The Changing Theme

Ryan had always been fascinated with technology. As a teenager living in a small town, he was known for being the go-to guy whenever someone had an issue with their gadgets. His room was cluttered with the latest devices, all in various stages of disassembly and repair. But none of those gadgets compared to the new smartphone he had just received—a prototype so advanced that it wasn’t even on the market yet.

The phone had arrived in a sleek black box with no return address. It was a gift, or so the note inside had claimed: "For the one who can master all realms, may this device take you on the adventure of a lifetime." The words seemed odd, but Ryan was too excited to care. He powered up the phone and was immediately captivated by its futuristic interface. Unlike anything he had ever seen, the phone had an intuitive AI that responded to his every command with eerie precision.

The most intriguing feature was the “Theme Selector.” With a simple swipe, Ryan could change the entire interface of the phone to match different genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Animation, and Horror. Each theme came with its own unique layout, sounds, and visuals. The AI even adapted the phone’s functionality to match the selected theme.

For days, Ryan played around with the Fantasy and Adventure themes, marveling at the way the phone seemed to come alive with each change. When he selected Fantasy, his texts appeared in ornate scrolls, and the wallpaper showed lush, magical landscapes. When he chose Adventure, the phone's notifications sounded like distant drums, and the screen displayed maps that seemed to shift and change as if leading him to some hidden treasure.

But it wasn’t just the phone that changed. Ryan noticed that whenever he switched themes, his surroundings subtly altered as well. The first time it happened, he thought he was imagining things. He switched to the Fantasy theme, and suddenly, the trees outside his window looked different—taller, more majestic, with a faint glow as if dusted with magic. His bedroom, once cluttered and messy, became a chamber straight out of a medieval castle, complete with tapestries and a glowing chandelier. Even his mundane school clothes transformed into rich, velvet robes.

He was thrilled, pushing the boundaries of the Fantasy world his phone had created. He ventured into the forest, finding paths that led to places he’d never seen before. There were streams of crystal-clear water, and even a unicorn that seemed to appear out of nowhere, only to vanish just as quickly.

Ryan was enchanted by this new reality and spent hours exploring it, each day finding new wonders that seemed plucked from the pages of his favorite fantasy novels. He was so enthralled that he didn’t question the phone’s power until the night he decided to try the Horror theme.

It was a chilly evening, and Ryan was home alone. The fantasy world had been fun, but he wanted something different, something thrilling. With a smirk, he swiped to the Horror theme, expecting nothing more than a spooky interface, maybe some jump-scares or eerie music.

As soon as the theme activated, the phone’s screen turned dark, the icons morphing into grotesque shapes, dripping with what looked like blood. The usual soft chime of notifications was replaced by unsettling whispers, too faint to understand but unmistakably sinister.

Suddenly, the temperature in the room plummeted. The chandelier that had once glowed with a warm, golden light now flickered ominously, casting long, twisted shadows on the walls. The rich tapestries turned tattered and torn, and the once-grand bed was now covered in a thin layer of dust, the sheets frayed and stained.

Ryan’s heart raced as he heard a creaking sound from the hallway. The air was thick with the smell of decay, and the once cozy and inviting atmosphere of his home was now suffocating and cold. He tried to dismiss it as a trick of the phone, but deep down, he knew something was terribly wrong.

He tried to change the theme back, but the phone wouldn’t respond. He swiped frantically, pressing every button, but the interface remained locked on the Horror theme. The whispers from the phone grew louder, forming words now, a chant in a language he didn’t recognize.

Panic surged through him as he heard footsteps echoing down the hallway. Slow, deliberate, and getting closer. He turned toward the door, his breath catching in his throat as a shadow appeared beneath the crack at the bottom. It was not the shadow of a person but something twisted, malformed, as if whatever was outside his room didn’t quite fit within the confines of a human shape.

He backed away, clutching the phone, desperately trying to shut it down. The screen flashed once, and then the whispers stopped. For a brief moment, there was silence, a silence so deep it pressed against his eardrums. Then, the door to his room creaked open.

Standing in the doorway was a figure, a woman draped in tattered black robes, her face obscured by a veil of shadow. Her eyes glowed a dull red, piercing through the darkness, locking onto Ryan. Her mouth stretched into an unnatural grin, revealing sharp, broken teeth.

Ryan stumbled back, his mind screaming at him to run, but his legs were frozen in place. The woman took a step forward, her movements slow and deliberate, as if savoring his fear. The room seemed to close in around him, the walls dripping with dark, viscous fluid. The chandelier swung violently overhead, casting grotesque shadows that danced along the walls.

In a desperate attempt, Ryan hurled the phone across the room, hoping to shatter it, to break free from the nightmare. The phone hit the wall and fell to the ground, but instead of breaking, it started to emit a low, vibrating hum. The woman stopped, her grin fading as she tilted her head towards the sound.

The hum grew louder, filling the room, and the shadows seemed to recoil from it, as if in pain. The woman let out a bone-chilling scream and lunged toward Ryan, but before she could reach him, the phone’s screen flashed brightly, and the room was consumed by light.

When Ryan opened his eyes, he was no longer in his room. He was standing in a vast, empty space, surrounded by nothing but white light. The phone was floating in front of him, the screen displaying a single word: “Resetting…”

As the light faded, Ryan found himself back in his room, the chandelier glowing warmly, the air no longer cold. The phone lay on the floor, silent and still. He picked it up with trembling hands, and to his relief, the screen had returned to its normal state.

The Horror theme was gone. The Fantasy and Adventure themes were gone too. The Theme Selector was missing entirely. It was as if the phone had purged itself of whatever had caused the nightmare.

But Ryan knew better. The phone hadn’t purged anything. It had merely hidden it, waiting for the next time someone was curious enough to activate the Horror theme. He didn’t know who had sent him the phone or why, but he knew one thing for certain—he would never, ever change the theme again.