Chapter 1022: Momentary Broadness of Heaven and Earth (Part 1) (Patreon)

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"In the moment I realized the truth of magic, a thought has been lingering in my mind: if it's borrowing, can it be without returning?"

"Even after encountering magic, I still hold no reverence for the so-called God and devil. I know they make deals with humans because they are weak and cowardly."

"If they were as powerful as they appear, why not directly invade the human realm and swallow everyone? They refrain from doing so for one reason: they dare not."

"Since they, like us, must adhere to certain rules to survive in this world, then those rules will be my weapons."

"I spent decades conducting comprehensive research and investigation, then devised a crazy plan. That will be the only way to save this country."

"You are able to listen to my story here because you've activated a small magic on the badge, indicating that you've discovered the immense power deep within your soul."

"And this power, capable of influencing reality, is my achievement. You can understand it as borrowed from numerous powerful entities."

"To say borrowed isn't entirely accurate because I never intended to return it. The power I've obtained is mine, and no one can make me pay the price."

"I once considered robbing Peter to pay Paul, but that wouldn't accumulate enough energy. I had to borrow from all powerful entities in a short time, before they realized, and shirk this debt."

Schiller's speech accelerated, and within his words, Schiller heard an incredibly surreal and astonishing adventure.

"My magical talent is strong, so many powerful entities are willing to lend me their power, but it's still not enough."

"In all the contracts I've made, they are obligated to keep my secrets. Although I have to pay a greater price for it, I don't care at all."

"They think they've gained, so they won't inform their kind of my short-term borrowing of immense power."

"In essence, I concealed my borrowing history, fabricated my credit history, and borrowed a sum substantial enough to shake reality from thousands of banks."

"And these so-called Mysterious entities evidently don't understand human finance. They're convinced I wouldn't dare default, so they lend without reservation."

"Soon, they paid the price for their arrogance because I died, and you came."

"They want to collect the debt, provided they can obtain my soul. I know, wherever I go in this world, they can find me."

"So, I directly used the immense power I borrowed from them, with my own soul as the fuse, to ignite, explode, and open a passage."

"And thus, you arrived here."

"As the passage opened, my soul had already burned out. At the same time, all debts linked to my soul vanished. And you, a new soul from a foreign world, are not in their borrowing records."

"The immense power you've gained, mixed with too many attributes, these powers collide, cut, shatter, and recombine, losing their original form completely. None of the creditors can trace their power anymore, meaning they won't get their money back."

Schiller's tone carried a deep malice:

"I will make these self-proclaimed noble gods understand that there are no gods and fairies in space. If they dare lend power to humans, they must be prepared for a group of unbelievers to treat them like pigs ready for slaughter."

"The only loophole in the rules followed by hypocritical gods is that these selfish monsters will never imagine someone willing to completely destroy their soul to fulfill a greater ideal."

As his words fell, Schiller saw a fire burning in the vortex of immense power, his original soul.

And when he destroyed his soul, it wasn't that no powerful entity noticed his actions, or that no hand reached out to him.

Just as demons always try to save Constantine, those mysterious entities also wanted to save the original Schiller to make him repay his debts.

But that shot in 1991 destined that he would never give up.

"Additionally, I was born in an era much earlier than you imagine. When I was 33, I became the head of the Eleventh Bureau, but soon I realized, perhaps due to the anomalies brought by rebirth, I wouldn't age. This would mean I couldn't survive in ordinary society, so I decided to leave the Eleventh Bureau."

"Before I left, I used magic to place a badge I had once received, which is now in your hands, into a special document."

"I told my comrades in the Eleventh Bureau that if one day this badge returned to Moscow, they should follow my instructions, attach this message to the badge, take it to find me, and explain everything to me, who has changed souls, that is, you."

"If you can follow various clues to find this document, it proves you have the ability."

"And if, after obtaining this badge, you are willing to return it to Moscow, it proves you are our comrade, capable of inheriting my will. So, you will naturally receive this message and uncover all the truths."

"Perhaps you've already realized that the immense power you possess is an inert force. You can't fully control it with magical talents or soul because you still need to find a key..."

After the final segment played, silence returned, and the dream gradually dissipated before Schiller's eyes.

But as the contents of the dream became increasingly transparent, Schiller saw a familiar black figure opposite him, along with a more familiar scent of alcohol.

Schiller widened his eyes, and in the moment the dream shattered, his roar echoed in the dream space:

"Batman!!!!!!!"

Schiller sat up in bed, about to use the Grey Mist to leave and confront Batman back at Rodriguez Manor. But Petrov, who had just come downstairs, walked in and said:

"Director, the Andro who brought you here is actually a Central Intelligence Agency agent undercover within the KGB. He intended to hijack you on the road back to Moscow, but fortunately, we arrived just in time."

After saying this, Petrov saluted and said, "Director, all comrades of the Eleventh Bureau await your instructions."

Schiller felt his mind in disarray, so he simply waved his hand and said, "You all wait downstairs, I'll call you up later."

But what surprised Schiller was that Petrov saluted again, then silently led the people out without asking anything.

Alone, Schiller lay on the hotel bed, closing his eyes, the words of the original Schiller echoing in his mind.

In essence, the original Schiller was an upgraded version of Constantine.

In this era, Constantine isn't too extreme yet. Though he has already crossed paths with Lucifer Morningstar and dealt with many lords of Hell, he hasn't yet made it onto the blacklists of all Satans and Angels.

However, judging from the actions of the original Schiller, what he did was definitely much more extreme than Constantine.

Currently, Constantine is still robbing Peter to pay Paul, using demons' reluctance to let him fall into enemy hands to his advantage, and he's ended up injured.

But the original Schiller waged a Thunderbolt war against these Mysterious entities. He exploited the information gap within a short time to deceive and obtain immense power, then immediately expended it, leaving the debt as a black mark.

Because everything happened so quickly, and no one had ever done such a thing before, the majority of Mysterious entities couldn't react in time.

Moreover, these Mysterious entities couldn't understand the concept of ideals. They never imagined that someone would destroy their own soul just to default on a debt because it made no sense.

If a person is gone and the money isn't spent, what good is the money? And they weren't worried that the debtor would accidentally destroy their own soul. With such immense power, why would the soul be destroyed by accident? From any angle, it doesn't make sense.

So, just like before, they lent out large amounts of power without any suspicion. After all, as long as it's within their realm, no one can escape their grasp.

But when they wanted to collect the debt, they found that the soul had vanished into thin air, and the power was nowhere to be found. Thus, this immensely powerful force became an unsolved mystery, landing in the hands of the current Schiller.

Moreover, judging from the process described by the original Schiller, his creditors were definitely not just a few demons or angels.

Having been to Hell, Schiller was well aware that even if all the demon lords in Hell combined their largest shares, it wouldn't come close to the immense power he had acquired.

Schiller suspected that among these entities, there were likely All Things Green or entities of a similar level who were pitilessly swindled by the original Schiller. And there might not have been just one such cash cow.

Conversely, the original Schiller likely scammed All Things Green or similar entities multiple times to gain such immense power to traverse the limitations of space and time and pull him here.

And the immediate question is, once these entities detect this power still within Schiller, he can forget about surviving in the DC Space.

Schiller thought this might be a safeguard of the original Schiller; he directly pushed the current Schiller into opposition with all Mysterious entities, meaning that if the current Schiller wants to ensure he isn't dealt with, he must rely on this power.

But what the original Schiller didn't anticipate is that Schiller doesn't need a key, nor does he need to use this power; he just needs to fragment it and feed it to various personalities.

Of course, the Superego used this power to repair the high tower and enhance the strength of some personalities, but it still didn't consume much. If he wishes, he could use this power to fully strengthen all personalities. By then, all the reinforced Schillers could come out in force against these Mysterious entities and might not necessarily be at a disadvantage.

So, Schiller currently feels no sense of crisis. Furthermore, he feels that if the original Schiller were still alive, he and the greedy Schiller would have a lot in common and would inevitably form a perfect pair.

The greedy Schiller in Marvel almost replicated such operations, and the two became the most understanding and close friends in different times and spaces.

Now, Schiller worries about another matter. Just now, before the dream shattered, he saw Batman's figure and smelled the scent of mad wine. This means his student likely intruded into his dream using mad wine, and his timing was perfect, as the original Schiller was playing his past.

Schiller urgently needs to determine how much Batman saw.

If he saw everything, then Schiller might have to have a frank conversation with Batman. However, he's unsure if Batman can accept the fact that he's a character from comics.

What's even more frustrating for Schiller is that he spent a whole four years almost curing Batman. If Batman were to collapse again because of this, all the previous efforts would be in vain.

Schiller absolutely doesn't want to deal with this matter, so he lies on the bed, contemplating whether there's a gentler way to convey the truth.

After a while, Schiller tries to sit up from the bed, and then he notices the handgun Petrov handed him earlier still lying on his blanket.

Schiller picks up the handgun and realizes it's a Makarov handgun, often favored by various Soviet military officers and nicknamed the "officer's handgun."

Of course, this handgun couldn't be the one the original Schiller used to commit suicide, but because the model is the same, it naturally looks similar.

Schiller gets off the bed and stands by the window, holding the handgun, lost in thought.

The scene of the original Schiller's suicide left him with deep feelings, especially now that it's December 2nd, 1991.

However, many significant events before the dissolution of the Soviet Union haven't happened yet, and the impact of the head of the Union's death is much greater than imagined.

Currently, no one wants to stick their neck out, as they could easily become targets for both the Soviet Union and the US.

Don't forget, the Central American Revolution is in full swing, and the US Congress is in a frenzy. They're willing to do anything to shift the blame, and the leaders of those small countries aren't fools. If they join in now, they're just cannon fodder.

This leads to some previously declared independent countries remaining silent, unable to chant slogans. Some who haven't declared independence have also stopped stirring, intending to weather the storm before making plans.

And the successors who come later indeed live up to expectations. Though they haven't achieved much for now, at least they're alive and well, which gives some people hope.

Some wavering individuals, after wavering back and forth, eventually revert. Aside from some extreme right-wing extremists, the majority change direction because they can't see hope. If they could live in their own country, no one would want to be a dog elsewhere.

The situation has stabilized like this, though it won't last more than three years. But everyone knows there's a very good chance of a smooth landing for the Soviet Union, and though they might lose a large part of their territory, purging the bad to save the good might not be a bad thing.

Thinking of this, Schiller has the Grey Mist control the radio and play a piece of music.

As Schiller fiddles with the handgun and recalls the scenes he saw, there's a loud bang, and the door of the hotel is kicked open, and Batman rushes in.

As soon as Batman comes in, he sees the exact same scene he saw in the dream just now.

Schiller stands in front of the window with a solemn expression, holding a Makarov handgun, and the radio is playing "Farewell to the Slavs."

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 1023: Momentary Broadness of Heaven and Earth (Part 2)