"I was only doing it for your own good..."
Li Jie took two steps back and smiled sheepishly. "Also, would you believe me if I said Constantine taught me everything I just said?"
"Why is it me again?!"
The male mage shouted, jumping up and down behind them, but Batman merely gave Li Jie a cold look before raising his head to survey the endless darkness around them.
"What's our next move?" he asked Brad. "You have a way."
"This is a little tricky." The demon shook his head. "I didn't expect Nergal to get his hands on something like this. It's not just these golden insects..."
He raised a claw and gestured around them. "The darkness is part of the dream, too."
"So..." Li Jie scratched his head. "You're saying Raven is here, and Nergal hid her inside a dream?"
"It isn't a complete dream. At most, it's a broken little nap or a doze," Brad explained, shaking his head. "Solving it is easy enough in theory. If there's a dream, there has to be a dreamer. As long as someone can remain conscious within the dream, they can reshape it."
"Like... the creator of the dream world?" Zatanna asked cautiously.
"Exactly." Brad nodded, then his face suddenly turned savage again. "Playing god, drunk on power's might; caged in illusion, shunning waking light."
"Hey, buddy." Li Jie greeted Etrigan. "You're back?"
"The tedious knight has much to say; if you've no plan, go home today."
"Fuck! I thought you guys had some decent suggestions!" Li Jie was stumped, too. Sandman's tricks simply didn't work on him.
He certainly didn't dare count on Constantine or Zatanna, let alone Wilson. That guy would definitely go back to dreaming about making a hundred consecutive draws.
"Batman, think of something. You're the smartest