Chapter 252 I, Joker (Part 1)_2

"Every night, you park your car, then walk back to your house, where it's full of bars. Every day, you scream at the bars, 'Batman, let me out!'"

"You know where that is? That's Batman's inner self. That's where you were born."

"He's locked you inside his mind, refusing to unlock the prison's door, so you said, let's find another way, let's find a way to make him open the door…"

"So, here you are, trying to get the key inside from the outside."

"But you didn't succeed. Though, that's just the first attempt; there will be more opportunities. If you don't want to be locked up forever, keep trying."

"How do you know?" Jack asked the Joker.

"How do I know? Of course I know..."

As he spoke, Jack gaped in surprise, then began to shake with fear. The Joker approached, his shadow casting over Jack who curled up in fear.

He looked up, his tear-filled eyes met Bruce Wayne's, who was wearing Joker's makeup, sneering at him.

Jack extended his arm desperately, waving frantically, as if trying to shatter this terrifying image.

There was a loud gunshot, and the Joker, Bruce, fell. Jack froze, behind the Joker, Bruce, another Joker stood aiming a smoking gun.

"He's lying to you, Jack, he's making up stories, can't you see?"

Jack, in a daze, looked at the fallen Bruce Wayne Joker and asked blankly, "If he has lied to me, then what is the truth?"

He said, despondently: "If I am not escaping from Batman's cage, then where did I come from?"

"Perhaps you should come from someone more like you..."

The man put the gun down, Jack looked at him, it was the Joker again, only this time he was in a long black trench coat, holding an umbrella.

"Who are you?" Jack asked.

"I'm you, Jack," he said. "Haven't you seen me? Or should I say..."

"...aren't you looking at me right now?"

Jack turned mechanically, let out a piercing scream and threw his wine glass away.

"Stay away! Stay away from me, you monster, I hate you! Get out!!!"

"Don't be like this, Jack..."

The voice was deep and gentle, as if trying to soothe him, "Don't you remember? You've lived there for a long time. It's a spacious mansion, very beautiful, with over 330 floors…"

"The floors in the building are connected by a beautiful spiral staircase. You live on the 190th floor and your room has a soft double bed with a dark green duvet and your favorite bat pillow…"

Jack seemed captivated by his description. He followed the figure towards the door. The light at the door came on, getting brighter and brighter, the light spots floated and turned into a gorgeous chandelier.

Jack stepped out of the door, his eyes stinging from the blinding light. He found himself in a brightly lit corridor. The walls and floor were black, but the black was flowing, mixed with golden threads of light.

From the corridor to a deep well with spiral staircases on its cushion. The well was bottomless. Standing beside the rails and looking down, you could only see faint golden light emitting from the bottom of the well. Other than the spiral staircases descending in layers, there were entrances to the corridors.

The sound of their footsteps echoed in the deserted staircase, sounding rather abrupt.

They walked for a long time, and then entered a corridor. There was only one room in the long corridor. Upon walking in, the man with gray eyes sitting among a pile of documents said, "How is it you...and you brought a guest? …Elevator? Alright, 190th floor, off you go."

The moment his words fell, the floor beneath their feet vanished and they started free-falling. Once they landed, Jack looked around. It didn't possess the mystery and grandeur of the corridor they first arrived. More like a normal hotel floor, with dark red carpet, a low ceiling and damp air.

They tangled through turns and twists, finally arriving at the door with a smiling face. The Joker's gray eyes were looking at Jack, calm and gentle, fascinating.

"Look, isn't it great? Open the door, let's go home..."

Jack raised his arm mechanically. Suddenly, his movement halted and then he revealed a malicious grin.

The 'thump, thump, thump' noise echoed from the end of the corridor. The other Joker turned his head and saw Bruce Wayne Joker with blue eyes appearing at the end of the corridor again.

Gray-eyed Joker shivered, facing Bruce Wayne Joker. "Bruce, leave! This is not a place for you!"

"You're deceiving him, Professor, you want to fool him in, I won't allow it…"

"What right do you have to say so, Bruce? You want to eradicate all criminals in the world, including this pathetic Joker. He just wants you to smile, he didn't do anything wrong, yet you want to brutally kill him…"

"Swoosh, swoosh", followed by a 'bang', Jack saw gray-eyed Joker take out an umbrella to block the two Batman darts, hiding in the corner.

The whole space started to collapse, golden fragments turned into sparkling rain falling down. The alley bricks started to rise, piling up into another scene.

Jack noticed the puddles on the ground reflecting like mercury mirrors, reminding of the fallen leaves the last autumn had left behind.

The blue-eyed Joker let out a roar, turning into a cloud of black mist, snarling menacingly. Gray-eyed Joker turned into a cloud of gray mist.

The two clouds of mist tore and bit into each other, letting out silent roars. In the skies of the Hell, they entangled and fought violently. Jack stood underneath, looking up, he started to laugh silently, until the cold rain soaked him through.

"Oh, damn it!" Jack quickly stood up from the chair, brushing off the wine that spilled onto his pants. "I've been driving too long lately, my arms are killing me."

"It's alright, go get a cup from the cabinet. I'll pour you another one."

As Shiller picked up the bottle, Jack turned around. Under the light, Shiller's gray eyes reflected the golden shine of the wine.