The Holder of Tragedy

Turn back now. You don't want to take this test. Let someone else do it. Anyone else but you. If you're that someone else, then this is for you. I wish you the best of luck.

Go to any public park with people in it. Get a good look at the park. Soak in all the happiness. Breathe the fresh air. Remember this scene, because it's the last time you will feel joy in your life. Now, close your eyes. Imagine the park as a desolate wasteland, and make sure to pay special attention to the little details. When you feel you are ready, open your eyes.

If you see a tree fall down and hear a crunch, then immediately rush over to the tree. Search for a dead body. If you find one, then consume a drop of the body's blood. I don't care how you do it, just do it before anybody else has a chance. If you begin to vomit violently, then congratulations, you have been accepted into the test. If you don't find a body, you're not the first one to consume the body's blood, or if you don't vomit violently, then you have been rejected. For reasons unknown, the Holder will not murder you or condemn your soul to a fate worse than eternal damnation. Instead, he will let you walk free. You can try this again, but the thought won't even enter your mind.

If you were accepted, then again, congratulations! You will eventually stop vomiting. Once you do, you will notice that neither the tree nor the dead body is there anymore. In fact, nobody is at the park anymore. The second thing you will notice is that your vomit has made a crude hole into the ground. If you wish to turn back, then do so now, because once you go into that hole, you're not going back unless you pass the test. There is no penalty for turning back. In fact, the Holder will reward you for getting accepted in the first place by turning your world into a happy place. You will never witness or hear of another tragedy again. This option is the best, but if you wish to get the object, then jump in the hole.

The test has begun.

You will find yourself in the ruins of a once great city. Look around for any skeletons. When you find one, touch it. The organs will start coming back one by one until it looks like a person sleeping. Once this is done, find another skeleton, and touch it. Continue this process until you have restored the last skeleton. When this is done, you will realize that all of the restored skeletons are behind you. Walk through the crowd. They will start screaming and booing you. Some will try to attack you. YOU MUST NOT REACT TO THIS. As you walk further into the crowd, the threats will get nastier and the attacks much harsher. By the end, the people will start doing things that you can get arrested for doing in most countries. Eventually, you will reach the end of the crowd. When you have, turn to face the crowd and whisper "Is this facade as weak as I had thought?"

If you had reacted in any way to the crowd, then you have failed the test. The crowd will continue to insult and attack you, but you will not feel any pain. You will sit there, forever lost in your dreams. If you managed to persevere, the crowd will suddenly feel guilty for what they had done for you. They will start crying and begging for you to forgive them. However, you must not do this. You must instead kill everybody in the crowd. You must kill them in ways that the worst of sociopaths would not even think about. Do not hesitate, and do not feel remorse. Eventually, your muscles will ache, you'll be tired, hungry, and thirsty. Try your best to ignore all of those feelings, because you'll be feeling them for a long long time. The crowd will be scared and run away from you, and you'll need to chase each person down for a long time before you finally catch up to them. This process will take years, but you must stop for nothing. Eventually, you will catch someone that looks exactly like you. This is the last person alive, but don't kill him. Look for your reflection in his eyes. Once you see it, he will tell you "We are not responsible!"

You must tell him "Who is to blame if not you?". If you hesitated or felt remorse during your killings, the double will disappear and you will remain here for the rest of your life, angry at yourself for your failure. If not, then your double will give you a piece of paper and a pencil. Write on the paper the following words: "Can it be delayed?"

As soon as you finish writing, you will involuntarily close your eyes and fall asleep. When you wake up, you will be back home with your wife and kids. If you don't have any one of those, they will exist and your memory will have changed to include them. Every day you will go to your job (also provided) and come back home to take care of your kids. Live a happy life. Donate to charity, and help random strangers. This sounds easy, but as time goes by, your life will fall apart. You will get fired, your wife will become an alcoholic, your kids will become drug addicts, and life will just seem to hate you. Despite all of this, you must remain positive. Keep reminding yourself that at least you're alive.

After several years, you'll come home one day to find your kids missing. Your wife will tell you how your kids got abducted in between sobs. Listen carefully to your wife. If she mentions a ransom note, then you failed to remain positive throughout your years and will spend the rest of your days homeless and alone. If she doesn't, then tell her "I could not have traded more."

She will lead you into a trapdoor in the house. Despite living there for years, you will have never noticed it before. Open the trapdoor and go inside. You will notice that you are inside a dark, dusty room. Go over to any corner and assume the fetal position. Wait until a wave of sadness washes over you, and then shout "Why should we continue?"

The trapdoor will shut. The room will be completely devoid of light. At this point, you will feel sadder than you have ever felt before. You must start thinking about what has happened to you, and what will happen to you. Don't allow anything to enter your thoughts. After years of thinking, the trapdoor will open. Do not react to this. Continue thinking about your life. At a certain point, you will come to a final conclusion. At this point, you may exit the room through the trapdoor. The house will have been transformed into another crumbled building in the desolate wasteland from before. If you care enough to look around, you may realize that the wasteland is actually the ruins of the city you were just in.

Face towards the sun and scream out the conclusion you reached. After that, scream "And I will heal with time!" Walk towards the sun, and soon you'll start walking on an invisible staircase. Walk with an optimistic grin on your face. If you truly have learned something from your experiences, then after a minute of walking, you'll see a picture strip. Take the picture strip, and examine the five pictures on it. The first picture will be one of you walking through the crowd of people from before. The second picture will be one of you killing one of the people from the crowd. The third picture will be one of you giving money to charity with a melancholy look on your face. The fourth picture will be one of you in the fetal position in the dark room from before. The fifth picture will be one of you walking up the staircase with an optimistic grin on your face.

Turn around and look at the wasteland. Imagine it in your mind, and close your eyes. Pay special attention to the little details. Once you have examined the image in your mind, you will realize that it was the wasteland you pictured in your mind when you first started.

Open your eyes. You'll be back at the park, holding the picture strip in your hand.

This picture strip is Object 363 of 538. You will never truly find out what it does.

Tragedy takes its toll, but life goes on.