Shiller gradually formulated a plan in his mind. Of course, it wasn't about delivering a heavy blow to the students. Because almost every Christmas performance, someone plays him, and without exception, receives negative reviews like "not resembling the character." Shiller has gotten used to it.
The real focus should be on the celebrity effect brought about by book publication. Nowadays, the internet information isn't as explosive, and Shiller never appears online. Coupled with Brainiac's concerns about agitating him, further deleting all information related to him online, he doesn't have to worry about becoming a global celebrity.
But just the topics triggered by people who have seen him in reality and are familiar with him, related to novels and adaptations, are already quite headache-inducing. Even James Gordon called him for tickets, because Barbara is a fan of Constantine's books and has been looking forward to the adaptation of "Faraiones' Mist" for a long time.
Shiller once asked them why they didn't go to the novel's author for tickets, and the answer left him speechless. Shiller is a theater enthusiast, especially fond of the plays and musicals at the Gotham Grand Theater, and always manages to get internal tickets, which he is happy to share with his friends. Both Victor and Gordon have received his complimentary tickets.
Gordon isn't quite sure how Constantine's books will be adapted to screen; he thinks it's similar to watching a musical. So, when Barbara brought it up, his first thought was to ask Shiller for tickets.
Besides this, it also attracts a lot of unwanted attention. For instance, Jonathan has been sarcastically grumbling for days. Although Shiller is too lazy to bother with him, clearly many madmen like Jonathan, especially those who crave attention and enjoy being worshipped, also want the same privileges.
And their method of pursuing this status isn't to threaten the novel's author, but rather to find ways to get close to Shiller.
Shiller probably understands their mindset. In their view, if a very captivating character in the novel is purely fictional, there's nothing to say; clearly the author is talented. But if there's a real-life prototype, then the novelist is merely tracing, and surely the prototype is the impressive one.
And they believe Shiller is impressive, yet they do not desire to emulate or learn from him; their minds are filled with the thrill of combat. Just like Hugo Strange, they merely wish to prove they are more impressive than Shiller and more deserving of being written into a novel, receiving attention and worship.
Although not much of Shiller's personal information has been exposed, those determined enough can surely uncover it. Previously, Shiller's fame was mostly confined to Gotham or East Coast madman groups, but now it has triggered widespread attention from global psychopaths.
No doubt, this is not the outcome Shiller wanted. But now it's very difficult to lower that attention again. The best method is to find a new focal point to attract their attention.
The Gray Lamp's plan to rewrite history is proceeding smoothly. Now, the sun's extinguishment is not due to the Black Death Emperor using the Power of Death to evolve the sun into a Black Dwarf stage, thereby causing eternal night, but rather it becomes Curse Xie Kun's return. Since Curse Xie Kun himself would appear on the day of the eclipse, the sun's condition is locked in the mystic significance of a total solar eclipse.
This change has many benefits. For instance, since it's of mystical significance, this phenomenon seemingly can only affect conscious, intelligent life forms. Meaning, it's equivalent to adding a filter to human consciousness, neither affecting Earth's temperature nor affecting plant growth, thus eliminating the need to encase the planet in a shell.
Additionally, because Brainiac isn't affected by mysticism, in his view, the sun is fine. Worldwide, only he can see the normal sun. In his perspective now, eternal night does not exist at all, life on Earth is as usual.
Moreover, few who are entirely irrelevant to mysticism, such as Amanda Waller, can also normally see the sun. However, due to subsequent investigations, he learned something about the Old Day Dominators, so his situation of remaining unaffected didn't last long, and quickly he fell into eternal night.
And the cleverness of this plan lies in the fact that Curse Xie Kun's appearance location is right below the cliff where Hugo fell. It essentially means Hugo fell directly into the Old Day Dominator's mouth. If he manages to survive, then nothing more needs to be said; Gotham is yours, alright.
Indeed, for someone knowledgeable about the Old Day Dominators like Shiller, it's quite clear that this plot arrangement isn't forced and only represents a rather clever choice regarding them.
Curse Xie Kun, from the novel "Bell of Terror." The plot of this novel isn't particularly innovative, merely narrating the story of the protagonist discovering a bell, summoning Curse Xie Kun, and experiencing a series of mysterious adventures. Considered a fairly obscure Lovecraftian novel, it isn't particularly popular, as most people find its plot childish and the horror atmosphere underwhelming.
Nonetheless, Curse Xie Kun has a quite complete backstory. He is a descendant of Ubo Sallas, known as the "source of the Old Day Dominators," and is also the father of the Eye of Destruction "Seigia."
Regarding his settings, besides attributes related to death and darkness and appearing on the day of a solar eclipse, the original author described him as a "dark and silent presence dwelling underground at the western ocean shore." Essentially, this means he lives at the Atlantic Ocean shore, and Gotham coincidentally is at the Atlantic Ocean shore, isn't it fortuitous?
Of course, this is not surprising. Gotham itself is a place where dark elements gather, regardless of which system's Dark Source appears in the DC world, they are destined to gather toward Gotham. The Cthulhu system is no exception. Curse Xie Kun resides at the shore, quite conveniently right below the cliff. Looking a bit farther, at Gotham's harbor area, isn't it a place bound to have ten or eight giant squids lying around?
Due to the logical setting, rewriting history was quite effortless, and the impact turned out better than expected. Shiller estimates that the Black Death Emperor is probably scratching his head right now.
The Black Death Emperor appears to be a mystical villain, but in fact, isn't mysterious at all. The Lantern Corps essentially isn't a mysterious power; the Emotional Spectrum is an energy that's observable, researchable, and usable, first discovered by The First Lantern, who developed ways to utilize it. After it's stolen by the Little Blue People, the Lantern Corps was formed, and eventually fell into Batman's hands, turning into practically a universal energy, no longer a mysterious rarity.
The Black Death Emperor came at a bad time. Or rather, it's not that he came late, but Batman set out too early. His research on the Power of Seven Lanterns made the Black Lamp Power seem less intimidating. The Black Death Emperor's method of resurrecting corpses used to look impressive a few years ago, but now it's not quite as awe-inspiring. Faced with a true existence born from mysticism and nihilism, he might be confused.
Shiller arrived at Arkham Psychiatric Hospital, looking for Brand. Because he could get firsthand information from the depths of the stars faster from Brand than from the Black Pharaoh.
"As you wish. That guy has his eyes on the stars." Brand said while writing medical records, without looking up, "He's trying to use the Power of Death to interfere with the stars' orbits."
"Can he succeed?"
Brand shook his head and said, "If this method could succeed, a good doctor wouldn't have hit us with a bomb back then. The stars aren't real celestial bodies, they can't be interfered with by external forces. Entering among the stars to glimpse the real secrets requires certain skills."
"So, Anatoli didn't rely on brute force to enter back in the day."
"No." Brand looked up at Shiller and said, "You're the one who should know best that Anatoli may seem to use brute force and go straight to the point, but in reality, all his seemingly violent actions have deeper logical reasoning, not just using force to counter force. Otherwise, many of the things he's done would not have been successful."
Shiller nodded. Anatoli is indeed like that. Whether it was charging through the cosmos to borrow strength, amassing energy to bomb Gotham, or healing himself, it all seemed straightforward. But in fact, he always fully prepared before doing them. The contact with the Outer God must be similar. The Black Death Emperor attacking by sheer force might not succeed.
Shiller felt relieved. Now it was up to see if the Black Death Emperor would choose as he expected.
Shiller returned to Gotham University but happened to come across Victor coming out of the Cryogenic Lab. He asked, "What's up? Where are you going?"
"Billy got into trouble." Victor sighed deeply, "I've been busy writing a book lately, and while Nora wasn't paying attention, Billy got into a fight with others... Oh, not using his Shazam form. Otherwise, I should have been at the police station by now."
Shiller breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I told you, Billy wouldn't be so reckless. Who did he fight with?"
"Schoolmates. Seems like it was kids from the neighboring class. Ron's daughter got involved too, probably Aisha. Aren't you going to check it out?"
"Of course, I will. But first, I have to call Alfred. I'm worried he might give the other kids some Soviet-style education..."
The two got into the car together. Only then did Victor find time to call Nora to inquire about the details. After asking for a while, he hung up the phone and sighed again.
"What on earth happened? They wouldn't fight for no reason, would they?"
"Of course not for no reason. It seems it was just a quarrel among kids. Thank goodness nobody was seriously hurt."
The car quickly arrived at the East District. The two got off and entered the building cluster. But by the time they arrived, the matter was already resolved. Both sides had apologized to each other, the parents had also apologized and comforted each other. The other parents had already left.
"What exactly happened?" Victor felt a bit incredulous. In Gotham, disputes are rarely resolved so easily. They don't usually wrap things up without involving a lawsuit or worse.
"Not much. The little boy's toothache made him irritable. When playing tag, he knocked Jenny down, Aisha couldn't stand it and pushed him. He turned around to counter, and Billy stood in front of Aisha. The two fell to the ground fighting. Other kids joined, and then it became chaotic. Hard to say who hit whom, it's a mixed victory for both sides."
Victor opened his mouth, surprised at how the situation unfolded. Gotham's circumstances have improved. Conflicts were truly just conflicts without hidden, dark secrets. He felt a bit unaccustomed.
Shiller's focus was unusual: "Toothache? Why a toothache?"