Object 2522: The Holder of I

I spend hours looking in the mirror to see if there's any part of me I can recognize; any part left unscarred, cancerous, or mutated.

I'll break the mirror. It's laughing at me. They're all laughing at me.

I go to the box once a week; I don't cry... I try not to. This is what he died for? These cold, hollow eyes stare back; unanswering.

Left, not died, left. Maybe death would be better. Maybe it would hurt less if I just gave up and called it death.

I sometimes pretend that I can laugh it off. It doesn't help; it just hurts more inside. Like tentacles reaching into me and pulling out my guts... examining them... filling me up with black oily goo all sick and twisted and dead.

They say (we say) when we start to go, we can't stop laughing 'cause the pain stops. The Voices surround us and drown us in Them and we stop needing air or hope, just Voices pushing us down.

Down.

Down.

 

Down.

 

 

Down.

 

 

 

 

 

All the way down.

I give myself a moment to cry, after the fact. I'm cleaning off the hammer, hoping against hope he was one of the bad ones. I try not to think how it doesn't matter if he was or wasn't... It's that kinda thinking that means you're either not up for it or in too deep.

Have to stay balanced; it's a long way down.

I have papers, stories. Too many are gone or hidden or lied about. Forty-four isn't a gun, it's a weapon. He isn't a person. They tell you He might as well be a He but He's not. He's not at all like a person. Not even a little bit of a person.

"Why you comin' here again, buddy? I told you I won't take your money."

He says that to me. Me. I'm important. I'm rich. But he knows it's a lie. A sham. I feel like something's sitting on my chest and it won't let me breathe. Incubus.

Nightmares. All the nightmares. It's closing in on me, I can feel it.

They smile at me on the street. If only, if only they knew.

I'm asked to dance. I don't dance. Not anymore. I used to love dancing and parties but I can't handle it anymore, it's like there's this impossible thing between me and them - scars, a hundred scars and tumors. I can't see them past my own bulbous, horrid face. They can't see through the scars.

I'm walking down the street. I see it. He has it. He died so that it could be there, in the box with him (what's left of him). I follow him home and pretend that is matters if he's a good one or not but I know what's happening.

I'm falling down.

And down.

 

Down.

 

 

 

Down.

 

 

 

Down.

 

 

 

Down.

 

 

 

Down.

Object 2525: The Holder of the Hunter

In any city, in any country, go to a university campus and speak to the librarian. One would have asked for the section on "The Holder of the Hunter". The librarian would have given you a dooming glance, as if to say, "It's your funeral." She would have led you deep into the shelves of the library and would have brought you down a row, deep within the shelves that nobody else ever noticed. Among these shelves was a large oak door, this was your last chance to turn away.

Through the door was a grand library, the room was a maze. You could not see over the maze, for the ceilings were low. The lights were dim, so that the guardians would move among the shadows waiting for a chance to devour your soul. This would have been prevented by moving even at a dead-end and never stopping for anything until you would have reached the center clearing, that is if you ever found it.

You would have known when you reached the center because a warm light would have emitted from the entrance. This is a sign the Holder had deemed you worthy of being in his presence. In the clearing, you would have seen a tall, lanky figure before you. He wore suit pants, a dress shirt, and a vest, his face was shrouded in shadows. A pocket watch was in his front pocket. The man would have stood in the center of a study.

You would have asked him, "Who seeks the Seekers?" He would have slipped into the shadows as the fire goes out, you would have shown no fear for the guardians still lurked nearby. You would feel long, cold, bony hands rest on your shoulders. If you heard ticking at this point, you were doomed. If not, the Holder would respond by flashing the deaths of thousands of Seekers who have entered his study before your very eyes. You would have been forced to watch as shadows, demons, and other Holders slaughtered the Seekers.

If your mind did not go insane from this process, the Holder would have bestowed upon you a featureless, silver pocket watch. The watch cannot be opened and is silent, only when another Object gets near it does it begin to tick again.

This pocket watch is Object 2525 of 2538. Seek and you shall find... no more.

Object 2530: The Holder of All

Dear You,

 

These Objects... all of them... I don't want them anymore. I don't know how many years of my life I've wasted assembling them all. I'm forfeiting them all right now. I'm too old for them now. I've only got a few more weeks to live.

Greetings. I'm the only person who's ever assembled them all. At least, I think I'm the only one.

That's right, all 2538 of them. Call me a madman if you want, that's what I am. I collected each and every one, with promise of great things happening when they're together. Maybe I'll get powers! Maybe the world will be mine! I thought, oh so naively. These Objects are meaningless. I know the secrets of the Holders. I know why they all hold their Objects. I know why we seek them. I know why each Object is what it is. I know everything about these Objects. But what does it matter? Even if I told you everything about them, you wouldn't understand. So go, seek for yourself if you must. If you want the answer, go find it. I know what it is you're looking for. But know that once you put them together, your quest is over. That's it. So assemble them all if you must; shine that smile of yours just like I did, all those years ago. But a word of advice. Don't worry too much about the Objects themselves; they aren't as important as you'd think.

 

— Me

Object 2532: The Holder of Duality

Deep inside the ruins of a village not spoken of for centuries, in a building untouched by both time and nature is where you will find me. Finding this village will be no simple task, by any means. Not only will you require knowledge of exactly where you must look, but you will also be required to heed specific paths and steps in order to bring out the presence. If you have the will, you will find your way. You need but to want me with all of yourself. Hold not a doubt in your heart and the way shall be revealed.

If you have taken the proper steps and hold the need, you shall be drawn to my place of rest by unseen hands. Upon entering the building, a voice will be all encompassing, but you must fight it. If you fail to heed this warning, your existence will become one of agony; an agony from which you will never free yourself. If you have the will to be silent, however, you shall find yourself suddenly wrenched free of your body, your spirit shall descend into a place of complete darkness. Peace will wash over your spirit and consciousness will leave you as well.

When you awake, you will find yourself in a room; a room without exits or entrances; a room in which, save for one wall, all walls are the most pure white you will have ever seen. The one wall separate from this will be a mirror and in this mirror you shall see yourself as you truly are. All things which you have attempted to hide in your life shall be written upon your reflection. Any evil you have wrought shall be shown in scars on the flesh of the one before your eyes. The voice will once again call out to you; my voice shall call out to you. You must answer and you must answer truthfully. You will be tested; your will must be strong. You must purify your reflection. Every truthful answer, if emotion is provoked by it, will remove scars. If you are able to bear all before me, an object will reveal itself before you. Do not attempt to take it before it is time. You will know when that is. Be sure you are ready, as well, for you shall face your final, true test at this moment.

Upon taking this object, images of great evil shall flash before your eyes in quick succession. For an untold time, horrors the likes of which no man has ever bared witness to will be burned into your mind. During this time, you must not scream, you must not cringe, you must not take any actions at all; but most importantly, you must not think. Your mind must stay completely clear of any and all thoughts. An impossibility for most, but hopefully not for you, Seeker. If you are able to conquer all of these things, you will gain what you seek. I shall greet you and you will have reclaimed one of The Lost. I am both Holder and Object: Duality personified. My consciousness will be with you always; we =shall be as 2 minds in a single body. Upon returning to your body, you will find that you are clutching an orb of pure ice, unmelting, indestructible, in your right hand; a symbol of our covenant, our bond. Our bonding will have done away with 10 of your years. The things you have seen will forever be etched into your memory. Beware, our bond is not without its frailties, however; if you feel even a moment's regret in what you have done, I will leave you and your life will fall into a darkness from which you shall never recover.

I am both Holder and Object, one of The Lost; my number is 2532 of 2538. If the will is yours, so shall I be.

Object 2533: The Holder of Atonement

Listen carefully, for if you are to seek this Object you will need to follow my every instruction.

In any country of our world there can be found a vast area of deep seclusion. It is one that many avoid at all costs, and one that you must find. Be it forest, cave, desert, or mountain, you must find it should you seek this Object.

Wander... Roam... Stray from the path, for you must be completely and utterly lost to locate this Holder. Once you have done so, kneel and do not move. At precisely 3:00 AM, it will begin. Whatever light bathes the area around you will disappear instantaneously. Absolutely do not show any alarm.

Worlds will fill the air. They will start as whispers, as faint as a mouse, but they will build to a roar, almost louder than you can stand. It will be sickening to listen to. Do not close your eyes. Do not move. Do not speak. Only listen. You are being watched.

What you hear will be a grueling recount of every sin, every transgression, and every crime that has ever been committed since the beginning of humanity. It will take days to listen to. It will be maddening. It will be deafening. It will crush your heart. But if you endure... if you are not driven to insanity... if you do not perish of hunger or thirst, you will be granted an audience.

A creature, neither human nor animal, will creep from the darkness, crawling on all fours, gargling. Stare at the ground. Do not look at its face. It will surround you, circling multiple times, staring. It will sniff you. It will lick you. It will feel you. You must not speak or move.

Eventually, it will stand before you. Stare only at its feet. Silence will descend for what seems like an eternity and then it will scream at you. It will yell accusations, it will scream profanities, it will curse you and blame you and make you feel an absolute despair. It will hold you accountable.

Do **not ****listen.

As quickly as you can once it begins, repeat these three statements five times as quickly as possible and with complete sincerity:

"I apologize on my behalf. I apologize on our behalf. I apologize for everything."

If it does not kill you before you finish, you must not hesitate. Follow with this question: "What may I do to atone?"

A deafening pause will ensue. Do not be tempted to look at it. Do not be tempted to move. If it touches you, do not flinch. It waits for weakness.

After some time, you will notice a pure white feather, glowing as brightly as the evening star, fall before your knees.

The creature will spit on you, saying, "Guard it. He must never reclaim it."

Take the feather as promptly as you can. You will feel unconditional purity. You will feel free of sin. But you will also feel an unbearable numbness... For when you take a feather from the wing of an angel, your soul will forsake you. You will become nothing more than a hollow shell... a ghost with a body.

The creature will leave as quietly as it arrived. Continue looking at the ground. Only when the daylight returns will you know it is safe to run. Do not stop running unless only to satisfy the most basic of needs, for the feather you now guard is Object 2533 of 2538. It is Legion's most prized possession. It is his pride. It is his greed. And he will be coming for it.

He must never reclaim it.

Object 2534: The Holder of Ba

In any city, in any country, purchase a Ouija board and take it to the place you call home. Be warned: if you are not living alone, you may be endangering those around you. Whether or not this ritual proves to be a success, there will be unwanted consequences regardless. Should you still dare to seek this Object, you must have at least one physical Object obtained already for this to work. Place all of the Objects you own beside the Ouija board and use it to spell out "The Holder of Ba". Should you be successful, you will notice the lights begin to die out and the Objects around you become intangible. Any Objects that are already intangible will be lost and returned for you to seek again.

Pace around your house. You will notice how the colors have faded into a more grayish blur. The house will have contorted itself. The rooms will all remain the same, yet what once may have led you into one room will now lead you into a different area of the house. You must find your way to your bedroom. It may take you minutes or it may take you years until you find it. You will not hunger or die throughout this time.

However, you may start to feel pain, depression, and/or anger. The longer you are here, the more intense these emotions will become, until you have been completely consumed by them and have forgotten why you've done this in the first place. Once you have finally reached your bedroom, on the other side will contain only a massive void. The spirit realm has been opened, and it is only a matter of time until they spill into the raptures, and feast on your living soul.

Quickly return to the room with the Ouija board and spell out "What are you?" The board will spell the answer. Should it spell out "Essum", the you are doomed. There is no use in running or resisting. Your soul will join the void you created. Perhaps you may see a cloaked figure before you are eternally consumed. Should the board instead spell out "Him", the spirits you've released will all flood the room. They will gather themselves as a whole and take on an avatar of someone you recognize, but who is also deceased.

If it is a soul that holds vengeance against you, it will be granted to them. They will rend you apart with an eternity's worth of hate carried over from the past life. If it is the soul of a lover, they will hold you in thralldom, to become a slave held in bondage until whatever life remaining you have is drained from you. If it is the soul of a friend or relative, they will replace you. You will feel both your life being lived and their suffering once they die again.

However, should the souls form into someone you do not recognize, they will smoke as they ascend into the afterlife. A light will shine from within them, restoring the vibrant colors within your home and returning it back into place. The Objects will make themselves whole again, along with a burnt out incense stick where the Ouija board once was. Despite the fact that it's little more than a nub now, a thin wisp of smoke will still issue forth from its tip.

The incense stick is Object 2534 of 2538. It will light again when the end times come.

Object 2535: The Holder of the Culmination

I watched it all happen.

 

Go to the nearest gumball machine you can find. Put in the coin from the Holder of Trade and turn the knob. Only the coin will come out. Go through the nearest door you can find and you will see a desert. Relax, for you are safe here. You will not feel hunger, thirst, fatigue, or disease while you are here. You will live here forever, even after they are reunited. Lucky bastard.

 

I even helped to begin it. I can't live with myself.

 

Go to the nearest gumball machine you can find. Put in the coin from the Holder of Trade and turn the knob. Only the coin will come out.

I'm sorry, am I repeating myself? After all these years, it has gotten fuzzy in my memory.

 

This punishment is not enough for me. I deserve more.

 

Actually, either the coin could come out, or two gumballs.

No, that's wrong. Two gumballs came out for me. They won't come out for you. You will benefit from my mistake.

 

I was guilty. They came for me.

 

When I was doing this, a black gumball and a white gumball came out. I took the white gumball. What a fool I was. Only the black gumball will come out for you. Eat it. No, that's wrong. Chew it.

 

They made me a Holder. They spared me.

 

And then you will be transported to a dull world. The sky will be tinted beige. In front of you you will see a factory, but the world will be blurry. You know how on a hot day, the heat messes with your eyes? You see ripples sometimes. It's like the world is a mirage. Oh, how I wish it was.

 

I was one of the few to live.

 

Look up. No, look right. Actually, look northeast. East is right, right? Hahahah. That's funny. I haven't heard a good joke in a while. So anyway, there will be a track on top of the factory. Behind you will appear a man. This is the Holder of the Culmination.

 

I am not him. He is not me. I didn't know what he would do with what I gave him. Now I know.

 

Keep looking at the track. You will stare for a long time. Not a long time. A really long time. You should be dead by the time you stop. But you won't be. Finally, he will ask you, "What time is it?" and you must respond, "It's time for the beginning of the end." You should still be staring at the track. If he makes an annoyed grunting noise, then blink. If he doesn't, then... well... I'm sorry. I will cry for you when I sleep.

 

It's a shame I never sleep.

 

So when you finish blinking... which should be in half of half of half of half of a second... look at the track again. If a red wheelbarrow rolls by, then you are on the right path. If nothing appears, then the Object is gone. Your timing was impeccable. As soon as you realize this, then the Culmination has begun. Feel free to stay here. Only the suicidal would go back to the real world now.

 

At least I have company. Seekers like you.

 

If a red wheelbarrow does appear, then run away. The Holder is trying to kill you... and then you'll see a door.

 

I hate the Object I guard. I created it. Not on purpose. Not directly. I caused the Culmination. I caused this... this... thing.

 

Go inside the door. Here marks the beginning of a long, long adventure.

 

I am the Holder of the... the... I can't bring myself to say that word.

 

I'm sorry, but I can't bring myself to finish this story yet. Maybe another time.

 

Is Object 2535 really worth it?

Object 2536: The Holder of Completion

If you do not have at least 1999 Objects by this point in your journey, Seeker, you must not attempt to meet with this Holder. For the sake of completion, it is best if you carry all 2537 of the other Objects; however, having proof of their forms being sealed into a piece of glass will do, as long as you can truthfully say that you have collected them all.

Visit any of the realms generated by the Objects you possess. If you choose a random previous Holder's realm, that will make it easier, but if there is a Holder you are fond of, by all means, visit that one's domain.

If there is nobody there, don't worry; since you have conquered them all, there are no horrors for you to witness, so simply choose another one.

After searching through several of their former domains, there will eventually be one with a man inside. This is the Holder of Completion. With absolutely no hesitation, produce one of three; either the piece of glass, reveal where the diamond is buried, or preferably show him the first Object, and ask him: "Does it end the same way?"

If you brought the piece of glass, he will look at it, see a flash of light, and get his eyes burned. The very few known Seekers who ever reported making it this far have advised me to tell you that if this happens, you must kill the man while he is stunned, and cut open his body to remove the Object.

If you showed him your chest, he will press his ear against your stomach and ready a knife. He will cut open either you or him, depending on your destiny.

Only if you produce the first Object is there any guarantee that he will hand over his. He may or may not look at it, but if he doesn't, he will reach somewhere, beg you to "put that thing away" and hand you a hollow red glass ball. If he does look at it, his body will turn to dust and the ball will be floating in the air where he once was.

It is unknown what happens if you produce any other Object. The only known Seekers used these alone.

The red glass sphere is Object 2536 of 2538. Although it is razor-thin and very fragile, it is the only way to hold them all together.

Object 2537: The Holder of Desire

The calm before the storm. It's truly something to behold, isn't it? Makes Us wonder... We talk about it sometimes, jokingly, but never in tongues of stone. Butterflies in our stomach, the breath before the plunge. I hope you know what you have started, you who have come so far.

If you truly wish to seek me, then you already know what you must have obtained. And if you truly desire the beginning of the End, seek the first halfway house or mental institution you visited in your travels. If you ask me, Remorse's Deal was a good one. Such chances only come once. Despite my opinion, if your resolve isn't shaken, you will notice the attendant. Such a pity the fate to come to one who has caused no malice in the life of others. What a beautiful woman, what a beautiful smile. She will recognize you instantly. If a look of hope spreads across her gleeful face, then you were not meant to be here. This is the first of my disappointments, and I don't expect you to make it far beyond this point. Do not think I do not understand humiliation, false Seeker.

The attendant should gaze upon you like I would, or any other person in that position under the circumstance. One of despair, of disbelief, and of mere shock. Should the tears deflect from your soulless husk, then go to the wall on the right, and gaze deeply into the portrait of the man. Sorrow is wept onto his face, for he knows. In conquering his depressing presence, close your eyes.

No man should face the burden of the future. Remember the innocent days of your childhood, when you lived in your fantasies, running through the sprinklers, smelling the juicy steaks on the grill, shielded so carefully from the grasp of maturity. Remember how the sun shone, how the grass was green. Everyone must have been so happy. Don't worry, they cannot see you right now. Would you want them to?

You'll find when you traverse this scene - this paradise - that slowly, the grass browns and withers. The clouds thunder in anger and blot the bleeding sun. The cooling droplets of the sprinklers slowly turn to warm blood. Cries echo in the sky only to fall upon deafened ears. And a child all too similar will weep. I will weep.

No words need to be said, no question asked. Simply, I will ask you if this is what you wish. Sounds so simple, doesn't it? Slowly around you, the scene will vanish and the catastrophe will spread worldwide. Places you have left your mark on will die, and the residents, they will never know why. But you will. And that guilt, I ask. Does it measure up to the power of your desire?

The old, decaying, stopwatch I will hand you is Object 2537 of 2538. You will find that as you return, it has begun to tick. Despair will be felt in the hearts of the innocent. And they will never know why. But you will, my friend. You will. You will learn, if you have not already, that what is set in motion cannot be stopped.