Chapter 1270: Greedy Cicada-Catcher (Part II)

"I'm going to Mercury's base right now," Batman said, his tone more resolute than ever. "I know you love arrogance, you love his kind of arrogance—the kind that can refuse anything—and that's something you can't do. Because you refuse nothing, you are greedy."

"Refusing is hard for you, but not for arrogance. You envy him, you hate him, yet you love him. You complete each other, forever inseparable. And I am his friend—I am also arrogant."

"So if you meet my demand, I'll speak well of you to arrogance. You know he's angry now, over your unreasonable actions. You'd surely do this, wouldn't you?"

Batman phrased a question as a statement, and greed, sitting beside him, felt for the first time that things were spiraling beyond control. He cursed arrogance's rashness ten thousand times in his heart, yet still nodded involuntarily.

Batman spoke into his heart—hating arrogance, loving arrogance, hating his refusal, loving his refusal.

Greed could never refuse, would not refuse, did not want to refuse. Greed was so greedy, it was practically arrogance's nightmare—tolerating all his rudeness and crudeness like an addict with no bottom line, no principles.

Sharing a bed with arrogance? Greed couldn't even imagine it. They were two complete opposites, which is why, under the allowance of the superego and pathology, they could take turns controlling the body.

These two mature, cunning traits understood they could never truly be together, yet they were forever drawn to each other.

Therefore, greed could not refuse Batman's proposal. How could he be as cruel as arrogance? How could he refuse? He simply couldn't.

Because he craved Batman's change, craved the pleasure his transformation could bring him, he naturally had to help, had to tolerate him, had to satisfy his needs as much as possible—to prove that, for anyone, greed is far more loyal than arrogance.

Thus, to tell Batman: release your greed. Greed will be your eternal loyal minister—more loyal than arrogance, ever closer to your inner self, making you feel guilty for wanting to lock greed away.

Only then will Batman truly realize how foolish and laughable his stagnant behavior is, how his so-called no-kill principle is merely the result of social conditioning. He should have been more ambitious, more greedy, achieving his goals through another kind of mad, terrifying means.

If he hadn't done so, he should feel guilty for it. He should feel guilty for confining greed to a tiny corner of his heart—so guilty he might even cry, just as greed is doing now.

Greed was on the verge of tears, saying: "Of course I want you to see all this, to see what I've actually done, to see how much change greed can bring to a person. Your best friend shouldn't be arrogance—it should be greed."

"You're not resisting me like before," Batman concluded. "You realize it's meaningless, you feel it's wrong—that's why you're saying these things to me."

"I want you to know: greed is the truest loyalty to you, springing from the very core of your personality—loving you more than arrogance does, worthier of your possession. You should keep it, forever."

"You'll never understand how heartbroken I felt when I saw you mocked by those fools for your no-kill principle. You only lacked one thing—me—and yet you had to bear so much responsibility and abuse, so much misunderstanding."

"But those fools beyond the page will never understand: your unwillingness to kill those criminals is exactly what I told you, what I whispered in your ear: 'They should not be killed.'"

Shiler had nearly pressed his lips to Batman's ear, murmuring constantly: "Killing them is the most terrible way to deal with this. If you ever killed them, it would mean you killed me—you killed your ambition and your greed. For you know, they have value—more precious, more valuable than the entire Wayne conglomerate."

"Those off-screen spectators will never understand us, never understand just how precious those clever criminals are. They should not be killed—never should. They should become kindling, should become the most precious fuel in the fire that lights your way to dispel Gotham's clouds."

"Death is practically an insult to me, and to you. Death lets this precious wealth easily leak out, into others' arms."

"Believe me, Batman—you absolutely must not do that. You should uphold your no-kill principle to the end, so that beings like me can remind you how to express your ambition—and you still have room to turn back."

"After you return, you'll have the chance to release those madmen from Arkham Asylum, use each of their genius minds to strangle the sun's throat, so that this wretched star shines upon your domain."

"Instead of, as those fools expect, kneeling at their graves weeping, pouring out their wisdom and inspiration, just tossing it to the earth."

"They should have lived for you in a more precious way."

"I am your no-kill principle's most steadfast supporter, Batman. Please believe this: the wisdom of those living lives is not something death can comprehend—only you can understand them."

"Love them with your greed, understand them, fulfill their hearts burning for you—just as you've seen."

"I've made these foolish heroes, forever trapped in personal grudges, strive for this goal—even generating a greed stronger than mine, even wanting to compare their greed with others'."

"See what they've achieved, see how I've made them great..."

"I'm not asking you to imitate me, nor to release me and then let me control you. Rather, you should control me—you should use your greed to make all onlookers gasp, their jaws drop."

"Make them feel astonishment and shame for accusing your no-kill principle—you must do this. This is the only way you can save Gotham."

"But arrogance told me he has pushed that world's Bruce onto another path, and on this road I've seen light and hope." Batman replied.

"But you know you've long missed that fork in the road—you can no longer walk that path of light, Batman. Don't cling to that childish fantasy. If you hadn't met me ten years ago, ten years later you wouldn't have changed because of me." Greed let out a long sigh.

"You're no longer the naive Bruce. You've chosen your path, walked it resolutely—this is destined to be a dark road, just like the one I once walked. You have no chance to choose again."

"But don't tell me you're like a coward, hoping to turn back time, like rebooting your universe. Don't tell me you hope that angel named Lucifer can reset your timeline back to your youth. Such weakness—you don't deserve to be my friend."

"Have I shaken your will? Made you regret? Made you feel that ten years ago you took the wrong path by not walking the road of light?"

"But never think that." Greed looked at Batman with tear-filled eyes—like Shiler's greed, like Batman's own greed.

He said: "That means you only love arrogance, not me—but you ought to love your own greed."

"You've walked this road, there's no turning back, Batman. Face the facts: you are a dark island, unable to border any land—including your closest birds—and now, only I can understand you."

"Only the greed hidden deep in your heart can understand you—you who want to command the stars, command the celestial bodies, command all the universe's... greed."

"If those angels knew what you're telling me, knew what change you want me, the main universe, to undergo, they'd probably kill you." Batman said: "They want the main universe to remain unchanged, to follow their planned steps, to keep going this way."

"But you know full well that this path's end is you acting like a true clown, performing a drama for those fools who can never understand you, letting them judge you with their meager intellect—though they have no such qualification."

"How terrible, Batman! All those who doubt you are clowns more embarrassing and speechless than the Joker himself. You uphold your instinctive no-kill principle, you hoard your precious resources—and in their eyes, that's your weakness."

"They even think this is the universe's will bestowed upon you, that some higher power controls you to make you do this—never having understood you as I and arrogance do, never understood how your precious talent gives you such astonishing intuition, never understood that not killing them is the only solution to saving Gotham."

"Quickly unlock the cage, Batman! Don't let those clowns again control you with their poor, ridiculous notions. Don't let them mock you like this—don't you even have basic self-respect left?!"

"If there were no arrogance, how could you be arrogance's friend? Hurry, pick up your arrogance, reclaim your self-respect, prove to those onlookers that your choice is the right one!"

Greed looked at Batman with bright eyes and said: "I've already proven to you this is absolutely not a dead end!"

"Now, set aside your worries and scruples, abandon all your pessimism, go unlock that lock, take me as your bosom friend, your kin—the love you never got after losing your parents will come from within yourself. Release me, Batman!"

"You're not a clown," Batman repeated once more.

But at the same time, he felt a chill gathering in his eye sockets. When his parents died, he didn't cry—but greed's plea to him brought an inexplicable sorrow, that ununderstood grief and despair, filling his eyes with tears.

"The clown has never been as mad as you—or, I'll swap the word: madness isn't this greedy, madness isn't like you, letting me unleash human nature, madness hasn't made me crave the sun so terribly."

"I've never blamed the distant sun in the sky for refusing to shine on this dark city—but once you light that fire, I will resent it, and I only admit this to you."

"I resent the sun, resent why it doesn't shine for me, why it doesn't shine for Gotham, resent why it isn't my plaything, why it doesn't shine when I let it."

"Sun, you're more selfish than I am—you shine on everyone, but refuse to shine on what I want you to shine on. Why do you wallow in degradation, consorting with criminals, only bringing deeper darkness to Gotham?"

Batman's tone was like singing a song, like reciting a poem—he merely let deeper darkness burst from darkness, let deeper madness be spoken from madness.

"Who's commanding you?" Batman questioned the sun: "Who tells you to give sunlight to everyone, except Gotham?"

"If fate chooses this way, then I can only resist." Batman said: "Because I've already seen your weak side—in another world, under human control, you offered up your energy like a coward, enough to power the whole earth."

"But you won't even give me a single ray without heat." Batman shook his head: "It's your selfishness that gives me an excuse for greed—you must give me what I didn't get, give Gotham what it didn't get, return it now, immediately..."

"I don't want to talk about freedom with you—I only want to speak of desire. This is humanity's nature granting me this power. My friend arrogance warned me: sun, sun, sun..."

Batman kept chanting the sun's name, like a hymn, but also like a lament building to a climax, weeping with a choked voice.

He hadn't seen this star in a long time, and even a single ray of light falling on him would move him to tears, yet he also felt ashamed of how easily satisfied he was, how base it was.

Batman would even feel moved to obtain sunlight; he had neither arrogance nor greed, gentle as a lamb.

But just because it has always been this way, does that make it right?

"Sun, answer me—if you are so selfish, why can't I be arrogant and greedy enough?... Can I?"

Amid such doubtful questioning, the thick black mist dispersed, the black tide receded for Batman, opening a path for him, leading to a cell Batman had never been to before.

When his parents died, he had already been confused about this path.

He thought, why can't I ask for more? Why can't I have both parents alive and be wise at the same time? Why are there so many fortunate geniuses in this world, yet I cannot be one of them?

In this world, everyone thinks fate is unfair, regardless of whether they are already fortunate enough—this is the greatest greed.

And today, Batman walks this path again, only to unlock the door that locks away greed, so those unqualified to question him can see how he changes this world.

Some do not wish this world to change, without a doubt, those angels do not want Batman to do this.

But if Batman wants to do this, no one can stop him—because he is Batman.

There are still three chapters ahead, April Fool's Day extra update.