“EXPERIENCE COSMIC COMFORT,” the neon letters flashed throughout Jenna’s telecellsmartphone screen. Below them, an photograph of a couple of jet-black sweatpants shimmered. They had been glossy but cozy, with a diffused purple starburst emblem embroidered at the thigh. The tagline read:
She clicked the “Order Now” button without a second thought.
When the package deal arrived, Jenna became amazed with the aid of using how heavy it became. The field became unmarked, shop for a small purple famous person emblem withinside the nook. She carried it inside, her interest mounting as she peeled lower back the black wrapping paper. Inside lay the Hellstar Sweatpants, well folded andgleaming faintly, as aleven though the cloth itself radiated a smooth mild.
She held them up, marveling at their texture. They had been impossibly smooth, nearly velvety, however with a extraordinary undercurrent of firmness, as aleven though they had been made to resist extra than simply lazy Sundays. Slipping them on, Jenna felt an instantaneous alternate. A warm temperature unfold thru her body, soothing but invigorating. The healthy became perfect, hugging her legs like a 2d pores and skin even as nonetheless leaving her room to breathe.
For the first time in months, Jenna felt at peace.
Over the following couple of days, the sweatpants have become her go-to outfit. She wore them to lounge, to paintings from home, even to the nook shop notwithstanding the judgmental stares from the cashier. But it wasn’t simply their consolation that made them special. Jenna started out to notice… changesHer productiveness skyrocketed. Tasks that when felt insurmountable had been now finished with ease. When her buddy Mark known as to vent approximately his breakup, she presented recommendation so insightful it left him speechless. Even her cat, typically aloof, had taken to curling up in her lap, purring contentedly in opposition to the cloth.
And then there were the dreams.
Every night, Jenna determined herself status on a barren, alien panorama underneath a purple sky. Massive black spires jutted from the ground, and withinside the distance, a tremendous famous person pulsed with an eerie, rhythmic mild. It became the Hellstar, she knew instinctively. It crammed her with awe and a extraordinary feel of belongingEach time she woke, the goals lingered like half-remembered whispers. She shrugged it off at first, chalking it as much as an overactive imagination. But the extra she wore the sweatpants, the extra shiny thedreamsbecame.One evening, Jenna determined to perform a little research. She typed “Hellstar Sweatpants” into her browser, looking forward to to discover sparkling evaluations or perhaps a Reddit thread. Instead, she determined… nothing. The internet site wherein she’d ordered them became gone. The logo had no social media presence, no mentions on any style blogs. It became as aleven though the Hellstar Sweatpants did not exisA kick back ran down her spine. She appeared down on the pants she became wearing. They nonetheless gleamed faintly, the purple starburst emblem nearly seeming to pulse in time together along with her heartbeat. For the primary time on account that she’d positioned them on, she felt a flicker of uneaseThe subsequent night, Jenna’s goals took a darker turn. She stood earlier than the Hellstar, its mild brighter than ever. The voice—a deep, resonant hum—spoke to her.
“You are the chosen conduit. Through you, we shall return.”
When she woke, she determined her legs trembling, the sweatpants feeling tighter, nearly as though they had been clinging to her pores and skin. She attempted to tug them off, however they would not budge. Panic set in as she tugged and twisted, simplest for the cloth to face up to her each effort. It wasn’t simply apparel anymore. It became alive.Her telecellsmartphone buzzed, snapping her out of her panic. A textual content from Mark:
“Hey, you okay? Haven’t heard from you in a few days.”
She stared on the screen, her hands soaring over the keyboard. Could she even give an explanation for what became happening? Would he consider her?As she typed a response, her mirrored image stuck her eye. In the replicate throughout the room, she noticed herself—however now no longer quite. Her eyes glowed faintly, the identical purple hue because the Hellstar. And the sweatpants… they had been changing. The cloth writhed, transferring and expanding, crawling up her torso like residing armor.She screamed, stumbling backward. The voice from her goals echoed in her thoughts.
“Do not resist. The transformation is inevitable.”
Days blurred into nights. Jenna stopped leaving her apartment. The sweatpants had consumed her body, encasing her in a seamless black and crimson shell. Her mind felt… different. Thoughts that weren’t her own whispered incessantly, urging her to prepare for the Hellstar’s arrival.
The international out of doors started out to alternate as well. Reports of weird lighting fixtures withinside the sky flooded the news. People observed unsettling goals and unexplainable phenomena. Jenna knew it became the Hellstar—its have an impact on became spreadingOne night, because the purple glow out of doors her window reached its zenith, Jenna felt a surge of power. She stepped onto her balcony, the town stretched out under her. Others like her emerged from their homes, their our bodies in addition encased in Hellstar armor. Together, they raised their hands towards the pulsating famous person withinside the sky.
The voice spoke one final time.
“The time has come. Through you, we rise.”
And because the Hellstar’s mild fed on the earth, Jenna felt a extraordinary feel of peace. She had turn out to be some thing extra than herself, part of a vast, cosmic whole. The Hellstar Sweatpants had been in no way simply loungewear. They had been the beginning.
