Who or what are the being(s) that are forbidding dreamwalking into dead bodies?

Question

In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Doctor Strange dreamwalks into Defender Strange's corpse in Earth-616. After Strange portals to a location near Wundagore Mountain, the "Souls of the Damned" appear and attack him in two different universes (the corpse he is dreamwalking into in Earth-616 and his own body in Sinister Strange's universe), to stop his dreamwalking into a corpse. Related dialogue:

Souls of the Damned: Stephen Strange…
Possessing a dead body is forbidden. Forbidden.
Trespasser! Trespasser!
Cease your dreamwalk, or face the eternal consequences.

Forbidden by who? Who or what are these (apparently multiversal) being(s) that are forbidding possessing or dreamwalking into dead bodies, and will make someone that does so "face the eternal consequences"? What are "the eternal consequences"? Do these being(s) have a parallel to, or are based on character(s) from the comics?

Answer 1

I have a feeling it has to do with one of two beings. There are only two beings in the comics that I think can set the rules for the entire multiverse. I think it has something to do with the Living Tribunal.

If you slow it down when they are going through the multiverse, you can see the Living Tribunal's three heads. He has the task of overseeing and maintaining the balance in all the universes and there is only one of him for the entire multiverse and beings like Eternity that are the literal embodiment of the universe answer directly to him.

I think that Doctor Strange's dreamwalking into the dead variant hinders the Living Tribunal's ability to maintain the balance in all the universes. Even Clea revealed in the post credits scene that this caused an incursion (possibly in her universe). This was after he dreamwalked into a dead variant.

There is also The One Above All, the one that is the most powerful in Marvel and considered to be the god of the multiverse. But since how we haven't heard about him in the MCU yet and we did see the Living Tribunal in Doctor Strange 2, I would have to say it is the Living Tribunal that forbids dreamwalking into dead bodies, especially since how Doctor Strange did it from another universe.

Answer 2

The Darkhold Redeemers

Since you mentioned that answers from the comics is fine too, I tried to find if someone ever governed the usage of the Darkhold since that would basically answer your question as dreamwalking is a spell inside the darkhold and -

on the official Marvel website for the Darkhold Redeemers it reads -

Sam, Louise, and Vicki are the Darkhold Redeemers who dedicate themselves to saving the world from the Darkhold, an arcane evil and the greatest known compilation of black magic bound in a book. Together, the trio adds to their ranks and with supernatural allies at their side, and prevents the Darkhold’s vast number of spells from unleashing hell on Earth.

A Little history -

Churchmen eventually obtain the Darkhold scrolls and send them to the Vatican for safekeeping. Young monk Paolo Montesi, curator of St. Gabriel’s Library (containing dangerous occult objects), studies the scrolls, learning of the Malachy Prophecy—predicting the Papal succession until the end of time—and other dark secrets. Though tempted and tainted by the reading, Montesi’s extreme faith keeps him from using the book. Pope Eugene III tasks Montesi’s bloodline with watching over the scrolls, granting special dispensation to marry to continue the line; the Darkhold’s magic thus extended the Montesis’ life spans.

The pope instructs Paolo to bind the scrolls into what they call the Book of Sins. Fearing the Church would learn of the book’s vampire eradication spell, in 1190, Varnae leads a vampire host in attacking Rome. Montesi leads a successful counterattack, but Varnae ultimately slays him via deceit; as this occurred, Montesi’s wife dies giving birth to his son, Giacomo, who succeeds Paolo as the Darkhold’s watchman.

Over the years, the family protects humanity from those who would seek to use the Darkhold. In modern times, the priest Vittorio Montesi inherits the family mission. Though sterile, Vittorio makes a deal with the demonic being Chthon and casts a spell from the Darkhold. As such, Vittorio has a daughter named Victoria, whose true parentage is Chthon.

The complete history of the formation the Darkhold Redeemers is here, but I have added only the points necessary for the answer.

No such "Darkhold Redeemers currently exist in the MCU as per my knowledge and neither is the employer of the souls of the damned known in the MCU. But the only group of people I could find that Governed the usage of the Darkhold is the darkhold redeemers.

Answer 3

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Agatha All Along (2024).

Death appears to be the entity forbidding possession of dead bodies.

The character Death, as revealed in Agatha All Along, appears to be the entity opposing the possession of dead bodies, actively pursuing those who attempt such acts.

In Agatha All Along, we see this through the story of Billy Maximoff (the son of Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch), originally created through Wanda's magic in WandaVision (2021), who transfers his soul into the body of William Kaplan, a boy who died in a car accident.

Agatha Harkness (to Billy): You saw an opportunity, an empty vessel, and you moved in.

Death explicitly condemns this act of possession, particularly when Billy plans to help his brother Tommy's displaced soul do the same:

Death: The son of the Scarlet Witch stole a second life. I can't let him do the same for his twin. I have to take him.

Death's clear stance against the possession of dead bodies suggests she may be the same entity forbidding Doctor Strange from dreamwalking into Defender Strange's corpse in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Her role as a cosmic entity would explain the multiversal nature of this rule and the "eternal consequences" threatened by the Souls of the Damned.