The Holder of the Living End

This object is the Three Hundred and Eighty-Sixth of the Five Hundred Thirty-Eight Objects of the damned. 386, out of 538. Think about it. Ingest it in your brain, and fathom it all. There are 538 Objects, and this is the 386th in the series. Do you not understand? The Objects have been separated into 538 parts, and they seek to reunite themselves. What you Seekers fail to understand is that your participation is not of your own accord, but rather, it is merely you playing your part in this game, so that they may come together.

And I'm sure you know what happens when they come together. I know it, of course. And I know I cannot stop it. Nobody can stop it. We are, after all, pieces to a game. Puppets tied to a string. Characters to a grotesque play. And we must play our parts, whether we like it or not.

What I do know, however, is what happens *afterward*. What happens after they all come together. And that is why I must let them come together. Why you must find me.

You will know when you need to find me. You will play your part. You will go to the nearest halfway house, as what you've been doing for the past 380 odd Objects. You will ask for me. The person on the desk will play his part. He will quiver. He will whimper. And he will lead you to me. And that is where I play *my* part. I will hinder your progress. I will darken the path, and blind you with nothingness. I will whisper into your ear the voices of the damned, hoping to drive you insane. I will beckon you to move forward and ignore the darkness enveloping you. You will do so, for that is your part. And you must play your part.

You will reach the end of your journey. This trek towards the void will take its toll on you, and you will feel as if you are on the last legs of your life. But you will not falter. You mustn't. You will feel what is in front of you, and realize that there is a door. Push that door open. You must push the door open, for not only does your life depend on it, but the story too. And the story must continue.

I will then blind you with light, and you will find yourself in a room with an old man, and a table. That old man, of course, is me. Do not gaze at my face though, for you will be driven insane. Instead, you will look at the table in front of you. You will see a derelict chess board on this table. You will sit on the chair in front of this table. I will then move the first piece.

You must defeat me at this game. Failure to do so will mean your demise in the darkness outside the room. Your victory, however, will be with you moving your queen to checkmate me. I will concede defeat, and offer my hand for you to shake.

You will not shake my hand, and instead, ask the question, "What happens after The End?"

I will then act surprised. I will then tell you of what happens. What happens after they come together. No, more specifically, what happens after that. After the unspeakable apocalyptic horrors that ensue. I will tell you of the Resurrection. Their Resurrection. Of the Cycle of Life and Death. Of how They will scatter the Objects for a new generation of hopeless men and women to find. And of how They might rise and end it all. I will tell you all of this, and you will listen. You must listen, for it is your part to listen. And you will understand the meaning of it all.

You will keep your composure, and you will have a deeper sense of understanding of this fleeting universe. You will know what I know, for you are worthy. For you are meant to know. You will then take the Queen with which you have defeated me, and go out of the room. You will find yourself in darkness, and wake up to arrive outside from whence you came. You will have the Queen in your hands.

You will then have Object 386 of 538. For the pieces are now set in motion, and it is only a matter of time before their parts are played.