Chapter 50: Entanglement

His heart felt as if it were being gripped by an invisible hand.

Bruce abruptly withdrew his hand, straightening his back, his Adam's apple quivering.

An indescribable thought seized his mind, leaving him momentarily unsure how to react.

His mind flashed back to his past with Jack: coaxing, soothing, conflict, arguments... and—

…that hidden, complex emotional entanglement.

His face darkened, his voice tense.

"Your story lacks credibility."

The Joker looked up at him with a knowing expression, licking the corner of his lips in a cryptic way.

"Really?" he sighed with feigned regret. "Why do you insist on lying to yourself? Do you miss his dullness? His gentleness? Or is there something about him that attracts you?"

Bruce's face was cold, and he spoke quickly, unsure whether he was trying to convince himself or the Joker.

"You're different. Don't lump yourself in the same basket."

"Wow," the Joker laughed. "I know what you're saying—Jack loves music, loves his work, and respects life. You think he's a good person, right?"

Bruce stared at him silently.

"But you never truly separated us, did you?" the Joker whispered, his sharp words like a venomous snake, threatening to devour him.

"You're trying so hard to separate my two identities now because you're afraid, Batsy," he warned, his tone deliberately drawn out. "You're afraid you'll fall in love not with Jack, but with me—the lunatic you call him."

The Joker's words were like a sharp blade, slicing open his guts and exposing them to the sunlight.

Bruce's breath quickened, his hands clenched tightly into fists.

The man lying on the ground suddenly showed pity, raised his hand, and touched his cheek with blood-stained fingertips.

"Don't look like that," the Joker whispered, his tone thick and viscous, like a lover's. "I never lied to you, Batsy. You were afraid to admit you loved me... but we both knew we could never let each other go... You loved our fights and struggles in the night, you enjoyed it, you reveled in it—"

He drew a crooked heart on Bruce's face with blood, his green eyes gleaming.

"Only I can satisfy you forever, Bat."

Bruce stared at him, frozen in place by those words.

He should have slapped the Joker's hand away.

He should have protested, challenged, or at least stepped back.

But he didn't.

Bruce simply stared at this shabby madman—or rather, at the man who had once been "Jack," now "Joker"—his pale face tinged with the red of dried blood, blending with the vibrant lipstick, blurring into a blur...

In that instant, a grotesque thought crossed his mind—...

would it taste like blood?

The next moment, a faint chuckle reached his ear.

Then, the Joker yanked him by his tie, forcing him to bend over—

his crimson lips were so close, opening and closing, stained with a translucent water color.

Bruce saw his own reflection—in those deep, green eyes.

They held a playful, ambiguous tone, and seemed to conceal some unfathomable emotion...

...In that moment, he couldn't tell if it was the Joker or Jack.

He finally realized that he could no longer look at this former enemy with a single gaze -

... and he could no longer hide the complex emotions in his heart.

"You love me... you hate me..."

Desire began to grow in his heart, and the long-suppressed emotions engulfed him like a tide.

The two people's breaths intertwined, and their foreheads were pressed together.

"...It doesn't matter who I am."

They kissed in the mess.

The tips of their tongues touched, their lips touched, they licked and bit each other, and gnawed each other.

Hatred and love intertwined, and the shadows under them entangled together.

...

Jason stared blankly at this weird scene.

His eyes moved back and forth between the two people, with "I don't understand" and "I've had enough" written on his face.

"Fuck..." He finally couldn't help but swore, "You're still bleeding..."