Two screams came from the dimensional portal. The speed at which the two figures appeared was as fast as someone spitting on the ground, like two watermelon seeds being catapulted.
The two figures skidded to a halt after quite a while. When they finally stopped, Loki saw: Stark's Mech had a large gash running through half its body, and a knife was stuck in Strange's back.
"Am I hallucinating?" Strange asked through gritted teeth, "You saw it too, right?"
"Maybe I'm just too tired from all the experiments I've been doing lately. I have no idea what I just saw." Stark said, bewildered. Then he looked down at the crack on his chest and let out another weird scream.
The two of them stared at each other in disbelief.
Until Loki flew over. The two looked at him together and said, "Are we dreaming? This dimension is full of Shillers! And they can teleport!"
"If neither of you saw it, then it might just be an illusion; but since all three of us saw it, it's likely Shiller really did escape."
"It's morbid," Strange, having observed more closely, said, "These people aren't from the High Tower, they're from beneath it. Each one is evil and terrifying. How did they escape?"
Stark had already called Greed. All they heard was Greed swearing on the other end: "The morbid ones are well-contained in the Abyss; they haven't escaped. You must be too tired lately, which is why you're having hallucinations..."
Before the sentence was finished, a mass of gray fog appeared among them. Stark pointed to the dimensional portal and said, "See for yourself."
Greed, doubtful, stared at Stark before slowly flying in. Within seconds, another scream was heard, and the gray fog was spat out as well.
"Oh my god! What's going on?!"
"You really don't know?"
"Why would I lie to you?!" Greed stared wide-eyed, "When have I ever lied when you asked? Most of the time you just don't ask. It's really not me this time."
Seeing the others still somewhat unconvinced, Greed explained, "The last time I compensated, I only released some fantasy traits from the normal side because I knew it was just a trick, not an intention to destroy the cosmos. How could I let the morbid ones out in the real world? They'd tear my home apart!"
Stark thought for a moment, finding some sense in Greed's words. Previously, when those traits were released, though each was strange and hardly seemed of this world, they weren't overly aggressive and weren't too hard to handle.
But what's inside this dimension now is different. They recognize no kin, attack anyone they see, and if you can't run fast enough, you'd be turned into sashimi. If those were released into reality, the damage would be incalculable, and possibly threaten Earth. Greed wouldn't let them destroy his possessions.
"And I've said, we're all one person with different traits; even if those traits aren't on me right now, wouldn't I know?" Greed said somewhat helplessly, "The morbid ones are securely in the Abyss. Who knows where those inside came from? Where does this dimension lead to?"
"This is a closed dimension," Loki said, "It's where The Lord of Chaos and the Lord of Order reside, along with that Middleman. Batman's intel suggests the gemstone might be in this dimension."
"If it's closed, that's good," Greed sighed in relief, "Don't let them come out, or all the superheroes will be in trouble."
"The problem now is the gemstone is inside." Strange pointed to the portal, "If Batman gets the last gemstone, we lose. If we don't go in, what if they succeed?"
"You don't understand the morbid ones well enough," Greed said, "I can responsibly tell you, with them around, no one will get a thing. Our task now is to stop up this entrance, don't let anything out, or reality is doomed."
"We have to find out where these creatures with identical personalities to yours came from. Surely no one invaded your High Tower..."
"Impossible." Greed shook his head, "Not to mention who has the ability to invade the High Tower, even if they entered it, going into the Abyss means they definitely wouldn't come out alive. How could they simulate these... wait, dreams."
"What?"
"Where's Dream Power Doctor Strange?"
Strange didn't know why he suddenly asked this, but he still tried to contact Dream Power Doctor Strange. There was no response.
"Could he have betrayed us?" Stark frowned, "He stole the information from your High Tower..."
"That's impossible," Greed repeated, "No one knows my morbid side like I do. If Dream Power Doctor Strange turned traitor, none of me could work with him, or give him information."
"Then why do you think he did it?"
"This form seems to be like a realization of dreams, you could use professional equipment to measure if there's any resemblance to the Power of Dreams used by Dream Power Doctor Strange. If so, then at least it confirms that these things were materialized by the Power of Dreams."
Stark approached the portal to investigate while Greed continued, "Either Dream Power Doctor Strange is being controlled, or he's lost control. Considering previous incidents of the Scarlet Witch and Magneto losing control, Batman might have a hand in this too."
"I remember one of you is helping Batman?"
"There is one, but it's impossible for him to do this. He can't even connect with the normal personas, let alone the morbid ones. To him, the morbid ones are a bunch of madmen; he wouldn't use this approach. Besides, they are desperate to find the Infinity Gem right now. Since they already know it's in this dimension, why would they create obstacles for themselves?"
Strange thought for a moment, nodded, and said, "The key question now is, who knows you so well? Could it be the Primary Universe Batman?"
"He only knows arrogance better," Greed said while contemplating.
"It's indeed the Power of Dreams," Stark said as he flew back, "The similarity with Dream Power Doctor Strange's power is 99%. Why would he do this? Could he have been contaminated and lost control?"
Greed shook his head and said, "Judging from the situation where Scarlet Witch and Magneto lost control, people who lose control due to spiritual pollution only act on instinct. You can't expect him to create such a precise illusion in a loss of control. That illusion is almost identical to my morbid state, even the abilities are hardly different."
Stark looked down at the scar on his chest, opened his mouth, but still said nothing.
"Who else can use the Power of Dreams?" Greed looked at Strange and asked.
"...Nightmare." Strange provided a name and said, "Actually, before Dream Power Doctor Strange arrived, the Dream Dimension was the realm of Nightmare. This guy has always wanted the Dream Dimension to descend into reality. Is it possible that he's the one behind this?"
Greed recalled that in the comic setting, Nightmare was also a member of the Lord of Dimensions, but compared to villains like Mephisto who frequently show up, he seemed rather unremarkable. His abilities weren't nearly as strong as the dream god, the master of the Kingdom of Dreams next door, so he was considered a mid-tier Demon God who never stirred up trouble and was almost forgotten by everyone.
"Nightmare can't beat Dream Power Doctor Strange, right?" Greed asked.
"Of course not, otherwise could an outsider have mastered half the Dream Dimension?" Strange pondered and said, "Not to mention Dream Power Doctor Strange, he can't even beat me."
"Then how could he produce these things with Dream Power Doctor Strange around?" Greed asked.
"He probably couldn't do it alone, but what if he had help?" Stark said, "But how did he come to know about your morbidity?"
No one had an answer to this question. But at this moment, another figure emerged from the darkness. He looked identical to Ghost Rider Johnny, but judging from his aura, it was undoubtedly Mephisto himself.
"Well? I told you, I can help you solve this problem." Mephisto looked at Loki and said, "Now Batman can forget about getting the gemstone. How do you plan to thank me? How about renewing my premium membership for another twenty thousand years?"
"It was you?!" Strange looked at him in shock.
"That's right. Nightmare is an idiot, and a little trickery was enough to get him to do me a big favor."
"Why don't you elaborate on how you did it," Greed said.
"Isn't it simple? You have that Charles person who trapped a group of big guys in the Psychic_Battlefield, and Batman's men are trying to rescue them. Both sides will inevitably have a battle in the Dream Dimension. During the chaos, you can use the erupting power to break open the dimensional channels, allowing the Power of Dreams to output into other dimensions, and cause the Kingdom of Dreams to descend there. Nightmare has always wanted the Dream Dimension to descend into reality, so when I told him about it, he quickly agreed."
"However, to achieve this, that Dream Power Doctor Strange was an obstacle. Fortunately, I gave Nightmare a trick to deceive Dream Power Doctor Strange away. We set a trap and captured him."
"So you helped Nightmare kidnap Dream Power Doctor Strange?"
"Of course, Nightmare couldn't beat him alone, I had to step in. But I didn't show up directly, to avoid holding a grudge, since we're kind of on the same team."
"And then?"
"When the Dream Dimension connects to other dimensions, you not only need to blow a hole through the opposing dimension's barrier but also blow one on our side. So, it's best to choose chaotic and unstable dreams, so the dimensional barriers are thinner and easier to open. But I'm not the Lord of the Dream Dimension, so I'm not very knowledgeable about this aspect. Anyway, Nightmare said he found a particularly chaotic dream that's just right for opening the channel. Has he succeeded now?"
"Of course." Greed smiled insincerely, then pointed to the dimensional channel, "It's time to witness your results."
Mephisto came, of course, wanting to see this, so he flew into the dimensional entrance. Soon, a scream was heard, and a watermelon seed was spat out, followed by a look of having seen a ghost.
"What the heck?!" Mephisto looked at the dimensional entrance in shock, "Why so many Shillers???"
Then he looked at Greed, clearly suspecting it was Greed's trick. Greed shrugged and said, "Don't look at me, I'm also a victim. If I hadn't dodged quickly earlier, a rib would have almost been torn out."
"Almost? As soon as I went in, I lost two ribs!" Mephisto cursed, "Times are really changing, this is the first time I've seen someone dare to rip out the heart of a Devil!"
"So what's going on?" Stark asked him.
Mephisto thought for a moment, then looked at Greed and said, "Could it be that the particularly unstable dream Nightmare chose was actually yours?"
Greed was stunned for a moment, then said, "But why would I dream of morbidity? When you dream, you wouldn't dream of yourself, right? I... oh, I know, it's the agent."
"Agent? You mean that Shiller who's with Batman?"
"Probably. He never gets along with the traits of spiritual analysis, so if it's his nightmare, it makes sense."