Chapter 1259: Shadows Within Shadows (16)

A somewhat old record player was playing a light jazz tune. In front of the display cabinet, Schiller was wiping a crystal sculpture with a piece of suede.

Although he was just doing cleaning work, his expression was very focused. From time to time, he would stretch out his arm to hold the sculpture further away, appreciating it quite seriously. Accompanied by the melodious tune, it seemed as if he were dancing with an invisible dance partner.

"Schiller looks very relaxed." Hal frowned: "Even more relaxed than when he was on vacation in Coast City. Could it be that the hot sun of Coast City is not as good as the overcast rain of Cat Getan?"

"You can't expect everyone to adapt to the sun." Bruce opened his mouth expressionlessly: "Every day being a sunny day and every day being an overcast rainy day are essentially no different."

"Forget it." Clark obviously didn't agree with this statement: "Humans are solar creatures; the sun gives us energy."

"That's just you." Bruce turned to look at him.

"I'm also a bit confused about him. The Batman of this world is difficult enough to deal with. If I ran into him, I would definitely stay far away." Constantine coughed twice lightly: "But Schiller seems to be enjoying it. Haven't you noticed? He is enjoying all of this."

"It seems there is a bit of a difference." Clark touched his chin lightly: "When he left Cat Getan before, his mental state was terrible, and Bruce was the same. After Bruce stayed at my place for a while, Bruce got much better, but Professor Schiller seems to be getting more and more exhausted."

"Although it's only been such a short few days, I still feel that Schiller's mental state is much better than in our universe." Clark shrugged his shoulders and said a truth: "He is much more spirited."

"It might be some kind of chemical reaction between mental patients." Lucifer's voice came.

"Have you ever thought that the kind of relaxed and leisurely life that common sense considers normal is actually not normal in Schiller's eyes?" The Morbid one's voice also slowly rose: "That is not the rhythm of his life. Perhaps this is."

"He fully understands your good intentions, knows that you can derive a lot of happiness from that kind of relaxed life, and wants to share that happiness with him, so he will never tell you that he actually doesn't like that kind of life." Greed shook his head lightly.

"You guys also did the right thing by accident." The Morbid one laughed low again: "Sounds incredible, right? He likes this life of wits and courage with Batman. Since it's not painful, there's no need to change."

"The question is, isn't Batman painful?" Clark raised his voice: "Isn't he tired enough? Doing business during the day, patrolling at night, and dealing with all kinds of lunatics every few days. Now there's another lunatic. Oh my god, who can save him?"

"Do you really think Batman is painful?" The Morbid one laughed lightly. Before Clark could answer, he saw Schiller on the screen walk to the door and open it.

The person outside the door was Batman.

They had met several times today, but it seemed they didn't feel tired of it. Batman came again, arriving punctually at Schiller's residence after he finished the first stage of his patrol.

Schiller opened the door for him without any hesitation, stepped aside to invite him in, and placed the wine he had already prepared on the table.

They sat by the window on the first floor again, accompanied by the street lamp lights reflected in the Cat Getan River, which illuminated everything in front of the window into a somewhat dim dark orange.

"I find it hard to imagine that one day, I would have a conversation like this with the world's greatest detective." Schiller took a sip of sparkling wine. The dense bubbles burst on the tip of his tongue. No matter how much he liked traditional fortified wine, he had to admit that this was more stimulating to the taste buds and more refreshing.

Batman didn't pick up the glass. He just stared quietly at the wine in the glass and said: "I didn't expect that I would talk to others about things other than murder cases."

"Even knowing that I might be the Joker?"

"No." Batman gave a negative answer and continued: "You are not the Joker. You are nothing like him. You are not infinite chaos and madness, but within control."

"Sounds like an insult." Schiller said unceremoniously: "I admit this point, but I must say, madness that is limited with purpose is not necessarily less powerful than complete, disorderly chaos, just like Batman always wins against the Joker."

"'Always wins'." Batman read these words in his mouth, then shook his head lightly: "If it were others, I would definitely emphasize this point—Batman always wins. But I know this won't scare you, because your understanding of me exceeds my imagination."

"How many times have you lost?" Schiller asked.

"More than you imagine, and more serious than you imagine."

Batman's voice could always fit well with all music. Originally, his low voice should be more suitable for major symphonies, but if it were matched with light jazz, it wouldn't seem abrupt. It was a bit like giving harmony to jazz.

Schiller laughed lightly, then said: "You might think I would ask you for an example, but I can imagine what you did. You are too concerned with certain rational things, or care about winning or losing, and never admit defeat, which makes the people you care about suffer."

"But this is not what makes you feel most painful. It is that after they experienced unimaginable pain, they returned to your side. Although they didn't say it, they still love you, still worry about you being lonely, so they are still accompanying you."

"This is why I said you are not the Joker." Batman's blue eyes were hidden in the darkness, but they looked bluer than usual.

"The Joker wants me to laugh, but you, like other psychologists in this world, hope that patients cry."

"Crying is not a solution to the problem, but venting emotions and re-accumulating motivation is. Perhaps this is one of the ways to regain a smile?"

"You must have experienced it to express it so aptly. But what makes you express all this so lightly? Is it the courage that ordinary people don't have? Or is it the objective, rational, cold, third-party perspective that you and I have both experienced?"

"Neither." Schiller shook his head lightly: "If you can look at your own and others' scars calmly, it's not because of indifference, but because of reconciliation with the guilt in your heart."

Schiller and Batman's tones were slow and low, like hypnotizing the air, so the audience in the theater also felt they were hypnotized, and their thoughts rose and fell with every word.

Constantine concentrated his attention, seemingly wanting to hear how to reconcile with guilt. To some extent, he was the one who needed this secret book the most. Not just for what Schiller had done to him, he had too many people and things worth his guilt.

"Do you know why I studied psychology?" Schiller first asked a question.

The answer in Batman's mind made him hesitate whether to say it, because it would seem a bit narrow, but in the end, he still said: "To understand others, to understand what they are thinking, to guard against them."

"One of the reasons, but not the biggest one."

Schiller shook his head lightly and took another sip of wine, saying: "Just as you inferred, I have also hurt people close to me, and it was a direct injury, with very serious consequences."

"It was this incident that made me firmly choose psychology. I was indeed trying to figure out the psychology of others, but more importantly, I wanted to know what made people get rid of the most extreme fear of death, knowing that they might face harm, yet not escape, but wait in place, like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered."

"Maybe you have never thought about what kind of things the fear of death in humans will prompt them to do, what kind of powerful instincts it will stimulate. As long as people are afraid, they can do anything."

"People always say that humans don't have sharp teeth and claws like beasts, but in fact, these fatal weapons are hidden in the human soul. If they want to resist, there is nothing that cannot be torn apart, especially in the moment before facing death."

Batman was silent, but he seemed to have thought of something. Schiller blinked and continued: "But when I made the move to hurt them, they violated their instincts, neither resisting nor escaping."

"Maybe they were powerless to resist?" Batman said softly.

"You underestimate the potential of humans. Think carefully about the pictures that flashed in your mind. Did the person who was hurt really not have a chance to resist? Or take a step back, did they not even have a chance to escape or retreat?"

When this question landed, Batman had already got the answer. Of course not. If they really wanted to escape, they certainly had a chance.

"This kind of thing that violates their instincts is what makes me feel most curious."

"Then what have you researched?"

"Love and hope."

"Sounds very cliché." Schiller explained: "It's like what the protagonist says to their descendants at the end of a TV series that airs during prime time, but the magical thing is that the answer given by professionals is also like this."

"The love of the victim for their enemy?" Batman seemed to disagree.

"No, hatred will not turn into love. If there is a similar phenomenon, it must be the aftereffects of abuse. I mean the hope they hold for their loved ones, feeling that the people they love will not let them down, and will definitely save them."

"But this kind of thinking will only increase guilt, because the people they love did not save them, causing them to suffer harm." Batman said.

"But it is precisely this kind of love and hope that makes them return to our side. And at this time, that hope has not been extinguished. The harm they suffered did not make them despair, because they still hold hope that we will become better."

Schiller's voice sounded a bit like strings to Batman, and the tremor when it fluctuated made him feel a bit upset.

"And the only way for us not to let down their hope is to try to become better. But if you really can't do it, don't force it, because people who can tolerate such harm without despair have a love for you that is higher than you imagine."

"This kind of love is not asking you to become what they idealize, but just simply hoping you are happy and joyful. If you feel you don't need to change, then don't change."

"The pain brought by your inner contradictions and guilt must be seen by them. They won't hope you are like this, because they have already forgiven you in a more noble way, which is returning to your side."

"Your speculation of hatred towards them is completely a narrow prejudice, is trampling on their nobility, is measuring the gentleman's heart with a villain's measure, is wasting their intentions."

"Enough."