Batman carefully observed the hole in front of him.
It wasn't that the hole was particularly noteworthy, but Batman felt as though he had seen it somewhere before, especially when he leaned closer to look down into it. The bewitching and dizzying sensation reminded him of another hole.
Batman had visited Dr. Shiller's psychic battlefield, and he knew about a hole on the ground of Shiller's Thought Palace which looked just like this one. According to Shiller, that hole led to the Kingdom of Dreams.
So was this also a passage to the Kingdom of Dreams?
Batman did not believe this hole was made by Shiller, for Shiller had his own pathway to the Kingdom of Dreams and had no need to create another here. It was very likely that this was the work of King Robin.
This explained one of Batman's earlier conundrums: how King Robin knew that Arkham Batman had once killed the Joker.
He couldn't have known in advance that there would definitely be a Batman in some universe who had done such a thing, and even if he did, how could he have picked out Arkham Batman so quickly from the vast cosmos using the Exhaustion Method?
But if it was through the Kingdom of Dreams, then everything made sense. As Shiller had said, there were no secrets in the Kingdom of Dreams; all of humanity would be reflected in dreams that mirrored their subconscious.
The matter with the Joker infiltrating the mind must have kept Arkham Batman from sleeping well for a long time. Dreams were beyond his control, so perhaps information related to his dreams had long been present in the Kingdom of Dreams and had fallen into King Robin's hands.
Another question arose: how did King Robin get into the Kingdom of Dreams?
Batman didn't know the extent of Shiller's authority in the Kingdom of Dreams. He only knew that if Dr. Shiller went there first, then he certainly could prevent anyone he didn't want to see in the Kingdom of Dreams from entering.
Was it Shiller who had purposely let him in? No, if that were the case, Shiller wouldn't have allowed King Robin to harm Arkham Batman to such an extent, not even if it was Arkham Batman's own fault.
That meant there were events occurring outside of Shiller's control, with Shiller not prevailing in a game with another orchestrator behind the scenes, and Batman didn't even know where this game was taking place.
This won't do, Batman thought. Even if he couldn't learn the specifics of their plans, he had to find out what exactly they were fighting over and how far the conflict had progressed.
The key still lay with Arkham Batman, as both sides definitely attached great importance to him, given his unique nature. Since they had chosen this battlefield, it was impossible for the Batman of this universe to escape unscathed.
"You're leaving just like that?" Poison Ivy looked at Batman walking away with some surprise and said, "Aren't you going to study this hole? It looks like it's from the same place that damn instigator came from."
Batman shook his head and said, "It could be a lure or a trap. I've gathered enough information for deduction. Let's go."
"Where to?"
"To find the Batman of this universe."
The two quickly returned to the safe house. The journey back was smooth, likely because Batman had earlier dealt with the strangely shaped things in the fog, and they weren't likely to reappear soon, giving them a respite.
But once back at the safe house, Batman's heart sank. Arkham Batman was not in good shape; he didn't even react as they entered.
This was not the vigilance expected of a Batman; either he had died, or he was completely unconscious.
Batman moved forward to check on Arkham Batman's condition and found it to be the latter. Arkham Batman had lost consciousness, not due to severe injury or deep sleep, but because he had completely passed out.
Batman activated the detection device on his armor and discovered that Arkham Batman's brainwaves were almost inactive. To put it in magical terms, his soul was not here at this moment.
If not here, where could it be?
In the Dreamworld, Cat City Gotham, inside a dark room underground, Arkham Batman was tied to a chair, facing only a flickering screen. On it played the nightmares being experienced by Arkham Knight Jason.
A silent Arkham Batman watched all this unfold until he saw Jason fall into a heavy slumber at the motel, his fingers involuntarily tightening.
"No, Jason, wake up…"
Jason woke up around noon the next day; without a phone, he couldn't receive calls, but he was clear that he would have been fired from his job he had during the day, as failing to show up without an excuse on the first day certainly meant he couldn't continue.
His body was still sore and achy, his bones throbbing with pain after a night of high fever. Merely sitting up made him break out in a cold sweat, and the sense of weakness never left him; it grew even stronger.
But Jason had something he needed to do. With some of the money left from his job, he bought a sewing kit from a nearby convenience store. After catching his breath while squatting at the roadside, he headed towards Spider-Man's home.
Today's weather wasn't doing him any favors either, with a howling cold wind and snowfall.
Jason finally reached Spider-Man's home, and although it wasn't a posh community, there was still a security system to contend with. Breaking in was not an option, but fortunately, Jason had remembered the layout and snuck in.
Spider-Man lived on the 3rd floor, an easy climb for Jason under normal circumstances, but he felt unwell today. Climbing the outside wall proved to be a struggle, leaving him gasping for air by the time he reached the balcony.
Spider Man went to school, and with no one at home during the day, Jason opened the window and walked in, quickly finding the small teddy bear torn in half under the pillow.
Spider Man definitely wouldn't be able to sew this thing properly, but Jason might—Jason knew how to sew, and his hands were always nimble. Just how nimble they were, you'd have to ask the remaining three super cool tires.
Jason checked the broken part; thankfully, the bear was an authentic version with thicker fabric. The only trouble was that the cotton had been turned inside out, making it slightly problematic to stuff it back evenly.
This task was hardly a challenge for Jason. Normally, he could have finished in less than half an hour, but today he felt dizzy and his hands shook, forcing him to stop and rest periodically until he could no longer keep his eyes open.
Fortunately, he managed to sew the stuffed animal together by sheer force of will, but after that, he couldn't hold on any longer and fell asleep leaning against the wall, holding the teddy bear.
It was Spider Man who shook Jason awake; upon opening his eyes, Jason saw a pair of wide eyes staring back.
"Jason, what are you doing here? And that doll in your hand, I mean... did you go buy a new one?"
"No," Jason shook his head, feeling heavy but still trying to muster some energy, "I fixed it. How does it look?"
Spider Man cautiously took the doll, examining it from all angles and paying close attention to the seams between the head and body, then let out an exclamation of surprise.
"This is impossible, did you fix this? It looks like it was never broken! Come on, where did you buy a new one?"
"I told you, I fixed it," Jason replied, somewhat impatient, sitting up straighter, though his expression remained distant.
In the end, Spider Man found the flaw because he noticed the sewing kit next to Jason's body and the thread used on the seams that was clearly not the original factory stitching.
"Oh my God!" Spider Man was completely astonished. He kept turning the teddy bear over in his hands as if he'd seen a ghost, then looked at Jason incredulously, unable to fathom how such a robust man could sew a doll back together so seamlessly.
Spider Man appeared flustered. Jason let out a breath and said to him, "Spit it out if you have something to say."
"It's not that, I'm definitely not criticizing your work, I really appreciate what you've done, but I'm just... I mean, if it breaks again, could you show me..."
"I can't!" Jason said in a lowered voice, "Take your doll and get out!"
But Spider Man seemed oblivious, plopping down beside Jason, nudging Jason's arm with his elbow and saying, "Hey, teach me how, will you? How did you sew the broken parts back together? What kind of technique did you use?"
Jason didn't answer, eyes half-closed. Spider Man began to whine, "Don't be like that; I was only joking just now. I really think it's amazing. There must be some special technique. Just tell me, please."
Jason remained silent. Only then did Spider Man sense that something was wrong. He leaned close to Jason's face for a longer look, prompting Jason to finally push his head away.
"You look very pale." Spider Man reached out to touch Jason's cheek, then retracted his hand as if he had been scalded, and began to shout, "My gosh, you're running a fever! And it seems pretty high!"
"Aunt May! Aunt May!!" Spider Man started yelling loudly.
Jason used the last of his energy to pull him back, saying, "I'm fine, your family..."
But Aunt May had already pushed the door open and come in. She looked surprised for a moment when she saw Jason, but she said nothing as Spider Man rushed to her side, "Fever medicine, Aunt May, my friend has a fever! And it's a high one!"
Aunt May immediately put aside concerns about who Jason was and how he got in, and sprinted to Jason's side, quicker than Spider Man.
With one hand on Jason's forehead and the other lifting his eyelid, she brought her hands together and let out a sharp shriek, "Ben!! Ben!!! This boy has a high fever!!!"
Ben Parker also rushed in, pushing past the two standing in front of him, checked Jason in the same way, then turned to Spider Man and said, "We're out of fever medicine, go to the community hospital and get the usual kinds we use."
"He looks a bit dehydrated; buy some glucose too," Aunt May added. Then she slapped Jason's cheek forcefully, saying, "Hey, buddy, stay awake, have you eaten?"
Jason slowly shook his head, guided by instinct.
"Is this kid not right in the head? Knowing he has a fever and still not eating?!" Aunt May's voice was as grating as nails on a window. She yelled, "Peter! Get a couple of cans of pancake mix on your way back!"
"Got it, Aunt May!"
By now, Jason's consciousness had completely sunk. Murkily, he thought, alright then, let it be, I'm running a fever, I need to rest, let me sleep well for once.
Suddenly, a sharp light flashed through the darkness, a hand full of daggers swept across his cheek.
"Ah!!!!"
Jason woke up with a start.