Batman struggled to contain the grief threatening to overwhelm him.
Doctor Fate stepped forward and rested a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"I understand your pain, Bruce, but we have something even more urgent to face."
Despite acknowledging Batman's anguish, Doctor Fate remained composed.
He had always approached catastrophe with unwavering discipline.
Right now, his greatest priority was ensuring that those who had survived could endure the crisis still unfolding around them.
"He's shaken, and that's understandable. Maybe he just needs a little time."
Constantine spoke through a cloud of cigarette smoke, ignoring the pain radiating through his battered body.
His confidence had long since disappeared.
Every encounter with Adrian had stripped away another layer of certainty.
He now understood one thing clearly.
Adrian had never intended to kill them immediately.
Instead, he seemed content to watch them slowly lose everything, forcing them to witness the people they cared about fade away one by one.
Compared to the ruthless tyrant he had once been, Adrian now carried himself with the cold patience of a devil.
"What we lack most is time," Doctor Fate interrupted before Constantine could continue.
"Time has become our greatest enemy."
His voice echoed throughout the room.
"We must find a way to stop Trigon and Trickster. We are not safe yet. If we fail, this house, and everyone inside it, will be dragged into Hell."
Even within the House of Mystery, death had not loosened its grip.
At any moment, the protection surrounding them could fail.
Standing quietly near the wall, Poison Ivy observed everyone without speaking.
She understood very little about the current situation.
For now, silence was her safest choice.
She did not trust Adrian's faction.
She trusted Batman's group even less.
The room remained silent for several moments.
Finally, Constantine crushed the cigarette beneath his boot and broke the silence.
"We're out of options."
He coughed twice, tasting blood in the back of his throat before forcing it down.
"None of us can deal with what's happening out there. Not even me."
The moment he finished speaking, another voice joined the conversation.
Deadman, Oliver Queen's spirit, floated above the floor in his ghostly blue form.
"Maybe I can possess Trickster," he suggested. "If I can control him, the fight might stop. If that doesn't work, I'll try Trigon instead. Either way, I have to try."
Since Batman had already explained Deadman's existence, no one reacted with surprise.
Constantine, however, immediately dismissed the idea.
"Impossible."
He scratched his head before continuing.
"You can't possess either of them. They're on an entirely different level. It's the same reason you couldn't possess Adrian. The gap in power is simply too great."
Oliver frowned.
"How can you be so sure?"
Before Constantine could answer, Batman stood.
Ignoring the pain coursing through his broken body, he carefully lowered Nightwing back onto the floor.
His exhausted eyes locked onto Constantine.
"You already considered every possible outcome, didn't you?"
His voice carried barely restrained anger.
"You've been hiding something this entire time."
He took another step.
"Trigon is here because of you."
"Ever since you kidnapped Rachel, everything has spiraled further out of control."
Constantine didn't react to the accusation.
He simply slipped both hands into his pockets and looked back at Batman.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you."
He sighed.
"But I can't explain why Trickster caused a celestial-scale magical overload."
After a brief pause, he continued.
"From a magical perspective, they're becoming something like living supernovas. We can't just tell them to take their fight somewhere else."
He shook his head.
"The situation has become far more complicated than anything we understand."
Doctor Fate nodded.
"Exactly."
He looked toward everyone in the room.
"Making them fight somewhere else is precisely our objective."
Constantine stared at the golden helmet.
"You plan to walk outside and politely ask them to leave?"
The only people still capable of standing were Batman, Constantine, Doctor Fate, and Poison Ivy.
If Deadman counted, there were five.
Constantine had no illusion that such a small group could stop either Trigon or Trickster.
Doctor Fate slowly shook his head.
"No."
"We cannot defeat them."
"But perhaps... we can send them somewhere else."
Constantine gave a dry laugh before lighting another cigarette.
"An interesting theory."
He inhaled deeply.
"But neither you nor I possess enough magical power to teleport beings on that level."
"The issue isn't fighting Adrian anymore."
"The real problem is stopping Trigon and Trickster."
Batman ignored the pain tearing through his body.
"What about Shazam?"
Everyone turned toward him.
"When Billy transforms, the lightning transports him between dimensions."
He looked toward the unconscious Shazam.
"Could that power send Trigon and Trickster away?"
Constantine immediately rejected the idea.
"Only if he could control that lightning long enough."
"And he can't."
Batman fell silent once more.
Doctor Fate quietly considered Constantine's words.
"Lightning..."
He slowly raised his head.
"I can control lightning."
Before he could continue, a blinding white flash erupted beyond the windows.
An overwhelming shockwave struck almost instantly.
Every window exploded inward.
Magical debris, burning fragments, and infernal flames tore into the room.
Aside from Deadman, whose ghostly form remained unaffected, everyone was hurled violently across the floor.
Constantine landed hard on his back.
His cigarette flew from his mouth.
"This is bad."
The aftermath of Trigon and Trickster's battle had finally reached them.
The House of Mystery was no longer secure.
If they failed to act immediately, everyone inside would be annihilated.
"Whatever we're going to do," Deadman shouted, remaining suspended above the chaos, "we have to do it now!"
Constantine opened his mouth to answer.
Before he could, Deadman clenched his fists and flew straight through the shattered opening toward the battlefield.
Meanwhile, inside the House of Secrets, Wonder Woman was still relieved that Rachel had finally been found.
Without warning, intense weakness swept through her body.
Her knees gave way.
She began to fall.
Adrian immediately handed Rachel to Clark before catching Diana by the arm.
He steadied her and helped her remain upright.
"What happened, Diana?"
His voice remained controlled, but concern was unmistakable.
"Are you alright?"
She pressed a hand against her chest.
"My body..."
She struggled to breathe.
"I've become incredibly weak."
"Magic?"
Adrian frowned.
His own body was also suffering under the growing distortion, but his immense physical resilience allowed him to conceal most of its effects.
After a moment of thought, he looked toward Clark and the others.
"I believe Trigon's magic is pulling us outside normal space-time."
"We're gradually being separated from reality itself."
Barry glanced nervously through the window at the collapsing world beyond.
"So hiding here doesn't actually solve anything?"
He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"I honestly thought this place worked like those safe houses in zombie games where everyone waits until it's safe again."
Clark and Wonder Woman looked at him.
Barry coughed awkwardly.
Apparently, it wasn't the right comparison.
Adrian ignored the comment.
Supporting Wonder Woman with one arm, he spoke evenly.
"My ring has lost its connection to the emotional spectrum."
"Without that power, my strength has declined significantly."
His expression remained cold.
Only his words revealed how serious the situation had become.
Everything had exceeded his expectations.
The battle between Trigon and Trickster had escalated beyond control.
Facing either one alone would already be nearly impossible.
Facing both simultaneously was far beyond even his current abilities.
Even so, there was no fear in his eyes.
Clark held Rachel securely.
"If Trigon caused this..."
He looked down at his unconscious sister.
"We need to wake Rachel."
"She's the only one who might be able to stop him."
Wonder Woman nodded weakly.
"She may be our only chance."
Adrian immediately rejected the idea.
"No."
His answer was absolute.
"Trigon wants Rachel."
"I will never allow him to have her."
Compared to Clark, Adrian's bond with Rachel ran far deeper.
The decades they had spent together within the mental world had forged a connection that words could barely describe.
They had grown from youth into adulthood together.
Through every hardship, Rachel had remained beside him.
The girl who had walked beside him through countless quiet days could never be replaced.
Aside from Lyla, no one occupied a deeper place in Adrian's heart.
Rachel was more than his sister.
She was one of the last anchors tying him to his humanity.
After losing so many people he cherished, he refused to lose another.
"I'll handle this."
His voice left no room for argument.
"No one will lay a hand on Rachel."
Silence filled the room.
Even Wonder Woman abandoned the words she had nearly spoken.
She knew suggesting they surrender Rachel to Trigon would only provoke Adrian.
Instead, she quietly gripped the front of his clothing.
If this truly became the place where they died together...
She could accept that fate.
An Amazon never feared death.
An Amazon embraced conviction, love, and sacrifice without hesitation.
Her thoughts drifted back to the future version of herself she had once encountered.
That Diana had told her destiny had changed.
Perhaps this was the destiny she had meant.
To remain beside Adrian until the very end.
Clark silently tightened his hold on Rachel.
His resolve matched Adrian's completely.
Even if death awaited them, he would never surrender his sister.
Barry leaned against the wall and looked from the endless void outside to the unconscious Shazam.
He understood exactly why Adrian and Clark had made their choice.
He supported it.
No one had the right to demand another person sacrifice someone they loved.
Suddenly, Adrian's eyes narrowed.
A brilliant light streaked toward the House of Secrets at incredible speed.
The incoming force shattered the boundaries of space itself.
Before it even struck, every remaining window exploded inward.
The violent shockwave threw everyone except Adrian backward.
Their exhausted bodies could no longer endure another impact.
Adrian's powerless Yellow Lantern ring could no longer create a protective barrier.
Without hesitation, he raised the Cosmic Scepter and unleashed a powerful shockwave to counter the incoming force.
At the same instant, he flashed to Clark's side, took Rachel into his arms, then kicked Barry behind him to pull him out of the direct path of the blast.
Turning his back toward the explosion, Adrian positioned himself as a living shield.
He protected Wonder Woman, Rachel, and Clark as the devastating wave crashed into them.