Holder of Origin

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 the holder of origin. If the worker looks at you in confusion, turn and run immediately. Never return to this institution. Find a new one to ask this same question. If the worker's smile turns to a somber gaze, say nothing. Without a word, she will leave her desk. You must follow her down a hallway that seems like any other. At the end of this hallway she will lead you through a door that appears out of place, as if older than the rest of the building. She will quietly lock the door behind you. Before you lies a narrow corridor with only one exit. There are no doors, but only what looks like the top of a staircase at a great distance away. Walk to the end of this hallway and begin your descent. The stairs will continue for what seems like an eternity. As you descend, the staircase narrows ever so gradually, until there is little left but stepping stones on pillars that descend into unfathomable blackness.

With each step, the light will grow dimmer and dimmer, and all that will be left is a speck of light in the darkness. As terrifying as this becomes, you must keep moving until this light disappears. Once you have surpassed this great descent, you will suddenly realize that the last step has ended. After this step you will find yourself on a pile of stones, no more than a few feet in any direction. If you can make out your surroundings in the darkness, you will see nothing but water as far as you can perceive. I urge you not to turn back, as what you will see is that the staircase will appear to be miles away and the realization that you are trapped on this platform will become realized. When you are ready, yell as loud as you can. Your voice will echo off of a distant wall for several minutes until there is nothing but silence. The silence will be broken by a deep rumble that will fill you with uneasiness. What follows is a disturbance in the water that grows more and more turbulent.

Eventually, a creature larger than you can imagine will surface from the water. The beast will slowly open his eyes and the brightness bursting from them will cause severe pain after the unending darkness that you have experienced. Fight the urge to look away as hard as you can, as you need to show him the fullest extent of your strength. When you are ready, ask the beast, "Who let them begin?" His face will be filled with great sadness, as he weeps for your ignorance of true consciousness. He will speak through an ancient tongue that will sound like the trembling of a great machine. Do not try to hear his words, his message will be felt within your mind.

For several days, he will explain to you the futility of man's existence. He will speak of times and places so far beyond your comprehension that your whole sense of purpose in this world will be shattered. If you ask the beast, he will show you the time when his kind molded the very fabric of the universe, creating worlds in a day and destroying life that resists their vision of creation. Hearing his words will destroy everything that you knew about your world. This knowledge will undoubtedly drive you insane, as no human was meant to hear what he has told you. When he has finished speaking, you may now ask him for the object.

He will submerge for some time before returning with a mirror. It will levitate towards you, showing a reflection so very similar to yourself, yet different in subtle ways. The reflection you see is the manifestation of his creation. He has modeled this being from you and to obtain the object, you must kill this man. He will look back at you with utter despair, but you must reach into the mirror and strangle him. As the life leaves him, you will see him age through an entire lifetime. Your life will move through your eyes, but it will appear different, as if your decisions were made for you by some unseen power, which now reveals itself. As he passes away, you will be filled with the emptiest feeling that you can ever imagine. The mirror will contain nothing but empty space. It will fall to the ground. The object is yours. Take it with you and your escape will become obvious. You will reenter the world, but only physically. The rest of your life will be spent in solitude, contemplating what you have seen, unable to feel emotions or experience anything that makes you human. You will see the world for what it truly is and the blindness of those around you will fill you with a sense of pity. The object is yours and your life no longer has meaning.