The days of being a spiritual mentor in Meiman.

Chapter 4455 Prelude to Darkness (Forty)

Although Damian was on the verge of an emotional outburst, Batman remained remarkably calm. He turned to look at Damian, but there was no trace of nostalgia on his face. After a long pause, he spoke: "I know. You believe you are Damian. The mastermind behind this plan won't let you know your true identities. He will do everything he can to make you believe that you are your resurrected acquaintances. Because if he can't even fool himself, he certainly can't fool us."

"However, if you really are exactly like our deceased loved ones, then you would never help the mastermind achieve his evil plan. Birds of a feather flock together, and those who can become friends with superheroes and maintain a long-term good relationship with them must also be kind and righteous people. Such people would not betray their promises or turn against them."

"If we can't let you know our true identities, but we also want you to be enemies with superheroes, then there's only one way left: to manipulate your emotions."

"It's impossible for people to only have positive emotions when they get along. There will be friction, mutual resentment, and even differences in understanding of important events, which is all perfectly normal. Adults have good emotional self-control, can manage their emotions, make rational decisions, and maintain relationships with others."

"However, once emotions are interfered with by external forces, especially by force majeure, many small emotions will suddenly erupt like a landslide or tsunami, making it difficult for people to control themselves."

"At this time, all the past events will resurface. Those past frictions and conflicts will be magnified infinitely, making people feel deeply betrayed. And the negative emotions that are generated by them will also be magnified. What was originally just a complaint will quickly develop into resentment; what was originally just dissatisfaction will quickly turn into anger."

"With no one to comfort them and no way to control themselves, these terrible negative emotions can completely change a person's personality, making them gloomy, cruel, and evil."

"All those who are resurrected have had tragic fates. They have witnessed too much darkness, been persecuted, killed, and endlessly tortured. When the resentment accumulated from these events erupts, they will naturally hate society, hate the world, and hate superheroes."

"So they'll want revenge, want to destroy the Earth, destroy everything that caused them pain. This will inevitably put them on the opposite side of the superheroes. That's the key to the mastermind's plan."

“Damian, the mastermind chose you because you died young and tragically. There are too many things you can resent, like me, the Joker, Gotham, or society as a whole. The first thing you will do upon your return is to take revenge on them. That's all you will ever think about.”

“What’s wrong with that?!” Damian couldn’t help but exclaim. “Haven’t you always been after revenge?!”

"I'm saying all this to tell you that your experience was terrible, but the fault wasn't yours. So it's perfectly normal for you to want revenge. But is the person you're targeting really the right one?"

“I remember telling you that my parents were shot and killed on our way home from the movies. From that moment on, I vowed to avenge them. I became Batman, traversing the streets of Gotham at night, taking down countless criminals, and battling cunning supervillains day after day. I’ve paid a heavy price, but I’ve also changed a lot.”

"What you did was like me choosing to seek revenge on the movie theater after my parents were shot—because if I hadn't gone to the movie theater, my parents wouldn't have died. That's not only incredibly stupid, but also ridiculous."

“I admit, at that moment, I was blinded by anger and made an irrational decision. But I was on the roof because I wanted to save you. I wanted to fulfill my responsibilities as Batman and as a father. The Joker threw you off not because I pushed him, but because he wanted to kill you, because he is a madman who enjoys seeing others suffer.”

“Damian, you’ve always been smart. You’re not incapable of seeing that the malice you feel towards me is illogical. But you’ve lost control of yourself; the mastermind behind it has taken it away. Your emotions and reason have been constantly at odds, which is causing you great pain.”

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you can't defeat it. That's why I won't treat you as the real Damian. Because I know that when you are utterly defeated, you will reveal your true monster nature. If I have any hope, I will surely be disappointed."

"So, you don't need to be angry at my indifference. After all, I'm not being controlled by that mastermind. I have basic emotional self-control and reason. Knowing that there won't be a good outcome, I won't waste my emotions on a monster. You don't need to come looking for me anymore; it's pointless."

After Batman finished speaking, he stood up and went upstairs. Damian felt as if he had been plunged into an ice cave, as if someone had poured a bucket of ice water over his head, and he was shivering with cold.

All those words of rage that had been brewing within him for so long remained unuttered. If, when he first met Batman, the latter had at least offered him some words of advice, there seemed to be a lingering affection. But now, Batman's calm demeanor was like a death knell.

Damian would rather Batman argue with him, scold him, or debate the events of the past. But he didn't. He simply stated the fact calmly—Damian's coldness towards him wasn't because he didn't love Damian, but because he didn't see him as Damian.

This was even more devastating for Damian than he had previously realized. Because Batman was telling him that he had no right to accuse Batman of favoring other children from Damian's perspective. Because he was just a monster with Damian's appearance.

Batman was always calmer and more composed than anyone else. He had no expectations of him, neither seeing him as Damian nor expecting him to actually become Damian. Because he didn't care, he didn't react.

Damian arrived smugly, questioned angrily, and left dejectedly. He realized a chilling truth: in Batman's eyes, whether someone is truly himself depends on whether he can satisfy him.

Batman believed Damian should be intelligent enough to see that his uncontrolled emotional turmoil stemmed from manipulation. The resurrected Damian failed to see this, therefore he was inadequate. Batman believed Damian could overcome his uncontrolled emotions and make the right choices. The resurrected Damian failed to do so, therefore he was inadequate. Because he was inadequate, he was not Damian but merely a monster.

But that doesn't make sense either. Damian thought: First, it's normal for his personality to change; after all, he died once, and so tragically. Anyone who went through what he went through would become a vengeful ghost, wouldn't they? It's not abnormal for him to harbor resentment, is it?
Secondly, he's still a child, and he wasn't always the kind of person who was gentle, kind, and never lost his temper. So why do you say that his emotional outburst was due to manipulation? He only lost his temper this once, does that make him unqualified?

Batman's certainty that he is not Damian must have some other reason, and he must have shown something wrong.

Back at base, Amanda looked visibly displeased. He sized up Damian and said, "Where have you been? For so long? Our meeting was almost over..."

Damian ignored him completely, went back to his room, and slammed the door shut. Amanda, feeling snubbed, left grumbling. They agreed to act the next morning, but it was already late, and there were many things to prepare; he had to hurry.

Damian was still unable to calm down after returning to his room. He was filled with resentment, throwing things around and pacing back and forth, trying to figure out what went wrong with him, why Batman had no expectations of him, and why he thought he wasn't the right person.

He had asked several other people before, especially those who had met with the Justice League, such as Ellen and her husband. They all said that even though their loved ones ultimately made the decision, their wavering was still very clear. Even the very rational Barry and the always strong Diana couldn't help but be momentarily stunned. There must have been a moment when they wanted to rush over and hug them without hesitation.

But Batman didn't at all, not from the very first time they met. Damian now realizes: the things Batman said to him during their first meeting were nothing like what Batman would say to Damian. Things like, "I don't have time to dwell on the past, you should move on," sounded like Batman was advising him as a stranger, not his own son.

This time it's even worse, talking about whether the target of revenge was right or wrong, whether resentment is normal or not, and whether there's a mastermind behind it all. It does seem like a father instructing his son, but in reality, it's just explaining his own attitude. Flat and monotonous, without any waves, it's like a stubborn, unyielding rock.

Damian racked his brains but still couldn't figure out what was going on. Even if he was indeed full of resentment and acted irrationally during their second meeting, unlike his usually intelligent son, what happened during their first meeting? Surely he couldn't have made a mistake before even opening his mouth?
Damian paced back and forth in the room, but felt that he was not getting anywhere by continuing like this. So he went to Schiller's room and knocked on the door.

Most of the people here don't know much about Batman. Those who were resurrected have no connection to Batman. Bruce Wayne certainly has some connection to him, but Damian doesn't want to see him. That leaves only Schiller. Damian seems to have heard Amanda mention that Schiller used to be Bruce Wayne's middleman, so he should know something about him.

Schiller opened the door and was somewhat surprised to see Damian. He said, "What's wrong, Damian? Haven't you gone to rest yet?"

Damian ignored what he said and squeezed into the room. Everyone's room was pretty much the same, so there wasn't much to see. He simply plopped down on the sofa by the window.

Schiller went over, poured him a glass of water, placed it in front of him, and said, "Is there anything you want to ask?"

“Tell me, what exactly did I do wrong?” Damian said indignantly. “Batman just doesn’t recognize me as Damian. What makes him so sure? What evidence does he have? Just because I lost control of my emotions? But after everything I’ve been through, am I not allowed to get angry?!”

This was the main reason Damian was so troubled. He just couldn't understand how Batman could be so certain. He died so tragically; wasn't it normal for him to harbor some resentment after returning? He was still a child; his father was so cold to him and had another child. Wasn't he allowed to be angry? Why was he called a monster?

Schiller smiled as he looked at his sullen face.