Holder of Fantasy

In any city, in any country, go to the nearest building that has more than one video arcade machine in it. Stand in front of any of them (it matters not which one you choose), close your eyes, and think, as hard as you can, about visiting "The Holder of Fantasy." If your will isn't strong enough, you won't even get the chance to open your eyes again before the machine topples onto you, crushing you enough to cause you agonizing pain but not enough to kill you. Settle in, as nothing on Earth, living or inanimate, can lift that machine.

If you are worthy of this Object, however, when you open your eyes, nothing will have changed save for a golden coin now resting on the cabinet in front of you. This coin is unlike any other you will have ever seen, but the coin's not what's important. What is important is that you insert it into the coin slot of the game in front of you. May your deity of choice have mercy on you should you put the coin into any other device or try to leave with it, though the gods tend to turn deaf ears towards unworthy Seekers.

Once you've inserted the coin, you will notice that the room around you will begin to swirl. Eventually, you'll black out; when you awaken, you will find yourself at the beginning of your all-time favorite video game (the machine knows which one it is). This may seem like a joyous occasion, but don't linger for too long; you now have exactly 24 hours to complete every task in this game, including any side-quests, sub-missions, and secrets the game may have. If your favorite game cannot be completed in this time, or if it is a game that continues indefinitely, then enjoy your time here while it lasts, for once your 24 hours is up, you will know what it is like to be naught but broken code floating eternally in cyberspace. It's not pleasant.

Keep in mind that you will feel everything that occurs in this game as if it were real. This includes pain, so take care to play as best you can. You will only have one life, regardless of whether or not the game allots you more. Should you die, you will experience that same death repeatedly, incessantly, and eternally.

If you are truly a master of your favorite game, then upon completing the final level, task, or objective, the game world will fade around you. A computer-generated man, realistic as can be yet still betraying a sense of fantasy, will materialize before you. The only action you may take at this point is to ask him a single question: "Can we escape from Their wrath in fantasy?" Do anything else, and you'll black out again, only to awaken at the beginning of your least favorite game, with only half the time to complete it. There is little point in stating how many have successfully accomplished this task.

Ask correctly, however, and the man will tell you of mankind's futile attempts to escape from the pressures of life in fantasy. You will feel the burden of every man, woman, and child who has ever fled reality, even for a moment, to escape from their inner demons. At this point, you will realize how utterly useless fantasy is. Most lose all hope here; if the man senses this, he will vanish, leaving you to drown in your sorrow in this empty, hopeless void.

If, after all this, you still maintain your steadfast resolve to acquire the Object, a sword will materialize out of thin air. You must now take the sword and impale the man upon its blade. Should he get the sword first, he'll use it against you in ways that make impalement seem like bliss.

Should you vanquish the man, he will vanish, leaving behind a computer chip. Take it, and you will appear in front of the arcade machine you started from. The screen will inform you that you've achieved a high score and prompt you to enter your initials. The only thing you may enter is "HIM." Input anything else, or fail to input anything at all, and the chip will turn against you, slicing you endlessly with its razor-sharp edges.

As long as you have this chip in your possession, nothing can harm you so long as you firmly believe that it isn't real. This won't work during your quests for the other Objects, however, as the Holders and their minions have long since evolved past the need for fantasy.

That chip is Object 200 of 538. Deny it as you may, the chances of Them coming together are very, very real.