"I believe that it's quite possible during your psychological treatment, you mentioned your parents too many times. The standard guidance of language that Shiller used had no effect. He saw that you were in too much pain, and that's why he was willing to pay such a considerable price to bring your parents back to life,"
Stark stretched out his hands and rubbed his face, "Also, I just noticed that there's been a wound on Shiller's neck all this time. His soul hasn't healed at all. His physical wounds have disappeared, probably because he doesn't want us to see..."
Loki added from the side, "I think, you shouldn't let him go on like this. You know that there might be something wrong with his mentality, and yet you don't take any strong measures to keep him in check. It's only within reason that his condition worsens if you let him do whatever he wants."
Stark sighed and, unusually enough, agreed directly with Loki's suggestion. He said, "We always placed Shiller in the doctor's position and made a habit of seeking his guidance whenever we ran into trouble."
"Without a doubt – Steve, Peter, Matt, the folks in S.H.I.E.L.D., and even the mutants are probably bothering him daily with their petty problems. These people are essentially trouble magnets with countless, intractable issues. It would be strange if Shiller's mental health isn't affected by their constant bombardment."
The pair headed toward the Fairy Palace. Loki, holding his magic wand, remarked, "Anyway, if it were up to me, I would certainly have him committed for treatment."
"And therein lies the problem. Even if you wanted to, could you have him committed?" Stark turned his head to Loki and continued, "Who could ever confine him in a hospital? I doubt even Odin himself could manage it."
"When faced with such a problem, the Father of All Gods would probably strike with his lightning and send us to a two-day battle on the frontline. Everyone would recover if faced with such an ordeal," Loki shrugged, a hint of self-mockery in his voice. But it also indicated that he had moved on.
"You asgardians' methods of curing the sick are far too brutal. Even if we let Odin deal with Shiller, all we will get in return are long-winded bills for damages," Stark shook his head and said:
"I know Shiller all too well. He would choose wealth over his life."
"Then…why not just deprive him of the opportunity to earn money?" Loki narrowed his eyes and the gears started turning in the mind of the God of Mischief.
Loki knew that as an Evil God, he couldn't help with healing, but when it came to exploiting someone's weaknesses and plotting against them, he certainly had a lot to say.
"If Shiller is willing to sacrifice his own time and health to treat you, it means he genuinely enjoys this job and derives pleasure from it."
"However, too much pleasure can be as deadly as poison, like what you humans call…what's it again? Drugs? Yes, exactly like drugs!"
"The continuous surge of pleasure will make him more and more desirous, to the point where he completely ignores his own physical and mental conditions, and exhausts himself."
"The reason why he would commit such outrageous acts is simply that he feels ordinary counselling is no longer effective. He's started using unconventional methods to address the issues at their root, without caring whether he gets hurt in the process."
Stark looked at Loki, who had drawn such a conclusion, and asked in surprise, "I didn't realize, are you and Shiller close?"
Loki shook his head and said, "Don't forget, my livelihood depends on understanding and exploiting people's minds. As the God of Mischief, my primary approach is to understand the other person's psychology, identify their weaknesses, and create various illusions to lead them to their downfall."
"Shiller's greed is what brought him to his current state," Loki declared emphatically. "Initially, the feedback he got from ordinary hypnosis and counselling therapy was sufficient to satisfy him."
"But later, it was no longer enough to be confined to the therapy room. He began to plot larger schemes, accommodating everyone's needs and fostering mental health from its roots. He evolved from a psychologist into the spiritual guide for superheroes."
"And then, even that wasn't enough for him. He started to influence humanity's progress and built a grander vision to replace your somewhat fragile pillars of belief. He tackled your mental shortcomings from the grassroots level."
"Simultaneously, he leveraged the development of society and the acquisition of resources to patch up contradictions temporarily, ensuring your mental states remained increasingly stable, with a more fortified psychological defense."
'But in the end, such treatment feedback no longer satisfied him. So, he began to burn himself, seeking to make up for everyone's regrets...'
Loki sighed and shook his head. 'But that's impossible to achieve.'
'It's like, your parents came back, but can you erase the memories of their negligence toward you? Or the memory of your sorrow over their death? Can the differences in temperament and education between you and them disappear?'
Stark also sighed quietly, 'That's impossible. I can imagine that Howard and I would have disagreements. Maria would definitely worry about my marriage. And we may even have different opinions regarding Helen's education.'
'This is not an illness, there's no need for a cure.'
'But Shiller — his excessive greed made him want to create a perfect future for every patient, every person who could provide him with emotional feedback.' Loki stressed.
'Since it's totally impossible to accomplish, the end result is Shiller, consumed by his endless greed, burning himself which ironically would become the biggest regret in everyone's lives.'
'So what do you think we should do?' Stark stopped, turned to Loki, and asked him seriously for his opinion. He realized that Loki's expertise in psychology was far greater than anyone else's besides Shiller.
'It's the same old principle. If he wants to make money, just don't let him. Then he'll naturally rest.' Loki curled his lip, showing a somewhat cruel expression and said, 'Sometimes, I also agree with the Father of All Gods' philosophy that conciliation would only drag out one's death. Better suffer short-term pain than long-term pain.'
'If you don't force him to rest, he never will. So why not make him have nothing to do so he is left with no option but to rest.'
Stark mulled it over, then said, 'He's willing to pay such a huge price for me, for all of us. We should then take the responsibility to save him.'
'This isn't just paying lip service...' Stark lowered his eyes, insisting with firm belief. 'To achieve this, first we have to stop those idiots from bothering Shiller over trivial matters.'
'Moreover, you have to ensure that nobody around him should ask for his treatment anymore. Let him rest fully, let the threshold return to normal, rather than endless craving for stimulation.'
'Just like when you help drug addicts get clean.' Loki summarized.
Stark moved his fingers a little, took a deep breath and said to JARVIS, '... Summon all friends of Shiller. I have something to tell them.'
Half an hour later, in The Sanctum, Shiller who had just finished telling his story started receiving multiple calls.
'Hello? This is Shiller. Oh, Nick, what's up? Trouble at S.H.I.E.L.D.? I'll come right away... What?!! I'm fired?!! What are you talking about?!! Hello? Hello?!!'
'It's... it's Shiller. Jarvis, what's wrong? Tony is... What? I'm no longer the psychological consultant of Stark Group? You're firing me??!! Wait a minute, what did I do wrong? I didn't make any mistakes at work, how could you... Hello?!! Hello?!!'
'Hello? The Sanctum? Don't tell me you're... You're also firing me???!! Are you out of your mind???!! It's Christmas soon!! Our new seasonal membership gift... Hello?? Hello??!!'
'Hello??!! Loki! It's Shiller! These people have gone insane!!!! You wouldn't believe what they did... What? You're busy??? Wait a minute! Hello? Hello? Hello??!!'
After putting down the phone, Shiller stood there, as if struck by lightning.