Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics

Indeed, there were some who did not know Willie in life who came, because word of Willie's sacrifice had already spread; the eyes of the public are clear, they know that this man was not the violent maniac the media portrayed, he was a hero.

The pale knight's hands were shaking as he pushed the door, so Bruce steadied his arm and then said, "My butler told me, there has never been a revolution without bloodshed."

With a push from the pale knight, the door swung open.

People saw him, saw the new mayor with a solemn expression walking into the memorial service.

They tacitly chose not to speak to him; the pale knight just silently walked up to the coffin, a photograph of the deceased placed beside it, and on the side stood a woman in black.

"Hello, I am Willie's ex-wife, and this is his daughter."

The pale knight saw a young girl with a somewhat childish face, who probably had just graduated from junior high, around 15 years old or so.

"Are you the new mayor?" she walked over and asked, the pale knight saw in her face a look similar to her father's, which made everything black and white at the memorial service seem all the more subdued, only those eyes were intense.

"Yes, you can call me Mr. Napier."

"Okay, Mr. Napier, do you think my father was a hero?"

The woman next to her seemed to think this question was too pointed, and pulled her from behind, but the girl persisted, her gaze fixed on the pale knight's face.

"Yes, he is a hero. Regarding his death, I will certainly investigate thoroughly and give you an explanation," the pale knight signaled around him that this statement was not just meant for Willie's relatives.

The woman sadly bowed her head and said, "In the video, I did see Willie provoking the police, according to the laws of New Jersey State..."

"Videos can be edited," the pale knight said. "The angle of filming can make a difference, and together with the media propaganda, an alternative to the truth can be fabricated."

"Maybe Willie did just that, maybe he did break the law, but we must investigate to be certain, not just release a video online and decide his guilt."

A flame rekindled in the girl's eyes; she said, "My name is Fiona, can I investigate with you? I went to the police station, but they said I had no right to participate in the investigation."

Looking into those eyes so similar to her father's, the pale knight found it impossible to say no and merely nodded saying, "Yes, Fiona, I can specially recruit you as my staff to investigate the truth behind your father's death, but you must promise me, if the facts are as the media says, and your father broke the law, you also cannot distort the truth."

"For whom was the law established?" Fiona asked. "Why can they pollute the Natural Forest, killing so many people, and yet not be imprisoned, while my father, just for seeking justice for them, angered the police and had to pay with his life?"

The pale knight fell silent, but Fiona seemed to suddenly understand him. She nodded and said, "I won't cause you any trouble, Mr. Mayor, you are a good person."

After saying this, she turned and left, as if there were many things she had to do. The pale knight sighed, turned to look for Bruce, but unexpectedly saw someone he hadn't expected.

"Shiller." the pale knight called toward him; Shiller noticed his call and turned his head, nodding in acknowledgment.

The pale knight walked over quickly; Shiller held a glass of red wine, his expression still calm, displaying an appropriate sense of mourning and remembering, fitting the atmosphere of the memorial service.

But he wasn't sad, the pale knight thought; he had some purpose in being here.

"Can you tell me what this is all about?" the pale knight tried his best to ensure his tone did not sound like an accusation.

He thought that Willie's death had nothing to do with Shiller. He didn't think the hero stood up for anyone else in particular. Perhaps someone gave him an opportunity, but in the end, it was something he wanted to do.

"I was just about to tell you," Shiller's tone was airy, as if talking about something utterly unrelated to himself. The Pale Knight wanted to grab the string of the balloon, not to burst it outright.

"I'm sorry for Willie's sacrifice, but he never flinched till the last moment. When Jesus's blood drips, even the calm dead water will stir waves. Have you noticed any difference?"

The Pale Knight choked back a belly full of questions and couldn't help looking over at the others at the memorial, and then he saw—they were grieving, they were reminiscing, but beneath this calm facade, anger was accumulating.

Like a boiling pot constantly pushing up its lid, but for now, still capped. If the boiling persists, the intense steam will eventually blow the lid off, and the boiling water will surge out like waves, teaching a painful lesson to any hand that dares to reach for the pot.

"What exactly did you do?" The Pale Knight looked at Shiller and said, "You played a significant role in this, didn't you?"

Shiller nodded and said, "While you were hospitalized for treatment at Arkham Asylum, the manager of the asylum, Tuck, had been reporting your condition to Rose, the manager of the Gotham Natural Disaster Fund."

"Rose knew your unstable mental state was the barrier to Batman's trust and cooperation with you; she didn't want you to recover, so she stole your medication, wanting to create an antidote to negate its effects."

"But no matter how much she analyzed, she couldn't find any useful components in the samples. At this time, Tuck told her that your mental condition had improved significantly, and the symptoms of your split personality were gradually disappearing."

The Pale Knight's breathing paused. He, of course, knew why his symptoms were getting better—it was because a new Joker was born, and the one inside him was fading away.

"Rose thought you had gained a new drug, a drug she couldn't create an antidote for, couldn't even crack the active ingredients. She believed there was only one person in the world who could do this—Batman."

"She thought your collaboration had already begun, that countless conspiracies had been plotted in places she didn't understand, waiting to take full advantage and completely devour the Upper Class."

The Pale Knight's fingertips started trembling slightly again.

"Rose felt fear."

Shiller slowly paced beside the Pale Knight, then circled behind him and said, "Fear is a poison that drives people into irrationality, increases their stress, strips them of their sense of security, and makes them desperately want to control something."

"Most importantly, it makes them want to make immediate progress on at least one thing to soothe their unease."

"So he went after the protesters in the Natural Forest?" The Pale Knight turned and glared at Shiller, saying, "Did you kill Willie?!"

Shiller took a sip of red wine and then said, "That's what I'm saying, Pale Knight. There are swords everywhere in this city, but you're too cowardly to wield any of them."

"But... that's no reason for you to kill an innocent."

Shiller suddenly looked at the Pale Knight and smiled.

"Do you think that only you and Batman are the heroes determined to keep moving forward in the darkness of Gotham?"

The Pale Knight stared at him, and then he heard Shiller say.

"What if I told you Willie knew all along what would happen?"