Disappearance has always been a bad word.
Su Ming discovered something not so good. Everything that has happened recently seems to be related to the number seven.
The Riddler left a riddle with seven as the answer, John mentioned that there are seven forces outside the Origin Wall surging towards Earth, and the Justice League currently consists of seven members, the Endless Clan's number...
is also seven.
So, could his enemies also be a group of seven?
"Any thoughts?"
Death looked at Su Ming's partially self-healed, decaying face and asked, smiling.
"Ah, maybe. The cosmos has been changing recently, and he might have some things he wants to know."
Death indeed has the habit of 'going incognito,' occasionally transforming into a mortal, a mortal with only one day's life, to feel the joys and sorrows of the human world, and then come here to face herself.
But the Sleep Demon, also known as the Dream God, has no need to do so. He can freely enter anyone's dreams and experience everything that can be felt in reality.
Unless he wants to return to Earth to visit family, to see his mother.
But now, even the Endless Clan doesn't know his whereabouts, so that possibility is excluded.
"Yes, drastic changes, the Dream Realm has shown fractures, and dreams that don't belong to this world have entered his domain. Besides that, I've heard a prince of Hell has also disappeared."
Death rolled her eyes, sharing what she knew with Deathstroke, and that's all she could do. Beyond life and death, she actually had nothing.
Su Ming sighed; the situation in Hell within the DC World is quite complex, not dominated by Satan alone. Each Demon Monarch has their own territory.
Currently, Hell's situation is a tripartite balance of power: Satan's traditional faction, Izunaami no Mikoto's Eastern faction, and Maggie Ken, who has taken over Lucifer's throne.
Like an Otherworldly Demon King from the Three Palaces, their homeland is in the Otherworld and they look down on a territory like Hell.
The prince of Hell mentioned by Death generally refers to Lucifer Morning Star, as he is a Fallen Angel, and a son of the Celestial Father, also due to his princely elegance and charm.
However, he previously left Hell's mess entirely to Mackenzie, his woman, to manage. He himself opened a big nightclub in Los Angeles called 'Bar of Light.'
Daniel's disappearance is somewhat understandable because the Sleep Demon has never been a martial type; he is more like a Mage. If Zha Kang was determined and paid a sufficient price, he could even summon the Sleep Demon and trap him.
But Lucifer is different. Once the Highest-Tier Angel and Lord of Hell, his combat power was terrifyingly high. His disappearance now is like an alarm bell ringing.
What exactly has come from outside the Origin Wall?
"I must return to the Main World. If you want me to help find Daniel, I will need more information."
"He abandoned his throne, left the Dream Country; what is he hiding from? Some books in his library are missing, and those are stories that were never written."
Death watched as Su Ming's face returned to normal. She reached out her cold hand to stroke his chin, and his beard and hair grew back again.
When she reached out to touch Su Ming's eyepatch, Su Ming caught her hand.
"Life's power does not belong to me; some deficiencies represent memories that people do not want to forget."
"I'm just... paying some compensation, for mercenaries need compensation, don't they?" Death seemed a bit aggrieved but still smiled.
If possible, in the future, let the other members of the Endless Clan, besides you, not bother me." Su Ming stood up; he had to go back.
"As you wish, at least I can promise your request on behalf of Destiny." Death also stood up; her height only reached Su Ming's upper arm level.
"I'd rather control my own destiny; I still have accounts to settle with Manhattan."
"Uh, let me give you a piece of information as a thank you. If calculated by Main World time, Dr. Manhattan has been dead for ten years..."
Death said with a smile, catching Su Ming off guard. If Manhattan has long been dead, who did he see last time?
And who gave him a bag of stones and sent him away?
"How could Manhattan die?" Su Ming paused, his hand about to fasten the helmet, and his one eye stared into Death's jet-black eyes.
"Death is the inevitable end, even the cosmos will die, and Dr. Manhattan is no exception, nor are you."
Su Ming sighed; maybe so. X Metal indeed extended his lifespan, preventing him from dying of old age, but warriors could very well die on the battlefield; today seemed a close call.
But didn't I survive this time?
"It doesn't matter, as long as it's not today."
"Not today, but we will meet again one day... I don't have a direct door to the Main World here, now there are two better ways you can choose."
"Hmm?"
"One way is for me to send you to the Spirit Thin Prison, which is the abode of unbelievers' souls and is closely connected with the current world. You can contact a Mage and have them summon you."
"What about the other way?" Su Ming didn't want to go to the Mysterious House to find Constantine.
Death exposed her teeth, gently biting her lips painted with black lipstick: "The other way is to send you to the Dream Kingdom, where you can see everyone's dreams... The most convenient way to get to the current world is by hitching a ride when someone wakes from a dream."
Intruding into others' dreams to wake them up seemed rather against the rules, so Death was also somewhat embarrassed.
Su Ming didn't care about these things. Right now, this was undoubtedly the quickest method.
"Send me to the Dream Country."
Death waved her hand, and a door appeared on the wall, leading to a scene completely different from this side.
Trees densely lined, filled with fairy-tale colors everywhere.
You could see Puss in Boots and other fairy-tale characters having a picnic under a big tree.
"Goodbye." Su Ming walked toward the door, feeling somewhat awkward after casually saying goodbye since meeting Death again might not be a good thing...
And Death only smiled without answering, waving to him.
The door trembled, swallowing him whole.
He entered the Dream Realm.
The last time he came here, he only made a brief stop at the central castle, without even finishing listening to Daniel's story. But now, he saw the full view of the Dream Kingdom.
Green trees and red flowers, peace and quiet, the sun in the sky had smiling features, while the breeze also appeared humanoid, puffing its cheeks as it flew overhead.
However, things felt different. The colorful sky like a child's crayon drawing now had huge white fissures, as if this picture was about to split apart.
An overwhelming sense that the world was about to end washed over him.