Essence led Talia and the others deeper into the hall, where very little sunlight reached the interior. The vast chamber remained shrouded in a perpetual twilight, its darkness held at bay only by torches mounted upon stone pillars. Their flickering flames cast long, wavering shadows across the walls, lending the place an atmosphere that was both solemn and ancient.
At the far end of the hall sat a lone figure upon a raised seat, her back turned toward them. Her eyes remained closed as she rested in silent meditation, so still that she could have been mistaken for a statue carved from stone.
As the group drew closer, Essence quietly raised a hand, signaling everyone to stop. Without another word, she stepped back several paces, leaving the visitors to continue on their own. The assassin carrying Jason's restrained body followed suit, lowering him to the ground before retreating as well. It was clear enough that this was not his place to speak. The request they had come to make belonged to Talia and Nadia alone.
"Thank you for granting us an audience, Master Ducra," Nadia began respectfully, her voice carrying through the quiet hall despite the woman before them offering no immediate acknowledgement. "With me is my sister, Talia, Head of the Demon."
"It is an honor to meet you," Talia added with a respectful incline of her head.
Only then did the seated figure speak.
"So that brat finally bites the dust."
The blunt remark, clearly directed at Ra's al Ghul, came just as the elderly woman rose gracefully to her feet. Turning to face them, she swept a measured glance across each of the visitors before her.
As jarring as it was to hear someone refer to their father—a man who had lived for centuries—as a brat, neither sister found the comment entirely surprising. Ra's himself had once spoken of the leader of the All-Caste, and from those stories they knew Master Ducra's existence stretched back even further. Compared to her, even the Demon's Head was little more than a child.
Her attention eventually settled upon the unconscious young man lying on the stone floor, his limbs still bound in heavy chains several feet away from the sisters. Noticing where the master's gaze had fallen, Talia seized the opportunity to present the reason for their visit.
"He is the reason for our visit," Talia said, gesturing toward the restrained young man as she prepared to explain the situation that had brought them before the master.
Ducra's gaze lingered on Jason for a few moments before shifting back to the sisters. "Is this your doing?" she asked evenly. "Because your father knows better than to use the power of that pit to resurrect the dead."
"Father was never one to use the Lazarus Pit to bring back the dead," Talia replied. "There was no way of knowing what such a resurrection would do to the soul. But in an attempt to correct one of his greatest mistakes—and hoping he could somehow contain or even reverse the consequences—he chose to do it anyway."
As the words left her mouth, Talia lowered her eyes, unable to hide the guilt weighing on her conscience. She had played her own part in Jason's resurrection, and every day since had only reinforced the thought that what he now endured might be a fate far crueler than death itself.
"You know what is happening to him," she continued, lifting her gaze once more. "Does that mean you can heal him?"
Ducra did not answer immediately. Instead, she studied the unconscious boy with narrowed eyes, her attention fixed on him as though she were looking beyond his physical form. "His ki has been tainted by the darkness of the Lazarus Pit," she finally said. "The pit does more than restore life. It leaves behind a residue of death and rage that clings to the soul."
She turned away from Jason and faced the sisters once again, leaving the chained young man at her back. "That darkness festers within a person, manifesting as violent emotional outbursts, uncontrollable bloodlust, a constant struggle to restrain one's anger, and an overwhelming desire for vengeance. The soul believes it still owes a debt to the one who ended its life."
A faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
"Does any of that sound familiar... to you young man, pretending to be unconscious?"
The question sent every pair of eyes in the hall snapping toward Jason, whose motionless form remained exactly where it had been moments before.
Without warning, Jason's seemingly limp body sprang to life.
In one swift, fluid motion, he threw his legs upward, shifting his weight onto his shoulders and upper back to build momentum before kicking himself into the air. The movement carried him cleanly onto his feet despite the heavy chains wrapped around his wrists and ankles. He landed with surprising balance, though the restraints prevented him from settling into a proper fighting stance.
During the sudden burst of movement, the gag covering his mouth shifted just enough for him to speak. "I see you figured me out," he said calmly, his eyes sweeping across every person gathered around him.
His gaze eventually settled on the elderly woman before him.
"So this is your big idea? Bringing me to some washed-up shaman?" Todd remarked, his tone dripping with dry amusement and unmistakable disappointment. A faint smirk tugged at his lips before he added, "Though I suppose I can't exactly call you washed up, considering you figured me out when the others couldn't."
'She's unusually knowledgeable about the Lazarus Pit,' Jason thought, studying Ducra with careful interest. 'Just who are these women the pesky sisters dragged me to? If I'd woken up a little earlier, I might've learned enough to figure out where the hell this place is. Or even made my escape.'
His eyes briefly dropped to the chains securing his body. Under normal circumstances, he would have already settled into a combat stance, testing everyone's reactions for an opening. The restraints denied him that luxury. Worse still, whatever sedative they had kept him under for the journey hadn't completely worked its way out of his system. There was still a lingering heaviness in his limbs, enough to make him cautious. For the moment, remaining on guard was the wiser choice.
Around him, the atmosphere shifted instantly.
Every member of the League present, along with Essence herself, had already slipped into a battle-ready stance. Their eyes remained locked on Jason, their bodies tense as if expecting him to explode into violence at any second. Only Master Ducra stood unmoved, her posture relaxed, betraying not the slightest concern.
A flurry of questions raced through the minds of those gathered.
'He's been awake?'
'How long has he been pretending to be unconscious?'
'Why wait until he was called out before revealing himself?'
The realization sent an uneasy chill through the hall. The assassins felt cold sweat bead down their faces as memories resurfaced of exactly what Jason Todd was capable of. They had witnessed firsthand the terrifying efficiency with which he carried out violence, and none of them wanted to discover what would happen if the restraints somehow failed.
"I see you've nearly been consumed by the darkness left behind by the Lazarus Pit," Ducra said, her calm voice carrying effortlessly through the hall as before. Her eyes remained fixed on Jason as though she could see straight through him. "At this very moment, you're probably fighting the urge to kill every soul drawing breath in this room. Violence and the thirst for blood have become the driving force behind your thoughts and actions."
Jason let out a short, amused scoff. "Pffft... is that what you all think?" he asked, the tension leaving his posture as he shifted his gaze toward the sisters responsible for bringing him here. "That I'm some brain-dead husk wandering around, mindlessly killing people without any purpose whatsoever?"
"Well..." Nadia answered first, exchanging a brief glance with Talia. "Apart from the part about having no goal... that's essentially true."
Talia gave a reluctant nod. "We still don't know what it is you're actually after," she admitted. "All we've seen is you leaving a trail of blood stretching back to the streets of Gotham."
Their exchange drew Essence's attention, her eyes drifting toward the sisters. Hearing them speak so matter-of-factly about the destruction Jason had left in his wake gave her a clearer understanding of why they had gone to such extraordinary lengths to keep him restrained.
Even so, something continued to bother her.
'He's only one man,' she thought, studying the chained young man whose eyes, despite everything she had heard, held not even the faintest trace of murderous intent. 'Can he truly be that dangerous? And if he's really beyond saving... why haven't they simply killed him?'
Before she could dwell on the questions any longer, Ducra's voice broke through her thoughts.
"Essence," the old master said calmly, "remove his chains."
The order was so unexpected that puzzled looks spread across nearly every face in the hall. Even Jason's expression shifted ever so slightly, caught off guard by what he had just heard.
"Wait. No, you shouldn't..." Talia protested immediately, taking an involuntary step forward.
"I strongly advise against it, Master Ducra," Nadia added without hesitation. "You don't fully understand what we're dealing with here."
Their warnings, however, fell on deaf ears. Ducra neither looked at them nor acknowledged their objections, her unwavering attention remaining fixed solely on the young man standing before her.
"Do it."
"Yes, Master."
Without questioning the order, Essence obeyed. Drawing a short blade from her side, she approached Jason with measured steps. Three swift, precise strikes were all it took to sever the chains around his wrists and ankles. The heavy restraints dropped to the stone floor with a loud metallic clatter, echoing through the quiet hall as Essence calmly retreated to her previous position.
"Well?" Ducra said, her voice almost inviting. "Why don't you go ahead and do it?"
Jason slowly rubbed at his wrists where the chains had bitten into his skin, flexing them as feeling gradually returned. He noticed Ducra subtly motioning for everyone else to remain where they were, making no effort to shield herself. It was obvious she intended to witness firsthand just how deeply the Lazarus Pit had corrupted his soul.
"As ugly as whatever story you've all been told about me is," Jason replied, "I'm not enough of a monster to attack a defenseless old lady." A faint smirk crossed his face as he tilted his head. "Then again... you're not exactly defenseless, are you?"
'She's hiding something,' Jason thought as he studied the elderly woman with careful attention. 'There's something about her that keeps setting off every instinct I have. She doesn't look dangerous... but she feels dangerous. Why?'
His eyes remained fixed on Ducra, though every so often they flickered toward the others, silently accounting for every possible threat in the room.
'Only one way to find out.'
Instead of making a move against the old master, Jason abruptly shifted his attention to the assassin who had escorted the sisters and carried him into the hall. For a brief moment, everyone tensed, expecting violence to erupt now that he was free.
To the complete surprise of Talia and the others, Jason simply lowered himself onto the stone floor and sat down.
"You people must have food around here somewhere," he said casually, as though they weren't standing in the middle of a tense confrontation. "It shouldn't be too much trouble for one of you to bring me something to eat, considering I'm here against my will and all."
Essence's expression tightened.
"I'll overlook that remark because you're clearly ignorant of who stands before you," she said, her irritation barely concealed. "But if you continue showing such disrespect, it will cost you your tongue."
Jason looked up at her, completely unfazed.
"And who do we have here?" he asked with a lazy grin. "A hothead desperately hoping for a pat on the head from her master."
"Watch your mou—"
Essence stopped short as Ducra quietly cleared her throat.
The elderly master offered her a small, almost imperceptible nod. Though Essence immediately understood it as an instruction to stand down, she couldn't make sense of the reasoning behind it.
'Why indulge this stranger's theatrics?' she wondered. 'And why tolerate such blatant disrespect?'
Suppressing her frustration, she turned on her heel to find someone who could bring the young man something to eat.
The instant she did, her attention shifted away from him and presenting her back to him as though she had completely lowered her guard, Jason made his move.
Like a viper striking the instant an opening revealed itself, he launched himself from where he sat, his freshly unrestrained body surging forward with startling speed despite the aching from the chains that once bind him, and the effects of the sedatives still in his system. Every ounce of force behind the sudden lunge was aimed at the young lady, intent on bringing her down and holding her hostage before anyone else had a chance to react.
"Look out!" Talia and the others shouted in unison.
The warning reached Essence just as she turned and found herself staring into Jason's eyes. The malicious intent burning within them sent a jolt of shock through her body.
Instinctively, her hand darted toward her blade as she raised her guard, prepared to block, evade, or counter whatever came next—whichever her reflexes allowed. But Jason was faster. In the blink of an eye, he had crossed the distance between them, his hand clamping firmly around her head. With frightening speed, he moved to slam her into the stone floor with enough force to knock her unconscious without killing her.
Then, just as suddenly, he stopped.
His body froze in place, the attack suspended mere inches from completion.
Seizing the unexpected opening, Essence tore herself free from his grip and sprang backward, putting several paces between them while keeping her weapon at the ready.
'This old hag... what did she do to me?' Jason thought, struggling to steady himself as the world around him began to blur. 'Why am I suddenly so dizzy... so sluggish?'
Every movement became noticeably heavier. His limbs felt as though invisible weights had been fastened to them, while his joints moved with the stiff resistance of rusted metal grinding against itself.
Across from him, Essence remained equally unsettled.
'I didn't even sense his bloodlust until the very last second,' she realized, watching Jason stagger awkwardly like a marionette whose strings had suddenly begun to fail.
"What did you do to him?" Nadia asked before Talia could voice the very same question.
"Nothing extraordinary," Ducra replied calmly. "I merely disrupted and suppressed the flow of the tainted ki within him."
The explanation did little to ease the sisters' confusion.
Instead, they found themselves reliving an all-too-familiar moment.
Jason's body suddenly gave out beneath him as he dropped to one knee. Slowly, he lifted his head toward the sisters, the murderous fury that had filled his eyes moments ago had been replaced by an unmistakable look of confusion.
"Na...dia?"
The words barely escaped his lips before his strength abandoned him entirely. His body slumped forward, collapsing unconscious onto the cold stone floor.
"What happens now?" Talia asked, unable to keep the concern from her voice.
"He'll awaken tomorrow morning with a clear mind," Ducra answered. "Then we begin."
Those simple words were enough to lift a weight from both sisters' shoulders. They exchanged quiet glances before releasing long, relieved breaths. More than anything, the master's response confirmed that she had accepted their request to help Jason.
Even so, countless questions lingered in their minds. What kind of treatment would Ducra use? What techniques could possibly heal the damage left behind by the Lazarus Pit and possibly fix his fractured soul? Neither sister voiced their curiosity. For now, they chose patience over interruption, deciding it was better to observe the master's methods and ask their questions only when the appropriate opportunity presented itself, rather than risk inconveniencing or irritating the woman who had agreed to help.
For the moment, all they could do was wait for morning. Whatever healing Ducra intended to administer would begin then, and with any luck, Jason would finally have a chance to return to whatever he'd call normal—and perhaps, before long, everyone else could return to theirs as well.