In the storyline concerning nightmares, the most eye-catching scene was an adventure unfolded in the Nightmare Dimension by Doctor Strange of a certain universe. Without going into much detail, eventually, this Doctor Strange mastered the Nightmare Dimension and acquired the Power of Dreams from Marvel.
Do not underestimate this Dream-powered Doctor Strange, for according to the power hierarchy in the comics, he is the strongest amongst all the Doctor Stranges.
At that time, Incubus punched Eternity, trampled Infinity, and brutally thrashed the Court of Life, but the then-Dream-powered Doctor Strange brutally thrashed Incubus.
In the theory of stacking boxes, stacking the Court already reaches the Omnipotent Universal Level, and at that time, Incubus directly crushed the Court along with a host of Abstract Entities, and Dream-powered Doctor Strange also defeated Incubus instantly, prompting some to speculate that his power is only second to Thanos, the Heart of the Universe.
Moreover, what's special is that this issue of the Dream-powered Doctor Strange is titled "Marvel" and not some personal storyline spun off by a parallel universe, which further boosts his ranking in the battle power rating.
Of course, the Power of Dreams in the Marvel Universe shares some similarities with the Kingdom of Dreams from DC, as the limit of the Power of Dreams is the limit of imagination; simply put, like Superman, it somewhat touches upon achieving whatever one desires. With that in mind, the power of Dream-powered Doctor Strange essentially has no limits.
That's why Shiller couldn't guess why he suddenly appeared in the dream of someone in such a remote universe. Lisa's child in her womb is indeed special, but not special enough to warrant direct interference from an Omnipotent Universal Level entity, right?
This question cannot be answered by any other means; Shiller felt that since Dream-powered Doctor Strange might have set his sights on this child, he surely won't easily give up, and eventually, someone would have to talk to him.
Shiller does not plan to delay the ignition, so this time now until evening is the best time for negotiations; he must figure out what attracted Dream-powered Doctor Strange to this universe.
Later, Shiller had Lisa lie on a lounge and drink some Mad Liquor, Shiller used Mad Liquor to enter the dream as well, but this time he did not see the Middleman or Gaia. Clearly, neither of these two could possibly be a match for Dream-powered Doctor Strange.
Taking this opportunity, Shiller explored Lisa's Psychic Space, finding that the memory wounds that Charles had created were mostly healed, and her memory world had returned to being full of order and vitality.
Lisa's Psychic Space was a vast meadow that somewhat resembled her family farm but was broader and sunnier. She herself had a tiny cabin, similar but also seemingly a blend of her bedroom and the marital home she shared with Aux in New York.
Shiller took another walk here, didn't find anything special, nor did he see Lisa's psychic avatar; apparently, Lisa hadn't realized she was dreaming, and it might take some time for her to come here.
Suddenly, Shiller heard a slight noise, as if something had fallen to the ground, he went outside and saw the wheat stalks in the distant field gently swaying.
"Mommy... mommy..."
A tender voice of a little girl emanated from the field. Shiller walked over the field ridge and indeed saw a little girl glowing faintly, standing in the center of the wheat field, her features and body somewhat blurred, not looking like a complete soul.
This must be Gaia's masterpiece, if tonight the ignition is successful, she would become the tiny embryo in Lisa's womb and then be born into this world as a new life.
However, Shiller was also a bit puzzled, if Dream-powered Doctor Strange had set his sights on this little girl and had already dealt with the Middleman and Gaia, he could easily take this little girl away, unless his target wasn't actually this little girl.
Shiller walked over, but the little girl continued calling out obliviously for mommy, appearing to be a standby program set by Gaia, albeit a bit eerie to the common observer.
As Shiller reached out to touch the little girl's head, he suddenly felt as if someone was secretly watching her, an intuition that often equates to foresight in dreams.
"Don't touch her," a voice said.
Shiller slowly withdrew his hand and looked into the distance, a hazy figure was speeding toward him, stopping eventually behind the little girl as it slowly descended.
When that familiar Red Cloak appeared, Shiller knew his guess was right; as he looked up, he saw a familiar face, it was Stephen Strange, Doctor Strange.
This Strange was still dressed in the Mage Outfit, but below him, there was a lightly glowing mass of colorful fragments, each containing constantly changing scenes, almost like complete universes, his eyes too shimmered with multicolored lights, more resembling those powerful Abstract Entities than himself.
"Doctor Strange?" Shiller raised an eyebrow, not restraining his scrutinizing gaze, he said, "Or should I call you Incubus?"
"You don't need to know who I am," the other's tone was very even, also like an echo from some extremely distant place, appearing as if his real body was not here, what appeared before Shiller was merely a dream incarnation.
"That's for the best," Shiller didn't argue on this point, but rather said, "Who you are doesn't matter, what's important is why you are here and what you intend to do to this little girl."
"I am protecting her," Dream-powered Doctor Strange replied.
"But in our view, you've sent the actual protectors, the Middleman and Gaia, to God knows where."
"They can't protect her."
"Oh?"
Dream-powered Doctor Strange seemed reluctant to discuss further, only staring at Shiller as he said, "I found your image within the dreamscape, Shiller; you seem to be a peculiar existence."
Shiller nodded and replied, "I suppose you could also invade the dreams of abstract entities, so why not glimpse into those of Eternity and Death?"
Dream-powered Doctor Strange gave a noticeable pause, seeming to have actually done so, and after doing so, he was even more stunned.
"You only appeared in their nightmares," intoned Dream-powered Doctor Strange with evident fluctuation in his voice. "It's hard for me to imagine that an entity like Death would have nightmares about you for three consecutive nights."
"Only three nights? It seems he has more quota for revival than I imagined. Thanks for the reminder. Once this is over, I'll have a good talk with him."
Dream-powered Doctor Strange fell silent.
"Since it is so, perhaps I might also tell you that he might have sensed the uniqueness of Shiller, or perhaps he had a premonition about something," he said. "I haven't deceived you. I am merely protecting this little girl because there is something bizarre wanting to approach her, which would eventually lead to the destruction of all cosmoses."
"I hope this bizarre thing you mention is not me."
"It is not you," the Dream-powered Doctor Strange confirmed firmly. "But it also isn't anything we can currently recognize. Frankly speaking, I don't know what it is either. I merely glimpsed the future in the dreams."
Shiller had started to realize, and he said, "Tell me what happened."
"I am the avatar of the Nightmare Dimension, possessing the power to dominate the dreams of all beings. Everything within the dreams is under my control. However, one day, there was a breach in a dream."
Shiller slightly furrowed his brows.
"A mass of darkness I cannot describe covered the place it originated. There was nothing there, akin to an inscrutable black hole. I tried shaping it in the dream but failed. It was the most peculiar entity I have ever encountered."
"Do you know where it came from?"
"That's one of the reasons I came here," said Dream-powered Doctor Strange. "The black hole appeared in this very universe of yours."
Shiller nodded while Dream-powered Doctor Strange continued to scrutinize his expression, seemingly searching for signs of nervousness or panic, but there were none.
"I began trying to figure out what this black hole is and what it might entail. After all methods proved ineffective, I had no choice but to turn to the flow of time where I foresaw a destructive future."
"What exactly happened?"
"For some reasons, I could not see it very clearly, but I discovered that first, the balance between chaos and order in this universe collapses, causing the universe to self-destruct, followed then by other universes, more universes, until even my Nightmare Dimension ceases to exist."
"Is it that serious?"
"It is probably more serious than you can imagine," he said. "I saw all abstract entities plunged into madness, almost unable to resist. It is a disaster unlike any I have ever seen, and the source... is this little girl."
"She is the soon-to-be-born Child of Order," Shiller said. "Opposed to Wanda's son who bears the Chaotic Power, her birth was supposed to rebalance chaos and order."
"But someone corrupted her," stated Dream-powered Doctor Strange. "I cannot perceive the exact actions of the black hole, but undoubtedly, it meddled with something. Instead of forming balance, the birth of this girl shattered the harmony between the forces of chaos and order completely."
"So, you want to protect her?"
"Yes, I must nip this in the bud..."
Before Dream-powered Doctor Strange could finish his sentence, Shiller sighed helplessly, shaking his head as he said, "Haven't you considered this might be exactly what it wants you to do?"
Dream-powered Doctor Strange frowned, pondering, "Then why would it do that? What is its ultimate purpose?"
"What is the most powerful force at your disposal? Is it absolutely safe and controllable for you?"
Dream-powered Doctor Strange was about to nod but suddenly widened his eyes as if he felt something, and looked back sharply, not at the field of wheat but as though seeing through the dreamscape to a disaster occurring afar.
"It is stealing my authority..." said Dream-powered Doctor Strange incredulously. "The black hole is expanding, and what it wants is my ability to control dreams!"
With a whoosh, Dream-powered Doctor Strange's figure disappeared from sight. Shiller sighed again and shook his head, not that he was naive, but any normal person would never expect the next opponent in the boxing ring to be a pile of dog poop.