American Comics: Multiverse of Madness

295. Soul Corruption.

On the other side, when Alex and Constantine returned to the Assassin's League fortress, it was already late at night. Since both of them had already dealt with the current leader, Damian, the assassins standing guard outside didn't try to stop them. After a brief, symbolic exchange, they were quickly let in.

Once inside the fortress, Alex realized that the place was more intricate than he had imagined. The outside had a traditional japanese-chinese design, but the interior looked like a massive maze. Since the fortress was embedded into a cliffside, its structure was far larger than Alex had anticipated.

Although it was late, no one seemed to have any intention of resting.

They had already been talking for a while. Kara and Clark sat together. Although it was their first time meeting, there was little sense of distance between them. It was clear they already regarded each other as close family.

It made sense — both of them needed each other at this moment. With the trust of family bound by blood, they could encourage one another and find the strength to move past their inner vulnerabilities.

As for Damian and Jason, things weren't so harmonious. Jason was sitting alone in a chair, legs crossed, staring coldly at Damian, who was holding an ice pack to his face, looking a bit embarrassed.

The two had already fought once. Even though Jason went all out, it was more about venting his anger. After all, Damian was Bruce's child, and Jason didn't want to seriously injure the kid.

But when Jason saw Dick, who had been killed by a Doomsday-like monster and then resurrected by Damian through the Lazarus Pit, he immediately dragged Damian into another round of beating. This time, he didn't hold back, every hit landing squarely on Damian's face.

The others had tried to intervene, but they found it impossible to stop Jason. If Black Canary hadn't stepped in, Jason, consumed by rage, might have actually taken off one of Damian's legs. Of course, despite being beaten badly, Damian held no grudge against Jason.

He knew why he got hit and understood why Jason was so furious.

The Lazarus Pit was not a benevolent force. While it had the power to resurrect the dead, the consequences were often far worse than imagined.

Using it to pull a soul from the afterlife inevitably led to the pollution of what was once a pure soul.

But can a soul truly be corrupted?

As someone who had experienced it firsthand, Jason had felt the evil taint on his soul — a madness that filled him, a bloodthirsty look in his eyes. It was something Jason never wanted to experience again.

Sometimes, he even wished he hadn't been brought back to life. The resurrection had made him realize he was no longer the same person. During his time back in Gotham, trying to play the hero, he had felt more like a demon. So, when he saw Dick, brought back to life through the Lazarus Pit and driven to insanity, Jason's anger boiled over.

Damian didn't understand the power at play. His actions trampled on the dignity of Dick's heroic sacrifice.

Seeing Dick, now uncontrollably insane, was like looking into a mirror for Jason, and there was no way he could hold back his fury.

After all of this, no one was in the mood for conversation. They were preparing to find Alex, their pillar of strength, only to realize that both Alex and Constantine had disappeared. So, they sat quietly in the room, waiting for Alex and Constantine to return. And wait they did— for over three hours.

When Alex and Constantine finally stepped into the hall, they immediately sensed the strange atmosphere.

"Where have you been?"

Kara, the first to notice their arrival, stood up right away, her eyes filled with worry as she looked at Alex.

"Just went for a walk, nothing to worry about," Alex smiled, patting Constantine on the shoulder. "Constantine and I had some magical insights to discuss. After all, as you know, the magic of our two worlds is quite different."

Constantine didn't mind the pat on his shoulder. He just lit a cigarette and called out to Damian, "Tell your men to bring out some booze. I need to relax."

For some reason, Damian detected a hint of cheer in Constantine's voice. But he didn't think much of it, still holding his swollen face in one hand as he gestured for the assassins to bring some drinks.

"Alex, I... I might need to ask for your help with something."

Seeing Alex sit down, Jason, who was visibly anxious, immediately spoke up. But since he wasn't the kind of person who liked to ask for favors, he found it hard to get the words out.

Alex noticed Jason's unease. From his occasional dodging glances and Damian's badly beaten appearance, Alex quickly understood what Jason wanted his help with.

"Is this about Dick?" Alex picked up a cup of tea from the table — not caring whose cup it was — and took a small sip.

Immediately, everyone's attention shifted to Alex.

"You… you already know?" Jason sighed awkwardly.

"Yeah, I've heard some things. I know about the Lazarus Pit in this universe. But you should also be aware that the side effects of using the pit vary from person to person," Alex said softly, setting the cup down.

"I know. I've experienced it myself, so I understand very well," Jason said seriously.

No, you don't.

Watching Jason Todd's determined expression, Alex couldn't help but pick up the cup again.

Indeed, in many branches of the DC multiverse, Jason's resurrection was attributed to the Lazarus Pit. But Alex knew the real cause of Jason's resurrection was something much bigger — the actions of Superboy-Prime breaking the "Reality Wall."

During the Infinite Crisis event, Superboy-Prime shattered the 'Reality Wall,' which was considered the origin of reality itself. The shockwaves caused by this action were like punching the multiverse timeline, rewriting some established facts in various universes.

Jason's death was one of these events. The reshaping of reality caused Jason to rise from his grave.

At the same time, this massive distortion of reality affected many parallel universes, leading to Jason's resurrection in different ways across most universes.

This intervention also indirectly helped control the madness Jason experienced after being immersed in the Lazarus Pit. His symptoms weren't as severe as others who had undergone the same process.

Seeing Alex's expression gradually grow serious, Jason's initial glimmer of hope began to fade. If even Alex couldn't help Dick, he wasn't sure who else he could turn to.

"There's an old saying: 'A gentleman should not dabble in mysticism.' Clearly, you guys haven't inherited Bruce's wisdom. Aren't you at least curious why Batman never willingly touches these things?" Constantine chuckled.

But soon after, he changed his tone and looked at Alex. "Of course, there's no need to worry. Crow can handle your stray little bird. He's probably thinking about other things... By the way, is there no whiskey here?"

Ignoring Constantine's last remark, Jason stood up immediately, looking at Alex with hopeful eyes. Even Damian, who had been quiet up until now, couldn't contain his excitement.

"Do you really have a way to save Dick?"

"Don't get too excited yet. I do have some knowledge about evil, dark forces," Alex said, setting down his now-empty cup and carefully choosing his words.

"But cleansing the soul of corruption is no easy task. I can only say I'll do my best, but I can't guarantee that I'll be able to solve this problem."

Hearing this, Damian suddenly felt as if the pain on his face had disappeared. He rushed to Alex's side, eager to have him begin treating Dick immediately. If Damian owed anyone the most in his life, it would undoubtedly be the first Robin, now Nightwing — Dick Grayson.

After Damian officially joined the Bat-family, Dick had always looked after him like a caring big brother.

Even though Damian knew that Dick and his father had some misunderstandings — with both of them being stubborn and refusing to back down — Dick had never once taken it out on him.

Even Dick's sacrifice had been for the sake of saving Damian from the Doomsday-like creature.

If it weren't for this, Damian wouldn't have taken Dick's body against everyone's objections, even risking everything to resurrect him through the Lazarus Pit. Seeing both Damian and Jason so eager, Alex didn't say much more. He stood up.

"In that case, take me to see him."

.....

📢30 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
For advance chapters: /Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
296. A Gesture of Respect.
297. The Delusions in the Dark.
298. The Dionesium.
299. The Way to Recover a Name.
300. The Great Devourer Approaches.