller really couldn't understand how someone with the superpower of controlling all plants got struck by a dart without Batman, a mere human, exerting even a tenth of his effort.
Of course, although it was an unplanned incident, it was a fortuitous mistake that resulted in an even better outcome. All Things Green raged furiously, wanting to launch an attack in a state of unclear mind.
The sacrifice square Schiller set up might have been fake, but the dark energy Bruce pushed into it was real, one of his misappropriated funds, and it was just left undisturbed underground.
When All Things Green fought, they needed to draw power from the earth through their roots and find the network of plants in the soil to obtain the green element as the source of power.
When it took root in Schiller Manor, it was inevitable that some roots would encounter dark energy. While somewhat inert, if proactively touched and absorbed, its contamination potential was exceptionally strong.
Besides the Emotional Spectrum, colors also exist in the cosmos, green, red, black, grey, and so on. There is no harmony between the different colors, and some have even had earth-shattering conflicts in the past.
The color spectrum is even more exclusive than the Emotional Spectrum, as the Green of All Things Green, representing the element of green, absorbed the black Dark energy. Although it's not quite the same as the black element, it was enough to trouble him for a long time.
Once the Green of All Things Green went mad, all the clever people present could see that this behemoth was not targeting them at all. It was purely lashing out in place.
The skeptical Batman would certainly be the first to look for the cause. If not him, Bruce would. Many of those present knew what kind of person Batman was, so it was not surprising that Batman was the first to find a clue.
The clue, of course, lay on the ground, as the dark energy that Bruce had stuffed into the sacrificial square churned up to the surface after being extracted by the Green of All Things Green, marking, like a prominent signpost, that the problem lay underground.
Once they reached the underground, the appointed official commentators, namely Bruce and Constantine, would act as dedicated tour guides, leading Batman through this historical site and answering his questions about mystic knowledge he had never encountered before.
Strange was not an actor, because if everyone were an actor, it would be too fake. Although Strange's acting was passable, it was far inferior to that of Bruce and Constantine, the embodiment of Gotham's darkness.
Batman indeed noticed the nuances of the sacrificial square. He could see that the meticulously crafted site of heresy clearly contained certain theological laws, signaling a mature cultural system, not something a young Evil God would whimsically conjure up.
Taking into account various sources, Batman continuously raised the threat level of Barbados. By the time they returned to Lex's Half-Mountain Manor, the number of plans and contingencies, and contingencies for contingencies, likely had already exceeded five digits.
After they had gone through all the plans, everyone was amazed, but Shiller still had parts he hadn't disclosed, merely out of consideration for the protagonist's privacy needs.
Loki and Talya were actually just side branches of the plan. Upon hearing Alberto speak of Evans' situation, Shiller knew that Alberto probably didn't want to be the godfather anymore.
But given the current situation in Gotham, even if he wanted to keep being the godfather, he wouldn't last long. It's better to exit gracefully than to suffer disastrous ruin, to do more of what Evans enjoyed so he could settle down.
Therefore, Shiller gave Alberto a hint, and Alberto understood his suggestion: within no more than three days from tonight, the Mob's stronghold would surely suffer.
Those who were smart could see where the Mob's vulnerability lay; therefore, any action taken would be a precise strike. Shiller had hoped that the Green of All Things Green would sweep through the North District Manor, but since Loki brought a better option, there was no need to go the long way around.
One benefit of this approach was that the Green of All Things Green didn't have to move the battlefield, and the buildings in the area could be preserved. Although Gordon had been notified in advance, it was best to minimize the damage.
The method Shiller taught Loki was quite simple: considering your brother's blood pressure, don't bother with any other Thors. Since you want to have a child to distract Frigga, why not find a troublesome mother to unite Asgard against a common enemy, and have a good old child custody battle?
Loki thought this made sense, but finding a troublesome mother would be difficult - he didn't want to repeat the past situation with Hela. The method taught by Shiller, of course, was manipulative seduction.
Everyone harbors evil within, and the battle-hardened assassin Talya was no innocent rabbit. In fact, treating lives as nothing isn't entirely trainable - some people are just not cut out for it, and no amount of brutal training can change that.
Talya's development into what she is today was partly due to her father, but she was not entirely innocent herself. There must be a seed of evil within her, and all Loki needed to do was to rouse it.
Of course, besides character development and acting skills, environment is also key. Loki understood, without needing Shiller to say, that they did not need love, but rather just to stimulate hormones. The best method, other than reacting to visual stimulation, was to use the suspension bridge effect.
According to Shiller's research, the suspension bridge effect isn't simply about using fear to speed up the heartbeat and then confuse the senses. A more dangerous and tense environment instinctively stimulates one's survival instincts and speeds up the release of adrenaline.
Human arousal mechanisms are quite complex, putting aside the physiological aspect, the mental aspect is also influenced by hormones and brain activity. Scientific research has shown that in dangerous situations, both are fully mobilized, to speed up blood flow and enhance bodily vitality.
Not many things could make Talya feel tense and uneasy, and Shiller was the most prominent among them. That's why he personally knocked Talya out and threw her in jail, and her reflections on Shiller's culinary interests to Loki were actually evidence of her being subjected to associative stimulation.
The rest hardly needs to be said. The dungeon collapsed, and Talya had to flee with the injured Loki, just like her flight with Batman in another universe.
And when Shiller saw Loki again, the look on his face told him that the deed was done.
One thing I forgot to mention, Loki added, extending a finger, "Frost Giants can control the number of their offspring, so we decided to have one each."
"So Thor..."
Loki lowered his eyelids with a smile and said,
"A child born to humans and Frost Giants is destined to have defects... the same kind of defects I had once."