Chapter 4: Barbatos's Pursuit Bruce discovered that Katum's proposal coincided with his previous thoughts. He originally wanted to travel and see the world. Katum simply expanded the range. But can I really trust the advice of a devil? Bruce decided to go for it and not think any more. On the one hand, he was indeed frightened by the images shown by Katoom. On the other hand, as Owl said, as the Demon King, it would be easy for him to kill himself, and there was no need to do these little tricks. The other party is indeed fulfilling the contract. In fact, this is the benefit of Katum's pretense in the early stages, which allowed Bruce to have a head start. No one would think that the Demon King had time to play with a child. But now there is still a problem -
"Alfred wouldn't agree to that." Bruce thought of his competent butler, who was now, in a sense, his guardian. "If you're worried about that, we can just not go." Katum was straightforward, "My life span is unlimited anyway, so it won't hurt to waste a few decades on you." "That won't work!" Bruce immediately weighed the pros and cons. If he continued to hesitate, he would be the one who would suffer. He thought for a moment and made a decision. "I can leave secretly without telling Alfred!" Bruce said with a fist, "but I will leave him a letter telling him not to worry!" This idea is indeed a bit naive. Alfred would never be any less worried just because Bruce left a letter. He will definitely go around the world looking for Bruce. "Speaking of sending letters, I remember now." Katum then said, "I can set a time and space anchor point here so that you can write home every day." "Hmm? Is that okay?" Bruce's eyes lit up. "Can I tell Alfu my true experience in the letter?" Katum shrugged, "Whatever you want, I don't care." Having solved the biggest problem, Bruce immediately slid off the bed, put on his slippers, and ran to the desk. He tore a page from his notebook, picked up a pen and began to write the letter stroke by stroke. Katoom landed on top of him. Ten-year-old Bruce had little literary talent, but he explained things very clearly.
The gist of the letter is: "Goodbye, Ah Fu. I'm going to sail away tonight. Don't worry about me. I have the oars of courage and wisdom." Katum reminded above his head: "Write your owl godfather on it as well." Bruce rolled his eyes, then started a new line, writing about Katoom. It only said that he met a magical owl, but didn't mention any godfather. Katum didn't bother with such details. When the letter was finished, Katum shook his body and a feather fell off. "Put a drop of blood on it, just like you did when you woke me up." Bruce squeezed the newly scabbed scar on the palm of his hand and dripped a drop of blood onto the feather. The blood quickly seeped in, merged with the feathers, and disappeared. "Very good, the anchor point is now complete. Please leave a message to your butler. This will be the medium for your future communication." Bruce did so. When the final signature is completed, it also means that the journey is about to begin. Bruce changed into his favorite clothes and was about to pack some luggage when he was stopped by Katum. "There's no need to go through so much trouble. The necessary things will naturally be there." Katoom fell onto Bruce's shoulder. "Are you ready? Let's go!" At this moment, Bruce remembered that he had not yet explained what to do with the shares of Wayne Group. "Wait a minute..." "late--" An illusory hole opened up under Bruce's feet, and he fell weightlessly. "No matter what else happens, trust your butler--" After Katum finished speaking, he also dived into the cave entrance. As the cave entrance closed, the man and the bird completely disappeared from this world. The day when they return will be a long, long time from now. …… The time and space tunnels of the heavens are full of interweaving light and shadow, changing unpredictably, like a flowing abstract painting. Bruce was suspended in the air, as if being held up by an invisible force. Katoom spread its wings and flew over his head. Suddenly, a series of strange noises came from behind, like echoes in the wilderness, getting closer and closer, making people feel creepy.
Bruce was about to look back when Katum reminded him, "I suggest you don't look back." "What is that sound?" Bruce really didn't look back, but he couldn't suppress his curiosity. "The guy you originally wanted to kill, the Lord of the Dark Universe, Barbatos." Katum said calmly, "You are the most important part of his plan. Now that I have taken you away, of course he will be eager to catch up." "What's the meaning!?" Katum's short sentence contained countless information. Bruce's little head couldn't understand it at all for a moment. "It's nothing, don't think too much, the time tunnel is my home ground, he can't catch up with me, you sit tight!" Suddenly, Katum spread his wings, grabbed Bruce's shoulders with his sharp claws, and suddenly turned him around and crashed into a world. And behind him came a deafening roar of anger. Just as he was about to enter a whole new world, Bruce caught a glimpse and saw the full picture of the creature behind him. For a moment, his heart seemed to stop. Barbatos, the master of the dark universe, appeared before Bruce's eyes in a form that was almost beyond reality. His figure was wrapped in a huge black cloak, and a twisted and terrifying human figure seemed to be hidden under the cloak. Broad wings extended from the edge of the cloak, spreading out in the void, blocking out all light, as if to bring the entire universe under its shadow. Barbatos' eyes, hidden by his cloak, revealed endless anger and evil thoughts. He stretched out his dry claws, trying to pull Bruce back to his own universe. But this is in vain. When traveling through the tunnels of the heavens, Katum is invincible, and his journey will not be disturbed by any external forces. Barbatos could only watch Bruce leave and enter a universe that did not belong to DC. "Roar--" Barbatos was in impotent rage, but Bruce, in a trance, seemed to see the silhouette of a city emerging from the darkness of Barbatos' cloak. That's Gotham. Darkness continued to gather towards Gotham, and only then did Bruce understand why Katum had told him before that Gotham was the intersection of all evil. He suddenly had a strange idea. The death of one's parents may not be a simple accident. However, he had no time to think. The huge feeling of weightlessness and detachment interrupted Bruce's thoughts. His body and consciousness were caught up in a violent transformation, and Bruce felt like he was spinning in a storm.
He continued to fall, and finally entered a completely new world. …… 1991, London, UK. (End of this chapter)