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Chapter 264: Where will the dream go (1)

It is well known that many editors of American comics have a common approach. When they don't know how to express an abstract concept, they personify it as a character, allowing them to appear in the comic in human form and giving them human characteristics.

On the contrary, if they don't know how to motivate an ordinary person to participate in something, they add divinity to their character, known as the "awakening of the savior."

"Humanity as gods" and "divine humans" are two eternal themes in American comics, and the character Morpheus, the "Sleeping Devil," happens to be one of the former.

To talk about his origin, we have to start with the Endless Family.

The Endless Family is a creation born from the personification of abstract concepts into humanoid characters with human characteristics.

There are a total of seven members in this family, representing Dream, Death, Destiny, Despair, Desire, Delirium, and Destruction.

These concepts are intangible in real life, but in comics, they have fixed images and each has its own responsibilities and personalities.

And Morpheus, also known as the Dream Lord, is the one appearing before Schiller.

As is well known, conceptual beings are generally very powerful. Unlike superheroes whose strength is assessed based on their accomplishments, these conceptual characters are already formidable based on their attributes alone.

Morpheus, the Dream Lord, is the master of dreams. When the first being in the universe falls asleep, Morpheus is born. He can create dreamscapes with a thousand cats, making dreams replace reality or making people's lives resemble their dreams.

Different from Marvel's emphasis on the power of conceptual beings or the distinction of their domains, DC comics prefer to highlight their unique personalities. For example, Morpheus, the Dream Lord, is actually the most dedicated member of the Endless Family, apart from Destiny.

In the comics, it has been mentioned that he fulfills his responsibilities with extreme caution. Despite having immense power, he has never let that power cause chaos. He has a solitary personality, few friends, and often engages in philosophical contemplation.

Due to the nature of his domain, which is not closely related to the domains of other members of the Endless Family, he has always remained mysterious. He has had countless external forms, but always presents only one or two of them. In most cases, he is a man with deep blue hair, wearing a cloak made of the night, and appears pale and thin.

The person appearing before Schiller is the same. However, it is more likely that each person sees a different Morpheus, and he appears as they perceive him. In Schiller's memory, he still resembles the Morpheus from the comics, hence his appearance.

The original work has also mentioned that the first incarnation of Morpheus was capricious, but now he has surpassed mere capriciousness and seems somewhat exasperated.

He stared at Schiller with his eyes shining brightly, then in a hoarse voice said, "Why did you connect your dreams to my Dream Realm and put someone inside..."

His expression at this moment is difficult to describe, which is quite rare. Conceptual beings, even if they have personalities, do not express emotions as clearly as ordinary humans. Moreover, Morpheus has always been somewhat reclusive. However, you can now see on his face a mix of disdain, disgust, confusion, bewilderment after being awakened, and anger at his own messed-up home.

Speaking of the Dream Realm, it is not difficult to understand. Each member of the Endless Family has their own domain where they are almost omniscient and omnipotent. The realm of the Dream Lord is called the Dream Realm, which sounds somewhat dreamlike. But at this moment, it is uncertain whether the current state of the Dream Realm, which has been defiled, still matches this dreamlike style.

"Before you ask me that question, I have many questions of my own to ask you," Schiller said as he looked at Morpheus. "I think you must be prepared to answer my questions, right?"

"Don't tell me you know nothing about my situation."

"First, make that madman leave my home," Morpheus reiterated. "Do you know what he has done in the Dream Realm?"

"I can imagine. I feel deeply sorry and sympathetic."

Morpheus looked at Schiller, and Schiller looked back at Morpheus. Neither of them was willing to back down, but fortunately, they were in the dream realm now, where time is abundant.

Perhaps it was because the Joker had truly done something outrageously appalling, or perhaps Morpheus himself was somewhat interested in Schiller. In the end, he made the first concession and said, "What do you want to ask? But I must first tell you that many things I know cannot be described to you humans. The world as we see it is different."

"Of course, of course, I understand..." Schiller made a soothing gesture with his hand and invited Morpheus to sit on the sofa opposite him.

On the table behind him, the Earth globe kept spinning, but this time, he didn't have a globe as a head, just like in real life, he had a normal human appearance.

"Before I ask my questions, I think you must also have some doubts. For example, why I wanted to find you and how I found you."

Schiller appeared very relaxed, as if he wasn't facing a formidable enemy but an old friend. He explained to Morpheus, "Being able to control all dreams means you can access all of my memories, including both the surface conscious space and the deep subconscious space. So, regarding my origin, I don't think I need to introduce myself too much."

"In fact, I started having doubts when I first experienced some changes in my dreams. I knew that this place was completely different from the world I originally lived in. All the concepts here are controlled by you, some concepts or deities."

"It sounds incredible, but it actually makes it convenient for me to reason because if there is a problem in a certain domain, there must be someone responsible for it."

"For example, if something always happens when I'm asleep, who else can I turn to?"

"Of course, I understand that the domains you control are crucial to this universe. So, you're busy and don't have time to explain certain details to me. I can understand that. But it's okay. Since you didn't come to talk to me, I can come to your doorstep and ring the doorbell..."

Morpheus's face turned very ugly. Although he always had a pale complexion, now anyone could tell that his expression was extremely unnatural. He said, "Is that how you knock on the door? By bringing a madman who is not under the control of dreams, or rather, someone who can't even comprehend dreams, into my house???"

Morpheus's voice carried a strange rhythm, like a singing opera singer. He said, "You have no idea how dangerous of a thing you've done. He almost caused a huge hole in the Dream Realm. Luckily, I woke up in time to stop him. If he had succeeded, the creatures within the Dream Realm would have escaped..."

Morpheus shook his head and said, "All my work for millennia would have been in vain. It would likely take another millennia to fix this accident."

"This was just an experiment of mine." Schiller didn't shirk responsibility and continued, "You see, I'm just an ordinary human. I have no idea how loud a doorbell needs to be to wake up you conceptual beings..."

"So, you decided to use the loudest one?"

"Exactly. When something frequently happens in my dreams, I know who to find. And next, it's about how I can find you."

"I believe that since you are the Dream God, you must control the dreams of everyone in this world, including mine. The only question is, how do you control these dreams of people?"

"I'm well aware that there is absolutely no trace of you in my surface conscious space. I have strong control over my surface conscious space, including constructing a thought palace with over 330 layers and creating countless personalities as residents, establishing many domains with special rules. I have meticulous control over this place, and I am certain that there are no outsiders living here."

"So, I guess you must be in a deeper level of the subconscious space."

"However, when I built the thought palace, I laid a very solid foundation for my surface conscious. This has led to an awkward situation where I can't pry open this layer of the foundation by myself. It's like asking someone to lift their left foot and touch the sky with their right foot in the real world. It's incredibly difficult."

"So, when I discovered a remarkable drug that could affect human dreams, I had this idea. I asked a friend of mine to mix certain liquids together and create a kind of wine that can connect to human dreams..."

"Then I invited my friends into this realm of consciousness and, with the help of another psychologist, dug through the foundation of the surface conscious, allowing Jack to enter my deep subconscious and keep digging downwards..."

"Actually, before you appeared, I wasn't sure if digging deeper would lead to your dream realm. But now it seems my speculation was correct..."

"Reality and dreams are two sides of the same coin. If the highest point of my thought palace is 'reality,' then the bottommost point of my deep subconscious should be your dream realm."

"And the reason I woke you up with a doorbell is because I hope you can answer my question..."

Schiller looked at Morpheus and said, "What is the thing that keeps happening in my dreams?"

"If I don't answer, are you planning to let that annoying doorbell keep ringing?"

"Don't say it like that." Schiller waved his hand and said, "Just like you can't control him, I can't control him either. Although I made a trivial little deal with him, he goes wherever he wants, and I can't control that."

"In that case, let me rephrase..." Morpheus's tone remained cold and carried the emotion of a secluded and introverted person resistant to communication.

"If I answer your question, will you be able to get rid of him?"

"That's correct."

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