Watching the chaos on the screen, Bruce was the first to cover his forehead. He recalled the conversation he had had with Pride the first time he took the elevator down to the basement level of Schiller's Mind Tower.
Bruce stared at the newly added button in the elevator and asked in confusion, "If the pathological state is the original Schiller, why has the elevator only now begun leading to the Abyss?"
Pride sighed. "Do you remember the hole on the first floor of the High Tower? That was meant to allow the personalities within the tower to go down while preventing the pathological state from coming up."
"But they still came up."
"Because this universe is dangerous enough." Pride said, "More precisely, this city is far more dangerous than where I originally was. So the pathological state can occasionally come out for some fresh air."
Bruce frowned slightly. He understood Schiller's implication and asked, "What is wrong with the pathological state? Why can't he come out somewhere safe?"
"Because he isn't stable enough." Pride looked away, as though recalling something. "You can probably imagine that the most primal version of Schiller is actually the strongest, but that strength is uncontrollable. That is why we tried so hard to become ordinary people."
"What stimulates the pathological state?"
"Everything that happens in Gotham." Pride shook his head gently. "You can understand it this way: this city was practically made for the pathological state. It has everything he needs, so you'll be seeing him often from now on."
"But if Gotham stimulates the pathological state, why can he come and go here so freely?"
"Because it also gives him something to vent on." Pride turned to Bruce. "You saw it in Metropolis."
This time, Bruce looked away. "Yes, but I saw much