"This is quite complicated," Anatoli said. "What you want to ask is whether comics came first or the real existing universe. But in reality, they influence each other. Because all universes share one God, so when God creates a brand new universe, beings from other universes can also hear his will and spread the gospel in their own ways, such as TV shows, movies, comics, novels..."
"Isn't that a one-sided influence? Why do you say it's mutual?"
"Because when a work is created, it's equivalent to believers praying to God. God can listen to these prayers and modify the destiny line of the real universe accordingly. This is the so-called 'popularity influences the plot'."
"But why would God do that?"
"Because God also runs out of inspiration. He's not a good screenwriter, and he can't keep up with so many universes."
"So he plagiarizes the inspiration of believers?"
"It's not really plagiarism. After all, theoretically speaking, everything in the universe was created by him, and inspiration also comes from him. It's just that God is too lazy to think through every detail himself, so he broadcasts the story of Universe A in media form in Universe B, listens to the feedback from believers, and looks for inspiration to continue writing the destiny line."
"What about the scriptwriters who come up with crappy plots..."
Anatoli shook his head and said, "That's just a metaphor. But in reality, the intelligent beings he creates are not his puppets; they have subjective initiative. Sometimes God can't interfere, otherwise, he wouldn't avoid me for so long without showing up."
"I see." Greed nodded and said, "But if you had told me earlier..."
"Then you'd have suggested I see a psychiatrist," Anatoli rolled his eyes and said.
Greed coughed a couple of times. Until he traveled through, he indeed didn't quite believe in supernatural powers, let alone believe Anatoli would be the head of such powers. If Anatoli had told him at that time that he could travel through universes and time, he would definitely think Anatoli was crazy and suggest he get his brain checked.
"So what's the next step?" Greed asked.
"Whatever you want," Anatoli said. "I'm still figuring out how to patch the hole in our original world, but so far there's no good progress. I think you should study why you want to delete memories; there might be a method in that memory."
"But as you said, if this method becomes known, it might lose its effectiveness?"
The two of them stared at each other, unable to think of a good solution. Greed rubbed his chin and said, "I think, if there's a key method in my memory, I must have left some clue; otherwise, I would never remember it."
"Then think carefully about what clues there might be. It's about time you should leave, or else your big plan won't get settled."
"Alright, but we need to agree on a way to contact each other." Greed said, "If I find this clue, I need to contact you immediately."
"Do you remember the cannon you found at Apollo's place?"
"Right, I haven't asked yet, what's it for?"
"It's for cross-world communication, convenient for me to work remotely in Marvel's Old Skrull Empire while doing things in DC. You fill it with Constant Star Power, write down the message you need to send, and aim it at me."
Greed seemed to have heard some fantasy tale. He said, "First, how do you fill in the power; second, how do you write the message; and most importantly, where are you?!"
"That's not it; you might have misunderstood the principle of this thing. It's different from the precise signal communication like a walkie-talkie. The principle is roughly, you shoot this thing at someone, they will yell out loud, then find me, and this way I can ask them what was written on the arrow that shot them."
"..." Greed was speechless for a moment, unsure whether to say this method of communication was advanced or backward. So the communication entirely relies on shouting?
"So you actually don't need to aim," Anatoli continued. "You shoot it from your universe. As long as you fill in enough power, it'll surely penetrate the cosmic barrier. Universe administrators won't want the barrier to shatter, so they'll have to find their superior. If the superior can't solve it, they'll find their superior's superior. Sooner or later, there'll be a superior who can find me, and the message will be delivered."
Greed covered his eyes. No wonder the OAA knows Anatoli. He used to help relay messages often, didn't he? Anatoli shoots an arrow, and Eternity reports layer by layer, OAA knocks on God's door, God goes to find Lucifer, and then Lucifer goes to find Anatoli. These universe administrators really hit the jackpot with him.
"Is there a quieter way to send a message?" Greed asked. He was really afraid that if he kept doing this, Eternity would resign, and that would be a big problem.
"Uh..." Anatoli actually thought seriously and then said, "How about you go find Batman?"
"Batman knows you too?"
"Not really, but he has the cosmic underlying code in him. If you kill him, the administrator might also..."
"Why would I kill him?!" Greed was about to explode. He said, "I want a direct way to contact you, without going through the administrator!"
"Then why don't you let me join Battleworld?" Anatoli thought for a moment and said, "Then you can send me messages through Battleworld."
Greed breathed a sigh of relief; finally, someone had a feasible plan. Then he suddenly realized and said, "You wouldn't just want to join Battleworld, would you?"
"Sort of, I heard quite a few universe administrators have stakes in it, and I need to ask them how to repair the cosmos; maybe they have a solution."
Greed sighed and said, "You've gathered so much energy, yet it's still not fixed, maybe..."
"You're thinking of giving up?" Anatoli said, "Although it's easy to say everything is destined, intelligent beings always have the right to resist. It's not like taking God's path means you must walk it. I'd rather slap him in the face than give in to fate."
"I just feel, it's too tough on you." Greed said, "Though I can imagine, you genuinely enjoy it. The act of resisting itself is the meaning for you."
"Yes, this is the fate of a revolutionary." Anatoli laughed. The setting sun reflected in his blue eyes like a fire on the Siberian snowfield, melting the snow, piercing the ice, sinking deep into the sea, breaking through the earth's crust, connecting with the heart of Earth, sharing the hottest heartbeat of cosmic nature through the millennia. If God wasn't impressed and proud of such vitality, why would he allow it so freely?
Greed stood up and said, "There's still a lot of work waiting. I'll head out. Message me if anything comes up."
After leaving, he found the agent and Doctor Strange in the cafeteria, already finished eating. Seeing their satisfied expressions, Greed rolled his eyes and said, "Do you guys remember why you're here?"
"We're done eating, want some? This cafeteria is really nice," Doctor Strange quickly stood up and said.
"Forget it, there's more work to be done." Greed said, "Let's get going now, or we'll miss out if we're late."
They drove off. Doctor Strange could gradually feel the power of dreams growing stronger, and he said, "What's next?"
"Go and seize the power of dreams from the Incubus."
This wasn't unexpected for Dream Power Doctor Strange, and he said, "Don't worry, this guy is quite a novice at using the power of dreams. I'll quickly be able to..."
"Don't drain him entirely; give him a sliver of hope, make him think if he just gathers a bit more strength, fights a bit harder, he might beat you. Understand?"
"Why do it like this?" Dream Power Doctor Strange asked.
"Don't worry about it, just do as I say," Greed said, "Especially after cornering him, give him a bit of hope, let him think he can still try one last push."
Though slightly confused, Dream Power Doctor Strange nodded and followed Greed's instructions.
He first absorbed the nearby power of dreams, and after gaining enough strength for a fight, he began battling Incubus for control over the power of dreams. However, the way Dream Power Doctor Strange utilized the power of dreams was different from Incubus, even more skillful, rendering Incubus almost defenseless.
Fighting alongside Incubus were Magneto and Scarlet Witch, who noticed something was amiss. Originally, they were being overwhelmed by Incubus, only able to drain his energy. But since a while ago, the guy seemed drained, his attacks weak and ineffective.
"He's out of energy!" Wanda shouted, "Push harder!"
Their assault intensified, and the arrival of Manhattan Batman became the final straw that broke the camel's back. Already struggling, Incubus was almost beaten to death.
On top of that, Dream Power Doctor Strange's manipulated power of dreams was creating chaos for Incubus, leaving him unable to fight on the frontline or the back. Wanda's Scarlet power cannon almost shattered his soul.
Terrified, Incubus tried to flee, but at that moment, he suddenly regained control of the surrounding power of dreams. He thought perhaps Dream Power Doctor Strange was neglectful, that this might be his last chance.
He knew if Dream Power Doctor Strange claimed all the power of the Dream Dimension, there would be nowhere to run. He lived off this dimension, and once outside, he'd still be hunted down. The humans in the Real Dimension wouldn't spare him either.
So his only option was one last struggle. Unfortunately, the regained control of the power of dreams was too scant to turn the tide. But suddenly, inspiration struck — while the power of dreams within the Dream Dimension was beyond his control, isn't there power outside?
To bring the Dream Dimension into reality, he had previously output a lot of power of dreams into other dimensions. Retrieving this power would definitely give him the strength to fight.
Thus, Incubus began to pull back the power of dreams he had previously dispersed. The crack on the Dream Dimension's barrier led to the dimension of the Lord of Chaos and Order, and first, he drained the power of dreams from there, but that wasn't enough. The portal to the dimension of the Lord of Chaos and Order was blown open, some power of dreams escaped to the Real Dimension, so Incubus increased his suction, aiming to pull back the dream power in the Real Dimension.
However, blocking the entrance to the Real Dimension wasn't dream power anymore, but the Dark Origin Power of Barbados brought by Bruce. It should have been immovable, but after prolonged suppression, parts of the dream power and Dark Origin Power were tangled, inseparable; like violently shaken oil and water — though they can't merge, before settling, there's no way to pour out just one of them. So as Incubus pulled, both powers rushed into the Dream Dimension.
Originally, Dark Power and dream power were equal forces, Bruce could control the Dark power but not the dream power completely. Yet intertwined so tightly, Bruce couldn't solve it for the time being and had to watch as his Dark power was sucked into the Dream Dimension. If he hadn't quickly resumed his Angel status, he himself would've been pulled in.
Once Incubus drew all the entwined powers into the Dream Dimension, Dream Power Doctor Strange stopped holding back, taking full control of the power of dreams. Then, utilizing the power of dreams to envelop the Dark power, he poured both powers towards a single body. And the figure floating between the two powers was Darkseid from the Prime Universe.