The Holder of Winter

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 someone who calls himself "The Holder of Winter". Should the receptionist begin to cry, you're at the right place. The receptionist will call security, and you will be escorted out of the building, exiting into a cold street in the middle of fall after a snowstorm. Begin walking down the street. The houses are all dark and the twilight is forever. It is good to hear the cicadas and birds chirping, for if they stop you must run. Any direction will do, as long as it's down the street. If the chirping continues again, stop. Do not venture off the road as the things in the woods hate company.

If you see a single black crow on the electric wires in the distance you must cease movement. If a white crow is in its place you must carefully turn around and quickly walk to the exit; if you run it will hear you, and the pain of it feasting on your soul will never grow dull. Everything will become silent and they will know you have seen it, so do not bother with anything as useless as running. The crow will begin flying at a horrendously slow pace toward you. Once you spot its green eyes you will be unable to avert your gaze from it, for if you do time will accelerate to mid-winter and you will be unable to move, left to freeze to death slowly in the snow.

Once the crow lands it will begin acting as if you aren't there and begin pecking at the ground. If its head turns, maintain your gaze at its head where the eyes should be. You must ask it one question and one question only: "What will we gain by bringing winter?"

The crow will continue pecking at the ground as you continue to stare at it. If the crow should fly away at this point, consider yourself lucky, as it has deemed you too unworthy to kill, letting you escape, but you must never seek this Object again, for fear of death. Should it suddenly turn and begin staring directly into your eyes, almost as if it is staring into your very soul then time will cease to be measurable and the early winter's cold will chill you to the bone, but you must not avert your gaze. The crow will caw once and begin to fly away but you must not lose sight of it; you must give chase. You will come upon a forest and the crow will fly through the trees. You must stare at where it disappeared and enter the thicket yourself. Fail to locate the crow and not even suicide will save you from the creatures who call these woods home.

You will come to a clearing and you will find the crow long-dead and rotting, the only thing left is one of its lucid green eyes. You will be filled with an overwhelming urge to gouge out one of your own eyes and replace it with the crow's, resist it, and eventually, you will pass out. When you awaken you will be in a park closest to your home, covered in a fresh sheet of snow. The lucid green eye of the crow will be in your left hand. If you should ever stare directly into the eye's pupil, however, you will die. The forest's creatures get hungry when no Seekers come.

The eye is Object 307 of 2538. Anyone who gazes into this eye will be eaten by the creatures. Will you use them to rule, or to save them?