The day after the trip to the water park was Sunday, and with little that was urgent to do, Ethan was lazing at home, just randomly chatting with Lucas. The full body swap had been an interesting and revelatory experience in multiple ways, and now he understood more clearly that what he and Eric wanted was specific and narrow.
It was something like what they already had, but just ... moreso.
The question still remained.
What did that really mean? And was there something else to be discovered about the ring that would allow it?
At that point, Ethan had a brainwave.
He needed more information, and if there was anywhere he could get that knowledge, it was where he got the ring from in the first place.
Since he had originally purchased it, he had been past the same location a couple of times on the way to other places. Interestingly, this had only reminded Ethan of just how real magic was, because sometimes the shop was there, and sometimes it wasn't, with the neighbours seeming oblivious to the fact that there was a perception-warping piece of real estate right next door.
Thankfully, today, it was there, and open for business.
The owner, a wizened old man, looked up as the entry bell tinkled on his way in. The interior resembled an antique store full of oddities, ornaments, knick-knacks and similar. He wasn't sure if everything had some magical function, or if it was just certain things. Some of the items just looked expensive and old, and that's probably all they were -- antiques. The keeper had to make money somehow, and it couldn't all come from selling occult gadgets.
"Did you have some trouble with the ring of exchange?" The shopkeeper recognised him instantly, peering at Ethan over his full-moon spectacles, before he looked down, directly at the cusp of Ethan's pants. Involuntarily, Ethan felt his little dick twitch within the stuffing like it was being acknowledged, but before he could express his surprise or confusion, the old man spoke again, tapping the rim of his specs with a gnarled finger. "Enchanted eyeglasses, I can see the world in ways you kids wouldn't believe. If you've come to return that ring, all items are non-refundable, and every sale is final. I don't care if you've traded your legs to a midget, your arms to a wandering circus troupe, or in this case your family jewels for a golden apple -- I won't help you. It's caveat emptor, son, so if you didn't beware, then you shouldn't have bought it."
Then he brightened, turning back to a salesman in an instant, his voice switching to a kinder tone. "Unless you've come to purchase something else?"
"Oh, uh, no." Ethan shook his head. "I don't want to return it, or anything like that. In fact, we've been enjoying the 'ring of exchange' a lot."
"Ah, yes!" The shopkeeper chuckled. "It is quite the artifact. Room for mischief abounds!"
"That's what I wanted to ask you about: do you have any more information on it?" He frowned. "I mean, I get the basics of how it works, but it's surprised me a couple of times in ways I wasn't expecting."
"Hmm. Further information?" The old man hemmed and hawed to himself for a few moments. "In any case, unsolicited extras carry a fee, but you're out of luck since I don't think I have anything fresh."
"Oh." Ethan was disappointed, but the shopkeeper wasn't done.
"Actually, wait. That's not true." He jumped down off his stool, all of five foot nothing, and plodded away to a small mountain of books and papers and miscellaneous tools and baubles piled on a workbench. Rifling through it for a minute, the shopkeeper returned back to the counter with something in hand. It was a tiny paper-wrapped object, with the simplistic symbol of a ring painted on the wrapping. "I suppose you could call this an instruction manual. It was meant to be included with the ring itself, but it must have slipped my mind when you bought it. Easy mistake to make, it's been at least fifty years since I sold anything like it."
Fifty years?! Ethan didn't ask how old the man was, and he had the distinct feeling the age would be an unnaturally high number. Instead he asked: "So, um, what do you want for it?"
"Nothing." He handed it to Ethan over the counter. "You were meant to have it with your purchase, and I am not a swindler. A deal is a deal. It’s yours by right."
"Oh. Thank you!" Ethan took it and put the bundle in his pocket, feeling simultaneously grateful and eager at the prospect of getting some proper explanation. "Can I come back if I need to ask anything further?"
"Certainly!" The old man cackled, his eyes seeming to gleam with an arcane light at the thought. "Well, you can try, but we're not always in these parts. You might not see me again soon, so don't do anything ... rash."
--------------------
Ethan rushed home, the bundle clutched tightly until he got to his room and sat down on his bed to take a look. With some care, he gently unstuck the outer layer, like opening a Christmas present without damaging the wrapper, and removed it. It was like tissue or crepe paper, and once it came away, there was a little booklet inside.
It was a small folded rectangular information card, like one of those found with expensive jewelry items. Hand-inscribed in old time cursive script, the writing was nonetheless clear and easy to read. In the middle of the front, was a title in Latin: Anulus Commutationem. Beneath, like a subtitle, was a two sentence description that read: 'The Ring of Exchange is a transfiguration charm of distinct property. Forged from bronze thrice beaten with frozen moonbeams and unicorn breath, it is imbued with the blessing of Janus, Lord of the Gate and God of Change.'
Janus? Ethan didn't know much about Latin, but the name did sound like that of a Roman deity.
Opening it like a miniature birthday card, he examined the inside. Both sides had several lines of writing on them, filling up the little card in small but very neat legible lines. He read the one on the left first, and it had a title, followed by a list of conditions that were marked with Roman numerals.
THE SIMPLE TRADE.
I -- To enact a SIMPLE TRADE, one clothing piece is worn from whomever the target be, then the mind and will focused upon the bodily part, and it shall be done.
II -- In this case, the consent of the secondary is unrequired, for they are subject to the ringbearer's whim within these terms.
III -- If any sliver of the ringbearer's heart conflicts with their mind, and desires not to complete a trade, then no number of attempts shall force it to occur.
IV -- Though a simple trade may be kept indefinitely until the ringbearer chooses otherwise, the bodily part shall nonetheless remain as the borrowed flesh and blood and bone of whomever it came from.
Thinking over what he had just read, Ethan recognised everything that was mentioned as things they already knew about the ring, more or less. A clothing item was needed? Yes. A swap could be done without the other person's permission? Yes. If you didn't want a swap to happen, it wouldn't, no matter how often you attempted to do it? Yes, learned that one the hard way.
Last but not least, you could stay swapped as long as you wanted, but the body part would always be the physical property of whomever it came from. Presumably this meant in a genetic sense, which fit naturally with the idea of the parts being lent or borrowed.
So far, nothing he didn't know already.
Next, the right half of the card.
THE ESSENCE TRANSFER.
I -- To enact an ESSENCE TRANSFER, the same first condition be met as with the SIMPLE TRADE, and then the ringbearer speaks aloud the phrase: Lord Janus, grant me this boon.
II -- In this case, the consent of the secondary is required, for this is a template change and a mutual bargain must be struck.
III -- If both truly wish it, the ring will extend to the secondary an offer, and they must accept in turn by utterance of the phrase: Lord Janus, your gift is accepted.
IV -- Future simple trades will remain possible; however, an essence transfer shall alter the native forms of the pair, rendering any such simple trade of the same part temporary.
V -- The template's change is irreversible and forever locked for that bodily part into the future; what it becomes, it stays in perpetuity.
The language was a bit more complex and specific, and Ethan had to read it over a couple of times. Then he went through it line by line, breaking it down in his head to make sure he understood what the 'essence transfer' actually did.
First, similar to a basic swap: clothing item, focus on the body part, but also ask the god to give his blessing.
Second, the other person had to agree, because it was a 'template change', which certainly sounded more serious.
Third, the ring would then ask the other person, and if their heart was in it and they agreed out loud, this 'transfer' would happen.
Fourth, simple trades could still be done afterwards, though they would apparently be temporary if done on the same body part, and Ethan didn't initially get what the 'native form' being altered meant.
Fifth, that previously mentioned 'template change' couldn't be reversed ... and that body part was then locked.
In perpetuity.
It was as he was reading the final line over in his head, that it all came together at once.
Ethan knew what the word 'template' meant: it was something that served as a pattern, like a basic mold, and here, it was being used to refer to the shape of the body. Combining that with the language about the 'native form' -- the original body -- being altered, and the change being impossible to undo, and ... Ethan understood.
The essence transfer wasn't really 'swapping' something over as if it were a borrowed pair of shoes, like the simple trade did -- it was GIVING that body part to the other person and making it 'native' to them, and vice versa – but for good. Making each their own, a part of their original body shape, their new template.
If he was reading the fourth point correctly, it sounded like the body part in question undergoing an essence transfer could later be swapped temporarily in a simple trade, but would revert after some amount of time? The last point seemed to reinforce that this was why -- the template had been 'forever locked' and the simple trade wasn't a loophole to get around that for very long.
Overall, the meaning was clear.
"Oh my god," Ethan whispered to himself, staring at the little list of numbers, "this is talking about ... a permanent trade."
The word lingered in the air, and in his mind.
Permanent.
He continued to stare at the piece of card, unable to stop looking at the capitalised title on the right side, those two words burning into his brain.
Ethan sat there, trying not to hyperventilate, unsure if he could even stand, and he sent a quick text to Eric asking him to please come straight away. His fingers were shaking, but he managed to get it written.
It didn't take long for Eric to pop his head through the door and then skip through and plop down on Ethan's bed. He was his regular self, but once he saw how Ethan was acting, he knew something was up.
So, Ethan told him about going back to the shop and getting the 'instruction manual.' Then he read out the information to Eric, who didn't comprehend it because it was too much for someone his age. Then Ethan went through it for his benefit, bit by bit, just as he had for himself, but making sure to be as accurate as possible. Eric's expression was neutral at first, but as Ethan moved through the definitions, his eyes slowly got wider and wider, his mouth dropping further and further open, until at the end, he seemed as shocked as Ethan was feeling.
"Are you saying," he said, when Ethan was finished, "that we- ... we could- ... give it ... to each other?"
Ethan nodded.
"Like ... we wouldn't be borrowing or sharing anymore. We'd be ... owning it ourselves?"
The older Morales bit his lip. "Yes. Just like you were born with it. Is that- ... is that something you'd want to do? Remember, uh, it can't be undone."
Eric sat there, his eyes glassy, staring into space for a few seconds like he was somewhere else.
Then he said, voice soft: "Would you be mad if I said I wanted this for a while? For it to be ... all the way mine? I just ... didn't know there was a way, and if you were really truly sure about it. I think I'm sure." He swallowed, and nodded with more certainty. "No, I KNOW I am. I don't need to think, I'm more sure than anything I want it. But you gotta be too, right? It won't work if you don't want to. Are you? Do you ... want to?"
"I don't know." Ethan mumbled. "I thought ... maybe I was? But then, I have so many doubts, and it scares me. One second I'm so excited by the idea, the next I'm so afraid. One second it seems perfect, the next it seems terrifying. I didn't think the ring could do something like this either, but now that I know it can, I ... I don't know what to do."
Eric climbed forward and hugged him, arms going around Ethan's chest. "Of course I'd be sad if you didn't want to, but I'd live with it. We could still swap like before anyhow. But if you DID? Maybe you'd be as happy as I know I would!" He squeezed Ethan. "I think you just gotta figure that out. Is it gonna make you happy?"
Ethan squeezed him back. "You're right. Why don't I ... take a day to think about it, to try and clear my head and decide whether I can really do this."
"You should take as long as you need to, even if it's like, a week! Until you just ... know. When you do, you could come tell me, whatever you want."
"I think I'll do that." Ethan muttered it weakly, and hugged his brother even closer. "Thanks Eric. I'm glad I have you with me."
--------------------
It was a Monday morning, and the start to the new school week. The adventure at the water park on Saturday was fresh on Ethan's mind, but even more now was what had happened on Sunday. Going to the magic shop to seek answers had seemed innocuous enough as an idea, and Ethan had anticipated maybe learning some new trick using the ring that would allow them to find some deeper sense of connection.
What he had NOT expected was for it to give him the information that it did.
It had been barely more than three weeks since he had a psychotic break from reality, and since then, Ethan had been through some twists and turns, but ultimately, he had felt much more stable about how he had been dealing with his obsession. He had kept it happy -- allowing himself to indulge in the secret feelings of wearing juvenile underwear -- and he had also admitted openly to Lucas that he enjoyed being swapped with Eric.
It had been like a dream that Lucas was okay with it, and then they'd gone on to mess around with gender-swapping stuff, and that had been a blast in and of itself -- for himself, for Lucas, and definitely for Haylee too! Even the full body swap with Eric, as weird as it had been to begin with, had run its course to a positive conclusion.
But ... now, here he was.
That comfortable equilibrium, where he had found some healthy semblance of balance, seemed to be broken again.
Knowing that it was possible for their swap to be more than just a borrowed or shared body part, for it to become 'native', to become fixed, locked in?
It was forcing him to confront those feelings head on, and that was terrifying.
That word just kept going through his head.
He could choose to make his swap natural ... and permanent.
Permanent.
He went through the school day in a daze. It wasn't the first time he'd acted like a zombie because of turmoil caused by the ring, but it felt markedly different from any previous instance. He also had the large cock, just as Eric had the small one, something they had both agreed was best until Ethan got his head around things. He knew he needed to be as lucid as possible, to think with a clear mind about what he felt and whether to make this decision.
But it was just difficult to know whether his obsession represented a true part of him, or if it was invasive and needed to be managed like some weird form of incurable psychological infection that he simply had to live with.
His classes ticked by, and he saw Haylee and chatted briefly with her, as well as a few other friends. Lucas too, during the latter half, and his boyfriend noticed what was up. Ethan feigned that he wasn't feeling great -- which was true, in a way -- and promised that he'd be back to normal in no time. That explanation was good enough, and before he knew it, he was heading to pick up Eric and then go home for the day.
His little brother didn't mention the elephant in the room, even though Ethan knew Eric was probably dying to hear some kind of answer. Instead, he just treated it like a normal day, and they made small talk as Ethan drove them, then to their own devices afterwards.
It was that evening that Ethan began to notice the same tug of desire, the one he would get on-and-off previously when he hadn't been small for a while. It was the feeling he had become used to managing since his psychotic break, and with his recent and frequent swapping with Eric, that feeling had been firmly under control. They had spent decent amounts of time swapped too, and generally every day, even if just for a short duration.
Now, it had been only a single full day and it was making itself known. That night, he did not sleep well, and by the morning and getting ready for Tuesday at school, Ethan was noticing it even more. What was normally a pull that would gradually ramp up, was now building on a sharper incline, the severity of it seemingly exaggerated by the new knowledge he had. During his morning classes, he found it increasingly difficult to focus on even schoolwork, which was usually a good way to keep himself grounded.
Ethan was big, but that need, that compulsion to return to being small, just kept buzzing in his ear, whispering wordlessly into his mind. It was getting louder and stronger, a latent desire that seemed all the more needy and aggressive given his anguished state of mind. By the time of his afternoon classes, Ethan was becoming truly distressed, and there was the very real possibility that he wouldn't be able to handle it.
He couldn't think clearly, and it was eating at him so much that he became fearful that he might have another psychotic break.
He didn't want to know the consequences of that, of what would happen to him if he sank into some delusional alternative constructed dreamworld where he believed a false narrative about his life born out of a perversion run amok.
He couldn't think properly and he needed help.
So, after taking Eric home, he sent Lucas a text message asking if he could come over to talk, and drove to see his boyfriend.
Lucas let him in, overjoyed at Ethan inviting himself over. They walked through the house, with Conor very busy in the lounge playing Fortday Arena Brawl on the console with his friends online, stopping only long enough to wave in greeting before he was back to it. As soon as they were in Lucas' room, he closed the door and pulled Ethan over to the bed, where Lucas hugged him and they kissed, slow and warm.
"So what's going on?" Lucas asked him, when they parted. "I had a hunch something was up with you, but now I'm sure of it."
With barely controlled emotion, Ethan showed him the card with the information on it about the ring. While Lucas read it over, Ethan began to tell him nearly everything, in far greater detail than his first basic confession at the sleepover. About how he had wrestled with this desire for weeks now, since before they had met. About how it was often much worse, more pervasive than just being a 'size fetish' as Lucas had thought when Ethan first brought it up. About how sometimes he was concerned about his grip on reality, though he did not mention the psychotic break itself, because he didn't want to sound actually crazy. About how the temptation of the essence transfer had accelerated everything, and made him question what he wanted. About how it excited him that he WAS really considering it, but that it also scared him so much that he could genuinely even think that way, and made him doubt his own clarity of mind.
About how he came here because he trusted Lucas and wanted his help.
"Holy shit." That was the only thing Lucas could say as he processed it all. "That's a lot to take in. I guess this explains a few weird things now that I think back. I'm glad you told me, and I'm sorry you had to keep this bottled up so long. So," he asked, "Eric must have a similar kind of powerful obsession and wants the same thing?"
"Yeah."
"Your little brother can be very intuitive sometimes. It's easy to forget he's not JUST a kid because of what you've gone through with him. It sounds like his head and heart are lined up on this though, which only means you have to do the same."
"Yeah." Ethan agreed again.
"Then let's step back and rationalise it for you." Lucas took his hands and held them as they talked. "It's best to think about it in terms of the future. To me, that suggests two things. One is that you shouldn't do anything now that you might regret much later, no matter how good it seems. The other is that you shouldn't do anything to satisfy a close relationship with anyone you have, and that includes me. Especially me, actually."
There was a sad tone to his voice as he went on. "We're teenagers in highschool, and we might not stay together forever. To be clear, I don't want to break up with you, but we've only been together a short while. I do want to try making things work for the long term. You just need to be realistic about the possibility it might not."
"I do want to try too." Ethan told him.
"Good." Lucas smiled. "If you can put aside those outside influences, it becomes a question of what makes you happy. Ignore what you think I want, or anybody else might want -- just ask yourself: if I do this, will it make me fulfilled and better off afterwards, well after the novelty is gone?" He squeezed Ethan's fingers. "Ask yourself that right now."
He sat there, the calm way the conversation was happening making it so much easier to think.
To Ethan, the prospect of permanently trading was humiliating and emasculating. There was a sexual titillation to that, to how those emotions fed into his physical pleasure in a twisted way. At the same time, there was a sense of relief too. He kept dodging and running from and suppressing his urges, the very feelings that lead to his alternate persona wanting to emerge, but there had also been ... comfort, belonging, even an odd pride sometimes, when he had managed to safely embrace those urges.
There were also the ever-present hints that felt like they came from somewhere deep inside his subconscious, that he was meant to be that way. If he decided to do it, he would be making peace with that fact and admitting that it was true, and that he preferred it. There would be no more hiding behind the idea that it was technically Eric's, or that he was doing his brother a favour.
It would also be fully and completely HIS.
"Lucas, I think ... I want it." Then, just like Eric, he modified the phrase, and it became clearer in his head that this was how he really felt, a blush spreading over his face at the embarrassment of what he was saying out loud. "No, I KNOW I want it."
He did still love his big dick -- it wasn't easy to think he was going to give that up -- but the little one had finally won the war. He also couldn't believe it, but he was being honest with himself.
He wanted to do the essence transfer with Eric.
"And you're completely sure?" Lucas looked him in the eyes. "You won't want to take it back in a year, or five years, or more?"
"Yes, I'm completely sure." Ethan breathed. "I just needed a clear head, and you helped me with that. Now I don't feel conflicted. I don't doubt myself. I'm going to do it, because it's right for me."
Leaning forward, Lucas kissed him again, but it was more prolonged this time and with tongue. Moving around on the bed until Ethan was on his back with Lucas straddling him, he broke their lip-lock and began removing his shirt.
"Lucas?" Ethan queried.
"Pussy was one thing, but I'm still fully gay, and I've been wanting to have fully gay sex with you since the first time I saw you in a speedo." He started removing his pants too, and Ethan followed suit. "Think of it as a parting gift that you can also use to wash away the possibility that there are any doubts left."
Ethan had no objections as the layers were removed and in short order they were both naked. Before he could do anything more, Lucas told him to stay put and continue lying on his back. It was his turn to just relax and enjoy what was going to happen.
"There's really nothing you want me to do?" He asked.
"Nothing." Lucas affirmed, reaching across to the dresser and pulling out a little bottle, which he opened and poured onto his left hand. "Except for watching me, and getting as horny as you can."
Hovering over Ethan, still upright and balanced on his knees, he brought that hand around and slid it behind him. He couldn't see directly, but he knew where those fingers had gone the second he heard the squelching sound of lube. Lucas' facial expression changed, morphing through different emotions as he prepared himself; a grimace, a frown, a look of concentration, his mouth opening a little, forehead creasing. Ethan merely stared up, watching and listening, and admiring the boy in front of him.
Lucas was taller than him, a good six feet plus, and his body was more muscular -- Ethan himself was well built but leaner -- and that made Lucas the fittest on the team, only second to Greg. With the friendliest face, his wavy red-blond hair, and his swimmer's physique, Ethan was loving the show -- and once he saw Lucas's cock, with well-trimmed pubic hair, begin to rise from what the hand was doing, Ethan's own began to rise too.
The expressions had changed from various shades of discomfort to arousal, with Lucas' cock stiffening all the way as he properly loosened up, causing Ethan to harden even faster. He could have spent longer just watching his boyfriend do that, because the entire sight was just plain sexy, but finally Lucas stopped. He shuffled forward a little then lowered himself down slowly.
Ethan saw his swollen glans disappear from sight, felt it squeezing in between the cheeks, and then Lucas moved his hips, lining it up, before he pushed downward more, oh so slowly.
He grunted aloud before the head was even fully in, pausing there.
"You're just ... really big." Lucas muttered, his face red. "This- ... this is a lot. I'm gonna need a minute. It's definitely harder as a guy."
"There's no rush," whispered Ethan, who was enjoying every moment. "Go at your pace."
A few dozen seconds later, Lucas gingerly pushed down again, and another half inch went inside. He exhaled heavily, and after another couple dozen, went a little further. The progress was very slow, and his erection wilted slightly at first, until several inches were inside, and it began to harden again. He kept on with the gradual stop-start, easing himself further down Ethan's cock, until there were only maybe two and a half inches of shaft remaining.
"I- ... I don't think I can take more," he murmured. His thighs were tense, his impressive muscle control supporting his upper body's weight and doing all the work in maintaining his descent.
For Ethan, the sensation was amazing. It felt different than pussy -- tighter all the way round, but just as warm -- and then Lucas was pulling up and Ethan released a grunt of his own as butt slid back up cock, until it was just the head lodged inside. Then it was slowly down again, and Lucas let out a groan, but now not of discomfort. Ethan watched hungrily the next descent, as each inch vanished inside, and he could feel the marvel of warm teen ass, gripping him from every side, squeezing like a vice.
He didn't have to move an inch, didn't have to do anything as Lucas gained a steady rhythm, his body now adjusted to the girth, and he rose and fell repeatedly, riding Ethan's cock. The groans became more frequent, lustier, more drawn out, and he found himself echoing Lucas, with the pleasure beginning to build, stroke after stroke.
Through every second of it, Ethan was loving being as big as he was, as hung as he was -- it was almost enough to make him not want to go through with his intentions.
Almost, but not quite!
He had another future in store for him, but he was enjoying every second of the present.
"Babe!" Lucas gasped, his erection waggling stiffly in the air with his up-down movements. "I'm nearly- ... I'm gonna cum, real soon."
"I'm close too! Ungh!" His hands scrunched into fists on the bedspread, his abs and butt flexing. "Just a little more! Almost ... there!"
"Ohhh, Etttthaannnn!" Lucas exploded, his ass gripping and releasing in rapid pulses, his cock spraying thick strands across Ethan's stomach and chest. He felt himself burst too, a fountain of rising ecstasy that gushed in repeated waves, until it was overflowing, the excess splashing down onto his own crotch before his softening cock began to slide out, too slick and no longer stiff enough to stay in.
"Uh ... wow." Ethan huffed, shocked for a few moments by the amount of jizz he had produced.
"Yeah, wow." Lucas croaked, and then winced slightly. "I regret nothing. Like, none of it." He hadn't changed position, letting the metaphorical dust settle first, and he grinned down at Ethan. "My little gay heart got everything it wanted out of this. My ass, on the other hand, is probably gonna be tender for a while."
"Should I apologise?" Ethan asked, semi-seriously.
"No." Lucas chuckled, and finally moved off Ethan, cum dripping down his thighs. "What you should do though is take a quick shower before Conor gets bored online and comes to say hello." His smile softened. "And then you should go home and talk to Eric. You've got something important to tell him now, right?"
--------------------
He found Eric in his room, boredly watching some anime rerun. Muting the sound, he sat up and looked over at Ethan.
"How's Lucas?" Eric shrugged. "I figured you must have gone to see him."
"I did." Ethan agreed. "Once I knew what my decision was though, I came right back."
"Wait," he asked, "do you know now? What you want, I mean?"
"Yeah. I want the same thing you want. I think I probably wanted it for a while, it's just taken me until now to realise and admit it."
"That means ... we're gonna do it?!" Eric's excitement was building at the news, his attention now fully given.
"It does." He smiled weakly. "So, before I lose my nerve and start doubting myself, if you're ready to ... make this happen?"
The open question was all the invitation Eric needed. Pulling open the nightstand drawer, he snatched out the ring and stood, beginning to strip out of his clothes. Ethan did the same, and together they discarded everything into a pile on the bed.
There was NO WAY they weren't going to watch this happen.
The brothers looked at each other, and Ethan gave a small nod of confirmation, which Eric returned. He put the ring on his right hand, fourth finger, and took a deep breath.
"Lord Janus, grant me this boon."
There was a little jolt of energy from the ring, like a very low-power electric shock. For a couple of seconds nothing happened, and then both of them heard a voice in their heads.
"A blessing is sought by one. If this be the will of both, the second must answer now in the manner prescribed by the artifact's covenant."
This was it -- the point of no return.
"Lord Janus, your gift is accepted." Ethan somehow managed to say the phrase without his throat seizing up from the sheer anxiety of the moment.
Again, for a few seconds nothing changed, and then the ring's voice spoke again, like an automated response.
"The desire is true and thus the boon is granted. It is done."
Immediately, both boys felt something start to happen. Not knowing exactly how different it would be from all their previous 'simple trade' swaps, they were both surprised when it didn't happen near instantly. From the first moment it was clear the essence transfer would take some time, and was a more drawn-out and decisive process.
The first thing was both went completely erect, growing to their respective fully hard sizes.
Ethan went to take a small step closer to the dresser mirror, but he found he couldn't move his legs beyond standing in place. Presumably it was some kind of magical safeguard for the transfer process that effectively rooted him to the spot. There could be no backing out.
Then, physical sensation.
For Eric, it was a slow pushing feeling, as if more and more cock was trying to gradually squeeze itself out of his crotch, like a sausage-maker pumping flesh into a casing, making it continue to fill out longer and wider. His balls began to feel heavier and looser too, as if the sac was connected to a tap that was slowly filling them up.
For Ethan, the exact opposite. The pulling sensation was apparent on every part of his dick, the length and girth reducing in an unhurried progression. It was this bit-by-bit gentle inward sucking that was pleasant, but also somehow horrifying. He found it disturbing -- his balls constantly tightening, becoming more taut, being gently squeezed -- because he knew it was his maturity being transferred over, while he was accepting Eric's immaturity in turn. In a sense, his very masculinity was being reduced and 'stolen', but since he agreed to it, he couldn't call it theft.
He had chosen this and there was no backing out now.
All he could do was watch.
While Eric was staring down at himself with boyish fascination and glee, Ethan instead was fixated on his own reflection in the dresser mirror. He wanted to observe every moment of what was happening.
It must have been a helpful feature the ring provided for the essence transfer, because as the first dozen seconds ticked by, Ethan found himself instinctively knowing the age of his draining maturity in real-time. From the start, it took around a minute to go from seventeen to sixteen years, which meant finishing at eleven would take roughly six minutes.
That first year wasn't too bad. His erection barely slimmed, the monstrous girth reaching that of a slim drink can, a bit over two inches across. Similarly, the length had only reduced to something around nine inches, and his pubic hair had only thinned slightly. His balls had gone from lemons to perhaps oversized plums.
Scary, nerve-wracking, heart-pounding, but perhaps not as bad as he thought?
Going towards fifteen was more anxiety inducing, but also exciting. It brought back some fond memories of a good period in Ethan's life. As his cock crept downwards, crawling to eight, then toward seven and a half, he couldn't help thinking about jerking off at that age, how the sac on his apricot-sized balls was slightly smoother and closer than during his older teens. It was a good size and something to be proud of at fifteen, and Ethan was feeling better about what was happening as the second minute finished.
This wasn't so bad, right? Just a journey he had chosen to go on!
Even as the same inexorable pulling, the slow diminishing, brought him under seven and on towards six and a half, Ethan remained positive. The skin on his shaft and his now average fig-sized jewels was notably clearer and more blemish free, and he really liked that. Even his pubes were clearly thinner and wispier, softer, and it made his heart thump with a kind of fidgety joy.
It was as Ethan reached fourteen and the three minute mark, that he realised.
They were at the halfway mark, which meant ...
Glancing for a moment across to Eric, he could plainly see that his little brother's hardon was identical to his own. They both had a perfectly normal regular-size teenage penis.
This was the crossover point.
From that moment onwards, Eric would be growing larger and more mature, and Ethan?
He would only get younger and smaller.
A looming sense of discomfort gripped him as he tore his gaze back to his own crotch again. The descent to thirteen made his already thundering heart seem to pump even quicker. The changes were even more obvious now as he edged toward five and a half, then dipped under five. The inward suctioning felt stronger, like his cock was being pinched almost, with his girth barely more than an inch across, his foreskin colouring a lighter youthful pink. The hair was the most blatant, receding to very sparse and fine, like that of a kid just starting to grow pubes, and Ethan could feel his strawberry-size balls closer to his body than before.
His junk was now decidedly thinner and shorter than average.
Even though he knew he wanted this, Ethan still felt a growing sense of panic as he approached the end of the fourth minute. He was seeing his own masculinity decrease, evaporate further every few seconds like an ice cube left on a hot sidewalk. Had he made some horrible mistake? Why was he going through with this?
It was all starting to hit home as they entered the fifth minute. Everything seemed more magnified and intensified. His shaft was tighter and thinner, dropping under four and continuing smaller yet. Even the foreskin clung around it and the head with a near painful intimacy, so juvenile and very close cut. Now smooth, hairless, and technically preteen at twelve years, Ethan couldn't remember his grape-sized nuts ever feeling so constricted, so squished.
How was it possible that THIS was what he wanted? But, he DID want it, and it still wasn't over. He hadn't gone all the way yet -- but could he? He knew he didn't have a choice anymore, but he couldn't help thinking as if he did in order to soften the crazy emotions he was having.
Then came the last minute.
Ethan could only stare as his already severely-reduced length shrank further, second by quivering second, moment by trembling moment, from three towards two inches. His breath was ragged and his eyes were fixed on it, counting the seconds, wallowing in the incredible tautness of his groin, the increasing softness of his skin, the unbearable stiffness of how horny all of it made him.
It was only when he felt himself finally hit eleven years old, that the pulling sensation of the essence transfer stopped.
It was over.
They had gone through with it.
Really truly gone through with it!
Letting out his breath, unable to believe it, he looked over to Eric, who looked right back to him with a similar dazed -- but happy -- expression, before they looked at each other's crotches.
He didn't get a chance to speak before Eric was saying something.
"Hey, um, your size doesn't look quite right?" He quickly looked down at himself. "Neither does mine, actually." Turning to his right, he grabbed his school bag from the bed, rummaged around, and pulled out a ruler. Pressing it against his freshly enlarged cock, Eric took a measurement.
"Eleven inches. It's a half inch longer!"
He passed the ruler to Ethan, who put it next to his own.
Instead of hitting an even two inches like it had when swapping in the past, it was exactly one and a half.
"I'm- ... I'm a half inch smaller too."
Thinner also -- not roughly the width of his thumb as it had been, but more like his little finger.
"So I got more and you got less?" Eric stated in breathy amazement. "Did the ring just give us a little ... bonus, or something?"
"It must have." Ethan's voice was croaky, uncertain.
"Or maybe," the younger Morales mused, "it was just making us exactly how we were meant to be." Eric padded across to Ethan, and the older felt his brother's softening monster cock squish against his thigh as Eric hugged him around his stomach, their naked bodies pressing together. "I feel like everything fits now. Don't you?"
For the first time in a long time, Ethan could say that he agreed with the sentiment, as he hugged his little brother back.
"Yeah," he said, "I do too."