The Holders

The Holder of Eternity

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 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 that you might expect to lead to the basement; they don't.

As you press deeper and deeper into the underbelly of the institution, you will begin to hear a chorus of screams. At first it will be barely audible, as if originating from a point a great distance away, but as you approach the end of the hallway, the screams will grow clearer and more thunderous, until they drone so loudly as to consume all other noises. The din will quickly become so painful that you will feel the unrelenting urge to claw at your own ears to escape it; resist this impulse. The worker, stoically enduring the cacophony, will show you a door. As swiftly as they can, they will unlock it and run, leaving you alone in this cramped, dark hallway.

This will be your last chance to run. If you decide to continue, open the door; the piercing wail will then end abruptly, leaving your ears ringing. The room you will enter will be coated in an almost tangible darkness that consumes all but the far wall. Manacled to that wall is an emaciated figure covered in raw lashes. He will stare directly at you with a maniacal grin plastered to his face, seemingly undisturbed by his festering wounds and the scalpel rammed into his chest. The only way to save yourself from this man's dark designs is to ask, "Who created them?"

He will cackle in a manner befitting the death throes of an animal, before responding. His will be the most horrific tale you have ever heard, beyond such primitive concepts as pain and death. It will delve deep into the very essence of evil; those of weak mind would go mad hearing it.

When he finishes, it will be up to you to release this man from 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.