"Halle?" Alex asked again, his voice gentler as he watched her expression.
Halle finally looked away from the glowing interface and met his eyes. She hesitated for several seconds, clearly weighing whether she wanted to say what had been sitting behind her silence, then unfolded her arms and leaned forward in the chair.
"I think I want to do it," Halle admitted.
The room settled almost immediately. Even Max stopped preparing whatever joke had been forming behind her smile.
Alex studied Halle carefully. "Right now?"
Halle nodded once before looking toward the age-selection window again. "I know everybody was just talking about waiting, and logically, waiting makes sense. I'm not disagreeing with any of that. I just don't think my answer is going to change in ten years."
Angelina shifted slightly on the arm of the chair.
Halle drew a slow breath and rubbed one hand along her forearm. "I've always taken pride in my body. I work hard, I take care of myself, and genetics have been kind to me. I've never wanted to become somebody who spends every morning staring into a mirror looking for another reason to hate herself."
Her eyes dropped briefly before she continued. "Lately, though, I've started noticing more things. Stretch marks in places I never used to have them, especially around my butt and my breasts. My skin doesn't recover the same way anymore, and there are days when I can see the difference even if nobody else notices it."
Max's expression softened completely.
Halle gave a small, embarrassed laugh. "I know how ridiculous it probably sounds when everybody keeps telling me I'm beautiful, but compliments don't always shut your own brain up."
"It doesn't sound ridiculous," Chloe said gently while resting her hands against her knees. "You're allowed to feel whatever you feel about your own body."
Halle gave her a grateful look before turning toward Alex again. "Then I look around this house and see all these beautiful women around you, and sometimes I feel insecure. I try not to compare myself because I know that's unhealthy, and none of you have ever made me feel like I'm competing with anyone. Still, I'd be lying if I said the thought never crossed my mind."
Alex leaned forward. "You've never had to compete with anyone here, Halle."
"I know," Halle replied, and the certainty in her voice made it clear she believed him. "That's why I'm telling you instead of hiding it. This isn't about thinking you're going to replace me with somebody younger. It's about me looking at myself and realizing I actually have a choice now."
She smiled faintly, and a little humor returned to her face. "Also, I'm forty-three, and apparently I still have the libido of somebody who discovered you last week."
Scarlett laughed under her breath while Caroline covered a grin with her glass.
Halle shook her head and continued before anyone could interrupt. "I keep telling myself I'm going to behave, then you walk into the bedroom looking all hot and sexy, and suddenly my plans disappear. We end up having sex, I wake up the next morning feeling fantastic emotionally, and then my body reminds me that I'm not twenty-five anymore. Then, I look at you beside me and... well, you know what I do."
Max pointed toward Alex with immediate accusation. "See, Moneybags? You're a workplace hazard and a repetitive-strain injury."
Alex looked toward Max with a tired smile. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."
Halle laughed softly, then returned her attention to the interface. "I don't want to feel like I'm slowly negotiating with my own body for the next twenty years. If this reward can safely return me to twenty-five and let me stay healthy there, then I want it."
Alex held her gaze for several seconds. "You're sure this isn't something you're deciding because you had a bad day with the mirror?"
"I'm sure," Halle replied without hesitation. "I've thought about aging plenty before today. The only difference is that today somebody handed me an actual alternative."
Caroline suddenly lifted her hand.
Everyone turned toward her.
"I'm doing it too," Caroline announced.
Max immediately groaned. "Of course the blonde heard 'twenty-five forever' and decided existential reflection was overrated."
Caroline ignored her and walked closer to the bed, setting down her glass. "I already said twenty-five before we knew anyone was actually activating this today, and I meant it. I loved myself at twenty-five. I felt strong, confident, energetic, and completely comfortable in my body."
Scarlett raised an eyebrow. "You've had less than twelve minutes to reconsider."
"I reconsidered during Halle's entire speech," Caroline replied. "My answer stayed exactly the same."
Alex looked toward her seriously. "Caroline, permanent means permanent. You don't get to decide at thirty that twenty-seven would've photographed better."
Caroline placed one hand against her chest with exaggerated offense. "I understand the concept of permanence, Alex. I went to expensive schools."
Max coughed pointedly. "And got expelled from one."
"That institution lacked vision."
Laughter moved around the room again before Alex brought the configuration window forward.
He looked first toward Halle. "I'm asking one last time because once I confirm it, the System says we can't reverse the selection. Biological age twenty-five, permanently?"
Halle stood from the chair and walked toward him, her nervousness replaced by quiet certainty. "Twenty-five."
Alex nodded before turning toward Caroline. "Same question. Twenty-five, permanently?"
Caroline took a deep breath and smiled. "Twenty-five, permanently."
Alex looked toward everyone else. "Nobody else?"
Rachel shook her head while resting a hand over her stomach. "I'm waiting."
Scarlett nodded in agreement. "Same here."
Evangeline smiled. "I want more time."
Angelina folded her hands together. "I'm waiting too."
Chloe nodded from the bed. "Definitely waiting."
Max stared thoughtfully at the screen for several seconds before sighing. "I hate responsible group decisions, but fine. Future Max can decide whether twenty-one-year-old Max deserves another chance at destroying civilization."
Alex entered Halle's selection first.
[HALLE BERRY]
[SELECTED BIOLOGICAL AGE: 25]
[CONFIRM?]
Halle placed her hand in his.
Alex squeezed gently. "Ready?"
She nodded.
He confirmed it.
A soft golden light appeared around Halle almost immediately, faint enough that nobody needed to shield their eyes. She inhaled sharply as warmth moved through her body, spreading from her chest through her arms, legs, neck, face... her entire body.
The change was gradual.
The subtle tension around her shoulders eased first. Fine signs of age softened across her skin while muscle tone shifted almost imperceptibly beneath it. Her posture straightened naturally as old stiffness disappeared. The texture of her skin became smoother, firmer, and more youthful without changing the features that made her unmistakably Halle.
She looked down at her hands.
For several seconds, she simply stared.
Then she touched her face.
"Oh my God," Halle whispered, her voice trembling with disbelief.
Caroline stepped closer with enormous eyes. "You look so... young."
Halle turned toward the long mirror at the corner of the bedroom.
'I'm back at my prime!' Her breath caught.
The woman staring back at her was still herself, carrying every memory, triumph, heartbreak, relationship, and lesson she had accumulated across forty-three years.
Her body simply belonged to twenty-five again.
Halle's eyes filled with tears before she laughed and covered her mouth.
Alex walked behind her and wrapped his arms gently around her waist. Halle leaned back against him, still staring at their reflection.
"I didn't realize how much I missed feeling like this," she whispered.
Alex kissed her temple. "Then enjoy it."
Caroline was already standing beside the System with both hands clasped together. "Okay, that was beautiful, and I'm very happy for her, but I would now like to become twenty-five before Max starts convincing me to choose nineteen out of spite."
Max pointed at her. "I was thinking eighteen just to ruin every nightclub plan you ever make."
Alex laughed, then selected Caroline's profile.
A minute later, golden light surrounded her too.
When it faded, Caroline stood completely still.
She slowly touched her cheeks, then her waist, then stared at herself in the mirror beside Halle.
Her mouth fell open.
Max immediately started laughing. "Oh no. We've lost her."
Caroline turned sideways, examined herself from another angle, then looked toward Alex with complete seriousness. "I need my entire wardrobe refitted."
Rachel closed her eyes.
Scarlett burst out laughing.
Alex stared toward the ceiling. "There she is."
Caroline smiled brightly, kissed Alex, then ran up to Halle and hugged her. "We're gonna go shopping... EEEEE! I'm so excited."
The System quietly updated.
[ETERNAL YOUTH]
[ACTIVE RECIPIENTS: 2]
[UNCLAIMED ELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS REMAIN AVAILABLE]
-[Spoilers> Upcoming ch names. Click to read]> Massive spoilers alert.[1]
--[POWERSTONES & REVIEWS]--
Support link: www.patr eon.com/UnknownMaster
[5 advance chs] [All chs available for all tiers]
[1] Ch: 363 [Peace Was Never an Option] Ch: 364 [A Day with Jennifer] Ch: 365 [Hardcore pleasure with Jennifer] [r18] Ch: 366 [Superbaby Asher Awakens] Ch: 367 [Asher's Origin Story]