Bruce walked through the dust and debris on the ground towards the Cosmic Tuning Fork. The giant golden tree had stopped operating, and the black clouds gathered at its top had dispersed.
The heroes tied to it had all been rescued and were now moving around nearby, either chatting in small groups or quietly reminiscing about something.
Bruce walked through the crowd, observing their diverse faces, their weary or relieved expressions, and feeling the reality of it all.
He was certain it wasn't a nightmare. He had truly escaped from the hands of Barbatos.
Perhaps the story of the Bat and the Bird wasn't over, but for now, it had reached a conclusion.
As he walked, people kept greeting him; in moments like this, the presence of Batman always brought a sense of relief.
"Hi, Batman."
A blonde beauty greeted him, but Bruce merely tilted his head slightly and responded expressionlessly, "Hello Kara, have you seen your cousin?"
"He was the one who got me down, but I think I should still thank you. You're the brains of the Justice League, after all." The woman floated beside him, smiling gratefully. Although her body was uncomfortable from being fixed in one position for so long, her resilience was impressive.
"Not this time."
Batman bypassed the surprised Super Girl and continued forward. He never took credit for others' accomplishments, nor would he inform those unaware about the Otherworldly Deathstroke.
Kara scratched her head. Batman was always so mysterious. If he wouldn't say, then so be it. Anyway, she could always ask Clark later—being Superman's cousin and an auxiliary member of the Justice League, she had a right to know, didn't she?
If that didn't work, she could ask Barry—his mouth was the loosest. As long as she kept pestering him, he wouldn't hold out for long.
She was full of curiosity about this mission, though she was unfortunately taken out early on by Kryptonite and ended up having nightmares in a tree.
"Batman, would you be available for an interview with Channel 52?"
"Not now, Ambush Insect. Let me remind you again, it's best to pause your theory about everyone being comic characters. While freedom of speech exists, that notion isn't suitable for airing on television right now, as it could trigger mass hysteria."
"Alright then... will there be time later? For a special interview?"
Bruce turned a deaf ear, bypassing the green-skinned alien whose head resembled a grasshopper. He thought Ambush Insect should quickly take medication and receive treatment; Barbatos's nightmares were worsening his delusions.
"Little Bat~~~ hehe."
"You'd better go home, Dr. Quizer."
"I know, but I live in Brooklyn. Can I borrow the Batmobile?"
"No."
"Oh come on, I need to find Little Red."
"..."
Dealing with lunatics was a tangled affair. Batman directly ignored Harley—although she no longer did bad things, she was still a troublemaker.
Harley pouted and sat on the ground. She had no special abilities, just her two legs, and who knew when she'd make it back to New York? She might as well wait here until they repaired the Blood Domain and hitch a ride with someone familiar.
However... why does this ending seem different from what I saw before? Why is the outside world shrouded in mist?
"Batman."
"Steelman."
"Batman."
"Gypsy."
Bruce walked briskly through the crowd. Many greeted him, and he simply nodded in response, lost in thought.
Logically, the combination of Barry and Deathstroke was formidable enough to defeat Barbatos, yet they hadn't returned. Did they encounter issues too?
He was unsure whether to send Clark to search for them.
However, the current situation was most important—first to repair the Blood Domain; everything else could wait.
He walked to the base of the Tuning Fork and pulled out his Bat Amplifier from his belt.
"Friends, please listen to me." He threw out his Bat Claw Hook, hoisted himself to a higher branch of the Tuning Fork, and stood on a branch: "Barbatos has been defeated, we have won."
"OH! YEAH!"
"Good!"
"Haha!"
Bruce looked down at the sea of heads below; many of the heroes who came from Otherworld to help had been injured, yet now they wore smiles, celebrating in their own ways.
Batman didn't rush them but waited for their celebrations to end. Everyone had been under great stress these past days.
The celebration was simple, some applause, some hugs, and it didn't last long, as everyone knew Batman had more to say and quickly quieted down.
"Although he has been defeated, our world still needs repair, and this requires each of our strengths!"
The heroes below began murmuring among each other; some had no superpowers and couldn't conceive of what they could contribute.
Batman didn't want them guessing and directly provided answers.
"I have a drop of X Metal here, a unique substance that is the essence of our world. We will use it to create a resonance with everyone's mind and pull our world back to its place."
Some understood what it meant, but most were still puzzled. Batman didn't explain further but continued to distribute tasks.
"Now, please, hold each other's hands, close your eyes, and remember the happy things, the beauties of the world."
As he spoke, he jumped down from the tower, poured the X Metal liquid into his palm, and grasped the hand of Steel Bone beside him, with Clark appearing on his other side, holding his other hand.
Next was Sea King, who, pale-faced, held Clark's hand and then reached out to Green Arrow beside him.
One by one, each hero joined hands with the person next to them, forming a massive circle.
They might not have been acquainted, but everyone was fighting for the same belief, hundreds united, recalling the world's beauty as Bruce instructed.
For instance, the pastoral landscapes they saw from the sky, the candy given by little girls after saving a city, or their beautiful visions for the future world.
X Metal emitted fine, invisible ribbons of light that connected everyone via their arms.
Bruce nodded to Steel Bone, who fully activated the Mother Box and placed his and Bruce's hands on the Cosmic Tuning Fork.
Instantly, the Cosmic Tuning Fork emitted a bright silver light, creating a vast network that shot off in different directions towards the horizon.
In Binhai City, in Washington, in Midtown, in Detroit, in every city and village across the United States, it spread rapidly.
Subsequently, it crossed mountains and forests, rivers and seas, completely enveloping the entire world.
No matter where people were, whether drowning in nightmares atop the Dark Tower or shivering in their basement hideouts. Whether kneeling at a Divine Altar, praying to gods, or lying in bed drunk, waiting to die.
Everyone experienced it the same.
The silver light permeated their bodies, linking the souls of people worldwide.
At that moment, they felt the world's beauty, sensed the heroes' will, and simultaneously recalled their own joys, sharing this happiness with others.
They heard the heroes' words, countless voices converging to tell them—that darkness would pass, and Earth would see a new day.
The people smiled.
Under this will, the entire Earth radiated a strong light, like a silver-white sun, driving the Main Universe to slowly rise from the Blood Domain's fissures, returning to its position.
Everyone could feel it—they had come home.
It was as if they could hear a 'click' in their ears as the Main World returned to where it rightfully belonged.
If someone looked up now, they would see the fissure in the sky shrinking, and the Blood Domain repairing itself through this energy, a cosmic rule with self-repair capability.
The blue sky and white clouds reappeared in the sky; everything returned to normal.
Everyone could live peacefully again, of course, relatively peacefully.
But they hadn't noticed, directly above the Tuning Fork, due to the closure of the Blood Domain, that the huge silver light continued to shoot out, crossing all worldly cosmic spaces, hitting something.
The 'click' they heard was not an illusion.
The Wall of Origin at the outermost layer of the DC World, enveloping and protecting all Multiverses, was hit by this powerful energy. Human curiosity, condensed under the X Metal energy, broke what was once the strongest barrier.
Some grayish, silver sand-like matter roiled like tides on the other side of the Wall; no one knew what lay beyond.