Transformation

The thunder had ceased, but the aftermath lingered like a bad taste.

Silence hung over the white space, heavy and unnatural, following the thunderclap that had moments ago shattered its stillness.

Adam stood in the middle of it all, heart racing, breath caught in his throat, as he watched the six others writhe on the ground in agony.

Each of them clutched their heads, their screams echoing off unseen walls. And yet he—he alone—remained untouched.

Why… why am I the only one not screaming?

What the hell is going on?

He rushed to help the Moroccan teacher first. "Are you okay? What's happening to you? Can you hear me?" His voice shook. Her cries having pierced something deep in him.

But as he reached out, hand trembling, she smacked it away with a strength that surprised him. Shocked, he instinctively stepped back, his face flushing.

"I-I was just trying to help," he stammered.

She didn't answer. Her eyes, which once carried softness, were now distant and cold, as if she was being possessed.

He turned to the others.

The boxer's muscular frame was convulsing as if being electrocuted. The dancer thrashed, her limbs arcing unnaturally, a whisper of wind circling her with each motion. The soldier let out guttural groans, his good leg twitching violently, while the injured one… was straightening. Healing. Growing even.

He wasn't the only one who noticed something was wrong. The very space around them began to shimmer faintly, as if reacting to the aftermath of the thunder.

Adam blinked, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. "This… isn't normal. This isn't something a human is capable of doing."

The silence that followed was broken only by gasps and the faint hum of unseen energy.

Then it began.

The American soldier was the first. His body stretched unnaturally, bones elongating and muscles expanding. What was once a six-foot-tall man became a towering figure, nearing seven feet, his previously injured leg straightened, the limp vanished completely.

Adam stepped back instinctively. T...This can't be real.

The dancer, lying curled on the ground, started to stir. Wind surrounded her, a gentle breeze at first, then more forceful, swirling with her every motion. When she rose shakily to her feet, the wind followed her like a loyal pet, responding instinctively to the flick of her wrist or the sway of her hip.

The Moroccan teacher's hair grew rapidly, spilling down her back in thick waves. As it lengthened, it changed hue, dark brown turning golden at the tips, streaks of sunlight running through it as though kissed by divine fire. Her posture, once reserved and humble, now radiated grace and command.

The third woman—the quiet one, the medical student—seemed to undergo the most eerie change. Her hair straightened and darkened, becoming a curtain of obsidian. Her skin paled slightly, and a cold aura enveloped her body. Even standing near her, Adam could feel the temperature drop.

Then came the boxer.

His transformation was chaotic, violent. One moment, flames burst from his body, licking the air like wild beasts. The next, massive bubbles of water surrounded him, distorting his figure. At times, stone spread across his limbs like armor, only to crumble and give way to sprouting vines that twisted around his arms. His fists moved unconsciously, as if slicing through invisible enemies, each motion sharp and deadly.

Adam could only gape before turning towards the last of them.

The Chinese office worker was the odd one out. While the others groaned and flailed, he remained standing, eyes shut, breath steady. Nothing about him seemed to be changing—no visible powers, no physical transformation. Yet Adam couldn't shake the feeling that something unseen had occurred.

There was a deeper stillness to him now, a calm so absolute it bordered on terrifying. Somehow Adam felt his transformation to be the most dangerous of the group.

Adam watched it all in growing dread. He hadn't changed. Not even a flicker of discomfort. Not a hint of transformation. Why?

And then, as suddenly as it had begun, it ended.

The six lay still. The dancer sat up first, her movements fluid, almost too smooth. The soldier flexed his leg with a look of wonder. The boxer knelt, drenched in sweat. The Moroccan teacher stood slowly, hair brushing her waist.

And the medical student — she rose last, slow and deliberate.

Adam let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and stepped forward. "Hey… are you alright?"

He approached the group again, hesitantly. This time, he moved toward the medical student, still hoping to understand what had happened.

As he neared, reaching out a hand, she snapped her gaze to him, slapping it away with surprising force.

He flinched.

"Don't," she said, her voice like ice, full of disdain for some reason.

He recoiled, confused. "I was worried about you. I didn't mean—"

"I said don't touch me."

It was the tone that stunned him more than the words. Disgust. Not fear. Not confusion. Just… revulsion.

He looked to the others, searching for an ally. The soldier stood tall, arms crossed, expression unreadable but no longer wary—just distant.

The boxer stared at him as if sizing up something irrelevant. The dancer's eyes swept past him like he wasn't even there. Only the Chinese man, now standing, regarded him with the same analytical calm as before.

Even Nisrine, the Moroccan teacher, with her now golden-tinted hair catching the soft ethereal light of the void, looked at him not with disdain or revolution but with a look full of pity and regret.

It made him even more uncomfortable than being belittled or ignored.

He opened his mouth to ask what was going on—

But before ge coud open his mouth, it happened.

BOOM!

The third thunderclap.

It was louder than the last, a deep, resonating sound that seemed to shake the very fabric of the void. The group instinctively flinched. Even the transformed ones felt the weight of it. Their bodies tensed. Eyes darted around.

By now they understood that every time a thunderclap struck, it was followed by immediately changes in their situation and no one knows if this change is in their favor or not.

Adam stood frozen, heart pounding, waiting. For what, he didn't know. But whatever was coming, it would change everything again.

And this time, he wasn't sure he wanted to know what came next.