Object 1203: The Holder of Many
It all started as a story. A single piece of text that people enjoyed reading. It was a way of passing the time with jolts of fear and suspense. Wondering if it were real or not. People would read them, contemplate them, then laugh with friends about them.
I was one of those. One of the lucky ones, blessed with ignorance.
Then I made a suggestion. That I should start hunting the Objects. My friends laughed at me, saying that they were just stories. I was just as doubtful as them, but something was nagging at me to continue. This much is all that I remember from my former life. My blissfully unaware life. They say that ignorance is bliss, and until I took on this task, I thought that those were the words of those who were content to be ignorant. Now, however, I see that those are the words of those who are driven insane by knowledge.
I started my search with the Holder of Data. When I awoke the next morning, I found that my laptop, the one that I had used to try and find the Holder of Data, was gone. No trace of it could be found. I didn't know what happened to it, and I wasn't brave enough to search for it. In its place, there was another laptop. One that was pure black. The lettering on the keyboard was illegible to me, but somehow, I recognized the symbols. I can't explain it much better than that. Everyone else who saw it thought that it was some strange language. A few said it was reminiscent of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs. Others said it was close to Arabic. No one could seem to pin them down to a region, so I gave up trying to figure it out. I could understand this language, or rather, I could translate it to English. That was good enough for me.
My second hunt was the Holder of Absence. That red ink is tempting. I want so badly to read the words that are scrawled across the paper, but I cannot bring myself to open the sheet and read it. I only looked through the thin lining of the material to confirm that it was, in fact, the Object that I was searching for. I then, regrettably, had another read it, but the moment their eyes looked at the lettering, a blood-curdling scream rang through my ears, and they were gone, the paper that they held laying on the floor where they stood. I tried to leave it behind, to avoid the temptation to open it, but no matter what I did, it found its way back to my pocket.
Not even burning it worked. So eventually, I gave up throwing it away, and now live with the temptation of opening the accursed paper.
I next followed the Holder of Fortune. It wasn't a hard task, per se. It was unnerving. I killed a man. A fellow Seeker, like me, who had become the Holder of Fortune. He failed his task, and left hints on how to find him, and how to claim his item. He begged for death, being unable to die or take his own life. So I gave him his wish. The Holder of Fortune is now dead, and I run the risk of becoming that Holder myself. I earned a coin with no worth for my troubles. Although something in my bones tells me it will one day be the most valuable object on the planet, or at least, to me, anyway. I will never let this out of my sight.
I searched long and hard, finding more and more Objects each month. Every time I found one, I felt a small tingle of joy welling up inside of me. But at the same time, a burning desire to collect them all. To gather them all together. The shield from the Holder of Solitude has saved my hide more times than I could remember. The Sword of the White King from the Holder of Peace has slain many of my foes. Many of whom have tried to stop my progress. Holders, Seekers, and even civilians who have gotten in my way.
I acquired many Objects. Guns, swords, clothing... Each one had its own unique trial, and each one ripped another piece of my soul from my body. By the time I had collected 152 of the 2538 Objects, I was ready to give up. To leave it all behind. Then, a new idea occurred to me. I shall write a piece, detailing a few of the Objects that I have gathered, then leave them for other people to find. For other Seekers to find. I shall become a Holder.
I am the Holder of Many. I hold 152 of the 2538 Objects and I am tired. I beg of you to find me and end my existence by forcing me to read the red ink on the paper. I will resist, no doubt, but you must subdue me by any means necessary. Do not hesitate. Do not waver in your trial, for the reward will be great.
I only hope that you do not succumb to madness.
Object 1207: The Holder of Education
In any city, in any country, go to any library you can get yourself to. Walk up to any staff member and ask them to see someone who calls himself "The Holder of Education". If they look confused, ignore you, or anything similar, flee from the library and never ask again. But, if they look like they just realized something, you're in the right place. They will lead you into a long corridor that might or might not have been there before. They will then take you to a large yellow door before disappearing.
When you enter the door, you are greeted by an extremely large maze. It is quite difficult and has many twists and turns. Most don't get out alive, but if you do, you will find a large man standing in front of you staring at you. Immediately ask him, "What will happen when they all come together?" He will start talking to you in a language that nobody could ever understand. But even though you can't understand him, whatever he is saying sounds very gruesome and horrible. He will then vanish. Turn back and try to get back through the maze.
If you can't remember the way back or don't get back in time, you will soon die and your soul will be trapped in the maze forever. If you succeed, you will be standing outside the library holding a book.
The book is Object 1207 of 2538. It must never be read.
Object 1213: The Holder of Lion's Power
In any city, in any country, go to any zoo you can get yourself to. Ask a ranger to see "The Holder of Lion's Power". He will be very afraid, but ask twice more, and he will tell you to follow him.
After a while, you will go into a part of the zoo that doesn't belong to the zoo or has never been there. In here, beside the normal animals, you will see all the horrible animals that you have never seen (because this lion is the king of all animals on earth and in the universe) are being kept in cages made of crystal that mankind will never know. But don't look at them too long if you don't want the ranger to open the cages so they can come out and eat you.
As you keep walking, you will see a door that seems to be made of iron (but it's made of a metal that mankind will never know) and has scratches on it. Now you can know how powerful the lion's power is. The ranger will ask you to walk in and lock the door. Keep walking because there's no way you can come out, lest the dark eat you. If the room is suddenly bathed in light, shut your eyes and scream, "I am a human, I do not belong where you do!" Then open your eyes. If you can still see the light, then scream and pray, or whatever you want, because the lights will burn you. But if you see the dark, keep walking until you reach a door.
When you open the door, you will see a room in a palace, everything is made of pure gold. In the middle of the room, there is a lion wearing a crown. If the lion, or should I say Holder, isn't wearing a crown it doesn't accept you and you are stuck in here forever. If you went in the correct room, there's only one question to ask and not be torn. Use all your courage and ask: "You are the king of what?" The lion will powerfully answer you. It will tell you the tragic and dolorous fate of the slaves and describe it in great detail. Even if you have a poor imagination, you can still imagine it. The story will be painful, and can make you suicidal. When the lion finishes, if you are not as courageous as earlier, fire will burn you because the lion doesn't accept poltroonery. But if you are as courageous, the fire will stop burning and now it's in your heart.
The fire is Object 1213 of 2538. Now you are truly a lion, will you use that power wisely?
Object 1217: The Holder of What Should Not Be Yet Is
Greetings, fool. Your search for these accursed items has brought you thus far. Be grateful to still be living.
If you wish to see me, follow my instructions to the last detail. One mistake and you will suffer a fate far worse than any hell could ever offer. Hell is ecstasy compared to what will befall you, should you fail.
If you are brave enough, read on. Proceed to the nearest tall bridge on a night with a crescent moon. Stand on the railing, or anywhere close enough to the edge. Yell, "I wish to hold what I should not be able to!", then hurl yourself headfirst, eyes closed.
If you were wise enough to do everything correctly, you should have hit the water and survived without a scratch or bit of pain. When you're submerged underwater, open your eyes. Do not dare swim to the surface. My minions are waiting for a meal, and a Seeker such as you will certainly suffice until the next comes.
When you open your eyes, you will be in a white room. In the center, I will be in a brand new-looking robe drawing with black chalk on the walls. What I am drawing is a portrait of the end of everything. If you succeeded with the Holder of the End, you know what I mean. If you didn't, well, you will lose all sanity as soon as you see what I draw.
Don't delay, I don't enjoy pests like you Seekers. Ask me, "Why have they become?"
I will give you the answer in horrific detail. it will be as if you saw, felt, heard, even tasted what I described.
If you kept your sanity, close your eyes once more and hold out your left hand. In it, I will place the robe I was wearing. Put it on with your eyes still closed. If you so much as squint your eyes open, I will send you to a void filled with horrors a human mind should never, ever know. And you will spend enough eons there to know how long eternity is.
As soon as the robe is on, you will hear me say, "Existence is a petty thing for all." After you hear me say this, open your eyes.
In your left pocket is the black chalk I was using. The chalk is Object 1217 of 2538. With the white chalk that should be but is not, you hold the Objects that cross the lines of existence and nonexistence. Do with them what you feel right.
Do remember, an existence is easily lost and forgotten.
Object 1221: The Holder of Disillusion
In any city, in any country, make your way to the nearest residential area and knock on the door of a house. Not just any house; the one that calls. You will know it is the right one because when you step onto the threshold you will feel the strongest sense of foreboding you will ever know. By all accounts, the home is warm and inviting except for the feeling it brews deep down inside of you, as though your worst nightmares are waiting to answer your knock. Instead, a woman with graying hair will answer the door. Tell her you wish to see "The Holder of Disillusion," and the woman will shut the door in your face.
If you leave, you will never be welcome in the home again, and you will incur the wrath of the Holder within. All you can do is accept that the tortures you now face will be nothing compared to any story you have heard from the other Holders. Knock again and repeat that you wish to see the Holder. Eventually, you will wear her down and she will grant you entrance into the house. When you enter, take note of EVERYTHING you experience, for it will fade the moment you are in the presence of this particular Holder.
The woman will lead you down the corridor next to the sitting room, but it will appear as though you are both walking in place. Keep calm; the Holder of Disillusion does not bode well with those who are startled by their surroundings. As you walk behind her, you will grow shorter and younger the closer you are to the Holder. The same will happen with your guide, as you see her hair slowly turns from gray to red and her wrinkles begin to disappear. Your legs will tire and you will have to job and eventually run to keep pace with your pace. Again, stay calm, and whatever you do, don't stop running until you see darkness begin to surround you and your guide fades into the oncoming oblivion. At this point, it will be natural to call out for the woman as though she were your mother. Whether you fight the urge to give in to it is of little consequence, for the Holder of Disillusion will hold conference with you either way.
When the darkness completely consumes you and you have physically regressed to the age of five, the Holder will make itself known. Its form is disgusting to behold, but you must choke back any vomit and set your eyes on it as it illuminates the area around it. As it does, the guide will reappear and you will see every fault and flaw within the woman's face. You will be party to every imperfection in the Holder's presence. From the termite holes in the wood to the cobwebs and cracks on the ceiling, each tiny stain or blemish that mars the world will be magnified and bore its way into your brain. You must stand resolute, for if the Holder of Disillusion sees you sickened at the crumbling of the façade it will envelop you in its needling embrace and project the reality of all life onto your skin. You will be the embodiment of deformity and you will no longer be able to indulge in the fantasy of your ideal self. Instead, stare directly into the maelstrom that is the Holder of Disillusion and scream at it, "Why seek perfection above all else?"
When you do this, the Holder will speak in old eldritch tongues that you will be both capable and incapable of understanding. Your ears will not know the words, but your brain will put together images of the most horrific acts known to any creature. The Holder's answer will become clear. The moment your mind grasps the answer, your eyes will close unwillingly and when you finally manage to open them you will be yourself, at your actual age, standing once again outside of the door you knocked at. The home will no longer be inviting, and you will never again be able to see the warm, friendly setting there once was. If you open the door, there will be rubble scattered about and the bone of a child's finger on the floor just beyond the entrance.
The finger bone is Object 1221 of 2538. Do not forget what lies beneath the patina of perfection.
Object 1225: The Holder of the Center
In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of the Center". The worker will meet your gaze suddenly, and close his eyes. He will point his finger in a random direction; follow his direction as given, and your soul will be sundered from your body, for demons unimaginable will do what they will with both. You must go in a straight line in the opposite direction instead. Whether or not it was there before, you will come to a nondescript metal door. Enter, and you will find yourself in a circular room, the walls lined with doors. Save for one, they will be identical. The other doors will call for you to open them, but you must only open the unique one, lest you wish to sacrifice your sanity.
When you open the unique door, you will come to a perfectly spherical room, perhaps a hundred feet in diameter. The surface around you will be solid but will appear to shift around as if made of mercury. Do not fear falling as you step through the door, as gravity will hold you to the surface. Walk straight ahead. You are free to look around you for now, but do not stray from the line you walk, or the surface will liquefy below your feet. It will not harden until you are fully submerged, and your lungs filled to the brim, and you will remain where you are for eternity, never dying, and forever choking on the cursed metal.
Continue in this manner until you have gone full-circle and returned to the door. Stand on the door, and look straight up. When you see at the center of the room, equidistant from all points on the surface, is what appears to be human, but at the same time, does not. It will be shapeless and sizeless, yet somehow recognizable, despite having no front or back, no top or bottom, no left or right. Try not to comprehend what you see or your mind will literally ignite where you stand. Stare at it for five minutes without breaking your gaze, and it will turn to face you. You will understand when it happens. Look away before then, and it will consume you before you know what has happened, though you will feel unimaginable pain before it ends. When it faces you, you must ask it one question, for it will respond to no other: "Where will they meet?"
The entity will answer in the voices of all who have ever lived speaking in unison. It will speak of all who have sought them before you, and it will tell you in every last graphic detail how they met their fates. As it speaks, the surface of the room will slowly begin to glow and turn the color of blood, and shape itself into a tapestry of the faces of those of whom the entity speaks.
When the answer has been given, you will feel the palm of your right hand burn with the fires of a thousand suns, but do not look, for this is where they brand you. To look upon the mark now will cause it to become a hole, through which you will bleed out of reality itself, your every molecule spread across an oblivion filled with horrors no mortal tongue, real or imagined, has ever had or will ever have words for; all that can be said of this place is that even the souls of the damned in the most torturous pits of hell would pity your fate. If you have maintained your eye contact with the entity the entire time, it will shrink into its central point, and when it is as nothing, all will go black. When you regain your sight, you will be in an alley behind the mental institution or halfway house. It is now safe to look into your hand.
The mark is Object 1225 of 2538, and it is where they will come together.
Object 1230: The Holder of Awakening
Any day there is a strong gale of wind, go into any modern temple. You will find that there is no one in the building. Shout out that you have come for awakening. If the wind just continues, you will realize in a jolt that you are trapped in a bloodied padded room. What this padding is you will be utterly unsure, 'til a sharp bell ring will hit you into one of the dripping walls. Only then you come to the full realization of what it is and where you are. Your senses will cut as if on pause, leaving you with the sight of this room forever driving you into madness, thus the cause of you never leaving this room.
However, if the gale of wind pauses before resuming its sharpened breeze, you will notice a door leading to what appears to be a courtyard which you hadn't noticed could possibly ever be attached to this building before. While you enter the courtyard, you will happen to notice it seems a dusty place with many items which feel familiar to you. However, still, there is nothing of life.
Once inside the courtyard, a feeling as if everything had been blurred will overcome you, leaving you insecure and fatigued. The wind itself will shoot toward you, as if it were knives slicing at your skin. Each slice from the bladed wind will tear at you, showing, telling, and allowing you to feel your worst mistakes and embarrassments in full force. For every time you feel any inch of regret, the blades act as if they are real and cause you to slowly bleed out. However, if you able to come out from this alive, the wind will calm. The gentle breeze of the newly calmed wind will flow past you.
Brushing past your ears, you will hear and in a flash know of a key chance, a choice that could have been made for you to live in utter bliss. The wind swerves around your ears again. You will hear it offer you to change the choice you did make for what could have been. If you greet the words with joy and acceptance, you will flash through your new life, ultimately ending at this point in time despite what should have. The edited life caves in on itself within a single day, leaving only your voice. Only then you truly realize the wind was your own voice all along. Forcing you to continue on as the Holder of Awakening.
Thus, you shouldn't accept. Simply refuse with the reply of, "I stand by my choices with no regrets!" The wind will halt soon after. As you lack the feel of the wind, your senses will all of a sudden heighten. You will then soon notice what the Holder had to give you was in front of you all along. On the ground, you will find a beat-up pocket watch, stopped exactly at the time you made your choice, alongside an equally beat-up pencil eraser.
One of what you have gained is Object 1230 of 2538. Only realizing the true value by discarding the false shows your own potential.
Object 1234: The Holder of the Elements
In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you can get yourself to. Be sure to take with you a bottle (filled with water), a rock, a match, and a small plastic propeller. If you do not bring any of these, you will not pass his test.
Ask the woman at the front desk if you may speak with "The Holder of the Elements". If it is not a woman at the front desk, leave at once, lest your journey is no more. The woman will lead you through the asylum, on a path that you will not be able to remember, no matter how hard you try. Use your rock to scratch an obvious line on the walls, you will need it later.
After an almost immeasurable amount of time, the woman will stop outside a room. You must tell her, "I will be fine, don't worry about me. Open the door." If she does not cry, follow your line back outside, buy a new house, and move to a different country. You must move as far away as possible, but remember, the earth is an element, so as long as you are on this planet, you will never be safe again. However, should the woman begin to weep uncontrollably, the door will open by itself. Enter and be sure to shut the door behind you.
Light the match, for it is too dark in this room, no light enters or escapes its walls. In the center of the room, a man will be sitting on a chair. Do not enter his gaze, or he shall be the last person to see you. Despite being made of flesh, the man will be incredibly flammable. Hold the flame to his hair and let it catch. The man will let out an inhuman scream. Display your bottle and yell at him, "You are a drone, tell me where I can find him and I shall let you out." The man will wave his arm and a section of the wall will begin to crumble. Leave the bottle at the man's feet and walk through the hole. Do not flinch as it seals up behind you.
You will begin to feel a small propeller stir in your pocket. Take it out and set it on your palm. Let it float into the air, spinning faster every second. The center of the room will become a tornado of the dust that has been setting, undisturbed, for years. Air will condense, and out of the dust will appear a silhouette. Reach into its chest, and do not hesitate as you feel the dust lash into your skin. Feel around for a smooth orb and rip it out as soon as you feel it.
The silhouette will yell obscenities, telling you to give him back his precious orb. The walls will begin to crack by the force of his screams. A gap will open up, run through it and you will find yourself in the hallway the woman led you through. Run along, following your mark on the wall. Keep the orb clasped in your hand. When you make it back out to the street, look at your hand and you will find a strange symbol embedded into it, but no orb.
That symbol is Object 1234 of 2538. With it, you will be able to manipulate the elements to your will, but be careful not to hurt the ones you care about with this new power.
Object 1237: The Holder of Democracy
In any city, in any country where free elections are routinely held, go to a place of voting during that city's Election Day. Walk up to the voting stand and tell any election official, "I seek the Holder of Democracy." If the official laughs or looks bewildered, then you will be forcibly removed from the place of voting by any security personnel guarding the premises. The Holder does not deem you worthy enough to attempt his test and it would be best for you not to press your luck.
Should the official stand up and walk away, follow him or her. You will be led to a door in the wall, far removed from the main polling area. It will look mundane in every way, but looks can be very deceiving. The official will tell you to enter. Should you wish to withdraw from your quest, then this will be your last opportunity to leave. Make your intentions clear and get out.
If you choose to continue the trial, open the door. You will find a very minuscule room. Make sure to duck, for the ceiling is low and it would not do for you to injure yourself this early in the test. Once you've entered, shut the door and make sure it clicks. Don't bother trying to open it after this point - you won't like what you see. Now, walk across the room, where you will find a table, a chair, and two pipes. One of the pipes comes in from the ceiling and opens up above the table while the second pipe opens up next to the chair and goes into the floor. Take the time to mentally prepare yourself; the test will not begin until you choose to take your seat.
As you sit down, you will feel a manacle clamp around both of your legs. The moment the manacle has clicked onto your leg, a single piece of paper will fall from the pipe. Pick it up and you will see that the paper is actually a ballot. There will be written text, mainly in an unknown and undecipherable letter system with superficial similarities to ancient Greek. However, to your excitement, you will see that your name is clearly written on the top of the ballot. Make sure to note whether the ballot was a vote for you or your opponent. Once you've done this, deposit it in the pipe leading into the floor so it can be removed from the room. More and more ballots will come out of the pipe at a quicker and quicker pace. You will need to count the ballots as quickly as possible, but it can be done with a mundane, but strenuous, level of effort.
As you hold the second ballot, you will start to feel a strange sensation. At first, it will be a weak and easily dismissed idea. However, as the ballots start to rapidly fall from the pipe, this sensation will become stronger and stronger. Vivid images of disease, famine, and poverty will start shooting across your mind. You will then see yourself sitting on a grand throne; with fields of wheat, people working and children playing, bustling trade, hospitals, and every other measure of human property in the background. You will think that you can become the person on the throne, the promoter of human well-being and the destroyer of misery and suffering.
If you've been counting correctly, you will see that you are gradually slipping in the vote, and that your opponent is getting greater and greater percentage of the ballot. You will desire nothing more than to stop counting, and declare yourself the winner. After all, you can solve the problems of the world; who cares what the ballots say? You must resist these urges with every fiber of your being; it is this exact type of hubris that will one day bring the 2538 Objects together.
The ballots coming out of the pipe will eventually start to level off and finally stop. If you actually continued to count the ballots, then you will have narrowed the gap considerably but will still have lost the election by a small number of votes. A deep sense of sadness will permeate throughout your heart and soul. You will still believe that you can save the world; all you need to do is fudge the numbers a bit. For the love of all that you hold holy, fight this sensation.
Soon, you will hear the door open and a man will enter. He will be wearing a suit and tie, with gelled-back hair and a slightly unsettling smile plastered across his face. The man will demand that you tell him the results of the election. Immediately and truthfully tell him the number of ballots that were marked for you and for your opponent, no matter how much you want to lie.
One of three things will happen. If you do not answer in time or made an error while counting, then the manacles around your feet will slowly ensnare your body and compress you until you have been thoroughly crushed. Consider yourself lucky, for the man will have no hard feelings about your honest mistake. The pain will be temporary and your soul will be free to leave.
If you cannot resist the temptation and falsely claim that you are the victor, the man will jam you into the pipe leading into the ground. When you fall through, you will see that you are in a room exactly like the one you were forcibly removed from. You will have thirty seconds to make one of three choices. You could choose to sit down to take the test for eternity. However, please note that this time around, the ballots will be much hotter, sharper, and jagged. Alternatively, you could do nothing. when thirty seconds have passed, you will feel a splitting pain in your chest as your soul is destroyed and you cease to exist. If, however, you are truly daring, you can take the third option: opening the door. As you step out, you will see a world that looks like a subverted vision of your kindly images. Where you once saw grain, you will see miles of cracked and dried-up fields. Where you once saw prosperous businesses and hospitals, you will see boarded-up and badly dilapidated buildings. Where you once saw people working and children playing will be dead and mangled bodies as far as the eye can see. Some of these were political dissidents, brave and just individuals who were murdered for resisting tyranny. Others were rivals for power, but most were simply innocents destroyed by the megalomania of their leader. Specifically, the demonesque figure clad solely in black that sits on a throne of skulls in the dead center of this macabre scene. This figure is you, or what would have eventually become of you had your attempts at election usurpation succeeded.
You believed that you could promote human prosperity by going against the election results, ignoring the will of the people and assuming total power. However, the only thing your decision promoted was despotism, corruption, and murder. For your decisions, you will be forced to live for all of eternity in the hell of your own design.
However, if you respected the will of the majority and gave the man in the room the correct number of votes, then the manacles will shatter at your feet. As you start to stand, a final translucent gold ballot will fall from the upper pipe. Quickly grab it and hold onto it tightly. The man will then approach you and extend his hand. Firmly grasp it and pump it up, then down. The man will then start speaking. He will describe in vivid detail every democratic uprising, the destruction of every tyrant's regime, and the inherent pride of every election. It would be best for you to leave at this point; the man wants your vote and these campaign speeches have been known to drag on for eternity. Make your way to the door, open it (it will be safe to do so), walk out, and shut it until you hear a click.
The gold ballot you took from the room is Object 1237 of 2538. It is perhaps the most precious of the Objects, but know that it is useless unless joined by its kin.