chapter 307 part 2
Fortunately, he hadn't actually found it and broken in.
"I am not like you. I never leave things to chance. I'm more inclined to believe that Doctor Manhattan has discovered the existence of the Sixth Dimension and realized that this extremely secret dimension is a place of paramount importance. He does not wish to have a conflict with us," the World Forger said, his eyes fixed on the events unfolding within the Multiverse.
He had no mind to spare for characters like Doctor Manhattan and Mister Mxyzptlk right now. All his attention was focused on the Intersection Zone, utterly shocked by the sudden appearance of an Otherworld that could span an infinite distance to overlap with the Main Universe.
"This must be a world no less significant than our own. In other words, a Multiverse! And it's a Multiverse that isn't sealed, one that can communicate normally with the outside world. Theoretically, the Gods within this Otherworld can travel freely outside their world... But Du Wa used some unknown method to create an overlap with our world," the World Forger said, his hands gripping his hammer tightly, his heart heavy with worry.
The three Monitor Brothers knew all too well what the Origin Wall was about. This wall, which sealed everything, was precisely what the three of them had built after betraying their mother, Perpetua. They had sounded the cosmic tuning fork, summoned a great bird from the Source of the Omniverse, and jointly defeated Perpetua, building the Origin Wall to seal her away permanently.
The three Monitor Brothers understood the truth of the World Within the Wall better than any Deity in the Main Universe, yet they still felt dread and alarm at the sight of an unfamiliar Multiverse.
"Once a war starts, it will be a war on an unprecedented scale, with Gods from two Multiverses invading each other's worlds to fight. But perhaps they won't fight from the start. The Gods on our side are desperate to enter another world to gain a foothold. The Gods on the other side must also be able to obtain something crucial from our world, just like Du Wa, who can use the characteristics of different Multiverses to increase his strength," the Anti-Monitor said gravely.
The World Forger slowly shook his head. "The Gods of the Otherworld will definitely be interested in the Origin Wall. Their world isn't sealed; perhaps they know things about the Source. They will certainly try to bypass and plunder the wall forged with the power of the Source. That is the hidden danger."
Before the Gods from other Multiverses arrived, the three Monitor Brothers had to prevent Perpetua from escaping. Now that they were here, they still had to prevent Perpetua from escaping. This overlap of two great worlds was nothing but bad news for the three Monitor Brothers.
But they couldn't reveal themselves to quell the situation. If they made a move, the existence of the Sixth Dimension control room would be exposed, and the three of them would lose their resurrection point that allowed them to be infinitely resurrected.
"...Mister Mxyzptlk has left. He tried to continue ascending through the dimensions but couldn't find the entrance to the Seventh Dimension," the Anti-Monitor reported.
The World Forger sneered. "That's only normal. A Fifth-Dimensional Being might be of some use in the Sphere of Gods and the Multiverse, but once it enters a higher dimension, its own flaws are completely exposed. In the Sixth Dimension Multiverse I created, an inferior product like Mister Mxyzptlk would never appear. The Sixth Dimension Justice League I lead is the most perfect collective."
They quickly dismissed the matter of Mister Mxyzptlk and Doctor Manhattan, believing that the convergence with the Otherworld was the major event. Even staring intently at Du Wa's movements was more important than keeping an eye on Mister Mxyzptlk and Doctor Manhattan.
But soon, the two characters they deemed unimportant would stir up a huge amount of trouble that no one could have anticipated.
...
Somewhere in the Fifth Dimension.
Mister Mxyzptlk finally intercepted the elusive Doctor Manhattan, who moved like a ghost shadow.
"First time we've met, Outsider, but I'm already regretting tracking you. Clearly, the other Outsider is more fun. That Bat-Mite fellow must be laughing at me right now."
Mister Mxyzptlk, in the guise of a bald old man, solemnly took off his top hat and gestured towards Doctor Manhattan.
Doctor Manhattan looked up, his pupil-less eyes staring blankly. "I sense the existence of a higher dimension. A dimension higher than the three-dimensional Multiverse, the four-dimensional Sphere of Gods, and this Fifth Dimension where five-dimensional beings like you reside... The Sixth Dimension? Or even higher?"
"So you're interested in dimensions? In your world, is there no division between high and low dimensions? It's not just the Sixth and Seventh Dimension; I can secretly tell you, there's also an Eighth and a Ninth!"
Mister Mxyzptlk placed a finger to his lips and shushed. "But as far as I know, the end of the dimensions in the World Within the Wall is the legendary Tenth Dimension. It's an absolutely dull, closed-off, imperceptible, and unspeakable end of dimensions."
"I would very much like to see what the end of dimensions looks like." Doctor Manhattan was a machine of inquiry. After his fight with Du Wa, he had realized it was best to explore new domains and acquire new knowledge without drastically changing DC Comics history and without antagonizing a core existence of the Multiverse like Superman. That was the key to longevity.
Mister Mxyzptlk's eyeballs darted back and forth. Seeing how lively things were on Bat-Mite's end, he was filled with envy, jealousy, and hate. To restore the balance and get more fun for himself, a wicked idea immediately popped into his head. He decided to teach this immensely powerful and exceptionally unique Deity, Doctor Manhattan, a lesson.
"I can't take you to the Tenth Dimension either, but I can tell you what's there! That's right, there are life forms there too, nurtured by the Tenth Dimension! No, I should say, they're nourished by all the dimensions of the entire World Within the Wall... Yes, that sounds much better! The end of dimensions, the Dimension God!"
Mister Mxyzptlk let his imagination run wild, fabricating a completely non-existent being, dancing with excitement. "Born with absolute power, born standing at the absolute pinnacle. Even if it does nothing, because of its inherently supreme dimensional nature, it can inflict a Dimensionality Reduction Strike on all things, and that, of course, includes you and me!"
"Is that so... But how is such a life form born, and how does it sustain its existence, being naturally the end of all things..."
Doctor Manhattan fell into deep thought. Unable to explore the truth of the higher dimensions himself, he naturally began to organize and derive from the information Mister Mxyzptlk provided. His quantum brain began to operate at full power.
At the same time, the sum total of all of Doctor Manhattan's abilities, the Power of Connection, was also mobilized, manifesting along with his brainstorming.
Mister Mxyzptlk was spouting nonsense—literally spouting spit—and with a snap of his fingers, he sketched a vague image of a woman in the five-dimensional space-time. She was heavily made-up and looked unremarkable. This was the image of the Tenth-Dimensional Being that Mister Mxyzptlk had just made up on the spot—crude, absurd, and laughable, but that wasn't important.
Intimidating Doctor Manhattan was what mattered.
"A Tenth-Dimensional Being can eat all things from lower dimensions. It... it feeds on low-dimension life forms! That's right! So, since neither you nor I have reached the level of the Tenth Dimension, we're its food! Yes, that's it!" Mister Mxyzptlk unleashed his imagination, constantly adjusting the image of the Tenth-Dimensional Being in front of Doctor Manhattan.
This in itself was nothing. Mister Mxyzptlk was a Fifth-Dimensional Being, and the Fifth Dimension was a dimension constructed from imagination.
Three dimensions are length, width, and height. The fourth is time. The fifth is imagination.
The problem was, Mister Mxyzptlk was facing a character he had never encountered before: Doctor Manhattan, who possessed the Power of Connection, had no sense of humor, and was, for all intents and purposes, a thinking machine.
And this unique power of Doctor Manhattan's, the Power of Connection, was essentially a power that could turn imagination into reality. It was the very reason Doctor Manhattan could arbitrarily distort history and realize whatever he thought.
When imagination and the Power of Connection worked in synergy, a huge problem arose.
(end of chapter)