Seated on the ground, Alex shuddered from shock. He remained frozen in place for a full minute before finally realizing that his hands were still raised in a defensive position, as if trying to fend off an invisible threat.
"That must have been my imagination… right?" Alex thought, this time not daring to speak out loud. He slowly gathered the courage to stand up and look at the mirror again.
With all the fear and horror that Alex had experienced in his life—his parents disappearing, his bullies tormenting him, and his years of solitude—nothing had fully prepared him for this moment. The reflection in the mirror was not his own, or at least, not what he was accustomed to.
Alex had pitch-black hair and sharp green eyes. His hair, thin and lackluster from malnutrition, still managed to stand out with its deep, dark hue, creating a stark contrast against his pale skin.
The blackness of his hair seemed almost like a velvet shadow framing his face, drawing attention to his eyes. They were remarkable—vivid, sharp green orbs that seemed to capture and reflect light in a unique way.
Expressive and imbued with depths of emotion and understanding beyond his years, these bright, almost luminescent eyes contrasted sharply with his otherwise delicate appearance, offering a glimpse into the spirited personality that lay within.
The combination of his striking eyes and dark hair made Alex a memorable figure, even in his quiet, reserved demeanor. These features added a layer of distinctiveness to his appearance, making him stand out in a crowd despite his small stature and the signs of malnutrition that marred his otherwise striking presence.
But what was shown in the reflection was nothing of the sort. Alex's hair was almost entirely gone, and his eyes were a lifeless shade of grey, as if the spark of his soul had been extinguished. His frame appeared altered, his body almost deformed.
The upper half of his body seemed bulkier, as if he had gained 10-15 pounds, while from his torso downwards, he appeared much thinner. His thighs resembled twigs, and it seemed like a miracle that they could even support the weight of his upper body.
Bewildered, Alex slowly moved his hands, hoping against hope that the figure in the mirror wouldn't mirror his actions, but to his dismay, it replicated his every movement with eerie precision. Alex brought his hands to his nearly non-existent hair, his fingertips making direct contact with his scalp.
He cautiously moved to open his eyelids, unable to believe that what he was witnessing could be real. As he did, he beheld his iris, now a pure shade of grey. It possessed a peculiar beauty of its own as it encircled his pitch-black pupil, creating a haunting and inexplicable contrast.
The rest appeared relatively normal, like that of an average human; veins gracefully traversed the iris with a faint hue of red, proving that blood still flowed to his eyes as it should in any ordinary being.
As Alex continued to scrutinize the remaining parts of his body, what he hadn't realized was that he had not taken a single breath in or out for over 10 minutes. Under normal circumstances, such a feat would be impossible, but the sheer shock of the situation had caused him to forget the very act of breathing. At this point, his mind was wholly consumed by the bewildering examination of his transformed self.
"This is just my imagination… I've been playing that game for far too long; it messed up my brain. It's all mush, it's gotta be. This is just my imagination…" Alex kept repeating to himself as he exhaled, a desperate attempt to rationalize the inexplicable, a desperate hope that it was all a product of his overactive mind.
As he continued to examine the now lower half of his body, he saw that his fingers were slightly longer than normal, but not enough to be noticeable while he was holding the controller.
To his relief, his skin appeared unchanged, except for a slight paleness that didn't seem too out of the ordinary.
His hips were strangely wide, creating an odd contrast with the extreme thinness of everything below. His thighs resembled fragile twigs, appearing as though they might snap at any moment, and the rest of his legs weren't in any better shape. Looking all the way down, at least his feet remained the same size.
Stepping back from the mirror, Alex could now see his full, bizarre reflection. He looked incredibly peculiar, like a 10-year-old with the appearance of a much older man due to his altered hair. He resembled Benjamin Button, except without the wisdom and, he feared, much less appealing.
"Dear lord, please let this be my imagination…" Alex said out loud
Alex remained curled up in the bathroom for several hours, until it was a new day.