American Comics: Multiverse of Madness

499. Arthur Arkham.

What is corruption?

Based on the evidence Alex had gathered so far, corruption seemed to be a byproduct of emotions and gazes originating from higher-dimensional entities or rules.

Corruption reshapes everything within the multiverse, creating bizarre universes that surpass the boundaries of the multiverse itself. These universes manifest as entities akin to the Upper Narrators of the The Boys.

These entities, birthed from the multiverse, are like the other side of a mirror. They emerge from corruption and simultaneously breed new corruption, serving as twisted nests representing the ominous shadow of reality.

The Dark Multiverse, although the counterpart of the multiverse, fundamentally remains part of the multiverse. It has not crossed beyond the "mirror." In essence, it is still a fraction of the multiverse.

Thus, Barbatos could never be the true source of corruption. The two exist on entirely different levels and cannot be equated.

Because of this, Alex found himself at a loss for words when trying to explain everything to Doctor Strange and the Punisher.

Staring at the eerie Batman huddled in the corner of its prison cell, curled into a shadowy mass, Alex's mind suddenly flashed back to a memory. It was from his life before he transmigrated—a piece of lore from Batman: City of Madness.

Not every Batman was Bruce Wayne. In one isolated universe, there indeed existed such a grotesque Batman. It had been born beneath Gotham City, originating from the dark, mirrored reflection of Gotham.

"Arthur Arkham," Alex muttered as he stepped to the cell door, softly uttering the name.

Hearing the name, the eerie Batman instinctively shuddered. However, it quickly returned to its dormant state, emitting low, guttural murmurs.

"Arthur Arkham?" Doctor Strange repeated the name. After confirming that he'd never heard it before, he curiously asked, "Who is that?"

Alex's gaze turned heavy.

"He was a tragic child, and also the Batman of the Gotham Below—a being constantly radiating pain and despair, serving as pure sustenance for Barbatos."

Arthur's story wasn't particularly long. His father had been the founder of Arkham Asylum, advocating for psychiatric therapy to reform criminals. However, his noble ideals led to disaster.

One criminal, having escaped from Arkham Asylum, didn't reform. Instead, they brutally murdered Arthur's mother and sister in the most horrific manner, leaving Arthur as the sole survivor.

From that day, young Arthur, who had witnessed the atrocities, became a completely different person. He turned dull and detached, isolating himself and often muttering to himself.

With no other choice, Arthur was admitted to his father's asylum for treatment. His father, desperate to cure his son, relentlessly searched for a solution.

Over time, failing to heal Arthur using conventional methods, his father descended into madness. He stumbled upon Gotham's ancient legends, learning of an old god dwelling beneath the city.

Abandoning science and psychiatry, he sought out forbidden knowledge.

Arthur's father prayed to the ancient god, begging it to heal his child. He was willing to pay any price. That god beneath Gotham was none other than the End Dragon, Barbatos.

Arthur's pain and despair intrigued Barbatos. Instead of healing Arthur, Barbatos forcibly took him to the depths beneath Gotham. It then created a duplicate of Arthur, a counterfeit version, which it sent back to Arthur's father.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The real Arthur was imbued with the powers of the ancient god. To savor even greater despair and pain from Arthur, Barbatos constructed a perfect replica of Gotham beneath the city—a Gotham Below locked in perpetual chaos.

This Gotham Below housed warped replicas of all Batman's villains, as well as copies of Gotham's citizens. Each was a creation molded directly by the ancient god, representing the epitome of madness.

Unbeknownst to anyone, a massive shadow of Gotham's darker side—a city known as Gotham Below—was thus created beneath the original Gotham.

Of course, there was some interaction between the two cities. Even in Gotham Below, there was a Court of Owls. The deranged monsters trapped in the depths sought ways to escape the abyss and reach the surface.

No one knew how many duplicates had killed their originals and infiltrated the upper Gotham. Likewise, no one knew how many twisted monsters lurked in the shadows of Gotham.

The grotesque Batman before Alex was Arthur Arkham, born in Gotham Below. In that world, the counterfeit Arthur created by the ancient god had grown up in Gotham.

As a creation of the ancient god, embodying madness and chaos, that duplicate Arthur donned purple clothing and painted his face in exaggerated white makeup.

And he gained a new title—the Joker.

This, then, is the origin of Arthur Arkham, as well as the story of how this eerie Batman came to be.

Logically, this creature should indeed be considered part of the Dark Multiverse, as it was a creation of Barbatos, the lord of the Dark Multiverse.

However, staring at this bizarre being, Alex's expression turned grim.

Arthur may have come from the Dark Multiverse, but that didn't explain why he appeared in the Sentry's mental world. That place, after all, was a nest of corruption—only entities born of corruption should be able to emerge from there.

A creation of corruption...?

Alex's eyelid twitched slightly, and his brow furrowed deeper.

If he remembered correctly, the so-called Batman: City of Madness wasn't even an official DC publication. At its inception, this eerie, Lovecraftian version of Batman had been a fan creation.

It was only later, drawing inspiration from Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth and other horror works, that the story gradually surfaced before the public.

This universe existed independently of the DC Multiverse and also gave the Joker a new origin story.

In a sense, this might also represent a new way for corruption to seep out from behind the mirror.

As Alex's expression grew darker, Doctor Strange and the Punisher exchanged glances. It was Strange who broke the silence first.

"Crow, did you uncover some kind of clue?"

Hearing the question, Alex snapped out of his thoughts. He sighed, raised his hand to rub his temples, and replied, "Maybe. I'm not entirely sure. In the Sentry's mental world, I only found a higher-dimensional universe, not this thing's point of origin. It's possible this thing is an echo born of the corruption."

"An echo born of the corruption? So you're saying this is a self-defense mechanism by the corruption, and that within certain corruptions, there are entire universes as well?" Strange pondered the idea aloud.

"I'm not certain," Alex said evenly, "but I can assure you this thing is just an imperfect copy. It is definitely not the real Arthur Arkham."

"How can you be so sure?" the Punisher asked curiously.

"Because the real Arthur Arkham is already dead. In that universe, in my memories, this eerie Batman was also already dead," Alex answered.

However, there was one thing Alex didn't mention: Miss Minutes had already recorded the soul fragment. The creature before them didn't possess a soul at all—not even a reflection of matter or energy.

In other words, this thing simply did not "exist."

Although Alex and Doctor Strange could see it, touch it, and even hear its voice, in reality, it did not exist. It was like a mirage, an illusion of an eerie reflection.

Its presence wasn't observable by any means. It did not exist within the concepts of space or time.

It was as if it were merely a reflection in a mirror, always just out of reach.

Shaking his head, Alex pushed these thoughts aside and said in a deep voice, "I have to go. We'll leave this matter here for now. I still need to sort through the findings from the corrupted world."

"Wait!"

As Alex finished speaking, the Punisher quickly interjected to stop him.

"We haven't figured out anything yet, and you're already leaving? What about this monster? And the Sentry? That blond kid is still unconscious!"

Hearing this, Alex thought for a moment before responding, "We'll keep this eerie Batman locked up for now. Even though it's just a copy, the corruption it carries is real. It might prove useful in the future. As for the Sentry...

"Let him stay here for a while. Although the corruption in him has vanished and the zombie virus has been cured, I'm still not entirely sure he's fine. Besides, he's unconscious now. Let's deal with him after he wakes up."

"You've got to be kidding me. You're really treating this place like a prison, aren't you? Tossing every weird thing in here? Do you think we're wardens or something?"

The Punisher, visibly annoyed, took two steps forward, only to be stopped by Doctor Strange.

Strange looked at Alex calmly, remaining silent for a long moment before eventually flashing a self-assured smile. Stroking his beard, he said, "Go ahead, Crow. I'll handle things here. If you need help, you can always come to me. But I hope...

"There won't be any secrets between us."

Meeting Doctor Strange's gaze, Alex slowly nodded.

"Don't worry."

.....

?30 advanced chapters on p@treaon?
For advance chapters: /Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
500. Return.
501. The One-Way Mirror of Reality!!
502. The Identity of the Traveler.
503. I Heard It!
504. Three Entry Points.