For Stephen, these past few days had been downright bizarre.
Who dreams about being hunted down every single night? And in those dreams, he wasn't always the good guy. Sometimes, he was the villain. Sometimes, he even died.
But the crucial question was—if his dream self had perished, why was his real mind and spirit still so profoundly affected? He couldn't figure it out. So, he had no choice but to seek help from Lorien.
As luck would have it, Lorien knew exactly what was happening. Because this was the plot of Doctor Strange 2!
Starting with that film, Marvel began revealing the Multiverse. And Stephen was one of the first superheroes to encounter it.
But there was a problem. In the original storyline, Wanda had taken the role of a villain... That version of Wanda had practiced the Darkhold, letting her dark impulses spiral out of control.
Yet here came another complication. Lorien had rewritten the records of the Multiverse. Now, only the Wanda by his side existed. Every other Wanda had been erased as though they never were.
So if this part of the story was still unfolding... who would take the role of the villain in Doctor Strange 2? And how would the story continue?
Since Stephen was already facing this problem, it meant the plot was underway. And if the plot was moving forward, a villain had to appear. Otherwise, the storyline wouldn't make sense.
That was where things got interesting.
"Coffee's here." The waitress arrived with coffee and desserts, along with cookies and bread.
The four of them each took their coffee. Lorien sipped his. It wasn't great, but not terrible either. Certainly not as good as milk tea.
Wanda tasted hers, then picked up a sweet little cookie to nibble on. American coffee was bitter, after all—cookies were there to balance it out.
Lorien reached out. Wanda broke her cookie in half and handed a piece to him. He popped it into his mouth, then finally turned to Stephen and Wong, who were watching him expectantly.
"Let me explain briefly."
"Mm-hmm!" Stephen and Wong nodded vigorously.
Lorien swallowed the cookie, then continued.
"Since your dreams affect you in real life, then perhaps they aren't dreams at all. They may be another kind of reality."
Another kind of reality? Stephen mulled it over.
"But in my dreams, there are all sorts of versions of me. Just yesterday, I dreamed I died—died horribly."
Lorien nodded, took another bite of cookie, washed it down with a sip of coffee, and said,
"But you're not dead now, are you?
What if you have doppelgangers? What if that was another you? What if... he was simply one of your many selves?"
His words carried a deep, unsettling weight.
Stephen and Wong fell silent, both lost in thought. Then they exchanged a glance.
Stephen suddenly grasped the meaning and asked,
"You don't mean... there are many Stephens who look just like me? Who even share the same name?"
"Well... not necessarily identical."
"This..."
Stephen's pupils contracted in shock. Lorien's words confirmed his suspicion. The Stephens in his dreams were all real. And the ones who died—were still him.
"Then where are they? Why can I only see them in dreams?"
Lorien shook his head.
"Those aren't dreams. To put it plainly, they're death scenes.
Normally, 'they' wouldn't exist in the same universe. But now... this isn't a normal time."
As Lorien shook his head, Stephen realized just how big this problem was. There were multiple versions of himself.
But the crucial question was—
"What exactly is happening? What's wrong with this universe?"
It was clear Stephen knew nothing about the Multiverse. Even Wong was just as clueless.
Wanda glanced at the two of them, then shook her head slightly and asked,
"Does the Ancient One know about this?"
Stephen and Wong both shook their heads.
Lorien explained,
"The Ancient One doesn't know. This isn't something that stone can predict."
Stephen lowered his head. That stone was the Time Stone.
With it, he could glimpse the coming war on the outer edges of the Solar System. But he couldn't see why he had become like this. That was the reason.
The Time Stone's limit was only Universal-level. And chaos unfolding across the Multiverse? How could a single Infinity Stone possibly account for that?
Especially in the hands of the Ancient One, who was only Sky Father–level.
So, back to Stephen's question: what exactly had happened to this universe?
At this point, Lorien no longer cared to explain in detail. He had gone over it far too many times already.
So, to put it simply—
Lorien looked straight at Stephen.
"You know Spider-Women in New York went from one to three, right?"
Stephen nodded. Then it suddenly clicked for him.
"So they're all..."
"No," Lorien cut him off. "There's only one Gwen. Only one Wanda.
Gwen is Gwen, and Spider-Woman is Spider-Woman.
Spider-Woman isn't always Gwen, but every Spider-Woman has the powers of Spider-Man.
It's the same with the Sorcerer Supreme."
Stephen: !!!
Stephen caught on immediately.
Three Spider-Women didn't mean Gwen + Gwen + Gwen. It meant Spider-Woman + Spider-Woman + Spider-Woman!
So the Stephens in his dream… strictly speaking, it wasn't Stephen x3. It was Sorcerer Supreme + Sorcerer Supreme + Sorcerer Supreme!
In other words, one Sorcerer Supreme after another!
They all shared the same identity. But they weren't the same person. They weren't the same self.
They just happened to be named Stephen and were Sorcerer Supremes!
Stephen got it immediately.
"So, it's not just me. Many others are like this too, right?"
"Correction: the vast majority." Lorien sipped his coffee thoughtfully. "Even people you'd never imagine."
Hearing this, Stephen and Wong both nodded slowly. They finally understood what the dream was—and why.
But another question arose.
"How do I resolve the dream issue?"
Lorien shook his head.
"It's a natural phenomenon. You don't need to force a solution.
It's just that your connection has been too deep lately. Give it some time, or try self-hypnosis to sleep.
If something is meant to happen, it will happen—maybe even the next moment. If it doesn't, then it won't."
Stephen and Wong nodded again.
Understanding the situation, they both breathed a sigh of relief.
Sure, the existence of multiple versions of themselves sounded unsettling, but it was still better than believing those bad versions—or the dead ones—were truly them.
If another version died, then so be it. As long as this self was alive, that was enough.
But as soon as he thought of that, Stephen grew curious.
"Does Tony have other versions of himself?"
"Yes."
"What about Captain America?"
"Yes."
"Hulk?"
"Yes."
"Whoa..."
Hearing this, Stephen felt both relieved and shocked. Relieved because everyone was in the same situation. That balance made him feel much better. Shocked because—everyone had other versions of themselves.
At the same time, Wong quietly asked,
"What about me, Godfather?"
Hearing this, Lorien looked up at the obedient Wong and smiled.
"Why wouldn't you?"
Wong froze. Then realization hit him.
Right. Sorcerer Supreme had one. Iron Man had one. Why wouldn't he?
Was he special? Obviously not. So he had one too.
Fine. Wong took a reassuring sip of coffee. Better stick to being a librarian.
But Lorien chuckled and added,
"In other universes, you even became Sorcerer Supreme—and a Guardian of the Multiverse."
"Huh!?"
Wong snapped his head up to stare at Lorien.
Stephen also turned toward him and asked,
"Wong was the Sorcerer Supreme in other universes too?"
"Of course. Anything is possible." Lorien nodded.
After the Snap, while Stephen was gone, Wong stepped in as Sorcerer Supreme.
But in this universe, Stephen never disappeared. He only grew more mindful of his responsibilities—and so he remained Sorcerer Supreme from the start.
Stephen and Wong exchanged glances. Now both understood the nature of the Multiverse more clearly.
Stephen joked,
"How about we take turns being Sorcerer Supreme?"
"No thanks." Wong shook his head decisively. "Being Sorcerer Supreme is too exhausting. It's nothing like my easy job as a librarian."
"..."
Stephen was speechless. A sorcerer actually disliked being Sorcerer Supreme.
He opened his mouth to say something. But just as he was about to speak—
"BOOM~~~!"
A massive rumble echoed from far outside the building.
The instant the sound hit, everyone on the street froze. Then, all at once, they began moving quickly away. Some immediately broke into a run, dragging more people into the stampede.
Upstairs, the four exchanged glances. They stood and walked to the balcony to look down.
The crowd was fleeing in the opposite direction. This time, not a single person screamed. Everyone understood.
Screaming was pointless. Run first, think later!
Lorien and Wanda weren't surprised. Instead, they felt a strange sense of familiarity.
They turned to look at each other.
"Does this feel like the first time we met?" Lorien asked.
"Yeah!" Wanda nodded excitedly.
Indeed, it had been almost the same back then. Everyone else was fleeing, but they moved against the tide.
Only... back then, Lorien had taken Wanda's hand and slowly approached the danger zone.
And now?
After hearing the rumbling, Wanda grabbed Lorien's hand. Then she wanted to rush over herself—as if she was eager to see what was happening.
Lorien felt the tug on his hand and sighed.
"Times have changed."
Stephen asked,
"Want to check it out?"
"Yeah." Lorien nodded.
So Stephen pulled out his wallet, placed some cash under the plate, and then turned and leapt straight off the balcony.
When Wong saw this, he quickly explained to Lorien,
"Stephen's just used to flying. It's not disrespect."
But before Wong even finished, Lorien and Wanda vanished instantly.
Wong: … Fine. Guess I'm the clown here.
Not long after, as the crowd cleared out, Wanda and Lorien had already teleported above the source of the rumbling.
The moment they arrived, they saw a little girl running frantically down the street. Behind her, a massive void octopus was chasing her relentlessly.
At that moment, Stephen flew in.
He froze when he saw the girl below, then whipped his head toward Lorien on the rooftop nearby.
"She's the one who was running with me in my dream!"
Clearly, Stephen intended to rescue the girl.
Lorien nodded, then extended a single hand.
A gesture that said: Go ahead, it's your movie.