Object 1155: The Holder of the Flowing Waters

In any city, in any country, go into any leisure center, YMCA, or any active building with public showers.

Stand under the shower that is third to the left, fully clothed. It is not necessary to turn the shower on, although it may be a good idea to prepare yourself for the ordeals ahead. After some time (it varies from person to person), a member of the staff will approach you and ask what you are doing. It will be a man if you are a woman, and a woman if you are a man. If they are the same gender as you, apologize and leave. You will be free to try again another day, but for 24 hours any fluid that enters your body will burn as though it were corrosive acid.

If the worker who approaches you is of the opposite gender, you are safe. If you have not turned the shower on already, it is recommended you do so now. They will ask again, what you are doing. Reply quietly, barely a whisper, "I seek." They will ask you to repeat yourself. Do what they ask of you, scream it at the top of your lungs, "I SEEK THE HOLDER OF THE FLOWING WATERS!" While you do this, you must throw them under the stream of water. If you have not turned the shower on, then you are already damned.

The worker should shriek. Your eardrums may well burst as they stumble forward. Move, as the liquids they excrete in death will be as lethal as anything you have experienced thus far, and it will not work quickly. If you dodge the worker's final assault, they should collapse on the ground. Blink once, and they will disappear. Take the key that lay where their corpse was a moment ago. Turn, and you will find that the shower has been replaced by a door. Unlock it with the key, and enter.

You will find yourself in another room, showers lining the walls as far as your imagination can stretch, on onward, past the bounds of sanity. Strip off your clothes, choose a shower, which you pick does not matter. Stand under it and turn on the water.

The water will be at just the right temperature, and as you stand under it you will feel that your soul is being massaged. Your mind will clear, and you will feel refreshed. Fight this feeling.

If you manage to regain your senses, you will notice the other showers are now occupied. Do not be ashamed of your nakedness, the others will be too distracted. They face the water directly, with featureless heads being cleaned as the water moves down their fleshy forms. If you did not manage to concentrate, you would have been one of those beings, neither alive nor dead, staring upward in hope of meeting the Holder.

Face forward once more and you will notice a timer. It is set to twelve hours. You must maintain contact with the water until this time expires.

The sound of the water may rise to a roar, or fade to barely perceptible levels. Your body will become used to the sensation, and you may fear the water has stopped. This is a trick. Keep a part of your body under the flow of water at all times. The temperature will change. It may scald you, burning the flesh from your bones, or freeze you. It may suddenly become corrosive, or as hard as steel. You may lose chunks of flesh, limbs, eyes, and finally, your ears. Should they have survived your previous struggle with the demonic staff, and the pounding of the water on naked bodies, they will not survive the tormented screams of a billion undead creatures as the boiling water sears their bodies. Blood will mingle with chunks of flesh and what may once have been your bodily fluids, and flow down into the darkness.

Whatever happens, do not move from under the water. As hard as you may find this to believe, it is best to keep all of your body under the water. What lurks beyond the waters is a far worse fate; one which I cannot accurately describe in words of this realm.

If you should somehow manage to survive the entire twelve hours, everything will stop. The screams, the water, everything will stop. Everything but the pain. The lights will extinguish. With everything you have left in your ravaged, tattered excuse for a body, ask the darkness one question: "Where do the waters flow to?"

A great wall of water will hit you, driving you backward. Currents and tides will pull at you, sending you in directions that would be impossible in any normal water. As the water fills your lungs, you will hear the Holder's voice.

He will tell you where your path leads. Every triumph, every loss, every wound, scar, Object, and Holder. The waters will crash, one last time. You will feel the rage of the Holder swirling around you, crushing you with the pressure of the waters. "Where do the waters flow?" it will roar, destroying you as the water gushes into your every orifice.

As you reach the final limit, as you are moments from death, it will stop. The Holder's voice will come through, clear as a bell. "The waters flow home."

Swim upward. You will see a light. It will become blinding, but keep swimming.

You will emerge in the body of water nearest to your home. In your dominant hand will be the showerhead.

This showerhead is Object 1155 of 2538. It will cleanse you of all sin. But what are the Objects, if not sinful?

Object 1163: The Holder of the Grand Pivot

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 Grand Pivot". They will try to talk you out of it, to turn you away, but if you insist, they will concede defeat and accept your request, if only to get you to leave.

You will be taken down a set of stairs, seemingly to lead into a rotting basement. There is no elevator and the staircases are lit by ancient bulbs encased in rusted wireframes. There will be a sound as if someone is constantly coming from above or below, but I wouldn't suggest looking back. The steps are worn and rounded, and the walls wet and somehow seeming to wriggle. Your guide will simply point to a door at the bases of the stairs, a windowless iron door.

If you enter, you will find what appears to have been a padded room, with the walls, floor, and roof bare, exposing cold metal. There will be a repulsively fat man sitting, reciting the lord's prayer. The man will only acknowledge one question: "I am a man of the lord, what turns upon the pivot?" The man will explain in a thick Russian accent what will occur when the post- and pre-halves join. It will be a by-the-minute account of the exact day, save the last 5. He will then return to reciting the lord's prayer. If you ask to see the pivot, he will violently attack you; you might notice his pared-away nails and the small, revolting bulge under his jumpsuit. If you claim to be the smith, he will remove the pivot from his jumpsuit while crossing himself.

That pivot is Object 1163 of 2538, the Object at the core of them all. They all turn upon the pivot, and now that it is in your possession, so do you.

Object 1168: The Holder of Carnage

In any town or city, in any country, go to any war memorial statue or plaque and look at the names written. Look down each of the lists until you find a name hidden by dirt or dust, trust your senses, if you do it will be easier to find. Brush this dirt away to reveal red letters underneath and look at the name, memorize it.

Go to a florist and purchase a single, black rose, saying nothing more than you have to. After the flower has been wrapped for you take the florist's scissors and cut the heads off every other rose in the shop, ignoring anything the assistant may do or say, then leave the shop with the rose.

Head into the countryside, by any means necessary, and pick a stalk of Hemlock when you can. Make sure to keep this in your right hand, and hold the rose in your left. Walk into a field, it does not matter what is growing there, as long as there is no animal life. As you walk forward your mind will fill with images of war, death, and fighting. It will show everything from family arguments to famous battles. Do not try to comprehend them, it may drive you insane. Once you reach the center of the field, sit down on your knees and place the black rose in front of you, whispering the words, "in memory of..." Finish with the name from the memorial plaque.

If you fail to remember the name, or you were holding the flowers in the wrong hands then you will feel vines ensnare you. They will drag you into the soil beneath. You will choke on it and you will feel yourself being ripped apart by the plants, you will feel yourself dying slowly, remaining conscious for all time.

If, however, you whispered the correct name then the rose will rise up, opening a doorway beneath. Enter it but do not look around. Surrounding you is endless carnage: plants and animals dying, people being killed, buildings torn down and burned, nature itself crumbling into destruction. To look at any one of these would be to become part of them.

You will see a man standing in the distance, approach him slowly. Remain silent, you should respect death. He will turn and look at you. You must look into his eyes and you will see yourself in the florist's. You will hear the scream from each flower as you cut off the head. He will then show you every time you have caused pain, carnage, or death to any creatures, plant, life, or people.

This drives many people insane, but if you should find yourself able to endure it then he will blink, holding his hand out for the Hemlock. Do not give it to him, instead, tear off the flowers and say, "You will not be the death of me." The man will scream and pluck a black rose from one of the scenes beside you. He will thrust it toward you and a thorn will feel like it is penetrating your heart.

You will collapse, waking up later in front of the memorial plaque. Look at it and you will see that the name you used before is, once again, covered with dirt. Wipe it away and that section of the plaque will come loose in your hand.

This is Object 1168 of 2538. Don't forget that the greatest damage can be caused by the smallest action.

Object 1180: The Holder of the Crusade

In any city, in any country, go to the holiest structure relevant to your religion that you can find. When you see the symbol that, to you, symbolizes paradise (be it a crucifix or the Star of David), sit cross-legged at its base. Close your eyes and think of what life will be like after you have died and ascended; block everything else out.

If you begin to hear chanting, then it is a lost cause, for you are to be damned. However, if you hear footsteps behind you, stay perfectly silent and open your eyes. You now bear witness to the eternal cosmic clash between darkness and light, evil and righteousness.

You must watch the battle with complete impartiality, favoring neither side. If your loyalties fall to one side, even for a moment, you will join that side in combat; seeing as how you're a mortal in an army of the immortal, suffice it to say, you won't last long. But if you can observe the clash with total neutrality for long enough, the one who made the footsteps behind you will speak. The voice will shift with every waking moment, never sounding the same at any two moments; it will all be new, yet completely incoherent. After you have listened to the voices for as long as you can bear, stand up and face the being. You must stare directly into his eyes, your gaze never wavering, for if you see his body, you will dissolve into the most horrifying image ever known to existence. Ask the being, "Why do they fight, when they are both so akin?"

This being will begin to speak in your voice. It will recite the true history of every religion to ever exist. It will explain how each of them is nothing more than a mockery of the divine; they each started with the intention to guide humanity toward righteousness and enlightenment, yet each and every one of them fell victim to greed, corruption, and lust for power, thus exposing them for the frauds they are. They fight simply for their own survival. He will then gesture toward the battlefield and end his speech with a simple answer: "They, however, fight for what is right." At hearing these words, you may begin to succumb to madness, or you may be able to question the being once more: "What is right?" The being will begin to step back so that its whole form is visible; the vision would kill most instantly, out of the mind's sheer inability to comprehend it, but you will survive. In that instance, you will know what is right.

As soon as you blink, you will be back to where your journey started; you will feel immeasurable pain all over your body. Look at yourself; you should notice that you are naked, your body punctured all over by some unknown force.

What you saw was Object 1180 of 2538. Your body now reflects your soul.

Object 1199: The Holder of the Child's Song

In any city, in any country, go to any public school past the hours of its normal operation. Should you be greeted by anyone at all, you should leave, for that person will know your intentions and be filled with an innermost desire to kill - and your death shall be one of unprecedented gore. Should no one know of your arrival, approach the most secluded door you can find. Approach it and knock, wait approximately one minute, and say, "I seen only pleasure... No more." At this moment an unerring silence will fall upon you.

Should you hear any vocal sound, whether from man or beast, state your name and your reasons for seeking the Holder. If your statement is sincere, you will be allowed to progress. If you hear any other sound, you should begin to run as fast as you can back from whence you came. You will know by dawn's light if you have escaped or not. You will be allowed to live your life within the realms of normalcy; however, you will lose all memory of any Holder or Object. Should you come across another Seeker or Object, you will go insane at the most base level. Simple mention of your former quest will bring forth horrible sufferance as well as a guilty pleasure.

The phrase uttered will be of importance, memorize it and hold it dear. If you were to forget the word, eternity in Hell would be a blessing for you. At this time the door will transform, you will feel a sudden urge to gaze at it. To submit to this desire would reveal a small part of your soul to you; your greatest flaw.

Enter the door, and walk forward until you feel a sense of despair. For some, it may take minutes, to others, days. Upon truly feeling despair, an end to the maddening monotony of this bland hallway will appear. Going through this portal will reverse the feelings of pain and pleasure. You will find yourself in a room full of the various instruments of torture from history. In the middle of this display of terror, you will find your true love. This person will act as if you have never met.

You must threaten to torture your companion with the object you believe will inflict the most "pleasure" upon them. As they beg for their life, you must make good on your threat. At the climax of their pain, gaze deeply into the eye that corresponds to your dominant hand and utter the phrase you should have memorized earlier.

By whatever means necessary, remove the eye from your present victim. Stare at the disembodied organ. You will see the pain and revulsion of all of history's atrocities committed in the name of pleasure. Should you remain sane, you will now find yourself back at the school. Exit the building as quickly as possible, but do not allow anyone else to gaze upon the Object in your hand. If they see it, they will desire to have it at the expense of your life.

This eye is Object 1199 of 2538. When they are united, you will bask in the suffering of those around you. You will find thrill and exhilaration in the pain He brings. However, your death will come from the hands of your true love.