The explosion ripped through the Gotham estate like a cannon blast. Glass shattered, wood splintered, the marble floor cracked beneath the force.When the smoke cleared, the grand hallway was unrecognizable, chandelier dangling by a single chain, portraits smoldering, the air thick with dust and fire.Ray lay sprawled across the floor, chest heaving, blood trickling from his temple. The torn journal page fluttered inches from his hand, scorched at the edges.Opposite him, Frederick rose slowly, a devil in the wreckage. His coat was torn, his face streaked with blood, but his eyes gleamed with triumph. In his fist, clutched like a relic, was half the page.Maria knelt in the middle, trembling, her hands pressed to her ears as though the Guardian’s scream still echoed in her skull.Ray pushed himself up, voice raw. “Maria, stay back!”Frederick laughed, coughing through smoke. “Do you see, girl? Do you see what he brings into your house? Fire and ruin! This is what he is!”Maria’s tear-