The Holder of the Rift

In any given country, at night, you might find yourself walking alone, in a light rain. If you are still alone as the clock ticks 1:37 AM, you will hear footsteps behind you. Don't look over your shoulder, or you will see me, The Holder of the Rift, but it is not time. If you see me before all is ready, your journey will come to an untimely end.

Instead, keep walking in a straight line. Everything around you will slowly start to blackout, but you must keep walking, your eyes focused forward. Eventually, after an untold and unfeasible amount of time, you will see a lone streetlight in the distance.

Still, do not look over your shoulder, you are not ready. You will hear footsteps all around you now. You must keep your eyes on the light, and nothing else. Ignore your peripheral, no matter what stray images may enter and exit. Your gut will wrench, you will sweat uncontrollably, but still, you must continue, unfaltering.

When you are almost in arm's reach of the lone light, it will suddenly go out, and you will be trapped in the darkness. Do not move, despite the chill that now runs down your spine and breathing you now feel down your neck. The only way to save your now captured soul is to ask a single question: "Why have you been following me?"

If you do not move, and ask the right question, your eyes will flush shades of blue and purple, and you will be sent spinning into a vortex. No matter how many times you blink, the blue and purple will not leave your eyes. Soon, you will be dazed, and find yourself in a small, swirling tunnel. Immediately start walking in a straight line, 'til you hear footsteps again, no matter how long it takes for them to come.

You are now ready.

Turn around, and you will see me. I am a tall figure, wearing a steel mask over my face, long purple robes covering my body, and an aura of blue surrounding me. I will start to answer your question, but you must interrupt me quickly and say, "I want what lets you travel the rift." That is the only way you can have what I hold most dear. If you wait too long, you will find yourself trapped once more, listening as I speak on and on, my words so enthralling that you don't notice the horde of nightmares too grotesque to describe descending on your presence.

If you do as instructed, however, the tunnel around you will flash in a blinding, white light, forcing you out of reality. When you finally come to, I will be gone, and you will find yourself alone, at night, at exactly 1:37 AM. You will get to your feet, and laugh, thinking it was all a dream. Only when you decide to touch your face will you realize the steel mask covering it. That, and you also notice the figure walking alone in front of you.

This mask is Object 553 of 2538. Stalk the rift or ignore the mask's plea, the choice is yours alone.