Chapter 24 Returning to Old Habits: Utter Madness ( )
Thomas was suffering from a hangover, his blood vessels were throbbing, but he was unusually excited. Although his behavior didn’t seem abnormal, it was unusually neurotic.
He cut the steak, meticulously slicing through the bloody flesh, the knife scraping against the plate, making a series of strange, sharp, and grating sounds.
"Which do you prefer, my grilled steak or the plates from Wayne Manor?" Alfred asked sarcastically, seemingly quite displeased with Thomas's drinking yesterday and his plate-cutting behavior today.
The sound of the knife sharpening on the porcelain plate finally stopped.
Thomas neatly arranged his knife and fork, staring expressionlessly at the minced beef on his plate.
"Do you need me to buy you some candy toys?"
Alfred is still putting in the effort.
Thomas's behavior today was rather strange. Bruce observed him cautiously for a while, and finally uttered a question:
"...Are you really going to work today? Are you going to be late?"
Why did he suddenly drink so much? Could the fact that his home security system was hacked really cause him so much stress?
He knew that Thomas had been quite proud and competitive since childhood, and Thomas would not allow himself to fall behind in any area he cared about.
“Of course,” Thomas replied, “I need to go to work to change my mood.”
Going to work to change your mood sounds weird.
But Bruce himself is the least qualified to say this, as his night patrols can significantly improve his mental state.
-
The timing of the attack on Wayne Manor was quite coincidental; it just happened to be in this morning's daily newspaper.
Gossip about the Wayne family spread throughout the city. Of course, the Wayne Corporation itself was also aware of this big news.
The fact that Thomas himself didn't come this morning has further fueled the spread of conspiracy theories and gossip.
Therefore, when Thomas returned to Wayne Group, everyone felt a sense of satisfaction mixed with a touch of regret.
There was only one exception: Kelvin Ross, who, having come this far, actually decided to use Wayne's influence to find an opportunity to kill Night Owl.
Self-interest lasts longer than love and hate. Kelvin is the person within the group who most wants Thomas to live well (which is actually quite normal; what employee would care about the life or death of their leader?). It's not because he values Thomas as their leader that much, but because he doesn't want to be inexplicably blown up or killed by an evil god in the war between two madmen.
So when Thomas stared at him today, Kelvin felt a chill run down his spine.
This lunatic usually doesn't even glance at others when assigning tasks, so his sudden staring at people is really unsettling.
What on earth is he thinking?!
"It's nothing, it's just that seeing you suddenly made me understand a problem that has been bothering me for a long time."
Going to work can definitely change your mood.
Kelvin was so startled that his hand trembled.
"What have you figured out?"
Instead of answering his question directly, Thomas countered with, "Do you think humans should be judged? Are humans born to suffer?"
Kelvin was about to brush it off (yes, working people are different; he's now mastered the skill of brushing off his boss), but Thomas interrupted him: "Tell me your true thoughts. Don't deceive yourself. I just realized that deceiving yourself is incredibly foolish. Indeed, one shouldn't blindly believe a famous saying, but rather analyze what one truly needs based on reason."
These words sounded familiar, but Kelvin didn't care much. He just wanted to appease his neurotic boss: "Of course, I'm a Christian."
Of course, like countless employees trying to appease their bosses, Kelvin was just fooling Thomas.
However, this trick of deception won't work when Thomas wants to get to the bottom of things. He himself has achieved great success in this field, and he has fooled and betrayed everyone in the Crime Syndicate, who will sincerely admire Night Owl as the best tool.
“You know perfectly well that I didn’t mean that, but since you’re playing dumb, I’ll be more explicit, Mr. Ross—” Thomas tilted his head, “Do you want to judge humanity? Do you think humans should be born to suffer?”
That sounds too blunt.
Kelvin, having prepared himself mentally, took a deep breath before revealing a small part of his true thoughts:
"I think I want to judge those sinners."
Thomas nodded and asked him, "How will you judge who the sinner is? How will you ensure that you don't slip into the abyss of sin because of prejudice or ignorance?"
Kelvin's face darkened: "Are you asking for my opinion just to belittle me?"
“Of course not, I just wanted to point out your flaws and show you a more feasible path,” Thomas replied. “Have you ever considered wiping out all humanity across all timelines?”
Wait, what?
“Human beings are the root of all evil,” Thomas continued. “Without human beings, all evil in the world would cease to exist.”
Kelvin took a step back.
He thought he was already extreme enough, but he didn't expect there to be something even more extreme.
"Then aren't you a sinner too?"
"Of course, I'll be sitting on the dock, and I'll be sitting on the guillotine, and we'll all die together."
Despite facing a mentally ill person, Kelvin bravely retorted, "Aren't there some kind and honest people among them?"
It is impossible for anyone to exist on the branches of the multiverse's possibilities without being tainted by sin.
But Thomas had no intention of explaining the multiverse to Kelvin. Over the years, he had tirelessly blocked and suppressed research on the multiverse, and even hired Deathstroke to cause trouble by researching the multiverse under Luthor's name, all to prevent anyone from summoning another Justice League or something similar. Of course, Kelvin couldn't possibly know about such important matters.
So Thomas changed his approach to one that seemed more acceptable:
“‘It is best never to be born, the second best to be born and die.’ Do not resist death; death is the end of suffering, it is a gift,” he said. “Humans are born to face endless suffering, and are forever prisoners of fate, but I have a way to make everyone fall into darkness together without suffering, equally.”
"And actually, my method is simply to prevent all people from ever being born, which means that no one will suffer."
That made some sense, but Kelvin immediately realized the problem.
I don't want to die at all!
What did this lunatic suddenly realize?
-
It's nothing really.
Thomas was still contemplating whether or not to kill Bruce, but when he saw Kelvin, he suddenly remembered a conversation they had had long ago.
"Really? You're even lying to yourself?"
Yeah, you'd even lie to yourself?
Isn't the story of the owl's justice ridiculous?
When I first killed my parents, wasn't it just because they were in my way and threatened my future authority?
Wasn't Bruce killed because he dared to defy my decision?
Thomas was indeed briefly influenced by Batman, and for the past few years he has tried to deceive himself into being a good older brother, a less awful person, and trying to fit into the world while remaining true to himself...
But it's meaningless.
It makes no sense.
As it turns out, redemption is a meaningless false proposition.
Love is a false lie.
Whoever is best at deceiving themselves is the happiest.
This approach simply doesn't apply to Thomas; deceiving himself only brought him pain and shackles.
He pinned his thoughts and energy to a small plot of land at Wayne Manor, forgetting the root of all his suffering.
Fortunately, he has now come to his senses and is ready to walk the only path that fate has ordained for him.
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