Object 268

The Holder of Forever

Wherever you may be while reading this, approach the nearest hand mirror and declare to your reflection your intention of meeting someone known as "The Holder of Forever". Your reflection should not change in the slightest, but at this point you must begin to search the mirror's surface for the slightest imperfection, never breaking eye contact but using only your peripheral vision. If you find even the slightest flaw (for most Seekers, it is usually a small crack or chip), pronounce to your reflection, "I am the one who they spoke of," and quickly hold your eye directly in front of the imperfection. Should it disappear after this, it is your decision how long to take making peace with your deity of choice before you break eye contact with your reflection and meet your demise.

Through the imperfection you will see the midsection of a man very close; it will then retreat out of sight. Once this has happened, you may take your eye away from the imperfection; as soon as you break eye contact with the mirror, you will find yourself in an empty void. Nothing physical exists here, yet you will feel naught but sheer horror as you watch it destroy itself before your eyes. You will sit, transfixed, as emptiness ceases to exist. While this infinite cycle proceeds, your mirror will be your only company.

Should you glance at the mirror, you will see that your face has become that of a human far too old to be alive. At this point, you will suddenly realize that you have been here for eons; you will also know that many, many more must pass until you can be liberated from nothingness's self-destruction. You will find, to your surprise, that all this time you have been inflicting a small scratch onto the surface of your mirror to signify each year that has passed in this disintegrating blankness; you will automatically continue to do so for the rest of the time you are here.

You will wonder why you have not required any nourishment here, even as you absentmindedly chew on some nameless material created only to prevent your death. As the centuries pass, you will become aware that there is no exit from this empty hell; as the centuries become millennia, you will stop caring. You will forget all about your quest for the Objects; it is at this point that you will notice an impurity in the barren void. As you focus on it, it will become clearer and larger, eventually obscuring your whole view.

Once time itself has ceased to exist and the impurity has integrated itself into your very being, you must ask this question to the nameless nothing that is your existence: "How long will They continue be sought after?" At this point, the impurity will grow to such immense proportions that you will not be able to gaze upon it any longer. As soon as you take your eye away from it, you will discover you were only peering into your mirror for about ten minutes. This revelation tears many a man's sanity asunder.

If you can keep your mind intact, however, you will realize that the imperfection your eye was pressed up against has changed to an incomprehensible shape made out of the countless billions of tiny scratches you made in the void to pass the time. This shape is His Mark; it is known to mean "Forever".

That mirror shall be henceforth known as "Forever". It reveals the true forms of all around you.

It is Object 268 of 2538. You have your answer: He will never rest until They are brought together.