Creepypasta/The Holders

Collected Holders

For A Full List of Holders See:

http://theholders.org/?Special:Series_List what the fuck account suspended? guess again dipshit

Holder of the End

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of the End". Should a look of child-like fear come over the workers face, you will then be taken to a cell in the building. It will be in a deep hidden section of the building. All you will hear is the sound of someone talking to themselves echo the halls. It is in a language that you will not understand, but your very soul will feel unspeakable fear.

Should the talking stop at any time, STOP and QUICKLY say aloud "I'm just passing through, I wish to talk." If you still hear silence, flee. Leave, do not stop for anything, do not go home, don't stay at an inn, just keep moving, and sleep where your body drops. You will know in the morning if you've escaped.

If the voice in the hall comes back after you utter those words continue on. Upon reaching the cell all you will see is a windowless room with a person in the corner, speaking an unknown language, and cradling something. The person will only respond to one question. "What happens when they all come together?"

The person will then stare into your eyes and answer your question in horrifying detail. Many go mad in that very cell, some disappear soon after the meeting, and a few end their lives. But most do the worst thing, and look upon the object in the person's hands. You will want to as well. Be warned that if you do, your death will be one of cruelty and unrelenting horror.

Your death will be in that room, by that person's hands.

That object is 1 of 538. They must never come together. Never.

Holder of the Beginning

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls herself "The Holder of the Beginning". A small smile will work its way over the person's mouth, almost seeming to say, "You fool.”

You will be taken down a hallway, seemingly leading out into a place it shouldn't. This place will seem to exist nowhere in the institution, but it will. The hall will be silent, even if you try to make noise. Screams will die before leaving your mouth, footsteps will be muffled. Your guide will simply point to the door.

If you enter, you will find a cozy room, full of a pleasant, though unidentifiable, perfume. There will be a pretty lady sitting, holding nothing. No sounds will be made in this room, no matter how hard you try, except for one question. "Why were they separated?" The lady will then explain, in detail, the reason. It will be every horrific event in history, every beating, every war, and every rape. Everything. Then, all will fall silent. It is up to you to do what you will with this information. That lady is Object 2 of 538. It is up to you if they should be joined or not.

Holder of Eternity

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of Eternity". A sigh might escape the worker as they look upon you with the utmost pity. They will take you down a flight of stairs into what should be the basement of the building, and yet isn't.

As you press deeper and deeper into this under layer of the institution a chorus of screams will begin to be audible. Softly at first, as if from a great distance, but the closer you get to the end of the hallway, the louder it becomes until it drones so loud that it seems to consume all other noises, until you begin to claw at your own ears in pain. The worker will show you a door, covering both their ears. As swift as they can, they will unlock the door and run, leaving only you in this cramped, dark hallway.

This is your last chance to run. If you decide to continue, and open the door then the piercing wail will end abruptly, leaving your ears ringing. The room is coated in an almost tangible, all-consuming darkness but for the far end of the room. There, manacled to the wall is an emaciated figure, covered in raw lashes. He stares directly at you, with a grin plastered to his face despite festering wounds and a scalpel still half-protruding from his chest. Now is your only chance to save yourself, and the only way is to ask "Who created them?”

He will cackle, in a manner befitting the death throes of an animal before responding. His tale will be the most horrific tale you have ever heard, beyond such primitive concepts such as pain and death, into the very essence of wrong. Of evil.

It is up to you to end this man's life, to release his terrible burden. Remove the scalpel, and he will shudder once in agony before falling silent forever.

That scalpel is Object 3 of 538. It is up to you if the rest should be protected or destroyed.

Holder of Nothing

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of Nothing". Should a look of sheer, primal disgust mar the workers expression, you will then be taken to a separate building, which appears to be an old, wooden outhouse. Inside will be a seemingly endless corridor far, far longer than the length of the outhouse.

There will be no sound in the corridor. Attempting to make any at the wrong time is a grievous, grievous mistake. You will notice the lights in the corridor get brighter and brighter as you make your way down towards the end, becoming nearly blinding. If at any point the lights go out, QUICKLY shout out "No! Stop! What you are doing is wrong!" while backing away. If the lights do not come back on, bolt for the door you came in through. It should still be open and hopefully you aren't far enough down the hallway for them to close it on you. If they manage to close it, hell itself would be preferable to what you will suffer.

If the lights come back on, return to walking forward down the corridor. Upon reaching the cell, the worker will open the door for you while glaring at you in disgust. Inside the cell will be a mad pastiche of colors, arranged in several harlequin-like formations. You must not be distracted by them; for at the center of a room is a naked young woman, slathered in blood and bound by strips of human sinew. If you take your eyes off her even for a moment, she will destroy you utterly. She will only respond to one question. "What were they when they were one?"

She will then stare into your eyes, and speak the answer in incredible detail. It will be unlike anything you have ever heard and you will be on the verge of both ecstasy and agony at her mere words. It is not uncommon for most to lose themselves in the euphoria. The worst thing you can do, however, is look upon the tattoo on her chest. It will pull at your mind to gaze upon it, but you mustn't. If you do, you will be hers.

She will flay you alive and add your mutilated flesh to her bindings, and you will remain trapped with her, fully conscious, for the rest of time.

That tattoo is object 4 of 538. They desire to be one again. But they mustn't.

Holder of Light

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, close your eyes and ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of Light”. You will be guided to a single door leading to a long winding hallway. You will be told to open your eyes. The hallway will be complete darkness, narrow enough only for you to feel the walls and navigate yourself forward.

If at any moment along the way the lights should come on, shut your eyes immediately and quickly make your way back to the door you came in. If your eyes stay open for more than a second, what you see will force you to instinctively tear them out.

If the lights stay off however, you will make your way to the end of the hall and another door. If there is a light from under the door leave immediately, what you came for is not there. If there is no light from under the door, carefully turn the handle and enter.

The room will be completely dark, aside from the lone candle in the center. What little light it brings reveals an outline of a cloak hovered over it. The man underneath the cloak is completely still. If you say anything, the man will tear out your eyes and devour your soul, and you will be forced to take his place under the cloak for the rest of eternity. There is only one question that the man will respond to, “What can protect us from them?”

If you proceed to ask this question, a piercing scream will ring out from the candle and a series of lights will illuminate the room, revealing the images of the most horrifying thoughts, fantasies and memories from all consciousness throughout history. Most people cannot handle this event, and will go insane or die instantly. However, if you should somehow manage to survive this, the man in the center of the room will rise slowly and put his hands to your head. You will be forced to look at his face. His face appears young, with the exception of two large cavities where his eyes once where. At this point you must not look away or you will be forever forgotten in time. He will then open your hand and place a small, round object into your right hand. You will be left feeling no pain, but the horrifying images will be burned into your memory for all eternity.

The eye you hold in your hand is object 5 of 538. The awakening has begun; they must not be brought together.

Holder of Song

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit "The Holder of Song”. You will be guided to a single door leading to a long winding staircase. It will seem to take you up higher than the building should stand. There will be a door at the top of the stairway that opens into a dim hall.

Heat will wash over you. Proceed down the hall, and at one point, it will suddenly get much colder. When this happens, you must stand perfectly still and make no sound. If you hear a baby crying, turn around and run away. The baby's cry will follow you. If you hear it for the rest of your life, you're lucky, for when it stops, your first-born child has died.

If there is no cry and the heat returns, proceed to the door at the end of the hall. Open it.

The room will be awash in green light. In the center will be an old woman turning a music box that produces no sound. Her legs have both been severed at the knees. When you speak to her, you must look her in the eyes. She hides a spear fashioned from the bones of her legs, and if you break eye contact, she will impale you and leave you in agony to bleed to death. She will respond to only one question. Ask her, "What was the song they used to play?"

The old woman will begin singing. The song is in a different language, but the melody is beautiful; serenity will wash over you. You will be presented with the image of children playing and singing. Things will turn grimmer. The children will begin fighting, then killing, then disemboweling each other with sharp rocks. The image will continue of children spreading death and destruction more horrific than you could ever have dreamt. But still, you will remain calm and peaceful. You will see a naked boy drenched in blood, singing with delight as he runs through a hellish wasteland, pursued by unspeakable monsters. They find him, and mutilate him utterly. Still, the song will continue from his dead lips.

An intense pain will stab at your chest. Your heart will feel like it is about to explode. But still, you must not break eye-contact with the old woman; if you do, an exploding heart would become your happiest dream. If you don't shift your gaze, the pain will cease. The woman will stand up (you will know not how) and place the music box in your hands.

The music box is object 6 of 538. When its song plays again, they will all come together.

Holder of the Path

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of the Path". The worker will try his best to keep a look of indifference while handing you a key, which he explains belongs to an unused supply closet in the building. If only it were that simple. Upon locating and unlocking the door you will find a narrow and winding road suspended in an endless void; only occasionally disrupted by the massive outlines of things best left unsaid.

To fall off the path is to be thrown out of reality itself. A nightmarish eternity of unconceivable horror awaits anyone who either stumbles into the void by their own error, or is dragged off the path by the timeless monstrosities that reside on the outskirts of creation. If you should ever feel as if you are being watched while traveling through this piece of oblivion, the best chance you have is to immediately freeze in place and hold your breath. Continue to do so until either your audience loses interest and moves on or moves in to claim you. If the latter, feel free to scream as hard as you want.

Eventually the path will end at a door, and upon opening it you will find a small, dirt-caked room. Propped up against the far wall will be a heavily emaciated corpse, with what‘s left of it‘s skin long since blackened with necrosis. There will be nothing else unusual about it unless you approach it and ask one question: "How did they acquire guardians?"

If said line is spoken, the “corpse” will begin to stir. A subtle red glow will come from its eye sockets as it lifts its head and begins to whisper the long and macabre history of the holders. It will speak of unholy pacts and unspeakable atrocities. Within time its tale will touch upon every form of evil known to man or God, and then a few more. Furthermore, if given the title of any holder, it will reveal its history and the meaning of the object that it protects.

Well, almost any holder. You see, it will never go into detail about itself. This is because the ghoul hopes that its visitor will not question why it seems to be lacking an object. In truth is that its piece was somehow sealed inside the creature’s skull, and the ominous light in its eye sockets is actually that of the object’s shining through.

That object is 7 of 538. And its holder will do anything to keep you away from it.

Holder of Wealth

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 Wealth." The worker will raise one eyebrow. Ask a second time, and the worker will shrug and take you across the street, where an opulent mansion awaits.

The mansion was not there before, but do not preoccupy yourself with the mansion's origin. Its owner would rather not scare you away.

Inside the front door, there is a grand staircase, spiraling up across the foyer. The walls are covered with fine paintings, and a large marble statue rests on a pedestal by the base of the stairs. The statue's eldritch features evoke an image of a truly horrific beast, a creature at once both alien and evil. Admire it all you want, but don't touch it. Touching it will wake it, and it hasn't eaten in a while.

Ascend the staircase. As long as you touch nothing, you are in no danger. Don't panic. At the top of the stairs is a small, unassuming wooden door. It will open for you, if you are not afraid.

Standing there, behind a large desk of what appears to be mahogany, there stands a man with a pointed goatee and short, cropped, gelled hair. He wears a suit that at once appears to be made of human flesh and Italian silk. He may speak, and at great length. He will talk about his amazingly beautiful house, and the lovely statue of his concubine resting downstairs. Do not interrupt him, and do not answer any questions he may ask. When he is finished, steel yourself, and confidently ask, "May I have my salary?"

He will proceed to explain to you, in great detail, the value of life. He will talk of things worse than death, and he will tell you exactly what he expects you do to do. The fabulous interior of the room will rot away, and the floor will turn from French weave to feces. His own appearance will become unimaginably cyclopean and ungodly. He will then fish out a small bank note from the inside of his human suit and hand it to you.

That note is object 8 of 538. Its holder is counting on you to spend it.

Holder of Wisdom

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 Wisdom." The worker will chuckle and you will be guided to an empty room. The worker will hand you a key and tell you to wait some time in the room until you hear a bell ring. Then you have to lock the door, wait until a second ring and unlock it.

It will open all by itself and reveal a long hallway, with all colors you may or may not know painted onto the walls, ceiling and floor. Follow the hallway until you hear a little girl singing. Stop, close your eyes and stay where you are until the girl finishes the song, even if you think that it will drive you mad. If you do move, run. Run back to the door where you came from, as fast as you can. Jump through the window of the room where you waited before and you might live. Should you be unable to reach the window in time, a horrible creature will drag you back into the hallway where you will die a death that is as horrible as the creature that caught you.

If you do not move and the song ceased, you are free to turn around and leave forever, or walk deeper into the hallway, until you reach a door in the shape of a human. Open this door with the same key that was given to you earlier, walk inside and close it behind you. In the middle of the room you will see a desk with a bright candle and behind the desk will sit a man, with his face hidden by the shine of the candle. Walk closer, but always keep the flame between you and the man's face, for you will surely feel the urge to empty your stomach should you witness how he looks like.

Stop when you are five steps away from the desk. The man will raise his hand and gesture you to come closer, but do not step any further than this. Close your eyes and ask him one question, nothing else. "Who will bring them back together?" You will hear the man rising from his chair and he will begin to pray. It will be a language you will not understand at first, but after two minutes, you will hear a name. Should you hear 'Anubis', then pray that your death will come quickly. If it is 'Thor' you hear, you may open your eyes. The man's head will be on the desk, cut off of the body, but still talking. After another three minutes, he will stop and begin to tell you how you will die. He will describe every tiny detail of your horrible death, and you will be unable to move. He will also describe who kill you and why he does it.

Finally, the man will stop talking. His head is object 9 of 538. It is up to you what you do with the knowledge of your death, for it now is inevitable.

Holder of Forbidden Tongues

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of forbidden Tongues". The worker should bow before you, and then give you an urn. Now walk into an empty place inside the institute, preferably an unused supply closet. There, where nobody is watching you, open the urn and look into it.

Raise your head again. You should find yourself on a wooden stairway that leads downwards into a corridor. Go down the stairs, as there is no turning back now. After a while, you will hear something that sounds like a chorus, sung by monks, speaking a foreign language. Immediately cover your ears with your hands. If you hear too many words, a hideous creature will haunt you for the rest of your mortal existence. As soon as you reach a door, the chorus should stop. If it doesn't, quickly turn around and shout "TACITE!"- This is the Latin Word for "Silence". Now the chorus should stop at last; if it doesn't, pray to every god you have ever heard of for a quick death, and hope they listen, for if they don't, the singing will grow louder and louder until it drives your soul insane.

Step through the door. Inside a person is waiting for you. A masked monk in a red cloak. He will greet you in Latin with "Salve!” Do not say anything and wait a few seconds until he puts on the light. There will be inscriptions on the walls, on the floor and on the furniture. The Monk will stand at the wall on the other end of the room and wait for your question. Don't try to read the words on the Walls. If you do, you will, within seconds, go insane. Walk to him and ask him only one question. "In which language were they talking?" That and nothing else. He will then hand you a book and disappear. Do not open the book. If you do, you will release horrible demons that will torture you for an eternity. After you got the book, turn around and there should be two urns on the table. One will take you back to the place you call home. The other one will drag your soul into pitch darkness.

It’s up to you if you pick the right one or not.

The Book is Object 10 of 538. Do not dare to ever read it.

Holder of Life

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of the Life". The worker will try to suppress a groan and you will have to ask again. He will then lead you to an operating room that looks just like any other you might or might not have seen in your life. The worker will give you a scalpel and then leave you alone in the room, locking the door behind him.

You will have to wait. Wait for almost an hour. Then the door will open and several people will enter the room, including a pregnant woman. The woman will lie down on the operating table; the other people, who will look like doctors, will prepare everything for the child's birth. While they do that, you will be able to ask the woman one question. Ask "How can they be reassembled?” nothing else, or the doctors will begin to skin and disassemble you. You will be fully conscious while they do this.

If you have asked the right question, the woman will begin to scream, the child is about to be born. You will have to wait until it's over, and one of the doctors will give you the child, moving his mouth, but without sound coming from his lips. As soon as he finishes 'talking' and smiles, you will have to throw the child to the ground and ram the scalpel into its head, else it will smash your rib-cage and rip your heart out with inhuman strength.

If you have thrown the child to the ground in time, it will, despite the scalpel in its head, answer the question you have asked earlier. It will speak with a demonic voice that might drive you mad. While it is talking, the other people in the room will vanish without leaving a trace. After the child finishes talking, it will simply die and the door of the room will unlock. You are now free to go, if you have not been driven mad by the voice.

The dead baby is object 11 of 538. Dare you not remove the scalpel?

Holder of Death

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of Death". The worker's face will turn white as if he just saw a ghost. He will then guide you to a wooden door and leave you afterwards. You will have to knock thrice.

Should you hear an old man saying "Come.", you may enter and will find yourself in a forest. If you hear a young man saying "No, thank you.” run. Run and leave the city, the country as fast as you can, for unspoken evil will haunt you, should you stay.

Now that you are in a forest, look up to the sky. If it is day, follow the sun. If it is night, follow the moon. Follow them, and do not leave the path you have taken, no matter what kinds of beauty or horror you might see. Should you ever leave the path; your soul will be tormented for eternity after the body has died a horrible death. You will, after some time, notice that you are walking to a mansion. Ignore it; keep walking, for it is an illusion made to confuse you.

Finally, you will reach a small wooden hut. Enter the hut and immediately turn around, should you desire to over live the sheer horror you will experience by looking at the man who now is behind you. Ask him a question. "What will end them?" He will begin to talk with a voice that is gentle and kind as well as brutal and deadly. Listen carefully to what he says, as you might soon be the only one knowing their destiny. As soon as the man finishes his small tale, he will ask you to turn around, as he wants to give you a gift.

Do not do this. Instead, walk backwards until you reach something hard, a desk. Close your eyes and partially turn your body so you can reach out to the man and take the gift. When it touched your hand, close it and walk back to the door you came from. As you open it, say the words "We will meet another day" and walk out. You will be back in the mental institution.

Now, open your hand and look at the gift. The bone-finger is object 12 of 538.

Holder of Darkness

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 with no hesitation to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of Darkness." The worker will mock you but you have to stay as calm as possible. Keep asking him until he stops denying and withdraws from his counter to guide you through the corridors. As his behavior changes radically, stay on guard, for if you start hearing one single tiny sinister hiss, you should turn around and flee as far as you can, covering your ears, because the time was bad. If you do not escape in time, the faint sound will turn into a dreadful growling, that will soon merge into a continuous shriek of sheer pain, until madness floods you and leaves you to die in a deafening agony.

If the warden remains silent, he will lead you to a closed door with neither handles nor lock. As he pushes it open effortless, you will see an ascending winding staircase which can’t possibly lead to any upper floor of the establishment. The door will close behind you and you will not be able to push it back. Past this point, climb and do not turn back, or you will fall into a bottomless pit only waiting for a living prey to chew upon. Do not count the steps, for knowing how much there is will drive you into insanity. One will then creak, and so you should stop. Another door should appear on your left. If it is on your right, then pray for a swift passing.

Enter slowly into the room, and a total obscurity shall fall unto you. You will be required to walk straight forward, for slipping will only lead you to be devoured by the roaming and unknown creatures observing you with blinded purulent eyes. You will know you have arrived when coldness grips you. At that very moment, freeze, or you will die by the hands of the holder who is standing right in front of you. In complete darkness, even closing your eyes will not prevent you from his horrid appearance. It will form into your mind as the most outrageous monster ever conceivable, and madness will try to creep into your brain as worms over a decayed corpse. His fulminating breath and constant mumblings would be enough to make you cry, but be advised to not utter anything louder than a weeping, for you might wake what must not be awaken. The only question you will be able to whisper without being torn apart should be “What do they fear?”

You will feel movements all around you, as shudders animate your opponents. You will hear what nameless and incurable diseases will strike the world if they were to be frightened, the countless terrors their own fright will unleash on those with a weaker mind than theirs. Amidst the atrocious enumeration of the endless sores the world will suffer, you might hear the simplest, almost ridiculous, yet, implacable and certain truth they all fear. Do not move again. And when your head is about to implode, it will stop. If you are still able to move, you will find a door in front of you which leads you outside of the ward. There, in the open, in the grass, a broken hourglass will wait for you.

You are free to pick it up. It is object 13 of 538. Your knowledge of theirs fears is up to you to share, but you might not want to use it as a weapon against them.

Holder of the Dance

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you can get yourself to. Reach for the reception and ask if you may visit someone who calls itself “The Holder of Dance.” The clerk will shrug it off while telling you to go to the next theatre down the road. If you obey her, you’ll then discover she has sent you to see “The Lord of the Dance”, and that she hasn’t understood properly your question. So ask for it twice. Her face will at last light up as she gets it right. “Silly me” she’ll mutter, and then “fool of you, too” when she starts walking toward a long hall. You’ll pass through the garden, onto a small brick-built reserve, while being gazed upon by the mental patients around you. Heavy chains will be running athwart the rusty metal door. A key will be handed to you, and everyone will back up into the building, closing doors and windows and shutters. You’d be left in the silence of your own demise. You can still go away, but from the inside now raises an appealing sound. Calling you, tempting you. Your mind must not flicker, or it will be lost, forever swallowed in a false sense of bliss while you’re left to be shredded alive.

As you control yourself and enter the place, a wide descending flight of stairs awaits to be taken. Echoes of commotions reach your ears in troubled moans, where you can’t tell if they’re from pains or pleasures. You’ll come to an underground level, with fluttering or broken neon’s lights. It would look like a corridor, with multiple doorless rooms. Then, they’ll start coming out. Shallows and diaphanous figures, slouching aimlessly. They’ll be ghosts of different shapes and different ages and different sex and in different states of decay. On the other side of the room, far away – but it won’t be far enough, you’ll think in panic – stands a shape with a point of light. It will be your only chance to ask “What makes them dance?”

You’ll then see the dead all around you shaking nervously, and the silhouette afar coming near. The naked body of a female will be walking for you, half-beheaded, her throat pumping and gurgling blood, while her head bended on the side start talking in a disembodied voice the mayhems she witnessed and accomplished. You will see slaughter and rotting battlefield full of corpses, as a rhythm grows in you. You’ll want to dance with the dead all around, but you must not yield into it. You’ll have to suppress the beating of your foot. And to not let your heart goes in cadence, for when the dance will stop, so will it. The bare bloody lady will tell you more as she approaches you, tales of carnages and tortures that was theirs joys when they were one. In her left hand she’ll be stroking her turgescent manhood at you, while in her right flagging hand will hang an old squared lantern shining a pale blue.

The Lantern is object 14 of 538. Its holder will not let it go easily.

Holder of the Past

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of the Past". At the last syllable of your sentence, his eyes should open wide and stare at you as if he was attempting to see past your skin into your soul. Don't ask any questions, because he won't speak to you, and in the case that he does, you will wish he hadn't. He will take you down a long hallway and you will walk with him for what will seem like hours. Stare STRAIGHT AHEAD the entire time, for if you look at the floor, walls, or ceiling of the hallway, you will run into a dead end and the worker will pursue you with a hellish bloodlust until you are completely disemboweled.

After exactly 350 paces the worker will stop, turn around, and pull a watch out of his pocket. He will turn the dial backward one hour and at that point, you will have one hour to complete your task. If you don't, then there are no words to describe your fate at that point. The lights will go out for exactly 3 seconds, and when they turn back on, you will be in a room with no doors and a red-tinted skylight shaped like a pentagram. This will cast a blood-red star in the middle of the room where a splintered cherry table with two seats will be. Sitting at the seat closest to you, look up. Look down again, and a man with long, dirty black hair will be face-down on the table. He will answer to one question: "Where did He once stand?"

The man will speak of a place that has no place on any map, but will describe the room in painfully grotesque detail. Pay very close attention, he will enumerate exactly how many of what horrible object hang from spears protruding from the walls. You have the rest of the hour to find the room and sit in His throne. If you fail, I suggest you become armed; heavily.

His Throne is object 15 of 538. If brought together, he may once again return.

Holder of the Future

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 see someone who calls himself the "Holder of the Future". If the attendant offers to show you the way do not follow him, for he is not the true guide and will only deliver you to madness. The true guide will fall silent and hand you a sheet of paper on which the way forward is written in lines of blood and fire. Concentrate on this and walk forwards. As long as you do not waver you will pass through the desk and the man and find yourself in a long disused hallway. Once it was opulent with colors and promise, but the walls are now stained and the carpet black with filth. Images will flash at the windows as you pass, out of the corner of your eye you may see long dead friends beckoning or lovers far past offering themselves to you again. Voices will whisper to you that through the windows are second chances to make things right. They will tell you that you can choose again and never set yourself against them. Do not look up from the paper in your hands, for if you do you will see what is just outside watching you. No god can help you then. It cannot be known how long this hallway is, some say that you have to pass all your possible futures, some say that it grows shorter as the time of the uniting comes closer. For all our sakes, may you find the hallway longer than you can bear.

Only once you reach the end may you lift your eyes, but never look behind you. Open the door in front of you into a ballroom, once bright and elegant, now covered in the same filth and despair. Move forwards into the gloom until the door is lost behind you and all chance of escape with it. Walk with care, the Holder watches you even now. Your path forward once stood in the center of this room, but the center has not held and the way has drifted. If it has drifted too far then you may never find your way, you will spend the rest of your life wishing you had given yourself to the temptations offered before. You will spend a long, long time wishing that. If you are fortunate, you will find one point in the room where the little light remaining fades away completely. Find that place, close your eyes and wait, no matter what happens next. If you have pleased the Holder, your ears will be filled with the sound of a cats purr, and you will feel it twining around your feet.

You must keep your eyes closed until a voice asks you "What will you do with them?" Any answer will turn the purrs to snarls and set a thousand razored claws to your throat. The voice will ask again, insistent this time. Only after it has asked for a third and final time may you open your eyes. If your god has not yet abandoned you, you may still be able to.

In front of you will be a woman lying on a bed. Once, long ago she was beautiful, now she is naked and obese, her skin pockmarked with bedsores and blooms of syphilis. Around her cluster hundreds of cats, with one standing at your feet. Speak only to him; tell him "I will do what I must". He will then teach you the language of the cats; they will tell you a secret that was never meant for human ears. Never reveal it until the times comes when you have nothing else to give, for cats are jealous creatures and delight in the pain of their victims.

That secret is the 16th of 538, and I may speak no more of it.

Holder of the Present

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 with no hesitation to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of the Present." The worker will look at you vaguely; you have to ask him again. Once the worker understands your question he will lead you through a door into a hallway that looks like it's an extension of Hell itself.

In this hallway you will find noting but darkness and the feeling of unimaginable horror. If you should hear a shriek coming from the left of you, start running towards the door you just came from or you will be devoured by demons yelling incomprehensible babble from mouths awash with vile poison.

If you should hear a shriek coming from the right of you, start running towards the door that your path leads to. Ignore the worker and keep running until you reach the door. If you should hear another shriek coming from anywhere around you, close your eyes and pray to the gods that your death will be a swift one.

Should you not hear a shriek, just follow the worker until he unlocks the door at the other end of the hallway. He will now ask you to enter, and he will leave.

In this room you will only find two things: a naked girl whose left hand is a mangled stump, seemingly torn to shreds by an otherworldly maw, and the rusted key chain she is holding. You must look at the key chain and may not avert your eyes from it. You can say nothing, except ask her this one question: "Why do they belong together?"

Now move eyesight to the face of the girl. She will look at you and tell you the most gruesome story of the present, how this present has come to be, how it is now and eventually how it will be. The girl will slowly move towards you, do not move, and stay still until she is but one footstep away from you. She will put the shredded piece of rot that was once her left hand on your shoulder. She will then whisper into your ear, "The time has come, and now you must die." Do not react to this statement. Just keep staring into her eyes and eventually you will feel something being pushed into your hand.

The key chain is object 17 of 538. Only the keys that are meant for it can be put on it, and all other keys shall be repelled.

Holder of Passion

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 with no hesitation to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of Passion." The worker will blush and daydream; you will have to ask two more times until he finally nods and gestures you to follow him.

He will lead you into a hallway. You will hear a muffled diesel engine, but for the moment, it does not matter. Ignore it for now. Instead, listen to any whispering you hear. If it stops, it is vital for your sanity that you shut your eyes, for a horrifying creature will emerge from the ground and after a short time leave through the ceiling.

Should you hear the whispers in unknown languages until you and the warden reach a door made from stone, you are safe. Now, listen to the engine. If it keeps running, proceed and open the door. Do not even try to imagine what happens when the engine stops; nobody has ever been able to tell after it has stopped.

Now, if the door has been opened, the worker will leave you alone. Enter the door and walk straight forward until it closes. Now, you have to say the words "Excuse me, I'd like to learn from you.” If you did anything wrong, you will be dead before you even realize it, so do not worry much about this. Should nothing happen for several dozen seconds, you may resume walking. Do this until you reach a heart that is as big as your head. Do not touch it, instead, turn around. You will see either the most beautiful woman or the most horrific creature your eyes have ever witnessed. The latter only appears if you have touched the still-beating hear. Its sight alone will almost drive you insane and haunt you for the rest of your life.

Should you see the woman, look at her eyes, nowhere else, even if she does not wear any clothes. The beauty will literally blind you and you will be forced to wander around in her realm until the end of your life. If you are able to keep looking at her eyes, you may ask one question: "Are they alive?" The woman will suddenly moan soundly and lay down on the ground, beginning to satisfy herself. You must now quickly close your eyes and hold your ears shut with your hands, as her moaning will slowly destroy your mind and body, should you hear it clearly.

After some time, you will feel someone touch your right shoulder. You may now open your eyes and lower your hands. Do not turn around to whoever touched you. Instead, look at where the woman was. She will now be gone, only ash is what is left of her. Search within the ash for her uterus. Take it and close your eyes. Open them again after you felt something cold touch your head. You will be back in the mental institute, behind the warden who guided you to the stone door.

The uterus is object 18 of 538. It has one child left to bear.

Holder of Innocence

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 with no hesitation to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of Innocence." The worker will say nothing, but a single tear should fall from her eye.

She will guide you to a forgotten hallway in an abandoned wing of the run-down institution. She will not enter the hall with you, but will only look into your eyes with a cautious hope, her own expression seeming to beg for salvation. Should you enter the hall, you will not see much, save for the dirty, broken fragments of what were once beautifully carved ivory statuettes. Before long, you will hear a soft whimper from the other side. Pay close attention, for if the whimper stops, then all hope is already lost. There is no use in running away.

As you turn the handle of the simple wooden door on the other side, a warm and cozy light will greet your face. You will find yourself in the bedroom of a young girl of eight and a half years. The girl herself will be sitting cross-legged on the floor at the foot of the bed, her only garment an open night-robe, exposing the entirety of her pure body. She is the source of the tortured whimpers, and nothing you say to console her will end her torrent of stifled wails.

Only, if you ask her “What happened when it was first created?” she will become silent to glance up towards your face. Her beauty will render you breathless, and if you are still capable of any thought it will be only the realization that in her you see everything in this world that you truly love. Suddenly, you will realize that the girl is bleeding from her nether regions as a grotesque phallus emerges from the petit orifice between her legs. The object will pulsate with its own life, and you will find that it is hypnotizing you. Do not look away, for you do not wish to try its patience.

Soon, the room will disappear before your eyes, and you will be standing in the most serene clearing you have ever witnessed, and all of nature’s fauna that you recognize will go about their lives around you, with no fear of anything, not even death. Suddenly, though, a shadow will fall over the meadow, and you will witness the forest all around burst into a pillar of flame. What happens next, no man can dwell on for long before going insane, but in the strength of the human mind you will endure. In the end you will hear screams and moans and groans, but what will overcome you more than anything are the quiet whimpers, the stifled cries, of all the sullied innocents of the world that was. You realize that these cries will continue to be heard all across the globe until the world’s end. None can endure those near-silent pleas and still maintain the slightest hope for the future.

The illusion will fade, and you will find yourself back in the room. You will find the girl lying dead on the floor, her face a mixture of agony and horror, her already decaying body feeding the now towering phallus and giving it a sinister glow.

That is object 19 of 538. If you touch it then it will be yours, but if you let it master you then it will use your body to seek and assemble all the pieces, no matter what the cost.

Holder of Deception

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of Deception." The worker will look at you with an expression of shock on her face. Then, with superhuman speed she will attack you with her baton. If you are not knocked unconscious by the first blow, flee the city, for they will know what you are after.

When your consciousness returns, you will be in a magnificent courtyard on a starry night. There will be a great stone staircase that appears to ascend to the heavens themselves. Climb this staircase, but never look behind you. If you do, the stairs will begin to crumble and you will plummet into the void for an eternity.

After what will seem like days of climbing, you will come to a landing overlooking a great marble amphitheatre styled in the ancient Greek fashion. Descend to the bottom of the amitheatre. An old man in opalescent robes will be waiting for you on a dias in the center. This storied old man will be lecturing as if there was a great crowd - however, you must not listen to him, for not a word he speaks is true. If you are drawn in by his charismatic speaking, your mind will be completely subjugated by his deception and you will be his slave for eternity. He will only react to one question: "What is the only truth you are permitted to speak of?"

The man will look down at you with a look of great sadness. He will then impart on you a story that will shake the very foundations of your soul with great sorrow, but will leave you knowing one important truth: the number itself is not as it seems. He will then motion you towards an exit from the amphitheatre, and continue his lecture. Turn away from him quickly, for you will now be able to see the legions of horrific, twisted demons sitting on the seats of the amphitheatre. Do not gaze towards any of them longer than a moment, or else they will tear you apart and add you to their collection of souls. Walk to the exit as quickly as possible. There will be a great grimoire on a stand next to the door. Take the grimiore and exit through the door. You will find yourself in the back alley behind the asylum.

The grimoire you clutch, with its pages firmly strapped shut and locked with a great steel padlock, is object 20 of 538. If you wish to see past the deception and reunite them, you must find the key.

Holder of Rage

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of Rage". The person will appear shy as they show you to a door, and then walk away. When you enter the door, you will be looking down a staircase that descends into darkness. As you descend the stairs, you will begin to hear screams. The screams will come from a throat of indeterminate origin.

If the screaming stops at any time, shout to the darkness "Resume your business! I do not wish to intrude!" If the screaming does not come back, there is nothing you can do, for you will be dead before you know what happens. If the screaming continues, you may move on.

Eventually, you will see light coming through the cracks in a door. Go through this door and you will be in what appears to be a medieval dungeon. Hollowed out skulls filled with candles serve as lanterns, and skeletons line the walls. There will be a wooden table in front of a fire inside a fireplace. On this table is the severed head of a 4 year old girl, staring ahead with glassy eyes.

Step up to the table and look the head in the eyes. In a clear, commanding voice ask "Who will stop them from coming together?" The head will look you in the eyes and tell you the tale of a man. She will tell you his entire story, from his violent birth to what he is doing that very moment. His deeds will be recounted in horrifying detail. He is a murderer of which the likes have never been seen, and he is just as mad.

If at the end of the story, the head tells you "He is listening to our conversation," you will be dragged out of the room and never be heard from again. You will experience all of the most horrifying things ever conceived, and you will kept alive until you have experienced them all.

If she tells you he is elsewhere, he is now looking for you. He will not stop until you are dead or the objects come together. She will tell you to pick her up. Pick the head up by the hair and look at the table where she was. Sitting there will be a needle, covered in dried blood, semen, pus, and countless unidentifiable substances.

That needle is object is 21 of 538. The hunt has begun and the clock is ticking.

Holder of Chaos

In any city, in any country, go to any hospital and ask to visit the one who refers to himself as "The Holder of Chaos". The clerk will begin to shake his head and pound his fists upon the desk. Ask him thrice more and he will stand up quietly and lead you to a room with only one door, the one which you entered through. You must close your eyes, if you don't you will forever be stricken blind and the only thing you will see is a constant sight of utter chaos.

If you have closed your eyes in time, after an hour of standing in confusion, you will hear a soft voice call out, "Do you have them?" Do not answer this question. Instead, stomp your foot upon the floor seventeen times, you may then open your eyes. If you see a long, stretching field in front of you, then you have succeeded in the first half of your endeavor. If you see a fiery plain of death and mutilation, then it is too late for you. You will be devoured by your own thoughts of your greatest fears.

Walk towards the setting sun in the grassy field for one hour until you reach a tree with no leaves on its branches. As you get closer you see that the tree is constructed out of bones and it is surrounded in a pool of blood. Submerge yourself fully in this blood, and when you surface once more, you will feel a bone hand press something into your palm, it is a small vial. Drink from the vial and you find yourself standing in the lobby of the mental institution.

This vial is object 22 of 538. The hour is nigh and the demons are calling.

Holder of Hate

In any city, in any country, go to any hospital and ask to visit the "Holder of Hate." The attendant will give you a firm handshake, look you straight in the eyes, and say "It took you long enough." They will hand you a key to room 532 and tell you to go down the left hall.

As you walk down the hall you will hear insane cackling. Should it stop, yell "I do not fear you!" If it does not begin again, run as fast as your legs will carry you. Should it continue, keep walking. Stop when you reach room 532. The door will be covered in scratches, gashes and all manner of burns.

There will be a small, strangely unscarred glass panel in the door. Peer inside. If there is a figure standing with his back to you, retreat as quietly as you can. If the room is empty, unlock the door and enter. A red light will be shining out of the sole window in the room. Should you gaze out of this window your eyes will soon burst from your sockets and your screams will be your only utterance for all eternity. The room is small, the walls covered in blood, and a small cloaked figure sits in the middle. It will respond to only one question: "Why do they hate?" The figure's cloak will fly into the air revealing a grotesquely disfigured being. It will answer your question in horrific detail. Upon finishing the story it will collapse, as if a tremendous burden has passed from its shoulders, and crawl into the corner. You will begin to hear strange, unearthly shrieks from beyond the door. They will be getting nearer by the second. Your only hope is to wrap yourself in the cloak and hurl yourself out the red window. If you were not followed you will wake up on the lawn of the hospital the next day, wrapped snugly in the cloak.

The cloak is object 23 of 538. It will hide you from their hate.

Holder of Love

In any city, in any country, go to any hospital and ask to visit the one who refers to himself as "The Holder of Love". The legends of this Holder have been lost to all time, for no one has ever returned. Fear the love of the end times. If you can steel yourself to press forward alone and without guidance to meet this guardian, and ask the correct question, you will be rewarded with an object of protection both divine and demonic. You may survive the quest yet.

This object is 24 out of 538. It longs for the company of the rest.

Holder of Creation

In any city, in any country, go to any hospital and ask to visit the one who refers to himself as "The Holder of Creation". The clerk will look into your eyes, horrified, before standing up. She (and only a she) will lead you to the maternal ward, and push you into a locked door, which you will glide through. Once inside the door, there will be two doors, one to the left and one to the right. You must chose the one with which you are more accustomed to, with hand of guidance will lead you. You must touch the door handle, if light emits from the window, you must enter. If it doesn't, you must run into the other room, as far as you can, and you mustn't turn back for two weeks, sleep where you drop and do not trust anyone. Do not enter the sunlight, for if you shall you shall be destroyed where you stand.

Should the light emit from the window, enter cautiously as the room is filled with fetuses who have died, and young who never had the chance to live. There will be a young mother laying in the corner with a baby whose eyes which see eternity.

Face the baby, look directly into his eyes. You must ask him the question, "For why have we been sent here?"

The baby will move, and it will wrap around you, binding you and rending you into 5 pieces, yet you must take no heed to the pain or you will never be returned to your real form. After rending you, he will stare into your eyes, and you will see the beginning of the cosmos, instantly burning into nothing but ash and returning outside, exactly 1 day before the incident. You will have a book in your hands.

This object is 25 out of 538. This book yearns to return the other objects to it, and within holds the knowledge with to do so.

Holder of Time

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of Time". The worker will act like he doesn't know what you're talking about, first treating it like a joke, and then threatening to call security. Persist for long enough, and he will ask if you want to see a doctor.

If you say no, you will be killed instantly. Many who have spoken to the Holders choose this, for it is the ultimate mercy compared to the horrors you face. There is no other escape.

If you say yes, you will be bathed in brilliant blue light. You must remain perfectly still, or else you will be cast out of time, both frozen in an instant and aware of the eternal burn of entropy, and forever experiencing every moment of your decline into insanity all in one moment.

Remain still until you hear a sound, an ethereal blend of musical and metallic. It will increase slowly, the sound and light seeping into your mind and carrying you away with it. If you survive with your sanity intact, you will long for that sound for the rest of your life.

When the sound and light fade, you will find yourself in a large room made of metal. One man will stand in the center of it, his appearance and clothing constantly changing. He will speak constantly, telling stories about every time and place in the whole of the existence of the universe. He will not stop speaking unless he is asked, "When will they come together?"

He will stare at you and hold out his hand as he shifts through different appearances. You will feel an overwhelming temptation to take his hand, though part of your mind will fear what awaits you if you do. If you take his hand, you will experience each of his stories as though you lived them, and in the millennia that pass before he releases you, you will fall into insanity.

After his thirteenth shift into a new appearance, the man will answer your question, and a small key will appear in his hand.

The key is object 26 of 538. Pray that you never find what it unlocks.

Holder of Famine

In any city, in any country, go to any morgue or hospital you can find. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls herself "The Holder of Famine." The attendant will glare at you and mutter darkly under his breath, but otherwise ignore your request. Tell him, "I can sate her appetite," and he will raise his eyebrow incredulously, but arise to lead you up the hall, before leaving you to fend for yourself.

The hall you begin in will slowly become a new hall, utterly different from the orderliness of the institution you were last in. The walls will be full of pockmarks, the floors littered with emaciated bodies and mutilated corpses. The attendant will pay no mind to the death around him as he leads you up, and it is best for your own sake that you behave the same way. There will be a trapdoor before you, made of rotting wood and rusting iron. Open it cautiously, and look down into the darkness.

If blood-red eyes stare back up at you, IMMEDIATELY scream to it, "I am not yours!" If the eyes disappear, it is safe to proceed. If the creature begins to growl, close your eyes and pray for a quick death, as unlikely as it will be.

Once you finish descending into the darkness, the trapdoor will close and lock above you, leaving you alone in hellish silence. Do not move an inch, do not talk, do not breathe; eventually, as your vision swims, candles will be set aflame at your feet. It is safe, for now.

The candles will light a trail for you. Venture off of the trail, for any reason, and you will be consumed by the darkness the light holds at bay. The road will be long, and you will grow weary and hungry; shun anything offered to you from the creatures passing in the dark. To even look at these gifts is to invite death.

At the end of the road, the candles will have aligned themselves in a circle about the radius of a grown man's leg. In the center will be a small table, with a white linen tablecloth and a silver platter set upon it. Behind it will be the corpse of an obese woman, hanging motionless from the noose about her neck. Her stench will assail your nostrils and the putrid sight of her rotting, mutilated body will cause you to falter, but you must continue forward. As you approach, you will notice two chairs. One will be beautiful, made of mahogany and gold-plated. One will be far uglier, made of rotting wood and covered in insects and stains. Use neither, and your soul will remain in your possession.

As you stand before the corpse, you must ask, loudly and clearly, "Why were they consumed?" The corpse will immediately raise its hands to its stomach, ripping it open before you. The wound will bleed saliva, the ribs will form sharp, malevolent fangs, and a massive tongue made from her intestines will loll out from the mouth-gash. The corpse will begin to speak, in a dry, harsh whisper of the horrors and magnificent cruelties performed in the times before times. As she speaks, you must stare at her stomach, and you must not move or speak. To do so would consign you to her pet's ravenous greed.

Once she has finished speaking, she will ask one of two questions. If she asks, "Did you enjoy my banquet?" then you are too late and the piece is lost, as is your life and all hope. Your failure will result in a death so horrific, painful, and excruciating that even the tormented souls of the damned would pity you. If she asks, "Are you my latest meal?" then respond, quickly and earnestly, "I wish to dine with you."

The corpse will be silent, and after a long wait, a shiny, red apple will roll up the gory tongue onto the silver platter. Do not eat it.

This apple is Object 27 of 538. It is the only thing that can satisfy their hunger.

Holder of Clarity

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself “The Holder of Clarity”. The worker will begin to chatter on to about their life, making inside jokes and references to only which they understand. All the while, they will walk in a weaving motion to the recreational area of the building. They will slide open a hatch beneath a table and suddenly fall silent with a grim look upon their face. You will look down into the hole, and you will see a vast number of lights flashing on and off, and you will feel berated and confused, but you must go in.

This hall seems to have no start and have no end, the lights flashing sporadically, and you will find that tiny flying objects flit in front of you, in your eyes and nose and mouth. The air will fill with a horrible all consuming buzzing noise that does not allow you to hear even your own screams. You must only walk on, and if for any reason, the objects stop moving or the lights hold their glow, you must yell out, “They shall not know I’m here, as I have covered my tracks!” If the calm stays, you are too late, as it has already begun.

If the horrible bewilderment returns, you must forge on. In your wanderings, you will meet a door. You can feel its handle and allow yourself in. The room will be eternal, only the floor holding your mind in tact.

There will be a man with his entire form ran through with long nails and stakes, every inch of his form secured. His mouth is held open, pins forcing his lips up to his face, a stake buried in the back of his gaping mouth. His tongue will write and flop at your arrival, his eyes searching over you in a panicked state.

He will respond to only 1 question, “Why do they take form?” His eyes will affix onto you and his tongue will hold still. In a gargling, horrible speech, he will recite to you the creation of every object, and the purpose of each. The description will force you to vomit upon every sentence, and the tale leaves most mad.

You will find a rusty and worn fillet knife in your hand. You must remove his writhing tongue with his pathetic and gurgling screams echoing through your soul. He will seem pathetic and you will want to help him, but do not, or you will replace him.

His tongue is Object 28 of 538. They will meet, only you shall know why.

Holder of the Frost

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls herself "The Holder of the Frost". If the worker shivers unnaturally, you will be lead to a hallway that shouldn't exist where it does. The worker will wave you down the hall, and, once your back is turned, will shake his head and mutter "the poor fool." The hallway will get colder as you proceed; but do not make any attempt to warm yourself. If you do, heaven help what will become of you.

If at any time, the cold ceases and the hallway becomes warm, you must quickly shout "Stop! This is not the answer!" If the warmth persists, run. Run as fast as you can for the exit. If you do not make it, then the fires of Hell shall consume you. If you do make it, do not stop running. Flee the asylum, the city, the country; for the hellhounds have your scent, and they do not rest.

If the cold returns, proceed down the hallway until you come to a door made of solid ice, and knock three times. If a soft, womanly voice beckons you to enter, open the door. If a gruff, male voice tells you to leave, pray for a quick demise.

Inside of the door, you will find a room made of ice, with frozen stalagmites and stalagtites giving it the appearance of a massive maw. In the center of the room will be a veiled, ivory-skinned woman. Do not look at the woman directly, and say only one thing: "What caused their hibernation?"

She will tell you her story, a story of destruction and devastation, war and famine, life and death, and of a deep slumber. The story will chill you to the base of your existence, but do not ever look directly at the woman. If you do, your soul will be frozen for all eternity.

When she is done, she will remove her veil, but you must not gaze upon her. Her beauty would shatter your mind. If you keep your eyes away from her, she will cup her hands over yours, and whisper into your ear: "The ice age is over. What will you do?" The world will explode in white, and when it subsides you will be outside of the institution. In your hands will be a large, crystal snowflake.

That snowflake is Object 29 of 538. The ice age is over; they are starting to thaw.

Holder of the Flame

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of the Flame." The worker will stare impassively at you for many minutes before pointing, silently, to a door behind you. The door was not there, and anyone else around you will not notice it. Approach the door and close your eyes, before grasping the knocker. You need knock only once. If the metal suddenly cools in your hand, run. Run far away, and keep running. Only hope that you have escaped, for the alternative is a horror only the souls in hell can comprehend.

If the knocker grows warm, hold onto it tightly, even when it begins to sear into your hand. Eventually, the pain will stop. Once this has happened, open your eyes. You will be in a small garden, illuminated by the light of a full moon, and surrounded by ivy-covered stone walls. To your left will be a pond. Do not look directly into the water, lest the multitude of terrors lurking within capture and drown you again and again for the rest of eternity. To your right will be a funeral pyre, not yet lit, slickly dark with a flammable fluid.

Take exactly 5 steps towards the pyre. Do not ask why. You will find the corpse of a castrated male child, his arms folded over a vial of quicksilver. Say nothing but the question "What caused their immolation?"

The corpse will not move, but the pyre will ignite of its own free will. As will the bushes, the grass, the trees, and the flowers all around it. The flames will shift colors, from the normal colors of fire, to the red of freshly spilt blood, to the green of infection and disease. The plants will shriek in agony as the walls surrounding the garden are consumed. The pond will dry out, the water itself burning with a blistering heat, as the souls of the damned rise upward in the steam, howling their litany of curses upon you.

As the first curse reaches your ears, you must summon your courage and begin to laugh. Loudly, spitefully, arrogantly, but not softly. If the curses become more vehement, you are safe. If they stop, then throw yourself on the pyre to escape a fate far worse.

In the midst of the tempest, the corpse will calmly sit upright, consumed entirely in flames, and will proffer you the vial. You must continue to laugh, and cross your arms. You must not accept this gift now.

The corpse will open its mouth, and if you are lucky, what you will see in its depths will not leave you laughing in madness for the rest of your mortal life.

The vial will drop, shatter, and spill its contents upon the blackened remains of the grass as the flames die down. Everything will be silent. At your feet will be a new flower, its stem hard and spiny, its petals painted with the colors of hellfire and damnation. Pick it, and you will find yourself away from the garden and back in front of the door.

This flower is Object 30 of 538. It will burn itself deep into your soul, and ignite the fires of madness.

Holder of Silence

You are the Holder of Silence.

The silence you hear is object 31 of 538. The silence mustn't be broken.

Holder of the Speed

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask for something called "The Holder of the Speed." The worker should become motionless. Look around yourself; if everything else became motionless, you are in the right path. What would happen if you weren't is still unknown for this one who writes.

You will notice that moving around and breathing will become gradually, but increasingly difficult; this is expected, for the air slowly becomes motionless. You should explore carefully the halls surrounding you, thinking about your first great failure; but be aware that, if you take too long, you will suffocate.

Your objective is to find a child who still moves, amidst all the surrounding statuesque shapes. The child will approach you with a ball, hand it over to you. Pay attention to how the ball is held. The child will then declare 'You're it'. And then run outside the room, always giggling.

What you will have to do is to return the ball. Careful to not be fooled by the voice echoing within the halls, for wasted time means you're closer to death by asphyxiation. As time passes the air will become harder to cut trough, requiring greater strength; warmth will slowly leave your body, droplets of water will pierce your skin. Much likely, you'll be blinded, deafened and similarly mutilated during this chase. Vision will be impaired as everything slowly darkens, as even light itself were eventually reaching a stop.

It is certain that you will find the child in one of the hallways, under a beam of light; it could be coming from a window, a lamp, or any similar light source. You should return the ball in the same way it was given to you, and attempt to escape, giving continuity to the game.

If you succeeded, the air won't be heavy anymore. You will notice every place you ran past will be damaged in some degree. Depending on where you finished your ordeal, you will have to give many explanations to the facility's administration, and somehow avoid imprisonment.

If you failed, the child will once again hand you the ball as soon as you're reached. Will declare 'You're it' and dash trough the corridors. You will probably die pierced by the air's humidity and suffocated before can reach the infant a second time.

Your newfound agility is Object 32 of 538. Mentioning the child to others will earn you a few sessions at the Shock Therapy department. If you're lucky.

Holder of the Wind

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of the Wind." The receptionist will then walk off, as if you weren't even there. Follow the receptionist. After five minutes of what seems like aimless walking the receptionist will begin to whistle. If it is a tune you recognize, then continue to follow. If you do not recognize the song, try to remember the better times of your life as from there out you will know nothing but the endless pain of your own personal Hell.

If you find yourself humming along to the tune, the receptionist will turn to you and point you to a room on your left. Enter the room. Inside is a wide prairie filled with endless, knee-high grass. The first thing you notice is a warm, gentle breeze playing over your face. In the distance, you hear a faint whispering sound. If you do not hear the whisper, run out the door and close it behind you or the peaceful prairie will become your final resting place.

If the whisper persists, close the door and it will disappear. Follow the whisper as best as you can. After a few steps, a young man will rise out of the grass, clothed in simple farm clothes. This man knows only the answer to one question. "What carried them away?"

The man will tell you a lazy tale. A story filled with illusion and deception, dulled by his accent. You will start to become tired and may want to lie down and sleep for a while in the comfy grass, but do not. For if you do, you will never awaken from your slumber.

Once the man is done rambling, he will ask you a question. "Do you really want it?" The laziness induced but the scenery will make you want to say no, but resist and take the wind chimes he offers you. The door you came in will then appear in front of you, allowing you to leave in peace.

These chimes are object 33 of 538. When the wind causes these chimes to sound another object is near, as is the end of all hope.

Holder of Oblivion

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of Oblivion." If the attendant stares at you and swallows audibly, follow him to a room deep within the building, far deeper than you thought possible. The attendant will open the door and give you a fearful look. If you are brave, enter the room. If you are craven, flee now.

Inside the room, there is only a chair. Sit down in it. If at any time you begin to feel fear, get up and leave. You are still free to escape. If you choose to stay, you must sit and wait until the lights in the room flicker. Do not stand. Do not get up. If you are not sitting down then the lights flicker, then you will plummet into the void between worlds, a meal for its grotesque denizens.

When the lights flicker, you must shut your eyes immediately. Gazing upon the void will destroy your mind. Only when you hear a man clear his throat may you open your eyes. You will be in a dark dungeon, bound to the chair by a web of ebon chains. Surrounding you will be heads impaled upon blood-soaked pikes, and standing before you will be a man wearing an executioner's uniform. Stare him in the eyes; do not move your gaze and do not show even the slightest tinge of fear, for if you do, he will add your head to his collection.

The only thing you may speak without being beheaded is the question, "What will they bring?" The executioner will laugh an inhuman laugh, and then the impaled heads will begin to speak. They will speak of horrors, of executions, of their individual ends, but you must not move your gaze from the executioner, or you too will be speaking of your death. Eventually, he will speak of his own end, of what they brought to him. When he finishes, he will remove his cowl, revealing a skeleton's face. With a cackle, he will wave his hands, and the world will plunge into darkness.

When the light returns, you will be sitting peacefully in the lobby of the institution. In your lap will be the executioner's cowl.

That cowl is Object 34 out of 583. You have seen what they bring, will you stop them?

Holder of Fear

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of Fear". If the time is right, the attendant will lead you to a closet with no floor. With a malicious grin, the worker will shove you into the hole and close the door.

As you fall through the abyss, you cannot feel any fear. If you do, you will immediately hit the spike-ridden bottom of the pit and meet a gruesome death. If you remain resolute, your fall will eventually slow and stop, leaving you in a room soaked in darkness. Into the darkness, you must speak only one thing: "What is their weapon?"

Immediately the room will be illuminated. Surrounding you wills everything that you fear, and in the center will be a creature who will take the appearance of your greatest fear. Not even once can you flinch or shrink away from this creature, or it will dismember you in the most painful way possible.

You must stare at your greatest fear while it tells you its story in excruciating detail. It will tell you of all the fears in the world, from the tiniest to the greatest, in all of their horribleness. When it is finished, the creature will ask what you fear. Now you must confess all of your fears to the creature, without looking around the room. If you miss even one, you will be consumed by your own terror, leaving nothing but a shell remaining.

If you confess all of your fears, the creature will scream, and the scream will send you hurtling through the wall behind you. When you stop moving, you will be across from the closet you entered earlier, and in the closet will be a mirror.

That mirror is Object 35 of 583. It reflects your greatest fear, and that is their weapon.

Holder of Faith

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, close your eyes and ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of Faith”. The worker will look at you in abstract confusion, shake his head and go back to his work. If you wait for 3 full minutes, he will sigh and walk you to a custodian’s closet. He will lead you inside, and lock you there. The door will not open, and it will be pitch black. Slowly the darkness will begin to scribe in the brightest of white words in a language you have never read, and voices you have never heard speaking the foulest of blasphemies your body can withstand.

Should the writing ever stop, fall to your knees and clasp your hands, screaming every prayer you know. If the writing does not continue, curse the god that has put you into existence.

If the writing does continue, Stand quickly and race down the tunnel. There the tunnel will open up into a large dome, and you will see a young girl in white, staring at you with her hair fallen down into her face. Do not look at your hands, or they will peel the flesh from your bones. She will respond to only one question, “Why do they fear?”

She will look up to you and her mouth with blurt out every wrong that has occurred in the name of a god, and some that you must believe happened beyond your reality. She will then fall to the ground screaming in horrible agony as she is consumed by a white flame.

That ash is object 36 of 583. It will one day be mixed with yours.

Holder of Confusion

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of Confusion." The worker will initially ignore you, but if you wait for one full minute, she will rise and motion for you to follow her. After following her down a series of dimly lit hallways, you will come to a dead-end corridor with no doorways. The worker will motion to the end of the hallway, and promptly leave you without a word.

You must walk to the end of the hallway, without speaking a word. Once you reach the end, place your hands upon the wall to reveal that it is an illusion which you may walk through. If you are scared, or unsure of what is behind the wall when you step through, or have any doubts at all, you will simply walk off of the plane of existence forever, never to be heard from again.

But if you believe in yourself, and believe answers lie beyond the wall, when you step through you will appear in a bright white room, with many paths. Some lead into the distance, others appear to lead nowhere at all, yet others appear to defy understanding, and lead to suffering that only the most damnable of all souls can comprehend.

The path you seek is the one that lies ahead of you. It appears to continue on for eternity. While walking, you must say nothing, no matter how long the trip appears to take, and should the room begin to darken halfway through your trip down the path, your only option is to sit down and weep silently, for you are now nothing more than nourishment for the most grotesque and cursed demon of them all.

However, if the room remains almost unfathomably perfect white, your trip down the path will be without peril, and you will safely come to a door. At this point, you need do nothing, as the door opens to you to reveal a room that appears to be impossibility. It is not big, but not small. Not lit, but not dark. It appears to be everything, and nothing. Equals and opposites are meaningless in this room. It is said that most who enter are driven to a maddening insanity and begin to claw their own flesh off, or disembowel themselves with their bare hands, all while laughing manically. Never dying, this will be their fate for eternity.

Should you manage to not be driven by insanity, you will notice a nondescript figure standing in the center of the madness. It appears to be human, yet at the same time, something much more hellish. You will not be able to comprehend this entity visually, but you must not repulse at its sight, nor can you say anything to it. It will begin to speak to you many events. Some of which you know are true. Others you know are lies. Some which you are unsure of. The entity will become increasingly agitated that you are ignoring its nonsense. You MUST refrain from saying anything at all, until the entity falls silent briefly, and then asks;

"What would you do, if they were all brought together?"

To this, you must very firmly reply:

"Everything that you would do. Including what you wouldn't."

The entity will stare at you blankly for a moment. If it doesn't believe you, it will simply walk away, and leave you there, forever in darkness. If it does believe you however, it will reach its hand out and give you a small, seemingly immaterial glowing object. This is the "Beast's Resolve."

That is object 37 of 538. No matter how indecisive you are, no matter how unsure the world becomes, you alone must know what to do if they all come together.

Holder of the Word

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of the Word". The worker will motion you to follow him and say "Come". Do not follow him. Instead, wait until he returns, which will take 10 minutes. He will the say "Excuse me." and walk to the toilet. Again, do not follow, walk behind the desk where the worker was. When you stand there, look down and the ground will be ripped open, you will fall.

Do not let any word or scream escape your mouth, for when it does, you shall fall for an eternity, with unspoken creatures slowly consuming your body and soul. You may gasp, but not more. Now, wait until you hear someone shout "Am I fiction?” Do not answer, but be aware that your fall will soon stop. You will slow down at first, eventually stopping only centimeters above a metal surface. Stretch your foot to touch it and you will fall these few centimeters. Now, listen. You will hear a word. Remember it, for you will need it soon. Now, after you have heard it, begin to walk until you reach a marble door. Say the word you have heard loud and clearly. Should you have forgotten it or say the wrong word, your body will slowly and painfully be turned into marble. Afterwards, a demon that looks like the person that is most dear to you will emerge from the ground and shatter your marble body, only by saying the word you have forgotten.

Should you have spoken the right word, the door will fall apart and you may step through. Be careful, do not step back, and do not stop until you have reached a statue made from the purest diamond you have ever seen. Touch it not, or you will take its place while freeing the hellish creature inside it. Ask one question, "How will they be awakened?” Ask it thrice and the statue will move it head to look at you. Do not look back, instead, stare at its chest. "Excitate." Now close your eyes. Ignore the burning feeling you feel in your forehead and wait until it is gone. Open your eyes again. You will find yourself in the lobby of the institution. Always remember the word you've heard. It will show its power when you have found all objects, and only then, only when you say it.

It is object 38 of 538. Utter it only once, when the rest have come together.

Holder of Absence

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of Absence". Should the person at the front desk try to convince you that the person you wish to visit is no longer there, ask to visit their cell nonetheless. At this point the receptionist shall show a look that can only be defined as emotionless. The receptionist will lead you down a long wall with many doors on either side until you reach an iron door with one barred window on it. They will open the door for you but lead you no further. Beyond the door is darkness, nothing more.

As you step into the darkness, the door will slam shut behind you. You are now trapped and the only way to go is forward. You cannot see the ground, or the roof, or the walls. Be aware, you may be walking for a very long time, possibly days. As you walk you will begin to feel cold and empty inside. You will feel as if your soul has left your body and left you as a shell. In time you may hear footsteps that echo loudly. STOP IMMEDIATELY, and wait. If the footsteps do not stop, you must sit down and wait until they do. If they begin to grow even louder, then you will surely perish by an unimaginable horror. If the footsteps do stop, you must press forward until you reach another iron door, illuminated by a light behind it. Open it and step inside.

Inside will be a pitch black room. Only a small circle of light of the floor can be seen, lit by a small candle. Behind the light will be a chair with a coat on it. Approach the chair but do not sit in it, no matter how long you have been walking. Wait until the candle burns out. When it does, reach out, and take the coat. The next time you blink you will find yourself in front of the desk in the mental institution or halfway house. Reach into the right inside breast pocket of the coat and pull out a singed sheet of paper with red ink. DO NOT READ THIS INK or the Holder of Absence will become present and destroy you with unthinkable pain and anguish.

This paper is object 39 of 538. Keep him absent. Keep them from coming all together.

Holder of the Abandoned

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of the Abandoned". The attendant will look up at you with lonely eyes, and lamely motion for you to follow her. She will lead you through a maze of corridors. Do not look back and keep on her heels or you will be forever lost in this maze. She will show you a door, crumbling with age. She will then suddenly vanish abandoning you in this maze, push forward or be lost forever.

After you open the door you'll be confronted with a hedge maze of slowly dying bushes. Follow your gut as you navigate or you'll be lost forever in this maze. Listen carefully though, every step you make will ring loudly through the still air. If the sound stops stand still and don't make a sound. If you hear a buzzing sound shout out, "Go back, I do not need your help!” If the buzzing persists then fear for your life, run relentlessly. If they catch you then you'll be gnawed by every problem that has ever plagued mankind for all eternity. If you escape then count yourself lucky.

Eventually you'll make it to the end. Before you will stand a golden gate, knock once and only once. They will swing open for you. Slowly enter the courtyard. Inside you will find a beautiful man in his late forties wandering around aimlessly. Ask him this and nothing else, "Where were they abandoned?” If this man attacks you then count yourself lucky. You will never see the end of this. If not then he will tell you. He will tell of every hidden crevice, every basement lair, every corpse, every madman's mind, every evil place that these things have tainted. You will go insane. If not then you are truly destined to finish this to the end. This man will have left you by the end of this slideshow. In his place you will find a map and a broken watch. The watch shows how much time you have left in this race.

That map is object is 40 of 538. Use it or not, but the knowledge has escaped, and you're not the only one that holds it.

Holder of Solitude

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. As you approach the front desk, keep your gaze on the floor. Should your gaze wander then you have already failed. At the desk do not move or shift your gaze until the worker makes a sound, recognizing your existence. Without upturning your eyes, ask her for the being known as "The Holder of Solitude". As these words leave your lips a great gong will ring, shaking the very ground you stand on. Once the ring of the gong turns to silence you can finally observe your surroundings.

You will find yourself under a strange sky in a vast and morbid wasteland, only a cold stone path leading towards the horizon. The instant you become aware of this lifeless wasteland, you must start moving; for they know you are there. And they do not take well to outsiders.

Should clouds gather in the sky and darkness encroach on the path during your crossing towards the horizon; shut your eyes and kneel. No mortal have ever let his stare rest upon this worlds inhabitants. As you kneel, you must plead: “I do not know you, nor have I any wish to. But my path is here, and I must follow it.” After you have uttered these words, await their judgment. Should they choose to allow your presence you will feel them retreating, should they decide otherwise, then this was not your fate. Hope that they end you quickly.

At the end of your path awaits an obsidian pillar, perched atop it an obsidian gargoyle is regarding your approach. The gargoyle will only stir to the sound of one question: “Who shall perish?” Once these words are spoken the gargoyle shall descend upon you, and his wings will envelop you in darkness. There he will show you the lives of all human beings as stars in the darkness, and as stars you will watch them flicker and die. For eons you shall watch the deaths of those who came before you and those yet to come. And you shall experience their loneliness as you watch them die, sensing how utterly separated they were from each other.

This shall continue until your sanity shatters or until only one light remains. And so the gargoyle shall speak: “Your end is not mine to reveal to you, and it is not what you seek.” These words will echo inside your head until the day the task is completed. Once again you must shut your eyes; lest you keep your gaze on the last remaining light and the gargoyle will devour you. As you shut your eyes you will feel as being hurled through dimensions, spinning endlessly until solid ground is only a vague memory. At that moment you will be thrown to a stone floor, and it will be as being born again, as returning into the light after eternities in darkness.

And once you open your eyes you will look around at a gargantuan, withering ballroom, the cracked marble floor covered with dead leaves. At the far end of the room you will see a light, calling you. As you advance towards it you will be able to make out something hung upon the wall. A dark kite shield decorated with macabre symbols, the symbols seemingly alive and pulsating. You need only to take it off the wall to claim it.

The moment the shield leaves the wall you will be back at the front desk where the worker is staring at you intently. She knows what you have started.

The shield you hold in your hands is object 41 of 538. Pray that it can protect you from what is to come.

Holder of the Star

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or hospital and ask at the main desk for the one who refers to himself as the 'Holder of the Star'. The worker will stare into your eyes with a smug look of contempt for several seconds. If he does not see your heart's resolve in your eyes, he will laugh arrogantly. If he does, flee, or guards shall take hold of you and lock you in a cramped cell where you will hear the man's laughter in waking and sleeping as long as you live. If he sees the determination in your eyes, he shall stand and guide you down a hallway. He will stop at a cell door and will hand you the key, saying nothing and walking away. With key in hand, grab the handle and turn it slowly, it is not locked.

Instead of a cell behind the door, there is a hall, dimly lit. Enter the corridor, close and lock the door behind you. As you walk down this hallway, you will hear the laughter of children playing mixed with the heart warming chants of foreign monks. Quickly the laughter will turn to screams, and the chants to curses. As long as you hear these terrible noises you are safe, but if your courage sways, and the slightest fear overcomes you in this corridor, the sounds shall stop. And if this happens, shut your eyes and pray that what hideous creature that was just awakened will take your life in its first bite. If you survive this corridor, you shall reach a small locked door. The lights will dim around you until all you can see is the door. When all is dark, use the key you were given and unlock the door. Enter through the door into a small, pitch-black cell. In the cell there is a hooded man in red robes. He holds a candle and keeps his eyes closed while chanting. He sits in the middle of a pentacle drawn in glowing red blood. The stench it produces will cause you to gag, but dare not do anymore than that. Before the man is a smoldering rock. Do not stare at the stone directly for too long, or the burning from the rock shall envelope your mind and send your body into a fiery eternity. Instead stare at the candle and listen to the old man.

He responds to only one question: "What must be done to complete their task?" The man shall stop chanting, and will tell you five names and five questions. He shall inform you that you must learn on your own which match with each other. He shall then dab his forefinger in the blood of the pentacle and will draw on the wall a formula. A key, plus a Book, plus a Quill, plus a Word scrawled in a way that it is illegible, yields an open book with three ovals drawn around it. He shall chuckle warmly and return to his seating place. He will hand you the still burning stone and from behind his robe he shall pull out a still beating heart. With all your might, crush the organ until it no longer quivers. Inside the meaty mesh you will find an antique fountain pen. When you look back up, you will find the old man dead, with a look of serene content upon his face. Pay this man the final honor of closing his eternally glassy eyes, and leave the room. The darkness will over sweep you and when it lifts, you will find yourself outside of the hospital.

The pen you will find to never require refilling of its red ink. Though the ink never stinks of it, you will realize that it is your blood that drains through the pen onto paper. If you should ever let this item be destroyed, a horrific, slow death shall occur. As long as you hold this item, you shall hear whispering chants in the back of your mind until you die or do the item's bidding.

This pen is object 42 of 538. It wills you to write in the cursed tome with your own blood. It is your choice to continue their work, or to destroy the chance of the objects coming back together ever again.

Holder of Earth

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of Earth". The worker will laugh loudly, drawing the attention of only one other patron. The worker will remain seated, but the person whose attention he drew will call you over. Do not ask him anything as he leads you to a disused broom closet deep in the asylum. He will open the door for you and wait for you to enter first; do not do this, or the stairway inside the door will disappear and you will plummet endlessly through the ice-cold black. Instead, tell him "I would not dare see these sights before you". If he believes you, he will nod slightly and enter, and you should follow him. If he does not, be thankful that you are deep enough into the asylum so that no one can hear your screams.

As you descend the stairway, you will hear beastly yells coming from all sides, but primarily from above you. Keep your eyes trained to the darkness below you (for the man will have vanished in the darkness, though you will be able to feel that you are not alone). You must never look up, or the demons and hell spawn watching you, mocking you, will descend, rending your flesh from your bones, draining your blood, ripping your muscles and sinew in all too long of an instant.

As you climb down, you will find the atmosphere becoming more and more tomblike, and though you will still be able to hear the demons above, it will seem as though there is finally a ceiling overhead. You must still take the utmost caution never to look up. After an impossibly long amount of time, you will set foot on solid, soft ground again. If the demons from the stairwell have stopped their yelling, you will not live to see the ground. If they have not, you will wish they had, for now is your opportunity to ask the only question to which the darkness will respond. You must ask firmly, "How can they be stopped?"

When you do, ghastly wails will emit from below you, though you will still be able to feel the ground under you. You will be able to sense the gentleman who led you here turn around. His eyes will pierce you, though you will not be able to see them. You must never look down or otherwise falter your gaze from the darkness immediately in front of you. The wails will continue, wordless at first, but a strong male voice will lead them into speaking in unison. They will tell you of the one thing that can prevent the result of the objects coming together, but it will be interlaced with every last consequence of doing so. They will tell you of the sky raining fire, of rivers running red with your blood, and they will tell you so much more.

When the consequences are finished, the lights will suddenly go on. The man who led you here will be gone. In his place will be an object that you will not be able to see in this place, lest it drive you completely insane. You must close your eyes as soon as the lights come on and feel around blindly on the floor for the warm, rough texture of the object. If you do not close your eyes, you will see what the ground is made of: Disemboweled human corpses, all missing their eyes, though their mouths still breathe. If you look at this sight and are not driven mad immediately, you will become one of them, joining the satanic earth.

If you take the object successfully, though, you will be transported to the exterior of the asylum, where you may open your eyes.

The volcanic stone is object 43 of 538. Though you know how to stop them from coming together, you will not be able to.

Holder of War

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. Gaze at the ceiling with a bored expression as you walk up to the front desk, and with a voice that sounds like it is halfway across the world ask to see the "Holder of War". You will get a light tap on the shoulder; it is now safe to look down. The attendant will smile politely and begin walking, giving a speech that sounds almost mechanical as he describes the history of the asylum. Do not react to his speech- it is insanely bloody and filled with rather graphic descriptions, but reaction at this point means a one-way trip to hell.

After some time of walking, you will come to an elaborately carved door of mahogany and gold. Stop in front of it. Keep your bored expression on your face, possibly adding a blank grin, but do not react as the worker grabs you by the back of your shirt, or he will change his grip and you will be without your head.

The worker will pitch you through the door, and you will hear it slam shut behind you. You are on what might have once been fertile farmland but is now a ravaged, blasted battlefield. Soldiers clad in two colors- a horribly bright, yet somehow stained, white and a filthy, sickening black- are battling in the most horrid manners possible, fighting with rifles, cannon, swords, bows, all the weapons of war that have existed since the dawn of time.

Do not shrink from this battlefield, or the soldiers will notice you, stop their quarrels, and turn upon you with a ravenous hatred, for you are what they have been fighting over, and in their fevered, battle-crazed minds, that means that you are the cause of all their bloodshed.

Also, do not try and go back through the door. It has fallen flat in the mud, pushed over by a screaming infantryman wielding a bayoneted rifle. If you let him get the better of you, he will rip you to pieces in seconds, but somehow not manage to kill you. The pain of the experience will undoubtedly drive what is left of your mind mad.

Instead, drop your bored expression and put a grim, determined one on your face. Walk in measured, military-style steps straight ahead until you see a three-story tall structure of blasted concrete that might have once been a command bunker. Do not turn around while doing so; the armor has arrived to the field, and if you stop, or change your pace, the tanks will run you down.

Once you have entered the bunker, do not give any notice to anyone who makes a request of you or tries to talk to you, no matter how desperate they seem. They each think you are the enemy, and the moment you respond, you will be rewarded with a knife to the face. Instead, go straight up the stairway in front of you, to the second level of the bunker. As you mount the stairs, a crash will be heard behind you- that's the fire doorway sealing as a flamethrower detachment attacks.

On the second level, there is only one man, sitting at a desk, yelling into a phone. The stairs to the third level are a mass of twisted concrete. The man at the desk wears the stars of a general, but does not seem to notice that the phone, as well as all those on the level, are dead.

Walk up to him, salute, and in your finest military voice, yell "SIR!" He will snap around to stare at you. If he thinks you are not worthy of his army, he will slowly dismantle you with his hands, and you will join him in his oncoming death. If he thinks you are worthy, he will nod and stare pointedly at you. He does not like slackers, so quickly ask him your question.

The only one he will respond to is "Where do I go, Sir?"

He will tell you. He will tell you in such detail, such HORRIFYING detail, that you will be tempted to strangle him. Do NOT try it- he is a far more experienced fighter than you could ever hope to be, and should you break salute, you will meet an extremely messy demise. When he is done, he will say "at ease", and hand you his pistol. This is your cue to drop salute. Take the sidearm and put it in your holster- if you did not have one before, you do now.

An explosion will suddenly decimate the far wall and atomize the general. Through the hole you will see, on the horizon, the long, thin shape of a missile rising.

Shut your eyes tight and open them for nothing. The sounds of horrid battle will fade away, until out of the silence, a single gunshot rings out. Open your eyes.

You are standing in the middle of a field of waving wheat. Somehow, you know that this is where the horrific battle you walked through will take place. And you also know, somehow, that you will be in the general's place.

The pistol he handed you is object 44 of 538. Learn how to use it- it has one magazine left. If you fire the last shot at the right time, you will avoid the fate of the general. If not, you will join him.

Holder of Peace

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. Storm up to the front desk with a look of rage on your face, and demand to see a person who calls himself "The Holder of Peace" immediately. The attendant will recoil, and ask you to speak softly. Do not comply with his request- if anything; speak louder- for the anger in your voice is all that keeps the chains locked on the door behind the desk. Should you lower your voice, the attendant will duck, and what comes out of that door will dismember you in an instant but leave the pain behind for all eternity.

Keep the anger in your voice- the attendant will duck under his desk and point with a quivering finger down a hall to the right that was not there before. Immediately turn and stomp off down the hall. Do not look over your shoulder, for should the attendant catch you- and he will- he will casually lean back and flip the lock off the door behind him.

Walk until you find a door with a beautiful mother-of-pearl inlay design. Throw it open, but take the rage off your face IMMEDIATELY- the ones inside do not appreciate such anger.

With a peaceful look across your face, enter. You are in a beautiful, open-aired temple, with ivy curling up the marble pillars and beautiful mosaics embroidering the walls. The door will lock behind you. Do not try to open it, for it never will, and the monks in brown robes you see wandering about will do anything to get you to stay- even if it means your death.

Wander around. No matter what language you speak, the monks speak it too. They're friendly, and all of them would love to chat, but politely decline. Tell them you must speak with the Head of the Order.

Eventually you will be directed to a man sitting at a chessboard. The figure across from him is hooded and wearing armor. Do not attempt to speak to him, or your death will be far worse than any vision of hell that man could conjure up. Instead, turn to the man in the now-familiar brown robes. The game is one away from checkmate.

Bow, and ask nicely "Why do they gather, Father?"

He opens his mouth as if to speak. But the figure across from him lets out a demonic howl of rage and draws a sword. It is beautifully crafted, but seems somehow stained with an unthinkable evil. With a yell, the figure will kick you down and begin systematically slaughtering the other monks. They will try to fight back, but they have only staves, and the sword the madman wields is so sharp that it slices through the pillars like a knife through butter.

As you are watching this, the monk will make the final move in the game. The man in armor will swing around, and then run at you with the sword upraised.

If you were rude or did something wrong, you will be rent at the atomic level by the blade of the sword, and the pain will never cease. However, if you were polite, the Head Monk will step in front of you and jam the black king into the right eye of the warrior.

Pay no heed or sympathy as he falls to the ground, screaming, or the Monk will whirl around and do the same to you with the white king. Instead, focus on the Head Monk, who has now turned around to face you.

He will tell you why they gather. It is a long tale, so fraught with bloodshed and horror that it may well snap your mind. But if you survive its telling, he will reach under the table with the chessboard and pass you a scabbard richly jeweled and inlaid with gold. Though you have never seen it before, you instinctively know that it matches the sword the warrior was wielding a moment ago. Do not hesitate- take it, walk over, pick up the madman's sword, wipe it, and sheath it. Buckle it on as well- you will have need of it.

Move to leave, but before you do, the good Father will halt you and gesture towards the now-unhooded face of the warrior. He was handsome, but pay no heed to that. The one thing you should be focusing on is the fact that the black king is gone. Look up at the Father, who will nod and say one word; "Regicide".

A flash of light will blind you, and when your sight returns you will be standing on the curb two blocks down from the asylum. Step back onto the sidewalk- you don't want to have an accident.

The sword you now wield once belonged to the white king, and is object number 45 of 538. The black king is running from the scene of his murder, and the white king's sword longs for vengeance.

Holder of the Mirror

In any city, in any country in the world, go to any mental institution or hospital, and ask the attendant for the "Holder of the Mirror". The Attendant will look at you strangely, as if you had spoken in a different language. Ask again, until they finally understand, and they will lead you deep into the institution without a word.

They will lead you to a plain iron door, unlocking it and motioning for you to enter the dark hallway beyond. They will stay behind, never uttering a word, never making eye contact with you. Once the door closes behind you the hallway will be lit by an ethereal light, to reveal the walls of the hallway made of mirrors. The reflections stretch out to infinity on either side of you, but none of them show your reflection; they show the reflection of those who came before you. Each reflection shows another who sought the holder, each shows how they died. Try not to look at their faces as the beasts devour them, try not to look at all, just walk in a straight line. If you look, if you watch, the beasts in the reflections will see you too; and they will come for you.

If ever the light begins to dim, if you begin to lose your way in the darkness, close your eyes tight and say firmly, without fear, "The ones you seek have gone before". If the lights return, you are lucky, and the creatures that stalk you have let you alone. If it goes dark, do not run. There is no point, not in fleeing, not in praying for a swift death. They will catch you, and your end will stretch out to eternity.

At the end of the impossibly long corridor, you will find another door, with hot white light shining around its edges. Knock on the door, and you will be allowed entry. Standing in the center of the octagonal room will be a figure, merely a silhouette in the half-light of the chamber.

He will pay you no heed, until you ask him the question, "What do they reflect?” Any other question, and he will fill your every pore with a thousand needles, flaying your hide and letting it fly in salt winds as he tortures your mind into insanity, ensuring you live eternally with him in the chamber, merely a shade of what you once were, every moment of existence a mad agony.

If you ask him the right question, however, he will answer you, in details that will chill you to your bones and turn your heart to stone. He will tell you what the holders mean, why they exist, and what is to come.

After he tells you this, he will step into your vision, revealing who he is. You will see yourself, except instead of eyes your copy has shining silver mirrors in its sockets. As you watch, unable to move in horror, your copy will dig one of the mirrors out, blood spilling thick and fast.

You will hand yourself the bloodied shard, and then you will find yourself back, outside the institution.

This bloodied mirror is object 46 of 538. It will reflect what has been, and what is to come.

Holder of the Center

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in 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 to 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. What 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 the alley behind the hospital. It is now safe to look into your hand.

The mark is number 47 of 538, and it is where they will come together.

Holder of Sacrifice

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of the Sacrifice". A look of bliss should then come over the workers' face, and they will ignore you. Request twice more. You will then be taken by another staff member to the highest floor in the building, then one higher. It will be in an unused, pitch-black section of the building. You will hear an unending groaning reverberate off of the walls from the area furthest from you. It is of utmost importance that you listen where the sound echoes from. Should the source of the noise change, stand still for 5 seconds, and extend your right arm, displaying your palm towards the darkness. If you feel what seems to be thousands of the most wretched bugs in existence crawl across your arm, do not flinch, do not cry out. If you do either, there is nothing that will save you. If the feeling ceases, then proceed further. Upon reaching the end of the hall something will trigger the lights. The light shall reveal thousands of corpses formed together as the floor, as to show the sacrifices one must make to achieve ownership of the object. A door will be to your right. Open it.

Once you cross through the threshold of the door, you will arrive in an office. A man will be facing you, sitting in a chair on the opposite end of the room. He will speak on a cell phone dripping with blood, but his voice is nonexistent. However, once you ask him the question, he will pause. "Why have I been chosen?"

He will then hold out the bloodied phone to you. Take it, and listen. A raspy voice shall describe the purpose of the objects, and why you have been chosen, and you shall shake uncontrollably.

This phone is object 48 of 538. Those who can bear to listen, receive the truth.

Holder of the grail

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of the Grail." As soon as your words reach her ears, the worker will suddenly have a blank stare on her face. If you stare at her, you may suddenly lose all grasp of reality. You should avert your gaze, and ask your question again. A blunt object will smash into your head from behind, and all will go black.

When you wake up, you'll be in a dark room. A compass stands on a pedestal in the middle, pointing the directions for all eternity.

If you go south, you'll find a well. If you look inside the well, a stream of demons will emerge and eat you. This is far worse than it sounds, as your consciousness does not vanish, and you will have the experience of being digested in fifty different places for countless millennia. If you go north, you'll find a door with a strange marking on it. If you place your hand on this mark, you'll see an image of Satan. Satan will tell you to enter the door.

Inside, you find a forest. If you go into the forest, you'll find a lake. Quickly, if you turn away, you'll escape from sudden death, for the lake is but a mirage, masking a creature far more horrible than anything from your worst nightmare. If you keep going and suddenly turn left, you'll find a pool of blood. There's a man in the pool of blood, and he asks for your soul. If you give him your soul, he'll get up. This man has the wings of a devil, but his voice is that of an angel. When he smiles at you, if you do not turn away, your soul will be lost forever. When the man walks up to you, he'll say "Thank you" and will give you a grail with Satan's blood in it. And suddenly, in a single second, you wind up in the kitchen of whatever place you call home. Be thankful- if you had done something wrong, the man would still be holding your soul, and the pain of such a separation is an experience you do not wish to go through. Put the cup in the freezer- it should be kept cold, lest it ignite once more the fires of hell on the earth.

This grail is object 49 of 538. If you drink his blood, you'll either go mad or become the anti-Christ. Only your fate can decide.

Holder of Everything

In any city, in any country, go to any hardware store you can get yourself to. Once there, go to any employee, sigh in awe and say "Will you look at all that stuff." The employee will begin to systematically list everything that is for sale. Listen to what he says and do NOT interrupt, or every tool and instrument noted - every hammer, every wrench, every set of pliers - will play a part in your drawn-out death. At the end of his speech ask to see "The Holder of Everything" and receive a key that the employee gives to you. It is the bathroom key and the employee will ignore you, going back to whatever business was taking up his attention. Use the key to go into the bathroom. It will be very small and cramped, giving enough space for only the moldy-and-stank toilet and one person. Close the door behind you, lock it, and sit. You will see upon the door various graffiti and writings ranging from the lewd to the derogatory. Use a pen that you have brought along and write on the door "How will everything react to their coming?” For the sake of all that is pure, do not write anything else or do anything else, for slowly the putrid water of the toilet will begin to spill, slowly filling the room until you have drowned in the mixture of water and human waste. You will not be able to open the door at that point, you are doomed.

If you have done the simple task of writing the question, the answer will start writing itself on the door. The writings will detail the anguish of loss and the death of hope that would follow the eventuality of their coming. All you should hear is the scratching of an invisible pen writing its unholy message on the door. Should you hear anything else, you must immediately close your eyes and bang on the door, screaming. The sounds should eventually stop. Should you not do this, or should the sound continue, failure will entail an eternity of red carnage and gore.

When the writing stops, you will be free to leave. Open the door and walk out of the hardware store. The key is object 50 of 538. It will be frigid every time you touch it. They must never come together.

Holder of Twilight

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls herself "The Holder of Dusk". You must search for "The Holder of Twilight" only when the sun is high in the sky, lest you never see the sun again. The Front desk clerk will usher you into a small room with a skylight facing south. There will be a chair in the center of the room with the sun shining upon it. You must turn the chair one-hundred and eighty degrees to make it face away from the skylight and then sit upon it, lest the light will sear flesh and melt your eyes.

You will sit there motionless until a door at the opposite end of the room, under the skylight, opens. Wait until you hear the soft angelic sound of a lady whispering your name in your left ear. If you hear no voice after hearing the opening of the door, say aloud "Hello, Darkness, my old friend." and the voice should respond. If no sound comes forth at this point, then say "I've come to talk with you again." If you still do not hear your name, stand up and slowly walk to the north door. Do not turn around or make any sudden moves. The creature that lurks behind you will only attack those that she speaks not to or gaze upon her before they are called. Do not stop walking until you see the sun again, and you may survive.

Once she speaks your name to you, it is safe to stand up and gaze upon her. She has the body of a goddess and the eyes of a demon. She is the great succubus Lillith. If she offers her hand to you, take it. She will lead you to a place deep and dark away from the light of the sun and offer you to sit upon a heart shaped bed, the only piece of furniture in the chamber. Sit upon it and she will thrust herself upon you. The pleasures she will show you will drive you to the brink of insanity and cost you your immortal soul. Kindly refuse her offer, and bow deeply to her, and you may be safe.

At this point, ask her "What is the purpose of light", her face will become solemn and she will grow silent. Then ask her "what is the purpose of darkness". She will remain silent. Now you must look her in the eye and ask, "What is the truth of blindness" and she will explain the natures of the twilight and the shadows. She will describe how light and darkness need each other to function. Listen to her carefully and do not speak. She will then guide your hand to her stomach. There you will pull out a perfect sphere made of opal and pearl. Thank her, and back out of her chamber slowly.

The opal and pearl bead is object 51 of 538. It will make light in the darkness and darkness in the light every time you place it in your palm. They must never come together.

Holder of Disgust

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of Disgust". The worker's face will turn a bit green and he will excuse himself and then walk to the nearest toilet. A female warden will appear besides you and ask you to follow her. Obey her, for now.

She will lead you to a simple door with a number on it; you might remember it from somewhere else. Almost as if you've been here a long time ago. I will not tell you what the number on the door will be, but if it is not the right one, your fate will be one of eternal pain and nausea. Should the number be the right one, you will find yourself in a room that looks much like a person's stomach. You will see food being digested, wandering into the lower tracts of the digestive cycle. It will look much more horrible than you've ever imagined.

Simply wait until you see a door falling into the "room", and then do your best to enter it. If you are not successful, you will slowly be digested, just like everything else in here.

Should you have managed to enter the door, you will find yourself in a room with white and pure walls. Those are one of the few things that do not drive this Holder mad. You are not, so be prepared to run as fast as you can. Approach the girl in the middle of the room and ask her: "What do you consider pure?" She will stare at you and open her mouth, trying to speak. But she will be unable to and instead vomit onto the floor. Close your eyes for as long as you hear her emptying her stomach.

Once you do not hear anything, open your eyes again and walk to where the girl was. Take the pills at your feet.

These pills are object 52 of 538. Eating one will cause you to vanish similarly as the girl did.

Holder of the Anvil

In any city, in any country in the world, go to any mental institution or half-way house in you can get yourself to and tell the attendant that you wish to see the "Holder of the Anvil". A moment, an hour, an eon will pass as you see every failure reflected in his eyes. You will see the ending of things - daughters tearing strips of flesh from their mothers with hooks of steel and bone, fathers feasting on the eyes of their sons – and you will know that you have given them their torment. Their anguish will be your own and the only way to escape is to let your cry join theirs but give no sign or the attendant will turn away and all hope with it.

An eon, an hour, a moment will pass and the attendant will drop his eyes in defeat, turn and open the door behind him. Follow him with care, he is treacherous and will leave you in dark places where your screams will never be heard, your bones never found. At the end of this path, when the skulls of infants crunch beneath your feet, you will find a young man chained to a ragged iron slab. Your guide will turn and offer you a hammer in one hand, a blade in the other. Take the blade to abandon your search and beg for quick end. It will not be given. Take the hammer, drive it into his young mans head with all the strength you can and more. Although he is innocent, allow no mercy for mercy has abandoned you. Cover the skulls at your feet in the gore and the blood. When their debt has been paid you will delivered once again to the world. The hammer will still be in your hand, the blood will never wash off. Its thirst has been satisfied for now.

That hammer is object 53 of 538. It will only be used once more, to split the world and find the secret heart that beats within. Pray that yours will not be the hand that wields it.

Holder of the File

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of The File". Should a look of pain and worry come over the face of the worker, you will be taken deep within the facility.

Beyond a myriad of twists and turns, far more than there should be in a building of this size, you will be taken to an old-style jail cell. Within will be darkness, and one single noise. The rasp of a file against metal. Should at any time the rasping stop, QUICKLY turn and run. Run as far and as fast as you possibly can, and don't worry about taking the wrong path. Getting lost in the depths of this facility is the least of your worries.

Should the rasping continue unabated, however, walk up to the bars and stick a hand into the darkness. You will feel an object placed into your hand. If it feels warm, drop it and fall to your knees in prayer. Pray you were fast enough, so that when you look up you will still be outside this cell. If you were too slow, an eternity of filing will never get you past those bars again.

Should the item feel cold, however, voice one question aloud into the cell and pull back your hand. The only question to receive an answer will be "Which side are they on?"

You will feel the file in your hand begin to move. As it shreds your skin and wears through your bones, you must concentrate not on the pain but on your question. The file with rasp away your flesh and bone until nothing left of your hand remains. Should you make it through this ordeal without giving in to the pain; you will find the answer to your question in your mind. Your hand will be whole, and once more you will be outside the facility; a cold and rusty file clutched in your hand.

Many go mad with this knowledge; some use the file to repeat the process in an attempt to remove the words from their heads. If you manage to endure, you will find yourself among those at the reunion.

That file is object 54 of 538. It will smooth your way to the reunion, but cannot help you from there beyond.

Holder of the Grand Pivot

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in 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 moldering basement. There is no elevator and the staircases are lit by ancient bulbs encased in rusted wire frames. 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 base 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.

This is the centerpiece of the 538, the 55th item at the core of them all. They all turn upon the pivot, and now that you possess it, so do you.

Holder of Reality

In any city, in any country, go into any mental institution or halfway house you can get into. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of Reality." The receptionist will lead you up a flight of stairs that run much higher than it seems the building should be, before finally coming to a top floor, where you will find nothing more than a single door. As you approach the door, the receptionist will make herself scarce. At this point, you could turn around and look for said receptionist, but doing so will only get you lost in the halls of the mental institution forever. Instead, open the door, and continue inwards.

Inside that door, you will find a man sitting on an office chair, playing a game on a game console that you have never seen before. The console is a bizarre design, with a case made out of wrought iron, etched and painted in twisted, demonic designs. In the game, he is torturing a person with methods too horrifying for words. Once you come to the inevitable realization that his unwitting victim is in fact you, you will become your avatar in the game, and be forced to endure any torture his mind may devise, until the game finally ends.

The game can only end in one of two ways. You probably will go insane, in which case he will tear your very soul apart purely for his own delight. However, you might successfully endure the torture, and be granted the privilege of asking him a single question. If you ask him why you are in the game, he will force you to relive the entire game, in its entirety, repeatedly, for all eternity. Instead, you should ask him: "Why do you play?"

With that question, he will scream in agony, and the console will reset. You will now be sitting on the office chair, the game console and controller resting on the floor next to you. He will be staring at you through the TV screen, a look of unspeakable fear on his face. However tempting it may be, do not play the game. It probably is best to not even touch the game controller. Simply switch the console off, remove the game cartridge, and take it with you, leaving the console behind.

That cartridge contains object 56 of 538. You will never, ever find out why he played the game.

Holder of the Truth

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 politely to visit someone who calls himself “The Holder of the Truth". The worker will nod slightly, and then turn back to what he was doing. He will not respond if you ask him again, but do not dare ask him a third time, for if you do he will show his true form to you and rend you into strips of flesh on the spot.

Turn to leave. The door has vanished, but there is a trapdoor in the floor that did not exist before. Open it. Preferably with something long; that gives you a better chance of escape should they be waiting for you on the other side. If they are, run; run as far into the asylum as you can. Find a window and jump out, for all the doors are barred or banished. Once you get out of the window, flee as far as you can, preferably crossing as much water as possible, for while it will not stop them, it will slow them.

If they are not waiting, jump through the trapdoor. You will land in a splendid library. People in exquisite and elaborate dress are everywhere, chatting, reading, and relaxing. DO NOT touch any of them or attempt to choose a book, for that is the trigger, and you do not want to pull it.

Look around- you have all the time you need. Eventually you will find a gray-haired man sitting at a desk, stamping an endless pile of books with an old "returned" stamp. Do not attempt to touch him or the books, for if you do all the pleasant people will reveal what they REALLY look like, and if you are driven mad in an instant by what you see then, consider yourself lucky, for you will not feel the pain as they set upon you in a vehement rage.

Instead, ask the librarian one question and one question only. "Which one holds His law?"

The librarian will look up. His eyes are a color not native to this Earth or even this galaxy; they are a color so impossible that you may be driven mad simply by their gaze. Steel yourself, and stare directly into his eyes. DO NOT BREAK EYE CONTACT, or he will look back down, not wanting to view the scene as the other patrons set upon you. He will tell you a name. It is a long one, but he will give you a card to help remember it. Before you turn to look for the book, ask if he will check it out in advance. He will nod, and stamp the card.

Do not bother looking for the book. It has already been stolen from the library, and you must find it. Close your eyes and say three words: "Find the thief."

Do not open your eyes for ten seconds, for if the prior adventures have not driven you mad, what you see then will.

After ten seconds have passed, open your eyes. You will be across the street from the asylum, still holding the card.

That card is object 57 of 538. You have checked out the book; it is now your duty to return it.

Holder of Lies

In any city, in any country, go to any insane asylum or halfway house you can get yourself to. When you get there, walk up to the front desk and ask to see someone who calls himself "The Holder of Lies". The worker will nod cheerily, then get up and gesture for you to follow him. So will about seven other people in the area. Ignore them all- they strayed from the True Path, and now their only want is to bring others to join them.

Walk up to the desk and look under it. There will be a button, flashing rescue orange, labeled "In Case of Emergency". Press it twice, then jam the stool the worker was sitting on underneath it- this button is all that holds the door open, and you do not want it to slam shut on you.

Get up and turn around. There will be a brushed-steel door labeled "The True Path" in front of you. It is the one truth in this place; ignore all the others; only the True Path leads to the liar.

Go through the door. You may well be driven insane by your position- walking on the roof of a hallway that leads in an impossible direction, on its side, painted in an eye-jarring and impossible color. Ignore the visions- the only thing that is true is the path beneath your feet.

You can not shut your eyes at all here, lest you never manage to open them again. Endure the madness of your position, to say nothing of the sights that will come in a moment, and start walking. The hall's ceiling is tiled in red and white. Keep your feet on the red tiles or you will fall through, straight into the madness beyond, and from then on you will only have one purpose- to bring others to join you.

Eventually, after what seems like an eternity, you will find yourself in front of a plain wooden door. Open it and walk in.

You find yourself in a 30's style office. A man in a black trench coat and a fedora hat is hunched over a pile of papers on the desk, muttering and scribbling. A gun sits on top of a paper-loaded bin labeled "In". Pictures line the back wall, showing the man in a number of places, but you'll notice some things common about all the photos; one, the man never shows his face; and two, everyone in the photos other than the man appears to be in unimaginable agony.

Edge your hand towards the gun, but touch nothing- this man does not enjoy being disturbed. Steel yourself, and then ask into the air, "Where was He when they gathered last?"

Grab the gun QUICKLY, and then fire at the man until you run out of ammunition. If you don't, or if you miss, he will grab you and show you what his face really looks like. You do NOT want to see that- when you do, you will appear among the photos on the wall, and you will see why the others there were in agony.

However, if you succeeded, the man will slump over his desk in mid-lunge, dead. A single envelope will flutter to the floor. If you honestly want to know where He was, grab this envelope- the message inside will tell you. But the contents are extremely volatile, and you may find that your mind can not handle the knowledge.

Don't try and read it now- you have no time. Drop the useless gun and run. Run as fast as you can manage, for without its guardian, the True Path is beginning to stray, and you do not want to be there when that happens.

When you see the steel door, lunge for it. If you were too slow, you will be trapped as a confused worker removes the stool, and you will be tortured endlessly until you agree to replace the man you killed. However, if you were fast enough, you will appear in the lobby, on one of the couches in the rest area.

Quickly, get up and run to the green armchair- the object is calling, and there are others who want it as well. Throw the cushion off the seat.

You will have revealed a skeleton, twisted in a position of horrible agony. In his arms, he holds a book bound in navy blue and embossed with gold. The name is embedded in silver on the front- it's a long one.

This book is object 58 of 538. You have found His law, but it is entirely up to you if you should follow it.

Holder of Work

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of Work". The worker will ask you to wait for a second, as he has to call his boss; at least that's what he says. He will then leave. Wait for a minute or two, then a person will walk besides you. He will ask you for "The Holder of Twins". Tell him that the worker is currently away, talking to his boss. Tell him that both of you will have to wait until the warden returns.

In that very second, the worker will reappear, seemingly out of nowhere. He will ask you politely to wait here while the other person may follow him. Disobey the warden, for if you wait now, you shall never leave the spot you are standing at. Follow them, pretending that you simply have the same way as them.

After a short while, you will reach a paper-door. Do not be fooled, this paper is stronger than any metal you have ever seen. The warden will now open the door, letting the other person in. Follow before the paper door closes again or the institute you're in will turn into a house filled with all of your greatest fears, and you will be locked inside. Forever.

Should you have followed the other person into the door, both of you will find yourselves in a small paradise. Although you will find everything you like and love, do not touch anything with your hands and arms, for the beauty will then quickly fade away and madness will overcome your mind. Simply follow the path you will see below your feet and do not leave it.

The other person will do the same, and he will talk. He will tell you about many things that have happened in his life. Do not talk back, just listen. Neither he nor you want to see what happens if he should ever stop walking on this path. For hours, you will walk and you will have to endure the talking. He will finally complain about having a sore throat and not having anything else to tell you.

You will then reach a golden door; it will open, the closer you are, the wider it opens. Enter the door and you will find yourself in an almost pitch-black room, lit by only two candles. One of them is besides a rucksack, the other besides a mirror. Walk to the rucksack and lift it, as heavy as it may be. Walk to the mirror; you will now choose your fate.

Should the other person already be standing there, you can quickly scream "No matter how hard the work, it will be done!" and then smash the mirror if you want to obtain your piece of the puzzle. Should you have destroyed the reflecting item; the other person will scream unhumanly and slowly melt. After a minute, he will be gone, only his shoes being left. Take them and you will be returned to your home.

The shoes are object 59 of 538. Don't ever put them on.

But! Should you choose to not scream and destroy the mirror, you will take the other person's place, as he will say "What reflects them?” You will now feel unbearable pain, you will slowly die. But after a minute, you will be gone and the other person's talk will be fulfilled. It is up to you who dies.

Holder of Twins

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of Twins". A person will suddenly appear beside you and the worker will be gone. Ask the person the same thing, but the answer will be that the warden is currently away, talking to his boss. He will tell you that both of you will have to wait until the worker comes back.

In that very second, the warden will reappear, seemingly out of nowhere. He will politely ask the other person to wait while he tells you that you may follow him. Do that and ignore the other person disobeying the worker and be glad that he didn't obey, or you would have walked into your death.

After a short while, you will reach a paper-door. But do not let it fool you; this paper is stronger than any metal you have ever seen. The warden will now open the door, letting you in. The other person will quickly follow you. If he doesn't, pray for a swift death.

Should he have followed, both of you will find yourselves in a small paradise. Although you will find everything you like and love in this place, do not touch anything with your hands and arms, for the beauty will then quickly fade away and madness will overcome your mind. Simply follow the path you see below your feet and never leave it.

The other person will do the same, and you will have to talk. Tell him about everything you can remember from your life and hope that he doesn't talk back. Neither you nor he want to know what happens if you ever stop walking while being on this path. For hours, you will walk and you will have to keep talking all the time. Finally, as you see something shiny at the horizon, you may complain about a sore throat and that you have nothing else to talk about.

You will reach a golden door. The closer you come, the wider it will open all by its own. Enter the door and you will find yourself in an almost pitch-black room lit by only two candles. One of them is besides a mirror, the other besides a rucksack. Walk to the mirror and stare into it, as horrifying as the pictures may be. You will notice the other person walking towards you; your fate will be decided in the next few moments.

Should he scream "No matter how hard the work, it will be done!" and then smash the mirror, then your fate is sealed. After he has destroyed the reflecting item, you will feel unbearable pain and you will scream, out of instinct. You will be melting in the next seconds. The other's task will be fulfilled.

But, should he choose to do nothing, you may utter the question "What reflects them?” You will now see the other person slowly melting and he will scream unhumanly. Endure the screams for about a minute, and then he will be gone, only the rucksack he has worn will be left. Open it, take the mirror inside it and you will be returned to your home.

The reflection is object 60 of 538. Don't even dare to destroy it.

Holder of Madness

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of Madness". The worker will bow formally, with his hand tucked under his chest, and motion for you to follow into a waiting room. He will leave, and the lights will go out. When they return, thirteen seconds later, you will be in a dirty hallway with cuneiform scratching on the walls.

As you walk, the scratches will gradually change, to resemble an alien writing, attempting to decipher the writing will send you into a writhing agony for the rest of your mortal days. As you reach a black orb, shimmering with liquidity, you must speak, "We are all mad, for you are the bringer." And the orb will come to resemble a doorway, enter. If the Orb begins to rotate, you will be dragged into the nether.

In the following chamber, made of twisting black coral, stands a figure, ever changing. In him, her, it, you will see all men, all women, children, animals, creatures, beasts, horrors that exist. It will not recognize your presence, unless you extend your left hand, and say, "I swear an oath to Koth, may the Tower ever stand." At that time, he will cease his changing, long enough to place his hand on yours, and your soul will be torn out of your body, and placed within a numbered humanoid skull, resting on a pile to his left.

Touching that skull will bring you to the foyer of an ancient temple, lying in the sands of Mesopotamia.

The skull is object 61 of 538. It must converge once more.

Holder of Salvation

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 with no hesitation to visit someone who calls herself “The Holder of Salvation.” The clerk will give a knowing smile and beckon for you to follow. You will be led outside to an old and run down well with quite a few stones missing, and the clerk will give you a key before returning to his post.

If you should look into the well, you will find that an old, rusted ladder descends into its seemingly endless depths. Should you choose to climb down; you will hear the wind as it blows past you. It may sound to you like a heavenly dirge, or the hellish wails of the damned. There is no way of knowing which you will hear. Should the wind stop at any time, freeze, even if it leaves you hanging by one hand, for it means that an unspeakably hellish creature has entered the shaft. If you stay perfectly still, and are very lucky, you will feel the wind of its passing. However, if you should hear its bestial growl, you would be wise to let yourself fall, and hope that the bottom of the shaft reaches you before the creature does.

After the beast has passed, wait a good minute before continuing your descent. You will soon lose sight of the opening to the shaft. Don’t bother trying to light up the shaft, for this darkness swallows all light. After what will seem like an eternity, you will reach the bottom of the shaft, and remember the touch of light, as there is a single candle down here.

As you look around, you will see that you are in a small room, only slightly wider than the well shaft you just survived. There will be a single wooden door, nondescript and aging, across from where you landed. Don’t bother looking for the ladder, for it has disappeared. Approach the door and knock thrice, lightly. Should you hear nothing, pray for a swift death, for there is no escape from what awaits you now. However, if you should hear a woman’s voice say “Come in dear, I have been waiting for you” then open the door and slowly enter.

You will find yourself in a room no bigger than a closet. A beautiful young woman sits across from you, on what will appear to be an aged chest. She will only answer to one question: “If they are brought together, what can save us?” She will then proceed to describe, in horrifying detail, the only way to stop them once they are united. Many give up hope in this room, but you must not let that happen. For if you do, the woman will reveal her true form, and your death will be both long, and painful beyond mortal comprehension. If you should survive, the woman will let loose an unearthly wail and disappear, leaving only the chest. The key you were given earlier will open it.

What lies in that chest is Object 62 of 538. It is up to you whether it should join its kin.

Holder of Damnation

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or hallway house you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask with no hesitation to visit someone who calls themselves “The Holder of Damnation.” The clerk will frightfully deny any knowledge of such a thing, but will covertly slip you a toothless key with a “∞” engraved upon it, and point you down a certain hallway. At the end of this hallway is a perfectly nondescript door, but for the doorknob. It is made of a stone that is blacker than the deadest night, and should you touch it, you will feel as if your very life force is being drained away.

Upon entering the door, you will be in a brightly lit hallway. The walls are lined with drawings, drawn in the style of a child, depicting the dreams of such a child. Do not look at these pictures, for they’re pleasant face is merely a façade, hiding their true nature. Should you gaze upon them, they will surely be the last thing you shall see, for your eyes will be the first to go. The ceiling of this hallway drips blood. If you were to look up, and believe me, this is something you do not want to do, you would see the disemboweled corpses of hundreds, nay, thousands of children, impaled to the ceiling by their own bones.

Should you reach the end of the hallway, you will find a massive iron door. At eye level, there will be a small sliding plate. Take the key that was given to you earlier and hold the toothless part in your hand, with the “∞” uncovered, and pointing directly at the plate. Close your eyes and give one sharp knock on the plate. You will hear it slide back. Resist any temptation to look, for it will be the end of you. Wait ten seconds, count them off carefully. If the key does not change, run. Run as fast as you can and only stop when your legs can go no farther. If you feel the key change, however, wait until you hear the plate slide back into place and open your eyes. In its place will be a massive padlock. Unlock it with your newly changed key, and quickly enter the room, closing the door behind you. The Holder of Damnation despises the light.

You will be in a dark room. There is no light whatsoever, but you will hear labored breathing from the farthest corner. Do not move closer, and do not speak. The only words that will not result in your death are: “Who was the first to bring them together?” Should you ask, you will hear a voice, neither male nor female, speaking in your mind. Soon it will give up on speech, and the images it creates in your mind will be horrifying. Do not scream, whatever you do, for it will see this as a sign of weakness and end your existence in such a way that only the criminally insane could understand. If you whether it’s “tale,” you will notice that specs of light have appeared all throughout the room. A hiss will fill the room, and elevate to the most horrific scream you will ever hear as each point of light explodes, lighting up the room. When the light dims, you will see the charred remains of the Holder in the corner. Do not move in for a closer look. Dead dogs can still bite, after all. At your feet you will find a small velvet bag. It contains a flawless crystal star.

That star is Object 63 of 538. If it is allowed to shine, its light will drive all that see it mad.

Holder of Nature

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you can get to. When you reach the front desk, cover your ears and ask the worker to see the one who calls himself "The Holder of Nature". If you didn't cover your ears, pray to any and every god you know for relief of what comes next. The worker will stand and begin yelling in an unknown language, in a voice more filled with evil than Satan or any of the demons in his legion. To hear this voice clearly would corrupt your mind instantly leaving you to suffer a pain far greater than the fires of hell for the rest of your life. Even with your ears covered, your head will feel as if it were in flames while the worker speaks his evil tongues. When he is finished, wait ten seconds before uncovering your ears, for evil still lingers in the air. After ten seconds, uncover your ears, and put your hand to your forehead saying, "In the beginning." As you finish saying this, the worker will open his mouth and a portal appears. Should you step through this portal fearfully, he will close it when you are only halfway through, trapping your soul in the dark abyss that connects the dimensions for all eternity.

If you make it through safely, though, you will find yourself in a garden. A garden more beautiful and lush than any forest or jungle known to man, demon, and angel. In front of you, you will see a path. Follow it, but do not stray, for if you do the beasts of the garden will attack and begin to slowly tear the layers of your body off over a span of nearly 1,000 years.

After what may seem anywhere from 5 minutes to 5 weeks of walking, you will come upon a quaint home. Knock on the front door, and if you should hear a voice saying, "Come in.", leave. Exit through the portal and flee the country, for now he knows your scent. If you should have heard a voice saying, "Enter.", you may open the door and go in.

Inside, you will see an old man in a rocking chair, reading by the fire. He will only respond to one question, "What started it all?" The man will begin to change his shape right in front of you. The wrinkles on his face and arms will begin to fade, and his muscles will begin to take shape, as if he were getting much younger. He will stand and ask you to come to him. Don't. As much as he may tempt you to, do not. When he asks you this, stare directly into his eyes, and without breaking eye contact, inquire once more, "What started it all?"

Once you say this again, the fire will jump from the fireplace and surround the man. He will begin to speak, in a voice as loud as the roaring sea, yet as soft as a gentle breeze. He will explain the beginning of life, the items, and the entire universe. When he is finished, the fire will reside, and the man will be gone. In his place will be a marble on the floor. This marble is as red as fire, yet as blue as the sea. As clear as the wind, but as black as the earth. Do not try to comprehend this marble, for it will twist your mind into madness.

Close your eyes and pick up the marble saying, "The river cooleth the raging flames, the wind corrode the mighty earth." Open your eyes and you will be in the bathtub of the place you call home.

The marble is item 64 of 538. Will you bring them together?

Holder of Agony

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit something which calls itself "The Holder of the Agony". The person behind the counter's eyes will widen in surprise, as if they didn't understand why they recognized the name. They'll sputter for a moment, but their facial expression will soon change to a drawn, furrowed, pensive scowl. They will shudder, turn away, and refuse. You must ask again, and continue asking in a calm, soft voice, even if they weep or scream. Eventually, the life will leave their eyes, and they will lead you, with a shuffling gait, to a room with no apparent number just down the hall.

The worker will open the door for you. As you walk past to enter the dark room, they will land a sharp kick on the small of your back, hurtling you into the room. Whatever you do, do not stop or turn around while passing the worker. Please just trust me on that.

The room will smell simultaneously of alcohol sanitary wipes and the metallic tang of blood. You won't be able to see much until the same door you entered through opens and the gray light from without illuminates a lanky, cloaked figure entering the room. When the door shuts, it will be darker than before.

Immediately, you will feel the cloaked figure press itself against your body. Its bony limbs will jab your ribs and stomach as it says, "I know you". Its voice will reverberate through your entire body, and you will feel every type of discomfort - like you're being watched, being molested, like your foot fell asleep, like you're dizzy, nauseous, impatient. Stand perfectly still. Make no sound, except to ask: "Why are they in pain?"

It will reply, in its gut-wrenching hiss, "I will hold you here for all time, and every night, I will mutilate you, rape you, and murder you." You will have no time to brace yourself or think, and especially no time to move, before you feel a wicked, jagged blade thrust into your abdomen and come out the other side. You will feel its rough surface grating against your organs. Do not move. Do not speak. DO NOT SCREAM.

The voice will continue. "I will murder everything you love, and make them see your face as their killer. I will ruin everything you find beautiful. I will twist your mind until you are as grotesque and perverted as the rest of us." It will not stop, even as fiery, acidic pain lances through your nerves from the blade in your gut. The pain will stop your breath and perhaps your heart, but you must remain perfectly still. More of the blades will pierce your body, in soft places, in impossible places, and the voice will continue hissing its deadly vows, its baroque tortures that become so creatively inhuman and meticulously soulless that you will be in danger of losing your mind.

Stillness is your only defense. If you move, the blades, growing in number from one to five to thirty to a hundred or a thousand, if only you had a chance of counting, will tear away in every direction, forcing every chunk of your flesh and nerves to stay conscious and aware as they are rent apart again and again forever. Stay still, even as your entire body is wracked with agony that couldn't possibly exist; you would be wishing for a reprieve of snake bites on your eyes and razor blades in your nerves.

You must listen to the voice carefully, for eventually, it will say one of two things.

If it says, "This glory is reserved for those who have proven themselves," then I can offer only my condolences. Your eternal suffering will be so insanely horrible that anyone on earth who has seen your face or heard your name will have nightmares of your agony even after they have passed on to the afterlife in Heaven or Hell. Your soul will be a wasted husk.

If it says, "Your whole existence of forever is untouched by this agony," you must reply, quickly and confidently, "The agony fills us all until they have stopped hurting." For every second it takes to muster your reply through the haze of unbelievable pain, you will suffer from another unique and unerring agony for the rest of your life. If you cannot speak, you will never know another moment without torture, and each day you will consider the prior day's pain to be the tickle of a feather.

If you reply correctly, everything will stop - the pain, the hissing - and you will feel the figure, once pressed against you, crumbling into nothingness. Lift the cloak and you will find a leather pouch. Open it only if you want to know what it would be like for the world to be torn asunder by a plague that even Hell wouldn't condone.

This tortured dust is object 65 of 538. Don't run, or you'll never know.

Holder of the Greed

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of the Greed". If a look of ravenous hunger comes over them, run from the institution, for if you do not, you will be eaten alive in the most painful way possible. However, if a look of tired want comes over them, they will take you to a cell in a corridor that wasn't there before. The walls will be made of fine gold and silver, but do not touch it, lest they devour your soul.

As you walk, if at any time you hear the sound of coins jingling, stop and yell quickly, "All that glistens is not gold!" If it continues, you are damned for all eternity, and there is no point in running. However, if it stops, continue.

Eventually, you will come to a gilded door. The worker will open it, and close their eyes as you enter. As you enter, the door will close behind you. Inside is an exquisite palace, crafted of ivory and gold and wonders that no mortal man has ever built or conceived. Do not dwell too long, as if you do, the world will open under you, and you will be eternally trapped in a world of filth and squalor.

If you continue, the palace around you will slowly and increasingly drip blood, until a torrent of blood rains down on you. Continue, and never look back, and do not stop. Eventually, the blood will stop, and you will be in a room filled with gold bricks and treasure. Sitting in a throne of platinum will be a corpse, which will respond to only one question: "What do they lust for?"

It will stand up, and begin telling of every want, every desire, and every theft. If you manage to keep your sanity, the corpse will motions towards the treasure when it finishes with its story. However, do not take any of the gold or treasure. Instead, look for a small, copper coin, inscribed with an unknown language. The second you touch it, you will be back in the institution, as if nothing happened, with the coin in your hand.

That coin is 66 of 538. It is worth nothing and everything.

Holder of the Cosmos

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you can get yourself to. Get the front receptionist's attention and ask to visit someone called "Holder of the Cosmos". He will look you up and down. If he mutters and walks away stay in place - he will return momentarily. Upon his arrival he will unlock a trapdoor beneath his desk and motion for you to follow. He will lead you down an ancient, creaking staircase made of wooden planks. It remains somehow suspended in an impossibly large room, the sides or bottom of which you will not be able to fathom. The only light will be from the quickly receding entryway. Vast, hulking shapes lumber will in the darkness - I recommend that you do not make any noises louder than the gentle squeaking of the bridge.

Your guide will remain only a few steps ahead of you, but in the oppressive darkness his features remain unclear. You will be descending the stairs for what seems like an eternity. During this time, do not let your thoughts wander. Focus entirely on your objective - the Keeper of the Cosmos. As you sink farther into the blackness, wooden planks swaying beneath your feet, your guide's form may seem to shift. It is not a trick of your eyes. If he stops at any time, throw yourself from the bridge immediately - an eternity of falling would be preferable to his torment.

However, should he continue to move, you will eventually begin to feel a wind pick up. Far below you, the tops of trees will become visible. Above your head, a vault of stars and clouds. To your sides, a vast and unimpeded horizon, save for one structure far to your right. As you descend further, you can see it is a mansion with a small dirt road leading from it. This part of the descent is incredibly peaceful and will last for several hours. Enjoy it, but do not under any circumstance look back from where you came. The rickety staircase will collapse and you will plummet to your death.

Eventually you will reach the bottom of the stairs. They will have deposited you in a thickly wooded forest, a few yards from a dirt road. Your guide will stop moving. In the sparse shafts of moonlight filtering down between the trees, you will notice that he has changed considerably. Where once stood a man now stands a hellish, hulking beast. He will begin to turn. You must run. The staircase you recently descended will have disappeared. Your only choice is the road. The demon is slow, but he will not relent.

Run. Run until your lungs burn and your chest heaves. Run until your throat is slick with blood. Until you cannot run any longer. Give up hope. Fall to your knees. Weep. You will feel the demon's breath at your heels, and you will mumble a prayer into the dirt road as you see your life flash before your eyes. At that very moment, as you have lost all hope, a gunshot will roar into the void of the darkened forest road. The demon at your back will have been slain.

This next moment is crucial. No matter how winded you are, you must stand up and immediately say: "Who is their enemy?" If you wait a split second too long you will be blown to bits in a similar fashion to the demon. However, if you are fast enough, an elegantly dressed gentleman on a horse will trot out of the darkness a few steps down the road. He appears rather young and is holding an ornately crafted, 18th century pistol in his right hand. He has several large tomes strapped to the saddlebags of his horse and bits of script in a foreign language are visible pasted, in a fashionable way, to various bits of his clothing. He will slowly approach you, making no move to dismount, but visibly interested in your appearance. You must hold his gaze until he disappears in the opposite direction. Following this exchange your exhaustion will suddenly catch up with you, and you will find it increasingly difficult to stay awake. Give in to your weariness and sleep.

You will awake the next day in your bed, clutching a rough piece of paper. On it, in an elegant script, are written the words: "You are a fool."

That man is object 67 of 538. He defends the cosmos from their revival. Now that he knows your intentions, he will do anything to stop you.

Holder of the Negative

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you can get yourself to. Get the front receptionist's attention and ask to visit someone called "Holder of the Negative". If the receptionist adamantly refuses to help you, immediately turn, leave the institution behind and take the fastest possible route home. After a fortnight of hiding you will know whether their trackers have found you. However, if the receptionist merely nods at you with a stony expression and gestures for you to follow, do so. He will lead you to a seemingly innocent-looking hospital room and leave.

As soon as the door locks, push the bed aside to reveal a decrepit wooden trap door underneath. Use the bed to block the door - the clock is ticking and the sentinels are already on their way. Open the trap door to find a dusty and grimy gray metal coffin in a shallow pit dug into the floor. Open the locks on the side and lift the lid. If the coffin is empty, lay yourself inside and close both the trap door and the coffin lid. If there is somebody already in there, well - I would recommend trying to snap your own neck before the coffin's previous resident does.

You must lie inside the coffin for exactly four minutes and thirteen seconds. Until this time, DO NOT OPEN THE LID. What would come to pass if you did is beyond the description of mortal men. When the required time has passed, you may knock twice on the metal lid. If there is no answer, knock thrice more. If the coffin trembles slightly in response, you may push the lid off. If the coffin remains silent, you know your life expectancy is now a minute at best.

Push the lid aside to emerge in what seems like the dark, blasted remains of a bizarre underground machine shop. The blotched, ocher metal walls and the gray dust of time over the disengaged, quiet computing devices speak in their own way about the hundreds of thousands battles which were planned, organized and miserably lost in the very same room you are now sitting in. As alien and intricate the machinery may be, don't dally. Rise to your feet and reach your right hand out to find a wall. Fumble around until you find a metal lever sticking out of it - it's roughly at your shoulder level. If the room starts to emit an increasingly loud whirring, DO NOT PANIC. Instead, call out sternly into the blackness: "It's the last piece of knowledge we require." If the whirring dies down, continue your search. If it doesn't, the machinery will engage in their last integration routine with you as their target. When you find the switch, throw it.

The last operational generator will start up with a painful whine, powering little else but the few good light fixtures around the floor. In the core of the still dim room, you will see a huge, brass-colored and impossibly complex mechanical device which most closely resembles a crossover between an opulent metal throne and a Victorian-era life support system. Amidst the zig-zagging tubes, pipes, valves, cogs and plates you can see a gaunt, inhumanly frail corpse barely clinging on to its life. As intimidating as the throne may be, enter the creature's presence and matter-of-factly utter the query: "Who scattered them for the first time?"

Your question sparks a new light in his milky gray eyes, and with the spite and frustration of countless generations in his raspy, mechanically amplified voice he will recite to you all of the stories, all tales of vain heroism, every broken union and all of the heart-wrenchingly disappointing failures of all of those who came before you. His contagious despair will punch through your skin, slither past your flesh and pierce through your bones, but take heed not to lose your focus - he is still their slave and his corrupted side will readily consume you if given the opportunity. He will tell you of those who first knew of their convergence, how they scattered the objects and broke their unholy union and what made those first fail and perish.

When he is done, he will slowly and painfully extend his hand out to you from within the metal shell. Do not take his hand. Instead, cross your arms across your chest and exclaim: "Your flawed routines are not mine to embrace!". Leaning against one of the mysterious devices is a thin, two-pronged metal staff. Grab it, and using all the power you can possibly muster, drive it through the only exposed vital part in his body - his head. His death will be swift.

When his rotten body and the infernal device lie silent, reach inside the metal shell protecting the body and fumble around the inner workings of the machine. As soon as your hand hits a part pulsing heat, yank it out. It should come off easily. Retreat as fast as you can back into the zinc coffin - you have killed the only entity which upheld the order of the place and it won't be long until the room is going to unmake itself and crumble into the void. Slam down the lid, close your eyes, and if you are lucky, you will near-instantly drift off into sleep.

When you wake up, you will wake up in your own home, in your own bed, tightly hugging a warm chunk of metal to your chest. You would be wise to get rid of the coffin around you at earliest opportunity.

This corrupted golden gear is the object 68 of 538. You now know how your predecessors failed. Now it's your responsibility to make sure their errors are not repeated.

Holder of the Mind

In any town, in any state, in any country, go to a mental institution or rehab clinic. Go up to the front desk and ask to see the holder of the mind. They will hold a look of reluctance on their face, just long enough to see it. Then you will be taken down a hallway, and up a flight of stairs. The stairs will go on for what seems like miles, and if you trip you will be knocked unconscious. You will wake up at your home, if you go back to the institution, it will be an empty lot.

If you make it up the stairs you will find yourself in a hallway on the side of a high-rise building, the windows will go down to the floor. If you look outside them, you will see the city you were born in, but there will be no cars on the street, or people on the sidewalks. You will be taken to a door at the end of the hallway. Open the door and step in. At first there will be only blackness, then a single spotlight will come on. You will be in an empty circus tent, there will be a man in the center ring. You will not see his eyes, they will be covered in the shadow from his top hat. You must address him as "ringmaster". Ask him to see your innermost mind, the mind you cannot access yourself. Where your deepest secrets, and forgotten memories lay. He will crack his whip. There will be a blinding light. In his place will be your greatest nemesis, and your true love.

You must ask your nemesis for a favor, no matter what you say, they will hand you a knife. You must use this knife to stab out the heart of your true love. Remove their heart and turn around. Behind you will be the ringmaster. Give him the heart, and he will tell you your earliest coherent thought. You will pass out and wake up in the room you were born. You will find the knife lying next to you. It will be stained with the blood of everyone and everything you ever will or have ever killed.

This knife is the object 69 of 583. If they come together you will be held responsible.

Holder of the Sky

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of the Sky". The receptionist will ignore your existence completely, and you will collapse on the floor. You will wake up in a torrent of soundless rain, the silence will be unbearable, and there is no environment, what you walk on is solid air in a tempest.

In the silence a huge mass of people dressed in complete darkness will appear and begin approaching you, do not fear. Take off your shirt and wrap it around your dominant hand and walk at them. Do not speak. When you get close hold your arm forward and simply fend aside anyone who is in your way, should your skin contact any of them, the silence will be broken and you will become visible to them, and that would mean the end.

Going through you will see a man in scarlet, he will be the only one standing still, and the only one that can see you. An empty circle will oddly form with you and the man inside, the rest continuously walking. Stand and wait, once the man raises his hand you must immediately break the silence. “How many will perish when they are brought together?”

The men will all stop and rhythmically face towards you, all of them eyeing your every move. Once they are all facing you, you must then ask “And how many will be there to fight back?”

They will laugh. All but the one in the red cloak will laugh. Their cackling will resonate throughout the space you stand on, but you mustn’t give in. Resume asking, “And how many will be there to fight back?” Their laughter will grow and they will begin to fade. Once all but one are no more, ask one last question to the scarlet man, “Where will we be safe from them?”

The man will bow before you and fade, the only thing left will be his scarlet red cloak.

This cloak is object 71 of 538. When worn it brings you back to this space, the only place safe when they are brought together.

Holder of Winter

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of Winter". Should the receptionist begin to cry, you're at the right place. You will appear in a cold street in the middle of fall after a storm. Begin walking down the street. The houses are all dark and the twilight is forever. It is good to hear the cicadas and birds chirping, for if they stop you must run. Any direction will do, as long as it's down the street. If the cries continue again stop. Do not go off the road, the thing in the woods hates company.

If you see a single black crow on the electric wires in the distance you must seize movement. Everything will become silent and they will know you have seen it, do not worry about running. The crow will begin flying at a horrendously slow pace toward you. Once you spot it's green eyes you cannot avert your gaze from it, for if you do time will accelerate to mid winter and you will be unable to move, you will freeze to death slowly in the snow.

Once the crow lands it will begin acting as if you aren't there and begin pecking at the ground, you must ask it one question and one question only with your gaze still at its eyes, if it turns you stare at its head. "What will we gain by bringing Winter?"

The crow will continue pecking at the ground, but you will stare at it. It will suddenly begin staring directly at you as if into your own soul. The time will feel immeasurable and the late fall's cold will get to you but you will not avert your gaze. The crow will caw once and begin to fly away but you will not lose sight of it, you will give chase. You will come up to a forest and the crow will fly through, you will stare at where it last disappeared and pass through the trees.

You will come to a clearing and you will find the crow long dead and rotting, the only thing left is one of its lucid green eyes. You will be filled with painful visions of yourself gouging out your own eye to replace it with the crow's. It will end, you will realize you are back on a busy street in your neighborhood, the eye in your hand.

That eye is object 73 of 538. It can see into people’s hearts and show their true self, and they must never come together. Never.

Holder of Sound

In any city, in any country, seek out any library or book store you can find. When you enter the store pick up the first book at hand and ask the cashier to see a person who is know by the name of "The Holder of Sound". If the cashier does not hear you, ask again but louder and if she still does not respond write the question on a piece of paper and hand it to her. The cashier will drop the piece of paper in disgust and with the same look will lead you through the stockroom door. The cashier will then look through a box of books marked as "Unsellable", eventually she will find the book she seeks, it will be a brash pink covered tome, larger and thicker than any book in the store. Upon opening of the book, you will instantly be transported to a long corridor located impossible within the library.

Inside this corridor there are many door on either side of you, each one is emitting a sound both alluring but terrible. Each one will draw you in with its siren song but upon opening the door you will understand the true essence of evil in its primordial form before the universe had begun, an evil beyond the understanding of the human mind, you will instantly become mad and kill yourself on the very spot of which you stood. You must make it past each of these doors in turn.

Upon passing the 38th door you will finally see the end of the corridor. An immense sound will emanate from this door, louder than anything you could have heard before hand and so piercing that it will seem to claw at your very soul itself. You must fight your way towards the door and with every step you take the sound will get louder and more piercing until your ears bleed and your mind screams out in pain. If you manage to make it to the door and touch the handle, the sound will abruptly stop and the corridor will be silent for the first time since The Creation. You will then open the door feeling content with the world.

The room before you will be of brash colors and light on the walls and ceilings. The room will be furnished with the latest designer furniture and siting at a mahogany table on a high back leather chair will be a man dressed in the finest tailored suit. Upon your entry the man will make a sudden dash for a gramophone sitting in the corner of the room. You have only a split second to save yourself at this point, the sound from the gramophone will sing the End Song, destruction itself in sound form and you will be erased from existence before you can act. To save yourself you have to ask the man a single question, "How did the song begin". If you made it in time the man will stop running and with a glance of defeat towards you he will reach into the gramophone stand and produce a vinyl disk, he will hand the disk to you. The disk contain the sound of creation, it contains Hi's voice and thus the voice and sound of the universe. This disk together with another of The Objects will start the beginning of the end, when all the objects are together again.

This disk is object 74 of 538. It is the start of the end, and they must never come together. Never.

Holder of Chance

In any city, in any country, seek out any school or educational facility you can find. When you reach the front desk, ask to see a person who calls himself “The Holder of Chance.” If the secretary shows any sign of fear, give the request again, and do not relent. Eventually your perseverance will pay off, and you will be led to a deserted classroom in a closed down wing of the school. Scraps of police tape and faded chalk profiles will litter the floor, and the door will be sealed behind you before you can inquire anything. At this point you must choose one of the thirty desks, sit down and wait. Only one of these desks will allow you to keep your life, and advising you to choose wisely would do little good, as there is no way to tell if you have done so until it is too late. After a short wait you should begin to hear things; children laughing, droning lectures, and the occasional snore, but these are merely echoes, of when the classroom was host to nothing more devious than homework and pop quizzes.

As you wait, the sounds will slowly change. Where there was once laughter and lectures, there will now be cries of pain and howls of despair. Shades of the classroom’s horrible history will begin to take shape around you. Do not fear, as shades are harmless. The beast they can become, however, is not. As your wait continues, the shades will grow more numerous, and share with you the events that occurred in the classroom. This part has driven many men into fits of tears, and more still into madness. Should you reach the end of this macabre production with your sanity intact, you will find out if you have chosen wisely. If you have chosen incorrectly, then the shades will take form. They are hideous mockeries of what they were in life, half-formed doppelgangers of those long dead. There is no escape from this room now. They will tear you apart ever so slowly, sharing the torment of those who died in this room in years past with you. It will take you days to die, perhaps even a week. The only consolation you have is that you will likely lose your sanity after the first few hours.

If you were lucky, and chose the one correct seat, the shades will gather around you, coalescing into a pitch black mass. When it disappears, you will find yourself in the most lavish casino imaginable. It is populated by those who have played the games so long that their flesh has long since rotted away, (for death is forbidden from entering this casino) and yet they still play, hoping to gain their freedom. There are two doors out of the casino. One leads to a wasteland where fell beasts roam and nothing but certain death awaits. The cost to pass through is four silver coins. The other door will take you to what you seek, and is the only chance for you to leave with your life. The cost to pass through is five gold coins. You will be holding a single silver coin in your hand. A nearby sign will tell you that three silvers equals a gold. You must play if you do not wish to be trapped here for good, but be warned; nearly every game is rigged, and the ones that are change at random, seeking only to confuse and trap you.

If you somehow manage to gather the five gold coins and enter the door, you will be in an elevator. It will take you up, to an office even more lavish than the casino. Behind a desk at the far end of the room sits a skeletal figure, dressed in the finest suit you will ever see. Approach the desk and stand before him, saying only one thing: “Will you roll?” It will nod and produce a pair of dice from its jacket. Call the roll, evens or odds. If you lose, the skeleton will grin, and treat you to ten thousand years of undying torture. If you should win, however, it will let loose a wail that will unbind the magics that hold the place together. The souls in the casino below will pass through the floor around you, seeking the rest that has been denied for so long. As the casino disintegrates around you, stand perfectly still. Hopefully you will not be taken with it, but if you are, there is no being in this world who can say what will happen to you. If you were not taken, you will be back in the classroom, the same as before but for the mound of dust and rotting cloth at your feet. Within it you fill find a pair of dice. As soon as you touch them, the door will unlock.

That pair of dice is Object 75 of 538. With every roll, they take another life.

John Smith

If you go into any medical institution at night, approach the front desk and ask to see ‘John Smith the 76th’, the receptionist will hand you a key and a direction card. She will not say anything, if she does, return the card and come back the next day.

Follow the card; it will usually lead to a second story hallway, you’ll find the room number on the key fob, approach the door, announce that you are coming by knocking on the door three times. Unlock the door. Inside you will find a ordinary room, do not be fooled, this is an illusion, touch nothing, instead approach the single chair facing the window and sit, looking at the stars. Then, in a clear voice state:

“I have come to see the dreamer”

If you are successful, you will hear the door open and the bed creek. Count to five, then turn to face the bed, a withered old man will be lying there, hooked up to many machines, he will look at you with cold eyes, when he nods at you, you must be prepared to either flee, die in agonising pain or repeat the phrase:

“The dream is a lie, let the light shine here once more”

The old man will grow angry at this statement, the feeling of fear will multiply in your chest, you’ll go blind and feel as though all of your body is burning. DO NOT STOP REPEATING THE PHRASE OR YOU WILL DIE.

Eventually the fear will subside, when your sight returns you will now see a young man lying in bed, he will jump out of it and say:

“What does a dreamer want?”

You may answer with the name of one item, he will smile and offer you his hand. You must shake it, once you do the man will evaporate and your item will be on the floor where he once stood. But when you lay your hands on the item, you will feel a chill and forever after, when you fall asleep, you will dream that you are an old man, hooked into machines in a patient room, under the name of John Smith the 76th…

The dream is the 76th object. Its meaning is unknown.

Holder Of Blood

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house in you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of Blood". The receptionist will begin to scream. It will be the most piercing scream ever made on this plane of existence, but you most endure. When it is over, she will begin to bleed heavily from every orifice on her body, and she will die. You must make your way to the door you entered from.

Once you open the door, you will find yourself in a medium-sized blue room. There will be a bed on the right wall and an open window on the left. Look out this window and you will see a house. Inside you will see that the walls are completely red with blood, and all the furniture is sculpted from human bones, organs, and flesh. After a few moments you will see a woman, presumably in her fiftys, dragging a corpse. this corpse has no eyes, and has shards of glass impaling him all over. At this point you must NOT take your eyes off the woman. She will craft more furniture from the dead man's body, and use his flesh as wallpaper.

About midway through the process, a small child will wall down a flight of stairs that were not previously there. At this point you must look at the child, and ONLY the child. After her mother is finished, she will come at her with a large hunting knife, and murder her in a way too brutal to be described with text. After the mother is done, you must jump from the window and knock on the door exactly 19 times. DO NOT use the door, for if you do... well, let's just say that a good house can never have enough accessories.

Immediately after the 19th knock, the door will swing open and the mother, carrying her child's severed head, will answer. Keep your eyes locked on the child, and if you look away for even a second, pray for a quick death. In an untrembling, immovable voice, you must ask the question: "What are they hiding from?" Then the disembodied head will begin to tell a tale so horrific, that to this date only one person has not lost their sanity from hearing it. Should you manage to last through the entire story, the head will melt into a pool of blood, and the mother will force upon you the hair that remains. Drink the blood, and you will wake up just outside the asylum, still holding the hair.

The hair is object 77 of 538. Pray no one ever finds its true purpose.

Oblivion Mod

There is currently a conversion mod for {{subst:Oblivion}} based on this series in development.

Videos:

• http://youtube.com/watch?v=FRkWQDHz7hU
• http://youtube.com/watch?v=6m3nm1OM8IU
• http://youtube.com/watch?v=YokGL6cusOg

These videos have been removed by the user.

They've forced their way onto more desktops than Sasser.

Creepypasta/The Holders is part of a series on Creepypasta [2spoopy4meScared?]

Types of Creepypasta Awesome • Mediocre • Retarded • Lengthy • Mirrors • Lost Episodes • Video Games • Paranormal • Russian Specific Creepypasta The Backrooms • Liminal Spaces • Haunted Majora's Mask Cartridge • Smile.jpg • The Holders • Humper Monkey's Ghost Story • The Otherkin • Slenderman • Mario 64 Iceberg • Tails Doll • Tanasinn • Then A Skeleton Popped Out • Popobawa • Then who was X? • The Grifter • It's slowly coming this way! • Uboa • Jeff the Killer Related Articles Hauntings • Hypno • Max Headroom • Purple Aki • Survival Guide • Screamer • Shit Bricks • Spengbab • Spiders • Tulpas • /x/ • Bill9929