Object 1467: The Holder of the End of the Story
To reach the Holder of the End of the Story, go to the place that you feel the strongest connection to. What that place is will depend on you. It might be the house you live in. It might be your childhood home. For some, it means going to that magical little creek-side place where you and your friends used to play, or to the coffee shop that you stopped in every morning before work.
When you reach the place, find the part of it that means the most to you. It might be your old room, or that spot on the side of the creek where you would always build your fort, or the table where you wrote your first novel. Step to within a few feet of that spot, facing it, and then stop. At this point, you should consider very carefully whether you really want to continue. You don't need to stand there considering it for a particular amount of time. A millisecond will suffice. Or if you really want to, you can skip this step entirely. There won't be any consequences. You won't be dragged off by some unspeakable horror, or tormented by eternal madness, or torn asunder by ravenous bees, or some such silliness. That's not how this one works. Depending on how your previous trials have affected you, you'll probably end up wishing that it was.
It's up to you, but I would strongly, strongly recommend that you take your time to consider whether or not to go on. At this point, you can still walk away without any consequences.
Think about it - if you've recovered other Objects already, and you probably have, then your experiences may have... well, it's only a certain sort of person who can maintain any real sense of connection to the world after all the horrors that you've undoubtedly gone through. By now you might feel completely numb to everything, or be so haunted by visions of unspeakable things that your heart just doesn't have room for anything but pain and terror. Your mind might be so frayed that you can barely remember the past, much less which places were the ones you loved. Or your connection to reality might be so tenuous that you can't for the life of you tell which of your memories are real, and which ones are just the mad whispers of your own (probably demented) unconscious mind. Maybe all of the above.
Do not, I repeat, do not continue to seek this Object if you no longer have the capacity to love the place in front of you. Walk away. There are plenty of other Objects out there. Who knows, maybe one of Them will restore the parts of you that you've lost. That's not generally the way They work, but hey, you never know.
If you honestly think that you're still capable of loving this "precious place", then say aloud, "I Seek to secure the story's end," and then step forward. This might mean crossing the threshold into your old room. It might mean stepping into that one special spot on the side of the creek. Maybe your "precious place" is something that you can't step into, like a wall that used to have a whiteboard that you and your sister would draw on, or something like that. Even so, step forward anyway.
In the very likely event that your experiences have already damaged your soul beyond repair, destroying and dementing every emotional connection to the world that you ever had, then this is where your journey ends. I warned you, didn't I? I won't say what happens to you at this point. Don't worry though, you won't be torn apart, or go mad, or suffer terrible agonies for eternity, or anything like that. You won't even die - not for a long, long time. That's not how this one works. You'll wish it was.
Still curious? If you absolutely can't stand not knowing what happens to the ones that fail, then by all means go to your "precious place" and try it for yourself. You'll probably find your answer. Just don't blame me when you wish you hadn't.
If by some unlikely miracle, you're actually still intact enough to feel a real connection to this place, then in an instant the environment around you will change. You'll find yourself in a nice, moderately-sized room. There may be furniture scattered around, there may be paintings on the walls. It's different for everyone. The room will always be laid out in a way that reminds you of some of your happiest memories. There might be a couch that reminds you of the one at your best friend's house where you always used to have movie nights. Or a painting of someone you love, at the age when they meant the most to you. The only constant is that at the center of the room, you'll always find two comfortable chairs that are facing each other. The chair closest to you will remind you of the place that feels most like home. I will be sitting in the other chair.
Don't worry; there aren't any special rules here. You won't be attacked if you look away from me, or go mad if you look into my eyes. That's not how this one works. Go ahead and sit in the empty chair. Once you're comfortable, I'll welcome you to my sanctum, and tell you what you've probably already guessed - that I am the Holder of the End of the Story. Congratulations - very, very few Seekers have ever reached me.
I'll then offer you a choice. There's no trick to it. You won't be punished for choosing one way or the other. Well, you won't be punished beyond the natural consequences of your choice, anyway. That's not how this one works. The choice I'll offer you is this: If you want, I'll give you the Object you've come for. No strings attached, no tricks. It won't suddenly burrow into your eye and gobble up your brain, or make you hear the endless screams of the damned in your head, or kill a puppy, or some such nonsense. That's not how this one works.
Or you can make the other choice: You can go home. That's right, home. I don't mean leave this place and go off seeking the next Object. I mean really, truly, go home. Back to before all of this started. I can make that happen. That, and not the Object I hold, is the real reward you've proven yourself worthy of by reaching me. That's how this one works. Of course, you can choose to go on.
Take as much time as you need. I recommend thinking long and hard on this one. It's not a choice to make lightly. When you're ready, go ahead and tell me your decision.
If you take me up on my offer, then all of the Objects you've acquired will return to where you found them. Any damage that's happened to your body, mind, soul, and all that - will be healed. Everyone and everything that you've sacrificed to reach this point will be restored as if your quest never happened at all. Anyone you've hurt or killed or damaged in other ways will be completely restored. All the knowledge that you've gained and the secrets that you've learned will be erased from your memory, as well as any notes or recordings you've made in any form. It will still be possible for you to act as a Seeker again, but you'll have to discover everything all over again, and you'll believe that it's your first time doing it. The Holders will also lose all memory of you. Well, except for me - I'll remember. Who knows, maybe this isn't the first time we've had this conversation.
If you choose to go on, then for the briefest instant you'll think that you see a look of deep, deep sadness pass over my face. You'll wonder if I haven't stood exactly where you're standing now, and made the exact same choice. It'll be so brief, in fact, that you won't be sure if it was really there at all. Without warning, you'll find yourself back in the "precious place" where you started. It will now be a charred ruin. Anyone who was in it when you crossed into my sanctum will be dead - their bodies as burned as the walls. If your memories of this place include sharing it with anyone, then you should pray, for their sake, that they died before this moment.
Reach down and scoop up a handful of ashes. Don't worry, you won't have trouble finding some - they'll be all around you. As you hold them in your hand, you'll be filled with the knowledge that no matter what you do, you will never again have an opportunity to give up your quest - not for long. Touching this Object has changed you. You now have an irresistible compulsion to seek the Objects. The longer you go without fulfilling that compulsion, the more you'll feel compelled to - until you can't resist it anymore.
The pile of ashes in your hand is Object 1467 of 2538. There's only one way left for the story to end.
Object 1485: The Holder of Horror
In any city, in any country, go to the nearest morgue or mortuary and locate either a diener, morgue attendant, or autopsy technician, and ask to speak to "The Holder of Horror".
Almost instantly after this question is asked, the Handler will ask if you wish to see your mother's face. Calmly answer, "Take me to the end of the hall." He or she will ask you if you wish to see the rest of your family, as it is an important call - once again, calmly answer, "Take me to the end of the hall." With a grave look of repugnance on their face, they will wave for you to follow.
If they do not wave and you blindly follow them around the corridor, you may accidentally follow the rest of the guide, and when you approach the door, the door will pull you into the chamber of madness - leaving you to see every horrific sight that ever existed since the creation of Time to the point of your ultimate epitome. The worst part is that you will be trapped in this loop as Time is reborn. Follow this guide carefully.
As you follow them, you will instantly begin to notice that the building's normal interior design changes dramatically when you turn around the corridor. Almost all of the walls seem to be coveted in a tree bark material, with what appears to be blood dripping from the bark. You may notice disfigured corpses pinned to the walls with most of their flesh ripped out, some organs simply dangling; should you touch any of the corpses dangling or lying about, you may be pulled forcefully toward the corpse.
If this happens, you may hear screams - should the screams surprise you, you will become one with the corpse, and it will slowly devour you as its horrifying screams paralyze you. You will not be devoured forever, so hope that it will be a quick consumption if this unfortunate fate happens to you.
If you are being pulled by the screams, try to remember what the sound of your surrogate mother was like, and should you be lucky enough to have survived the encounter, you will be let go from the reanimated. You will always feel the fear and doom by that particular corpse that may have grabbed you, however.
As the hall trenches on deep underground, the bark-like material will start forming the material of decaying flesh and skin of all former living beings. You will notice the rotting odor of something unexplained; along with this, reanimated corpses resembling the rest of your family on the walls screaming your name and for help. Do not give in or you will meet the fate mentioned above.
The mortician who may have led you all this way will now present you with two matches and a glowing vial. Do not open this vial in the physical plane of existence. The mortician will show you to what appears to be a door, which is completely black with no sign of a doorknob or even a physical material. Light one of the matches, and hold your arm out into the nonexistent door - search in the darkness, and when you see the doorknob made of flesh, turn it counterclockwise quickly. If your arm is still in this void when the match goes out, you will lose that limb to the void instantly.
Once the doorknob is turned, you will notice reality will warp completely around, and that you will be on the mirror-opposite side of the door seeing a horrifically twisted version of yourself and the mortician - you are in the Place that Time Forgot.
Do not turn around and do not affix your gaze to anything inside of this room until you light your second match. The doorway you seemed to have entered from will go totally black. You may safely turn around and navigate the darkness. On the ethereal plane, you must never have a conscious thought that a floor, a wall, or a ceiling exists, or it will instantly drop you, rip you apart, or crush you - your boundaries of reality give existence to this plane while illumination is present.
Keep walking and you will see an ancient hatch on the floor that your small match will light up. Pull it open with your remaining hand. If your match goes out before this, you will be trapped in the sanctum of the forgotten, where screams, pain, and terror from the unknown bombard you for the rest of the Infinity. When you open the hatch enough to fit through, jump inside and dispose of the match. You will enter from the ceiling. You are now in a very simple room where furniture remains static in an inverted position on the floor.
You will see the back of an old man's body floating lonely in the middle of the room - do not say anything yet, or his screams of agony will cause your eyes to burst. He will slowly turn around, and you will notice that the front of his body is completely ripped off, exposing his organs and two distinct black hole-like eye sockets that are almost encouraging you to look into them. Do not look at his empty eyes and do not have an expression of surprise or fear on your face while facing the old man, or your soul will be drained from you into his mind.
Very calmly ask, "What is the essence of horror?"
He will now test your will. Within a split second he lets out a horrifying, mind-numbing shriek with a particularly violent and unbelievably haunting noise that will cause you to break down violently; you will never forget the time you heard this noise. Darkness will consume your vision temporarily, so it would be best to turn away from the old man before you writhe in the agony of the horrors that have been encountered since the conception of Time.
The room will begin to spin, and the walls will start bleeding something very dark from the floor up to the ceiling. The floor will almost "melt" from hardwood into a metal floor covered with rotting flesh. The most disgusting odor will enter your nostrils, selectively or not. The ceiling will give way to an animated pile of bodies, dripping some of their aged rotting flesh, bone, and sinew to the already coveted floor and possibly onto you.
You will also hear the sound of skulls cracking, children screaming in violent pain, organs being shredded by something sharp, executions of men, groping of women, and many more sounds that will involuntarily cause you to vomit. Do not openly embrace the constant feelings of lost hope and abandonment that will surge through your mind and your veins as this occurs - the madness you will encounter will be one you have never felt. If you are unable to remember a family member's laughter while this state of hilarity ensues, it is too late, and you will become victim of the old man's terror forever.
Eventually, time unknown based on the number of sins you committed will cause the shriek to stop.
It's difficult at this point for many Seekers to get back on their knees at this stage, and many Seekers forget in their madness to not show the old man their expression or look into his eyes. When you are finally on your two feet again, the old man will turn around once again, and slowly reface you - but this time, with a humanly appearance. You notice He now looks like a charming older man from the early 20th century. He pulls a chair toward you and asks you to sit down, and recants the story of the birth of the reality of horror. Eventually, He will finish his story, and He will tell you that smashing the vial you were given will open up a momentary doorway to the place you were before. He will ask to shake your hand. Continue to politely disagree as kindly as He may offer, as your body could implode by the touch of living horror. Eventually, He will present to you a small jewelry box lined with gold that you can safely remove from His hand.
Do not open it no matter what the whispers from the box or voices in your head say.
The old man will slowly turn around to face away forever - take this time to break the vial against the wall or floor, and you will find yourself going through the rip in the realm of Terror. After seeing a bright flash, you will wake up on one of the autopsy tables. As you get off the bed, you notice that the building will be empty. Find the exit and escape before terror finds the entrance to your mind.
The jewelry box is Object 1485 of 2538, and something says you shouldn't open it if you wish to preserve the sanity of you and the ones you love.
Object 1500: The Holder of Empathy
Go to any hospital and ask any clerk there to see the "one who knows the mind". They will then ask you what your greatest ambition is. Tell them that "only the mind knows". The clerk will then direct you to a surgical theater in the hospital and leave you alone overlooking the operating table.
A strange man with a large swollen skull will enter the operating room and lay down on the table. This man will be dressed in ragged, blood-red clothing. If he is dressed any other way then you must go back the way you came and try the test again another day or face the same fate as the man.
If the man is dressed the way he is supposed to be, then continue to watch as a very large man dressed in dirty scrubs enters the room and takes a small knife out of his back pocket. He will begin to make an incision into the patient's scalp and you will notice at that instant that you can feel everything being done to the man. Nothing can be done about this and you must endure the pain.
Once the patient's scalp has been fully bisected, he will rise up and open his skull revealing a large pulsating brain. This is the Holder. Through your shared suffering, you must shout, "What are the ties that bond!?"
In your head, you will hear the Holder explain every last detail about every insecurity ever felt by everyone you have ever met. Once the Holder stops speaking to you, you must thrust your hand forward as if to shake hands and close your eyes. Once you have felt a cold tendril touch your hand and recede you can open your eyes again. You will be in bed in your home. If you should choose to look in a mirror, you will see that your head is twice its normal size. No one else can see this, but it will allow you to understand the exact emotions, expectations, and insecurities of everyone you meet from then on.
This mental ability is Object 1500 of 2538. Don't think you have escaped your own humanity.