American Comics: Multiverse of Madness

299. The Way to Recover a Name.

Delving deep into someone's soul was a fresh experience for Alex.

This was completely different from his encounter with Carolina's dreamscape before. That was just a mental confrontation, but here, in this new universe, astral projection couldn't directly manifest within Dick's body.

Alex knew the power he wielded was immense, and Dick was just an ordinary person with a relatively fragile soul. If Alex had used astral projection, Dick's soul realm would have been instantly overwhelmed by his energy. At that point, unless reality was rewritten, not even divine intervention could save Dick.

So, to ensure his actions would succeed, Alex took a more cautious approach, injecting a portion of his own soul into Dick's soul world to search for a way to remove the contamination.

This was no easy task. A soul is a vital aspect of any living being, and what Alex was doing was akin to walking naked into a world full of blades. A single misstep could lead to irreversible consequences.

Of course, Alex had prepared himself mentally for this. After all, it was an unknown territory to him. If anything went wrong, Ms. Time would immediately open a portal from the outside and pull Alex's soul back. However, despite being there for quite a while, Alex hadn't sensed any threat.

No strange energy, no dark force corruption. He didn't even need to use magic. With just the basic black umbrella, Alex could keep the inky rain at bay. But Alex didn't let his guard down. Instead, he became even more cautious.

"Don't just stand there, let's go." Alex called out to Dick, then turned and walked toward the opposite side of the street.

Upon hearing Alex's voice, Dick quickly followed. After learning about the danger of the raindrops, he didn't dare step out from under the umbrella for even a second.

"Where are we going?" Dick asked nervously as he looked at Alex.

He held a certain reverence for this man named Alex. After all, Alex seemed to know a lot about this strange world, and he was the only one who could help Dick recover his memories.

"To find your name."

Alex replied calmly, and under the mask where Dick couldn't see, Alex's pupils turned completely black, radiating an aura of dark, terrifying power.

In the darkness and corruption, no force was more familiar to Alex than the power of the Sin Demons. As the power of the Seven Deadly Sins surged forth, the misty rain around them dissipated, and the surroundings became much clearer.

The two walked quickly down the street. Alex had already pinpointed their destination through the power of the demons, while Dick followed like a headless chicken, having no choice but to trail behind Alex.

"Hey, um… Mr. Alex, look at those things."

Along the way, Dick once again saw the strange creatures that were slowly melting in the rain. Given that he had no memories at the moment, this was technically the 'first' time he had ever seen such a horrifying sight.

"Don't worry about them, just stay close to me." Alex showed no intention of explaining, only quickening his pace.

"What are they? Are they like me? If I come into contact with the raindrops, will I end up like them?" Dick asked, still shaken, as he hurried to keep up with Alex.

"They're just a bunch of beings consumed by darkness. You should just pretend they don't exist. Don't concern yourself with things unrelated to you. You can't save them."

Alex cast a glance at the grotesque figures mimicking the movements of normal humans. Those creatures, patched together from deformed flesh, couldn't even be considered complete souls. They were merely illusions created by the surrounding dark energy.

These beings had all once been humans soaked in the Lazarus Pit, but they didn't have the willpower to control that force. In the end, they succumbed to the darkness. Once their souls were fully polluted, they became shattered remnants, devoid of any will. The rain itself was filthy, the primary cause of mental corruption.

From his observations, Alex could tell that Dick had originally retained all of his memories. However, in this downpour, he wouldn't be able to stay conscious for long. If they couldn't find a way to wake him in time, he would melt away, just like the other 'people.'

Each time Dick died, a portion of his memory was erased due to the contamination. Although it seemed like he always woke up in the same place, each time he regained consciousness in the alley, it meant that Dick's soul had fallen deeper into darkness. Now, he had lost most of his memory, which meant he was at a very dangerous point, proving he had sunk to an especially deep level.

If, in the end, he forgot how to speak and how to think, then at that point, he would truly be no different from the other things in this place.

Running wildly with Dick in tow, the street ahead soon changed. In the distance, a massive circus tent appeared before Alex and Dick.

"That, what is that?"

Dick stared blankly at the circus, feeling a sudden sense of suffocation, and his body involuntarily trembled.

"That's the place where you'll find your name. Go on."

Alex smiled slightly under his mask, then led Dick across the road to the entrance of the circus.

Dick may no longer have any memory of this place, but Alex knew very well that this circus was the origin of Dick's story.

When he was only eight years old, Dick had become an acrobat in the circus, and he was the youngest member of the "Flying Grayson" family.

Likewise, it was here that Dick Grayson witnessed his parents being murdered and was later adopted by Batman, Bruce Wayne, eventually becoming a protector of Gotham.

"Aren't you coming in with me?" Dick asked, surprised, turning his head.

"This is your fight, or rather, it's a place only you can enter." Alex patted Dick on the shoulder and handed him the black umbrella. "Take this. Whether you can recover your name depends on your willpower."

"This thing seems important. And besides, it's still raining out there, and isn't the rain dangerous? If you give it to me, what about you?" Dick hesitated.

"The rain won't stop," Alex said in a deep voice. "And there's nowhere you can escape it here. Even inside those buildings, the 'rain' still falls."

Seeing that Dick was about to say something more, Alex raised his hand to cut him off.

"Alright, go in."

After a brief pause, Dick's expression gradually grew determined. He nodded heavily, then said seriously, "I'll definitely recover my memory, wait for me!"

With that, holding the umbrella, he turned and dashed straight into the circus.

Watching his resolute figure disappearing from sight, Alex nodded with some satisfaction. No matter how much of his memory had been lost, Dick's core hadn't changed. Somewhere, unbeknownst even to him, another part of himself was pulling him forward.

Only after Dick's figure vanished from his view did Alex slowly turn around to face the street behind him.

At that moment, in his line of sight, the previously empty street was now densely packed with grotesque monsters.

Unlike the beings that had mimicked humans earlier, these strange creatures now had empty eyes, slowly rising from the rain and crawling toward Alex from all directions.

Alex simply smiled at this, showing no sign of concern.

Several menacing tentacles slithered out from beneath his black coat, snapping and clawing toward the approaching creatures.

"Dick's battle has begun. Now then..."

("Sir, there's a communication request from the Wasteland World. Should I use 1% of my power to start the call?")

Before Alex could finish speaking, Ms. Minutes's voice cut in.

"Can't you see I'm busy right now?"

("I see that, sir, but the other party seems quite urgent. Clint Barton sent a message saying that Star-Lord Peter Quill has arrived on Earth!")

Hearing that, Alex froze.

"What did you say!?"

.....

30 advanced chapters on p@treaon
For advance chapters: /Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
300. The Great Devourer Approaches.
301. Rescuing Nightwing.
302. A Warm Family - Raven and Trigon.
303. Facing Trigon.
304. Demon Contract and the Imbalance of Good and Evil.