Chapter 1276: A Pair of Solitary Shadows (XVI)

Some old record players were playing a jazz tune with a light tune. In front of the display cabinet, Schiller was wiping a crystal sculpture with a piece of suede. 遳

Although he was just cleaning, he looked very focused. He stretched out his arms from time to time to take the sculpture away, admiring it seriously, and accompanied the melodious tune, as if he was dancing with a non-existent partner.

"Schiller looks very relaxed." Hal frowned and said, "Even more relaxed than when he was on vacation in Seaside City. Is the hot sunshine in Seaside City not as good as the rain in Gotham?"

"You can't ask everyone to adapt to the sun." Bruce said expressionlessly, "There is no essential difference between sunny days every day and rainy days every day."

"Come on." Clark obviously disagreed with this statement: "Humans are all sunshine creatures, and the sun gives us energy."

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

"I don't quite understand him either. The Batman in this world is difficult enough to deal with. If I run into him, I'll definitely stay away from him." Constantine coughed twice and said, "But Schiller seems to be enjoying it. Didn't you notice? He's enjoying it all."

"It seems a little different." Clark touched his chin and said, "When he left Gotham before, his mental state was terrible, and so was Bruce. After staying at my house for a while, Bruce got much better, but Professor Schiller seemed to be getting more and more tired."

"Although it's only been a few days, I still think Schiller's mental state is much better than when he was in our universe." Clark shrugged and told the truth, "He's much more energetic."

"It may be a chemical reaction between some mental patients." Lucifer's voice came.

"Have you ever thought that the kind of relaxed and leisurely life that common sense thinks is actually not normal in Schiller's view." The sick voice also sounded slowly: "That is not the law of his life, maybe this is it."

"He fully understands your good intentions, knows that you can get a lot of happiness from that kind of relaxed life, and also wants to share this happiness with him, so he never tells you that he doesn't like that kind of life." Greed shook his head gently and said.

"You can be said to have done something right by accident." Sick laughed again and said in a low voice: "It sounds incredible, right? He likes this kind of life of fighting wits and courage with Batman. Since it is not painful, there is no need to change."

"The question is, isn't Batman painful?" Clark raised his voice and said: "Isn't he tired enough? Doing business during the day, patrolling at night, and fighting wits and courage with all kinds of lunatics every now and then. Now there is another lunatic. God, who can come to save him?"

"Do you really think Batman is in pain?" Sick chuckled. Before Clark could answer, he saw on the screen that Schiller had walked to the door and opened it.遳

Batman appeared outside the door.

They had met several times today, but it seemed that they were not tired of each other. Batman came again. After he finished the first phase of patrol, he came to Schiller's residence on time.

Schiller opened the door for him without any hesitation, invited him in sideways, and put the wine that had been prepared long ago on the table.

They sat down by the window on the first floor again, accompanied by the street lights reflected in the Gotham River, reflecting everything in front of the window into a somewhat dim dark orange.

"It's hard for me to imagine that one day, I will have such a conversation with the greatest detective in the world." Schiller took a sip of sparkling wine, and the dense bubbles exploded on the tip of his tongue. No matter how much he liked traditional fortified wine, he had to admit that it was more stimulating and refreshing.

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

"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 infinitely chaotic and crazy, but still under control."

"It sounds like cursing." Schiller said without giving face, "I admit this, but I must say that purposefully restricted madness may not be stronger than complete disorder, just like Batman always wins the Joker."

"'Always win'." Batman read these words in his mouth, then shook his head gently and said, "If it were to other people, I would definitely emphasize this point. Batman always wins, but I know this can't scare you, because you know me better than I can imagine."

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

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

Batman's voice always fits well with all music. His deep voice should be more suitable for major symphonies, but if it is matched with light jazz, it does not seem abrupt, but it seems a bit like he is harmonizing with jazz.

Schiller laughed softly, and then said: "You may think that I would ask you to give an example, but I can imagine what you did. You pay too much attention to some rational things, or care about winning or losing, and never admit defeat, so that the people you care about suffer." 遳

"But this is not the most painful thing for you, but that they returned to you after experiencing unimaginable pain. Although they didn't say it, they still love you and are still worried that you are lonely, so they are still with you."

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

"The Joker wants me to laugh, but you, like every other psychiatrist in the world, want your patients to cry."

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

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

"Neither." Schiller shook his head gently and said, "If you can look at your own and others' scars calmly, it is not indifference that counts, but reconciliation with the guilt in your heart."

Schiller and Batman's voices were slow and low, like hypnotizing the air, so the audience in the theater also felt hypnotized, and their thoughts fluctuated with every word they said. 遳

Constantine focused his attention, as if he wanted to listen to how to reconcile with guilt. To some extent, he needed this secret the most, not only for what Schiller had done to him, but also for too many people and things that he felt guilty about.

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

Batman hesitated to say the answer in his mind, because it would seem a bit narrow-minded, but in the end he said: "To understand others, to understand what they are thinking, to beware of them."

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

Schiller shook his head gently, took another sip of wine, and said: "As you inferred, I have also hurt people close to me, and it was direct harm, with very serious consequences."

"It was this incident that made me firmly choose psychology. I did want 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. When they knew they might face harm, they did not escape, but waited in place, like A lamb to be slaughtered. "

"Perhaps you have never thought about what the fear of death will prompt humans to do, and how powerful their instincts will be. As long as people are afraid, they can do anything."

"People always say that humans do not have sharp teeth and claws like beasts, but in fact these deadly weapons are hidden in the human soul. If they want to resist, there is nothing they can't tear apart, especially at the moment before death."

Batman was silent, but seemed to have thought of something. Schiller blinked and continued: "But when I hurt them, they violated their instincts, did not resist, and did not run away."

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

"You underestimate the potential of humans. Think carefully about the images that flashed through your mind. Does the person who was hurt really have no chance to resist? Or take a step back, does he not even have a chance to escape or retreat?"

When this question landed, Batman had already got the answer. Of course not. If he really wanted to escape, of course he would have a chance.

"This kind of thing that goes against their instincts is what makes me most curious."

"So what have you found out?"

"Love and hope."

"It sounds very clichéd." Schiller explained: "It's like what the protagonist says to their descendants at the end of a prime-time TV show, but the amazing thing is that the answer given by professionals is the same."

"The victim's love for his enemy?" Batman didn't seem to agree.

"No, hatred will not turn into love. If there is a similar phenomenon, it must be the sequelae of abuse. I mean, they have hope for the people they love, and they think that the people they love will not let them down and will definitely save them."

"But this idea will only increase the guilt, because the people they love did not save them and hurt them." Batman said.

"But it is this love and hope that brings them back to us, and at this time, that hope is still not wiped out. The harm he suffered did not make them despair because they still have hope that we will get better."

Schiller's voice sounds like string music to Batman, and the trembling feeling when it fluctuates makes people a little upset.遳

"The only way for us to stop disappointing their hopes is to try to become better. But if we really can't do it, we don't have to force it, because those who can tolerate such harm and not despair, their love for you is nobler than you think."

"This kind of love does not require you to become what they want you to be, but simply hopes that you will be happy and joyful. If you feel that you do not need to change, then do not change."

"They must have seen the pain brought by your inner contradictions and guilt. They do not want you to be like this, because they have already forgiven you in a more noble way, that is, to return to you."

"Your speculation that you hate them is completely narrow-minded and prejudiced. It is trampling on their nobility, judging others by one's own standards, and wasting their kindness."

"Enough."

()

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