"Logan, what's going on?" Selene asked, slowly stepping back as the air grew heavier. The smoke wasn't just aesthetics; the room began to heat, reacting to the enormous changes occurring in Logan's body.
Logan, on the other hand, didn't know what to say. For a moment, he'd been inebriated in his own transformation, but his confusion was immediately undercut by another sensation.
"GRRAAHHHHHH!" he roared, falling to his knees. Like thousands of needles stabbed into flesh and danced along his skin to incur individual cuts, he thrashed against the floor at the boundless agony.
That wasn't the end of it, however, as just moments after the sudden onset of pain, his vision also became blurry. Mimicking an underwater effect, his surroundings waved, following a rhythmic pattern of delirium.
"WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING TO ME!"
With his mind fully focused on the pain, he bore no mind to the mana he had to consciously hold back. Like a demon released from its cage, it erupted endlessly from the ends of his limbs, smacking against all ends of his room. His sister, caught in its crossfire, wasn't foreign to the trauma, getting sent flying all the way to his bedroom door.
Even then, Logan didn't notice, rolling around like he'd been putting out a fire. His skin charred from the heat, his eyes went dry from the steam, his limbs went taut from the pain. In this moment, he was a victim, unable to act.
Then, silence.
"Brother..." Selene grumbled, holding her hand to her head. She tried to prop herself up from the ground, but without success. Instead, she leaned to her right where she could see him. "You're... jacked...?"
Logan had to close his eyes from the instant juxtaposition. Just seconds before, he was afflicted with such pain that he couldn't even think, but now?
Reaching to clutch his stomach, he wished to confirm his current state. Like he was swatting at air, he grabbed nothing. One more swat, except, this time, he pushed his hand down as far as he could.
"I... have a six pack?"
He couldn't believe what he felt. His vision was still blurred, but he could distinctly make out the nicely evidenced bumps along his abdomen. Beyond that, though, was the nice sensation of being able to feel what was inside without having to push through several inches of fat.
Again, he felt himself, this time his chest. The same thing. Then his waist, then his hips, then his thighs.
Helping himself up, he shook his head, hoping to alleviate some of the blurriness in his vision. Then, a careful gaze into the still-fractured mirror.
"Jesus Christ!" he blurted, inching towards the mirror to reconfirm what he saw.
It was like someone else had stood on the other side of the mirror, mimicking him. But it moved, turned its head, and talked at the same time that he did.
With the same dirty blond hair that waved wonderfully down to the midpoint of his nape, eyes as blue as the sky, and the same dark red lips that he'd been born with, he knew that the person looked like him, but everything else was wonderfully magnified.
His skin dipped inward right at point where his chin and neck met, revealing his nice, chiseled jawline. Before, it had been concealed within blubber, unseen and uncared for. His cheeks which had previously been puffed out now clung against bone, allowing him to actually make out his facial shape which extended furthest at the midline of his face, then caved in right at the tip of his chinbone.
"I'm... hot...?" Logan took his hand to his face, confirming one last time that the reflection was really his. "I mean, this is the type of face I would see walking down a runway. But this belongs to me...?"
'Shit!' Logan thought, realizing where he was. In the incredible bout of pain, he'd released so much mana that he ravaged his room beyond its already-ruined state. But this time, it wasn't just his belongings, but his sister that sat in the crossfire—
"Logan..." she muttered, feeble and without urgency.
His worst fears had been realized. A crimson river rushed forth from the top of her brow, covering half her face. On the other hand, her balance was weak, her limbs shaking vehemently. It looked as if a simple gust against her chest would send her into a sprawl.
"Selene!" he thundered, rushing to grab her as she fell off balance. Holding her by her back, he lifted her gently before resting her on his bed. "Selene, what happened to you!"
Her mouth opened, then clamped. It wasn't intentional, it seems, as her eyes also closed just moments after.
Quickly, Logan placed his head against her chest, searching for a heart beat. It was there, but quiet, and slow.
"Selene, please! Hang in there!" he urged, looking around his room. His gaze most immediately affixed to the alcove where most of his most precious belongings rested—also being the place where he rested his phone—but everything was utterly demolished, phone and all.
A deep pit formed in his chest, like a black hole had erupted to steal him of all emotion. His skin went cold with rasp goosebumps, his heartbeat pattering so intensely that all he could do was clutch his own chest. "Selene, no, please... you're the one I care for most in this world."
Images of his sister as a child rushed by through his mind; memories of their time in the playground swings, her on the seat and him just behind her; memories of their time on the video game, sitting on the same couch as he got beat on the newest edition of Super Lario; and lastly, a somber memory; one of his sister in a room of white, surrounded by people in white, all carrying with them expressions of sorrow. Of a future stolen from her. One he would help regain.
"I can help you save her," a voice interrupted, coming from his bath gown.