If you've sought these Objects, chances are you've heard of Jack, but you've probably never heard of Slayer. They say his smile is made up of everything that is good in this world, he begs to differ. He is as elusive as he is powerful, however, you may not notice him when you see him, he has a smile that is perfectly pleasant ad a voice like an angel's, but there's something unnerving about those glasses...
He calls himself The Hunter, he seeks but is not a Seeker, he holds but is not a Holder...
—His Experience—
The First Malice
It all started with a man... no, at the time he was a boy, a boy who had a sharp look in his eyes, I didn't like that. I followed him endlessly, watching him as he ducked into buildings I had never seen before, as he returned covered in blood that was not red. In horror, I watched as his smile became too wide for me to be comfortable with, that his eyes had become dead and gray, his movements became vaguely disturbing to my eyes. I never learned of his name at that time, but I soon found out what he was doing, what was making him change so oddly.
I heard, from a friend of mine, before he became what he did, that there existed a number of Objects that were hidden from man, each with a property or concept attributed to it. The Objects and Holders which my friend spoke of taunted me in my dreams, spoiling my once peaceful slumber until I could take no more and found myself at a place that sheltered the mentally ill. "I desire to see the Holder of Pleasantry," the words escaped my mouth without my brain's approval. The man outside of the structure nodded slowly as he opened the door into the place that would rival my nightmares.
Inside there was naught but darkness, in a time before men knew science, I had been taught to fear the dark and what might creep in it, this fear is all that would keep me alive in this place. In my very bones I felt the danger in the darkness. With deft steps, I managed to walk around the stones that fell away to reveal a fiery pit of hellishness. I continued onward with my fear. I will spare you the gruesome details of my journey and go now to the moment that I confronted my first Holder, the Holder of Pleasantry.
This Holder appeared, to me, as a beautiful woman of my race with the same recessive traits as myself. The woman possessed skin the color of salt, hair the color of the precious yellow metal extracted from the mountains, and her eyes were the oddest shade of gray I had ever seen. She was singing so wonderfully that I could do nothing but sit down on the ground and listen to her in awe. I was wrong to do this. The stones beneath me slowly began to crumble, but I still concentrated on nothing but the woman's lovely singing. Through some miracle, perhaps Shamash favored me that day, I remained in the area with the singing woman long after all of the stones had fallen away. By this time I had begun to sing along with her, I had memorized her song even though I did not know the language in which she sang.
At some point the woman, and everything squirming around her in the dark, noticed me. I could do nothing but continue to sing. The woman looked into my eyes and showed me the greatest deceptions brought about by the most pleasant people and she showed me her language, which would be forever burned into my vocal cords. The squirming things were speaking near my ears, I could understand them and comprehend their speech. They told me things, about how I wasn't the chosen, I was merely a lucky boy born on a good day. The woman crouched near me and caressed my face, her body began to rot away as she spoke her final words to me: "You have no need for this Object, Seeker. Your voice is already as blasphemous as mine." I could think of nothing more to do than smile pleasantly at her while thinking of how much I hated her for showing me the horrible curses I was singing. She would never know the difference. After all, I'm such a pleasant person.
I left the building unscratched, Their language scarred into my throat, waiting for a chance to be used. I knew malice that I had never known before. As I walked to my home I saw him heading for the building I had just left, the gray boy with the too-wide smile and the empty eyes. I smiled for him, he would never know what hit him.
My smile is the first source of my resolution, I will lie to everyone without ever meaning to.
—His Deceptions—
Object 786: The Holder of Force
I can hear his footsteps now, I can hear the screams of the children as he tears them apart and releases the monsters from their cages... he comes for me, Seeker, he comes. He comes but does not know that there is nothing here for him to Seek, it was already stolen from me by the man with the distant eyes and the cruel grin. It was a mistake on one Holder's part that led him to become this way, those traps that leave Seekers stranded with demons in another dimension failed in this one instance. He LEARNED, he learned how to fight them, he learned how to force them, he learned that they could leave and so too could he if he broke them to his will.
I know what he seeks, he seeks my eyes, orange jewels that can crush anything that the wielder can comprehend, but they were stolen long ago. Oh, how I will laugh when he reaches my throne formed of the bones of his kind, how I will laugh as he spills my blood in rage! Legion stole my eyes and you can never have them, Seeker!
I see him... why does he smile... WHY DO YOU SMILE!? His mouth opens... those words... they are so horrible... Why am I still alive even after he has torn off my skin, why do I see my body!? W... he holds a mirror... I see... I see now.
"I wanted you to see what will become of you, Holder of Force."
His voice... it calms my rage, I don't think I can hold on for much longer. He rips off my skin, I don't feel it, I feel too calm. I feel the cold steel shackles he binds me with before breaking my throne and making one of his own, before he sits and reads that damnable book to me. There was a time when a Seeker came to ask me "What can cause Them to act?", and I would give them a long answer then would tell them that only power rivaling Their own could do so, this Seeker did not come to ask, he came to tell. No, no, he is not a Seeker... he seeks but is not a Seeker, he holds but is not a Holder... I believe he may be the opposite of the man with the too-wide smile... Why is it that I only feel hope when he speaks? Why is the malice slowly slipping from my mind as I slowly rot away and he becomes the new Holder of Force? He already has the Object... He knows how to use it to escape. He tells me that a Seeker will come in 2,000 years and will take his place, I cannot bring myself to doubt him.
I was the Holder of Force, the Force Gems were Object 786 of 2538, they are now merely glasses to a man who can fight without them. There was a time when a mortal man could do nothing with them, now there is one who can kill hell's finest with them.
I leave this message, hoping someone can free me while I still have some anger left... He has a weakness, you must find his true name, it is written in the book of his Object. He is looking at me now... he must know what I'm -
"Silly thing, what do you think I've been reading all this time?"
Beware, Seeker, for you cannot see the deception behind his smile until it is too late.
—Records of Him—
Orange Glasses
If you've ever sought one of these Objects, I'm sure you've heard of Jack Empty. You know Jack, the guy who is kept alive by deals too profane to put into words? Smiles a bit too wide? Every movement he makes is a fucking red flag that tells you to get the hell out of dodge. Well, Seeker, let me tell you about a man you know nothing about, hell, I don't know much about him, other than he saved my life just by looking at me. I'll tell you about him, the man who seeks but is not a Seeker, he holds but is not a Holder, he is more full than you or I could ever hope to be, his smile is perfect and holds all of the good in this world, he is the one who weeps when a Seeker dies or a new Holder is born. He calls himself the Hunter.
If you've met Jack and survived, he might have told you about a man named Slayer. This is that man, this is the one who is called killer of Holders. I guess I'm not making much sense right now. I'll start from the beginning.
It was a long time ago, in a place that I can no longer recall the name of. I was seeking an Object that I won't expand upon for fear that you may seek it and undo his work. I requested to see the Holder but was simply told this: "It's useless, so useless, he's already been here." Confused, I insisted upon seeing the Holder, but the attendant refused to lead me, they instead gave me a bloodstained key and found that it fit into an equally bloodstained door which seemed to have been beaten on from the other side, as if something were trying to escape in the throes of death. With some hesitation I finally willed myself to open the door and entered.
You've sought these things before, you know the trials, you know the horrors. Imagine my surprise as I saw blood-covered wall littered, not with humans, but the horrors I dare not describe to you. As I walked down the path I found myself on, I felt a strange calmness, as if gratitude emanated from every corner. I walked further, wary, listening for a sound that would mark my demise, waiting for the light to dim to nothingness, but it never happened. I reached the end of the tunnel without being disturbed, in fact... I felt... calm.
At the end of the hall... no, I should say at the end of what had BECOME a hall, for the intervening walls and rooms had been decimated by a force I dare not comprehend, I saw him. Sitting atop a pile of inhuman bones, his gray eyes hidden behind orange-tinted glasses, reading an ancient volume tiled in a language I couldn't read, I saw him... and he saw me. The Hunter looked up from his book, his glasses slipped down his nose to reveal the most peaceful eyes I had ever beheld, and he smiled at me. "Congratulations, Seeker, you've witnessed what could be." Naturally, I was hesitant to say anything to him at the time, fearing him to be the Holder. This was before I noticed the being shackled at his feet, its skin ripped off and eyes torn out. He saw me looking at the creature, yet he still smiled. "Does it disturb you? To see a Holder subjugated by a human, that is?" he asked me in the most serene voice I'd ever heard.
I spoke with him for what seemed like hours, maybe even days, about any little thing that came to mind, all while being completely at ease. He told me that he had effectively killed the Holder I'd sought, as he had several others before discovering how easily they could be replaced. He hadn't meant to kill this one though, so he waited on that pile of bones, having taken its place but still able to move freely. He told me that the Object it once guarded had been taken long before I arrived, by a man who many have come to call Legion, however that item was lost and the Holder remained. He smiled at the end of my questions and stood, offered me his hand, and spoke one last time. "My name is Slayer, The Hunter. I am one who seeks but is not a Seeker, I am one who holds but is not a Holder. Will you now take my place?"
I still remember him clearly, no matter how many eons have passed between then and now. I tell every Seeker that comes down this hall, I always tell them that the Hunter was here and loved them, even though he never met them. They tell me stories of the outside world, they tell me of a man with orange sunglasses who is always reading a book written in a language no one can read, who is kept alive by deals made out of love for the human race. He seeks but is not a Seeker, he holds but is not a Holder, he chose but is not the Chosen.
Tell me, Seeker, have you met the man with orange glasses?