The Holders

In any city, in any country, there’s a mental institution or halfway house you can try any of these in. There were 2538 of these, but 2000 were lost. They must never come together. Ever.

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 persons 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 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 358. 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 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 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 t 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 clip 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 say 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