Holder of Ambition

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 a man who calls himself the "Holder of Ambition." The sound that escapes the mouth of the worker will be so slight, and betray so little reaction, that you may not be sure there was any reaction at all. They will lead you toward a stair that only travels upward, and is lit by many windows.

At the top of these stairs, the worker will leave you to travel the hallway alone, and the calm of the window-lit hallway will seem eerie and unsettling. Should you see a shadow travel along the wall, do not follow it, for it is the one thing that will lead you where you do not wish to go, to a place that you can't hope to return from, to a place of your own silent fears and failures. No matter what form it takes, how it teases and taunts your dreams with the greatest of your desires and hopes, do not even let your eyes tempt you to where it leaves. If you make it to the end of the hallway without losing sight of your goal, you will see an open doorway with no locks, no bolts, and no restraints, waiting for you with a soft light.

If you choose not to enter it, only walk directly back the way you came without attempting to peek around or into other doors, or you will meet the shadow and what it hides. Should you enter the doorway, you will find a room lit by windows that cover the entire lengths of every wall, too high to reach and shining with a light that seems far less natural than the sun and moon. In the center of the room will be a tall, healthy man, standing naked and looking out into the light. His body is covered in uncountable tattoos and scars, where none of his skin is recognizable as it once was other than his face. Should you look where he looks, you will see nothing, and learn nothing. He will react to no act or words other than to the question, “What joins them together?”

The man will turn to look you in the eyes. Do not meet his gaze, or you will lose yourself in his soulless eyes for eternity, if you are not prepared. If you can meet his gaze without the slightest doubt of your intentions, he will begin to speak in a low tone, speaking almost as if his entire story is comical or means nothing at all, but you must not miss a word, for taking this knowledge partially could cause failure in the worst way possible. When he finishes speaking, he will reach for his chest and remove the remaining sutures from one of his more noticeable scars and begin to bleed profusely. While he slowly bleeds to death, he will reach out to you with his bloody sutures. His last words may be heard through his own gurgling blood, “... Choosing to seek, leads to an inevitable fate.”

This group of sutures is object 10 of 538. How you use them depends on what you hear.