Primary Universe Batman brought everyone to the Justice League Headquarters, also known as the Justice Hall. Although a portion of the Power of Seven Lanterns was used to build the Magical Defense Network, there was still quite a bit left. The large Lantern Furnace had been moved to the circular hall on the eastern side, and even though several walls separated them, the astonishing energy fluctuations could be felt.
As soon as they stepped into the main hall of the Justice Hall, all the magicians glanced in that direction.
"What's happening over there?" someone asked.
"It must be another pillar of the defense network, right?" another person speculated. "Otherwise, why would there be such obvious energy fluctuations?"
"No," Constantine gazed in that direction and said, "the energy fluctuation is different from that of the pillar. It seems Batman's cosmic journey was quite fruitful."
"I always felt this energy was a bit strange," the Master of the Dark Night said with a frown, "it's different from the magic energy I'm usually in contact with, carrying a very strong... personality?"
"Because this isn't magic energy," the Green Lantern spoke up, "this is the power of the Emotional Spectrum. Just like magic energy, it's a universal primordial force, albeit with subtle differences that present themselves in different states, with more wondrous effects."
"I can indeed read some things from it," Zatanna closed her eyes, seemingly meditating, "determination, compassion, anger, greed... these things mingle together, giving me a very complex feeling. It's like..."
Zatanna stopped talking at this point. She slowly stepped in that direction. Primary Universe Batman watched her back, stepping forward to stop her but thought better and halted.
The magicians finally reached the circular hall, seeing the energy-filled Lantern Furnace almost overflowing, each of them stood dumbfounded, and then looked at Batman with somewhat complicated expressions.
"If we knew you were this capable, why were we wandering around? We might as well unanimously nominate you as the new Supreme Magician!"
Strange gazed at the Lantern Furnace with a thoughtful expression. Primary Universe Batman looked at him, and Strange shook his head, saying, "This kind of energy is completely different from the magic energy in my universe. Although the magic energy in my universe also possesses various attributes like ice, fire, light, darkness, they are all natural, rational. But this energy you brought is filled with... vitality."
"Vitality?"
"Yes, it seems to represent one of the most important parts of intelligent life in the universe, very close to God."
Primary Universe Batman began to ponder. In previous discussions with the Mechanical Batman, he understood that God is an emotional being, hence all creatures in the universe evolve with the supreme goal of developing emotions, as this brings them closer to the divine.
Emotions should have been something elusive, but here, emotions are a tangible force. The Emotional Spectrum embodies emotions, making the process of intelligent beings changing the universe motivated by emotions more clear and definite, turning an abstract process into something tangible.
If that's the case, could it be said that the Emotional Spectrum is the connection between numerous emotional intelligent creatures and the emotional being God?
The common traits between them manifest as concrete energy. Besides serving as energy, could this energy have other uses?
Primary Universe Batman's contemplation ended there. Because, whether it was the universe's origins or God, he knew very little. He started regretting not paying more attention in cosmic structure classes at the magical school.
Looking back now, the dreamlike teachings of Lucifer might have hidden truths of the universe, but no one could understand them at the time. Even if he were to explain again, Batman might not grasp it. This is the difference in life levels between them and the universe administrators, like lower-dimensional creatures never understanding higher-dimensional ones, just as humans can't comprehend a line on paper.
The magicians, however, had already begun their discussion. Compared to Batman's rational analysis, they were more about intuitive feelings. But this provided another perspective, more abstract, more philosophical, sounding whimsical but not necessarily incorrect.
"As you have seen, during the previous cosmic war, I accidentally obtained some special energy. The race possessing this energy calls it the 'Power of Seven Lanterns,' also known as the Power of Emotional Spectrum. Next, Green Lantern will introduce the Emotional Spectrum to you all..."
Primary Universe Batman glanced at Green Lantern. Green Lantern had no choice but to step forward, clear his throat, and briefly introduce the Lantern Corps and the Lantern ring. By rights, the Lantern Corps and magicians are unrelated; they don't understand each other and can't use each other's energy—at least, that was the case before Oa Star was taken over.
Who in the universe can become a Lantern hero is decided by the Little Blue People. Only they can decide where the rings fly to, although there are those who forcibly seize them, but they are few. Some Little Blue People, out of laziness, assign the rings using an automatic system, but if they discover the chosen person isn't suitable, they can also retrieve the ring.
For thousands of years, except for the Yellow Lantern, no Emotional Spectrum power has leaked out, all firmly controlled in the hands of the Little Blue People. Therefore, the races in the cosmos have also tacitly agreed that this is a special kind of power, and cannot be used by anyone other than the Lantern heroes.
However, after the Apokolips Corps landed on Oa Star, this part of the power that Primary Universe Batman managed to wield had already proven: Any intelligent creatures with emotions could use the power of the Emotional Spectrum. The Little Blue People were merely cunning intermediaries.
So, there was fundamentally no difference between this power and Magic Power. If the Lantern heroes can use it, the magicians can use it too; perhaps the distinction lies merely in the different methods they are accustomed to using.
After the Green Lantern, Primary Universe Batman expressed this speculation, which immediately sparked discussion among the magicians. Some of them knew the Lantern heroes and were aware that the Lantern heroes are essentially just workers who must heed the orders of their corps, even the greatest Green Lantern, Aran, is no exception.
So although the Lantern heroes are powerful, the magicians never harbored any ideas about them. The cost of gaining power cannot be the loss of freedom; even the demons only wanted their souls after death. At least, they had the freedom to move when alive.
But now, hearing Primary Universe Batman saying that they could freely use these powers without going through the Lantern Corps, they instantly became excited. Regardless of how strong the Lantern heroes are, just the power in this furnace is incredibly abundant, and even a tiny bit of it would be a windfall.
Suddenly, the way they looked at Primary Universe Batman changed. If the initial look had a trace of anger and resentment, it now changed to that of a cash cow and a sweet cake.
The Master of the Dark Night is a good person; the first thing he thought of was how to use this energy to bolster Earth's defense. He looked at Batman and said: "Do you plan to use all this energy on the magical defense network, or do you want to build some new defense system? Or perhaps a weapon?"
"It won't run out," Primary Universe Batman said, "and if nothing unexpected happens, there will be continuous replenishment afterward. This is a sustainable energy source."
The others looked at him with some astonishment, including the people from the Justice League. Only the Green Lantern knew a little about the inside story.
As to how the Little Blue People intercepted the Power of Seven Lanterns, Batman and Darkseid could naturally intercept it in the same way. The Apocalypse Domain of Darkseid is not short of energy; his main purpose for obtaining these powers is to explore the essence of the cosmos through the Emotional Spectrum, taking very little, so Batman was the main beneficiary. This was also the condition they had originally agreed upon.
Batman cares much more about cosmic safety than the Little Blue People, so naturally, he wouldn't exhaust all resources recklessly. But thanks to the sustainable depletion by the Little Blue People, the equipment they used was very powerful; even drawing just a little bit yielded considerable results.
The magicians grew more excited. If it wasn't just a one-time deal, then Batman wouldn't be so stingy, and they might really get a share for research.
Facing the glowing eyes below, Primary Universe Batman only said calmly: "I plan to construct several laboratories centered around the Department of Magic. Besides maintaining the magical defense network daily, there will also be research on the Emotional Spectrum, as well as other magic studies. I believe all of you have experience in this area. Now you can think about your preferred direction and directly join then."
"Of course, if you don't wish to do research here, you can leave anytime. However, because the power of the Emotional Spectrum is too strong, researching it elsewhere poses safety risks, so the energy cannot be taken away. Alright, those who want to leave can do so."
Everyone looked at each other, but no one moved. Although clocking in and working here might be a bit boring, the key factor is energy. Without energy, staying outside would just be wandering.
But they had other problems to face. One of the magicians raised a hand and said, "What about our creditors?"
Most of them were already accomplished magicians, well-versed in dealings with demons. Some had not only sold their hearts, livers, spleens, lungs, and kidneys but also had sold their souls several times, having at least ten or more creditors. Usually, they had contact, and if the connection suddenly broke, wouldn't those creditors come knocking all at once to collect debts?
"I don't know what you're all afraid of," Strange snorted, "How many of your creditors are stronger than the demon we fought today? If they are weaker, just cut them down directly. If they are stronger, call more people and then cut them down. If there really is one you can't kill, just note the address, and when you get stronger after training, go find them again. Wouldn't that work?"
Hearing him speaking so proficiently, the people from the Justice League realized that his methods for obtaining energy in his original universe were probably not very civilized either. But when it comes to magic, a bigger fist means more right; otherwise, how could demons trample over the human race? This aspect just couldn't be too civilized.
The magicians began to whisper amongst themselves again. At this moment, Constantine spoke up: "I don't doubt that our current setup can defeat those demons, but if too many creditors show up all at once, not only would it pointlessly consume energy from the magical defense network, it would also exhaust our capacity to respond, and even then, there may be no space to store the collected energy. In short, we don't have such a complete magical system here, and this isn't something you can establish in a day or two."
"Then just go to my universe for training in batches," Strange said, "so the creditors won't find anyone, they won't launch an all-out assault, and you can also learn about how to operate magic."
"That's a good idea," Zatanna nodded and said, "I've always been curious about magical schools. But there's also a problem, our magic here and yours are ultimately somewhat different; can we really learn something?"