Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1273 Serotonin Receptor (First Update)

Have you ever hallucinated?

"No, you haven't given us that ability," Amon replied truthfully. "We wouldn't even dream about it."

"Sealing magical talent is an extremely difficult task, to prevent hallucinations, dreams, and other symptoms that affect the mind," the Emperor told the Royal Guard. Any Royal Guard could see the Emperor's dark mood, but apart from the Emperor himself, no one knew what information he had received. The Emperor didn't bring it up himself, instead turning to another story. "Generally, lobotomy is the safest approach. Without cognitive abilities and consciousness, even the strongest soul is rendered useless. But if it's just for temporary sealing to prevent adverse consequences, it requires numerous procedures, like what the Sorcerer Supreme did to me. Without such meticulous measures, those with talent often become immersed in layers of hallucinations and dreams the moment their talent is activated, unable to distinguish the boundary between reality and illusion."

"You seem to have written about this, from the perspective of neuroscience and cognitive psychology," Hammurabi interjected. "Although our modified bodies don't need much sleep, that paper has the magic to affect the Praetorian Guard, and can even make me yawn."

"Then you should be aware of the research on the effects of psychotropic drugs and extradimensional energy on brain receptors. Imagination is limited by cognition, and cognition is limited by the senses. For gifted individuals, abnormal brain activity allows them to frequently activate serotonin receptors without taking psychotropic drugs, sometimes even directly stimulating them to a state similar to the ergodiacetamide plateau 4 or 5. Frenzied imagination and distorted cognition—these are all talents." The emperor wasn't amused. He pointed to his own brain. "We all know that activating a small number of serotonin receptors can enhance artistic creativity, empathy, and musical appreciation. This is why so many gifted spellcasters possess astonishing artistic creativity, and I am no exception."

"I have read your work."

Hammurabi recalled the artworks at the Oxfordshire estate, all commissioned by the emperor, from paintings to marble sculptures, from ceramics to wall reliefs. Among them was a colossal white marble sculpture, 4.5 meters tall, displayed in the foyer, inspired by the ecstasy of Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini's *Saint Teresa*. Unlike the original, the emperor's Saint Teresa lacked the scene of light piercing her heart; the clouds and angels were below, supporting the nun, and even the nun's upper body and face were covered in fabric.

With superb sculpting skill and passion, the veil and robe, carved from hard marble, flowed over Mother Teresa's body like water. Through the extreme tension and spasms of her extremities and the stretching and loosening of the fabric, the painting expresses the intense passion and pain erupting from Mother Teresa in her madness. Compared to the Mother Teresa depicted by the Emperor in the original work, she appears younger, displaying even more passion and fervor, as if the veil trapped in her mouth might be blown away at any moment by her scalding breath. It seems the Emperor wanted to exclude the influence of the Holy Spirit, focusing solely on depicting the youthful passion of a young girl; even the angels, a religious metaphor, were used as tools to highlight the passion and mental state of Saint Teresa.

It is said that the emperor began creating this marble sculpture when he first met the witches, and therefore the witches greatly admired the passion and love depicted in the sculpture. Hammurabi knew that he could instantly become the most famous artist in the world if the emperor wished, but the emperor still chose to give the work as a gift to the witches.

"Your artistic achievements are truly commendable, and I have benefited greatly from them."

"Every talent comes at a price. The consequences of activating or even burning a large number of serotonin receptors are unbearable for ordinary humans. Most people who take large doses of LSD will completely lose the serotonin receptors in their brains, their minds will collapse under a barrage of hallucinations, and they will become completely mentally deranged. This cursed talent is similar, except that psionicists see more of the real scenes from other dimensions. This is why so many talented spellcasters suffer from mental illness, falling into paranoia, anxiety, panic, and delusions, and being overwhelmed by nightmares, unable to distinguish between reality and illusion."

"Why are you bringing this up?" Amon asked.

"Haven't you ever wondered if I encountered similar problems when I discovered my talent? You know my attitude towards magical talent, but it's undeniable that my talent surpasses that of everyone else in this world. Why didn't I go mad, hmm?" The Emperor raised an eyebrow, posing the question. Before the Royal Guard could answer, the Emperor continued, "The answer is definitely yes, it would be abnormal if I couldn't go mad. If the Sorcerer Supreme hadn't taken me from that church parking lot, my only fate would have been to a mental hospital. Although my body wouldn't be able to grow new serotonin receptors, and my mind wouldn't be able to withstand the torture of numerous hallucinations, the abnormal behavior and losses caused by activating my talent would inevitably have resulted in me being imprisoned in my childhood."

The Emperor took a deep breath of the dusty air. "This is the consequence of not being taken away by the Sorcerer Supreme. I repeatedly confirmed this while observing the timeline; it was the destiny I was meant to follow. The Sorcerer Supreme gave me the opportunity to receive an education and reshape my mind—a profound gift. Few people are as important to me as His Holiness, which is why I had to come here. I know that thing is full of lies, but I have peered into the threads of destiny more than once, trying to find the perfect solution. Yet each time, destiny points to the same outcome."

The Imperial Guards rarely saw the Emperor so hesitant. A gloomy mood almost filled his eyes, and nightmares swirled in his mind, constantly spewing vicious truths. He saw the blood on his hands, he saw the separation he would face in the future, and finally, the Emperor sighed, leaving the rest of his words unspoken. But when he opened his eyes again, a calm and resolute emotion surged forth once more. "Let's go," he said. The Imperial Guards knew that the Emperor was never one to surrender easily. "Prophecy is merely a reference. Whatever fate awaits us, we must face it."

"So, what kind of threat will we face?" Amon followed the Emperor. The newly installed equipment made a racket in the air. The warden, instead of leaving with the other guards, was personally instructing the Watchers on how to use the new equipment. It was the Emperor's order to use wet-processors as tools for the Watchers, making it easy to observe whether information processing equipment had been corrupted. "Will it be a monster like Quetzalcoatl?" Amon asked. "Will we need the Martian foundry's help?"

"It is necessary, but not now. The enemy we face is far more powerful. We also have another enemy: time." The Emperor shook his head. "Take me to the initiation ceremony. The Imperial Guard needs to be expanded. Urge the bio-genetic laboratory to issue an order to Maya Hansen and the Sora Redwood Druid Order, demanding they accelerate the production of knights. Issue an order to Victor von Doom, requiring him to prepare for southward expansion and the complete annexation of the Balkans, even if it provokes a strong reaction from NATO and public opinion. I need more Death Angels, more resources to run my war machine."

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)