When he heard the words "a higher position," Darkseid's heart pounded violently. It was a feeling he had not experienced in many years. He had to admit that all the warnings he had given himself were useless. Batman was indeed very good at offering terms others could not refuse.
Seeing Darkseid's expression, Batman knew he had won his bet.
Calling it a bet was not entirely accurate. He remembered that long ago, around the time he had sent the little birds to the universe where Schiller was, he had written to Schiller to ask about Darkseid. Along with his reply, the professor had enclosed a psychoanalysis of people like Darkseid. That had allowed Batman to gain the upper hand in his subsequent encounters with Darkseid.
The analysis could roughly be divided into two parts: Darkseid's inner world and Darkseid's personality. Though they sounded somewhat similar, they were actually entirely different things.
Darkseid was a New God. Setting aside the grudges between the New Gods and the Old Gods, from a cosmic perspective, he had been born relatively late and was a latecomer who had risen to the top. Because of this, his pursuit of status sometimes outweighed his pursuit of profit.
It was like old money and new money among humans, hereditary aristocratic families and newly risen nobles from humble backgrounds. Once the latter had accumulated sufficient capital and risen to prominence, they would inevitably sacrifice some benefits in their pursuit of status.
Although status itself was a kind of benefit, there were times when one had to choose between the two. Someone like Darkseid would certainly choose status, even if it meant giving up benefits within easy reach.
For people like this, the process of constantly climbing upward was what gave them spiritual satisfaction. There were many things to