Holder of Apathy

In any city, in any country, go to the nearest church that you can find; an old or abandoned one is best, but any church will do. If you absolutely must go to a church that is in current use, be sure to go on a day that there are no services. Random strangers can mess this up for you.

When you get to the church of your choice, walk towards the door and stop exactly 8 feet from it, with your arms crossed and a scowl on your face. As loud as you can, or as soft as you can manage, repeat the words: "I don't want to feel anymore."

The doors should open for you, if not...Then you should bolt for your car, or run back the way you came. Don't stop until your legs tire out or you're home. If you do stop, you won't die. Your fate will be no longer enjoyable. You will never see color again, you will never hear music the same way, the world will become quiet and literally grey in your eyes. You will be a shell of a person, with tears welling but no actual release of emotion. You will feel, but you won't be able to show it.

But, if the doors do open for you, and you are welcome. The inside of the church should look burnt out, despite how old or how unscathed the building looks on the outside. Walk in, and sit down on the closest pew that you can find. Wait for about seven minutes, and a bright, almost blinding light will shine through the first broken stained glass window.

Then, a random door will open. It could be the front door or a bathroom door, but a door will open, and a very tall, very grey-skinned preacher in tattered robes will walk in and sit down next to you.

You are not to look into his eyes. Keep your sight to the floor or on your feet. If this preacher sees that you have no intention on looking at him after waiting for three minutes, he will get up, walk towards the front and grab an old Bible that sits on the floor next to him.

Finally, he will begin to speak; not words from the book, but what he says is directed at you.

"Every time you dream, you die. The world fades from the tiny abortion that is your soul, and you lay there in a broken heap on the floor, sobbing and wailing for the mother that you so viciously clawed away from. The blood of your birth will be the blood of your undoing. The world will be ripped from you, in the same way that you ripped from the uterus. Pain will be the only thing that you can register as you live from now on. The ripping of flesh, your flesh, the only sound you'll hear. Their faces consume your sight as you fall asleep one last time...

Can you accept this fate?"

You mustn't show any reaction to this, only look up at him, your face has to stay the same! Or, what he described will be the most pleasurable dream that you could reach for in the twisted world that you'll live in.

Wait thirty or more seconds before saying in a confident voice:

"Yes. I can accept this fate, make it come faster."

He will nod, then exit out the same door that he entered.

Then... pain.

A burning sensation will rip through your stomach, consume your chest and then spread to the rest of your body. You must endure this without changing your expression or moving in the slightest. Blood will seep out of the new claw marks that are slowly forming on your skin, and you'll feel something sharp being forced out of your stomach from the inside. Keep that scowl. Don't smile, don't cry... don't do anything. Just sit there and take it.

After a while, the pain will recede and be replaced with an overwhelming amount of pleasure, as the object that had just split out of your stomach slides into your lap all on its own. After a few minutes, shut your eyes and scream: "I want this to go away!"

The pleasure and the pain, will be completely gone.

Once you're able to move your arms, grab the object and clean it off on your shirt. Look at it for a second... and the seemingly shapeless black blob in your hand will shift and change into a small key, a silver key with a chipped edge. That edge means that this key will no longer unlock anything. Whatever it was meant for can never be opened or locked off again.

With this object, you can control and alter the emotions of others, make anyone fall for you, or despise you with a single look. Your emotions can also be changed, you will be freed from natural emotional reactions. Free to do whatever you want to without pain, without guilt. Keep this key with you. Don't let anyone else find out about what it is.

That key is object 362 of 538. It yearns to be with its brethren again. Once the rest are freed, they will meet.