"Did you come to stop me?"
In the fantastical realm of dreams, the current God of Dreams of the DC Multiverse, Sandman Daniel Hall of The Endless, rose from his seat and quietly watched Destiny, who had likewise come from The Endless, appear before him.
"Did you come to stop me?" Dream asked softly. "Because I used dreams to directly interfere with the history and future of the DC Multiverse?"
But Destiny answered him, "No. This is merely a warning from Destiny, Sandman. Interfering with reality through dreams comes at a price. You are a young member. This is advice meant to protect you."
Before Dream could answer, Destiny vanished from his world as though he had never existed.
Dream lightly tapped his fingers.
The Batman Who Laughs. The Batman Who Laughs.
So everything had been guided toward this conclusion.
Perpetua had already sensed fear.
Everything had vanished.
Batman Dragon, Empty Hand, and The Batman Who Laughs, Ultimate Monitor, Superman Chen Tao...
They began to merge, fusing into a single whole.
Many, many years ago, when Chen Tao was not yet completely Batman, he had whispered to himself countless times.
I am Batman.
And now, it was his turn.
Chen Tao whispered.
"Warning, warning. The Alfred Protocol is now in effect."
He murmured in a low voice, imitating the mechanical, emotionless voice of the Alfred Protocol.
"...Unusual devotion cannot alter the fate of destruction..."
Chen Tao thought silently as he spoke softly. His gaze pierced space and time. Beyond the endlessly stretching sky, he saw his former self and The Batman Who Laughs quietly listening together.
"...You may be able to use it to summon a Bat from a parallel universe..."
"Error, error!"
Chen Tao heard The Batman Who Laughs's subconscious whispering and resisting all of this.