"We can't describe our guilt with words," Shiller said, looking at Lisa. "There's no doubt that Charles's actions have profoundly compounded your suffering, forcing you to face such a desperate reality a second ti, and the damage to your psyche is irrevocable."
"But maybe we can compensate you sohow, and I am not talking about money," Shiller said to Lisa, his serious and sowhat urgent gaze capturing her attention.
Lisa gradually stopped crying, staring blankly at Shiller. Shiller took a deep breath and said, "Now we have a child who was not expected to be born, he is very special, but perhaps he might compensate you."
Lisa looked perplexed as if she couldn't understand what Shiller was saying at all. Shiller sighed gently, reminiscing about the dream he had the night before.
Shiller usually didn't dream, for he spent his sleeping hours within the Tower of Thought, but there was no doubt that so being that wanted to drag him into the dream had exerted significant force, pulling the entire tower along with it.
The other was apparently startled by such a unique form of spiritual existence but still politely invited Shiller to co out and talk. It was fortunate that Greed had not been resting, otherwise, it was uncertain which Shiller would have been pulled in.
In the dream, Shiller t a blurry figure—a female silhouette radiating a faint glow. The mont anyone saw her, they would realize what the ultimate tenderness and the beauty of motherhood were like.
"It's a pleasure to et you, Doctor," a gentle voice ca through. The figure, floating in mid-air, said, "I'm sorry that I have to communicate with you in this way, because I cannot enter Peter Parker's dreams; he is protected by a vast web."
Shiller imdiately realized what she was there for and said, "Is the child inside Gwen the result of your doing?"
"I'm not playing tricks," the figure responded, not sounding defensive but still speaking in that sa deeply gentle tone: "This child must be born, and I hoped to find parents powerful enough to protect him, so I chose Spider-Man."
"Why must he be born?" asked Shiller.
"Because another child has been born," the voice answered. "He could bring disaster to Earth and the cosmos, so a child of prophecy is needed to avert such a disaster."
Shiller made a stopping gesture. Even though he had so guesses, he still asked, "First tell who you are."
"I am Gaia."
"Who is this child that could bring disaster?"
"The Scarlet Witch Wanda's eldest son, the little boy nad Billy, as well as his brother—they both are."
"Why would they bring disaster?"
Gaia fell into an unusual silence, then said, "I don't know if you have heard of The Lord of Chaos, but you must have heard of Xeseon."
"Are you suggesting these children are Xeseon's offspring?"
"No, Xeseon couldn't interfere, which is the only bad news," Gaia explained. "If they were Xeseon's children, then there would be a way to resolve it without my intervention, but they're not."
Shiller furrowed his brow, gleaning sothing from Gaia's vague descriptions. He said, "So these two children must have so relation to the Chaotic Power, it's just that our universe's Wanda stopped Xeseon, and so soone else related to the Chaotic Power interfered with the birth of these children."
Gaia nodded gently and said, "Roughly speaking, what's worse is that this being called The Lord of Chaos is harder to deal with than Xeseon. The gods on Earth cannot directly confront him, so we have to make use of the laws."
Shiller cut straight to the core of the problem, "Is The Lord of Chaos evil?"
"No, he is just one of the rules of the cosmos; you can think of it as the universe itself is a scale, The Lord of Chaos and the King of Order each balance one side, and whenever the weight on one side increases, the other side must add to it."
"So now that a baby representing the powerful Chaotic Power has been born, a child representing Order Power must also erge, is that what you an?"
Gaia nodded again and said, "It seems I have found the right person, you understand the rules of the cosmos more than I had imagined. The few I found before you either clamored to extinguish these gods or simply couldn't comprehend what I was saying."
But Shiller was thinking deeper than he expressed. He had already noticed that the Scarlet Witch of their universe was much stronger than those from other universes, almost to the point of being a spokesperson for the Chaotic Power of this universe, and it was also possible she was not limited to this Individual Universe. Wanda might very well have absorbed the Chaotic Power from other universes within the Multiverse, otherwise, it was difficult to explain her imnse strength.
For such beings, childbirth holds an exceptionally unique significance. Their offspring could not possibly be an ordinary human being, and if the Chaotic Power Wanda possessed exceeded the limit the Individual Universe could contain, then the excess might manifest in her children.
But regardless of where it was transferred, excess is excess, this imbalance in yin and yang could likely cause problems in the cosmos, making it gradually unstable. Such instability is fundantal to the universe, very difficult to resolve; even if Wanda were to return the power, it might leave behind hidden dangers.
Shiller recalled the incident of Wanda's eldest son crying. This indiscriminate ability to cause chaos might be the manifestation of the Chaotic Power, carrying with it an evident force of order, and could not be simply treated as a mutant ability.
Therefore, the only solution was to restore equilibrium between chaos and order, and it seed this was Gaia's aim.
Gaia is Mother Earth and in most mythologies, represents pure goodness; in Marvel, she is one of the ancient gods of Earth, and generally plays the role of justice. She can foresee danger in advance and seeks ways to resolve it, which shows that she is not a villain.
But this thod is very problematic. Peter is Shiller's student, and they have a close relationship, so Shiller also does not want to persuade Peter to accept the child for the greater good. It would also be unfair to Gwen.
Overall, a child not born out of expectation, a child who has to be born for so mission, starts life as a tragedy. Shiller does not want to create this tragedy and sees no need to do so, hence he said,
"I understand the logic, but Gwen can't."
Gaia frowned.
They talked in secret almost all night.
Shiller carefully observed Lisa's expressions and, noting the complexity of her emotions when the child was ntioned, understood all his previous assumptions were correct.
In psychology, the impact of a large family versus a small family environnt on one's personality is significant. Larger families tend to be livelier, which is beneficial for socialization training from a young age and helps people acquire more social skills, understand how to survive in a group, but might lead to neglect, an early experience of social failure, and might affect the developnt of an autonomous self, causing depression when lacking social interaction.
It's difficult to conduct socialization training in a small family. A child with two parents clearly isn't enough to form an egalitarian group, so the children can't learn much, but small families are often more tolerant, and children can receive enough attention, which is good for self-developnt, though sotis they may have excessive self-awareness.
Lisa is a typical middle child of a large family, often receiving the least attention, aning she might not have developed enough self, and is eager to connect with others, a ans to stabilize her inner self.
After marrying Aux, her connection with Aux beca the key to her settlent and life, but marriage is, after all, just a legal bond, and emotional ties are elusive. Lisa eagerly hoped for a genuine connection with Aux, which, to her, ant having a child.
She believed having a small family to devote all her attention to would perfectly compensate for the neglect experienced in her childhood, the shortcomings of her personality traits, so she projected too much attention onto the child.
Many children are found with issues during prenatal checkups, and the child in Lisa's womb was always unstable, which can't be entirely unrelated to the mother's emotional state, it's just that Lisa herself, like most people, couldn't link emotional state and the child's condition, only seeing it as a purely physiological problem.
But in reality, pregnancy is the process that best demonstrates the sophistication of human body structure; missing any aspect of body or spirit just doesn't work. Failing to realize this, one might fall into the oblivion Lisa did, where life seems well managed, but still, everything slides towards an irretrievable abyss.
Lisa's child was indeed beyond saving, even if she lined up at Death's door now, it would still take at least three to four years. An infant's soul is light and would have dissipated by then.
Yet Lisa was still eagerly anticipating the birth of her child. Shiller saw this in her state, but he got so disturbing news from the Elders Council Hospital: the last birth had caused too much damage to Lisa's body, and she might not be able to get pregnant normally again.
Out of humanitarian spirit, Shiller did not imdiately tell Lisa the truth; he chose to first guide her to hope.
"Are you saying I could adopt a child?" Lisa looked at him and said, "But Aux and I don't qualify, and we both want a child with our own bloodlines."
"Yes, of course, so we're not talking about the usual adoption procedures," Shiller said. "Since you know there are superpowers in this world that can modify mories at will, you should understand there are many things hidden from the normal world."
"Like aliens?" Lisa said. "I've seen aliens, they ca in a spaceship shaped like a mushroom, and it landed in my backyard..."
Shiller couldn't investigate whether what Lisa said was an illusion or not, but he knew it wasn't the point, so he said, "Yes, aliens certainly exist. Haven't you seen the news? Asgardians are aliens."
"I'm not talking about that..."
"I know, what I an is, alongside the advancent of technology and magic, it's not imperative to use traditional ans of conception. There is an unwanted child born in the wrong place right now, if you are willing, it could also beco your child."
Lisa was still a bit bewildered, but she grasped the key point and said, "Are you talking about a fetus? Is there really such technology now? To transfer a fetus to another person's body, what about the blood relationship then?"
"It depends on who ignites the soul," Shiller revealed the theory he had already researched. "The fla of the soul has not been ignited yet because the chosen parents have no expectation for it, but if it's you and Aux, then it is your child, with both of your bloodlines."
"Even to the extent of getting a paternity test?"
"Of course." Shiller nodded, he was about ninety percent confident about this matter, "And this child won't harm your body like a common child, it doesn't rely on the mother's nutrients to survive. However, I must remind you, birthing damage is inevitable, and for any woman, it is a trendous ordeal. So in the end, whether you want to or not is still up to you..."
Shiller felt his arm was suddenly grabbed fiercely. Lisa stared at him and said, "I can't get pregnant anymore, can I?"
Shiller nodded silently.
Lisa showed a panic-stricken expression and said, "I know, I just knew. But Aux really wants a daughter, and so do I... What should I do?"
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