| abstract
| - 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 herself "The Holder of Song.” You will then be guided to a single door leading to a long, winding staircase. It will spiral higher than the building stands; at the top is a door that opens into a hallway. A sudden wave of heat will wash over you upon opening the door. Proceed down the hall; eventually you will feel much colder. You must then stand perfectly still and make no sound. If you hear a baby crying, turn and run. No harm will befall you, but the baby's cry will follow you wherever you go. If you hear it for the rest of your life, count yourself lucky; if and when it stops, your firstborn child will die. If there is no cry and the heat returns, proceed to the door at the end of the hall and open it. The room beyond will be awash in green light. In the center will be an old woman turning a music box that produces no sound. Her legs have both been severed at the knees. When you speak to her, you must look her in the eyes. She hides a spear fashioned from the bones of her legs; break eye contact, and she will impale you with it and leave you, in seemingly unending agony, to bleed to death. She will respond to only one question: "What was the song they used to play?" The old woman will begin to sing. The song will be in a different language, but the melody will be the most beautiful you have ever heard; peace and serenity will wash over your mind, body, and soul. Suddenly, without warning, you will be able to see, in vivid detail, the image of carefree children playing and singing, innocent as can be. Though the scene seems peaceful and jubilant, it will eventually take a horribly sinister turn. The children will begin to fight each other. Soon, they will start to kill each other in the most brutal ways imaginable. They will impale each other on wooden poles, disembowel each other with sharp rocks, and even rip flesh from bone with their bare hands. The image will then show these children, now merely tattered doppelgangers of themselves, spreading death and destruction more horrific than you could ever imagine. You will see a naked boy, drenched in blood, singing with delight as he runs through a hellish wasteland, pursued by unspeakable monsters. They will overtake him and utterly destroy him, the song still issuing forth from his shredded lips all the while. Despite these scenes of horror and brutality, you will remain calm and peaceful all the while, though you will not know why. When these horrific visions end, an intense pain will stab at your chest. Your heart will feel like it is about to explode. Still, you must not break eye-contact with the old woman, for to do so would invite such horrors upon yourself that an exploding heart would be comparable to Paradise. If you remain steadfast in your gaze, the pain will eventually cease. The woman will stand up (though you will know not how) and place the music box in your hands. The music box is Object 6 of 538. When its song plays again, they will all come together.
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