Holder of Fate

In any city, in any country, seek out any school or educational facility you can find. When you reach the front desk, ask to see a man who calls himself “The Holder of Fate.” Halfway through your question, the secretary's face will light up with recognition, and she will produce an ornately decorated box. Opening it will yield you nothing but a bemused smile from the secretary, as it will be empty. After a moment, she will draw your attention back to her and lead you into the principal's office. After a few muttered words between the two, the principal will welcome you with a handshake, and proceed to open a trapdoor concealed under his desk. He will hand you a dagger and offer a few grim words of luck before lowering you into the hole and closing the door. For a moment, you will be in total darkness, but images will soon emerge in front of you. You will recognize them as moments from your own life, and as you watch, you may come to realize that they are all connected. Every moment of your life has culminated in this very moment, and it is only with this realization that proceeding forward will become possible. But worry not, for this is a timeless place.

When you have accepted your fate, a door will appear in front of you. Through it is a single room with a closed door at the far end, blocked off from you by a gate. Once you are clear of the door you entered from, it will slam shut, and a person will materialize in front of you. Confused, they may prompt you for an explanation, but regardless of your answer, a fight will inevitably begin. If, at any time during the fight, should your opponent's stomach be revealed, you will see that your own name is inscribed there. What this means, however, cannot be told. This battle will be one of the few moments of your life that is not scripted, and you will be well aware of the fact, as even moving your body will feel far more difficult than usual. Fortunately, the same holds true for your foe. Should you win the battle, the door at the far end of the room will open, and the gate will disappear. Fate will have lost its hold on you by this point, and what will happen to you beyond that door is beyond the knowledge of any being, but you can be certain that the chances of surviving without fate on your side are questionable at best. What is known, however, is that if you are an extremely lucky soul, you will eventually come to an ancient, rotting door. The doorknob will be lying on the ground before it, having long since rusted over and fallen from its place. One solid push is all it will take to open this door, and a cloud of dust will rise from the ground where it falls.

After the dust clears and you enter the room, you will be in an earthen cave. A small window, if it can be called that, will provide enough light for you to see three figures in the center of the room. The figures on the left and right, you will see as you draw closer, have been dead for many years. A stone is lodged in the skull of one, and the head of the second hangs at an awkward angle, its neck clearly broken. The figure in the center, however, still lives, despite its appearance, which clearly indicates that this being should have died centuries ago. The old crone, for that is what the center figure is, has only one eye. No ordinary eye, mind you, as it seems to shine with an otherworldly brilliance. Ask her this, and only this, lest she end your life in a manner so horrible that your worst fears would seem a blessing in comparison: "What do you see?" She will answer at her own pace, and impatience on your part will bring the full force of her considerable wrath upon you. When she finally speaks, it will be in a tortured voice. She will tell you that she sees everything, but that she had lost sight of you as soon as your earlier battle started. Deciding that you are too great of a threat, she will attack you, with speed and strength seemingly impossible for her decrepit body to possess. You must act quickly, as one hit from her will destroy you utterly. Take the box you received earlier and open it. Be warned, though; the contents of that once empty box are not fit for human eyes, and if yours happen to be open when they emerge, your existence will end in a most terrifying manner. Once the box is opened, you will hear unearthly sounds. When they cease, close the box and open your eyes, but not a moment before. Looking around, nothing will have changed but for the crone. Time has caught up with her, as she will now be as dead as the other two figures in this room. Her eye is nowhere to be seen.

You now have two choices. Opening the box a second time will reveal an object that will grant you the power to control the past, present and future of the world, save for the room you reside in, and the ones you passed through after your battle. However, should you do this, you will be trapped in this room for all eternity, with no conceivable escape. Your second choice is to leave the room and brave whatever horrors you faced in order to get there. In either case, fate will no longer have any control over your life. Not long after, you will discover what a sickening burden it truly is to control your own destiny.

The Object that now lies within the box is number 76 of 538. There are some who are now aware of its existence. May it never fall into the wrong hands.