More than bleak.

"....and that's where it stopped."
Put in the spotlight for a moment he was surprised at the shock; had always thought he'd handle it fine.
Turned instead into a monk, and in the sanctity of his own mind felt safe again.
Having to make things up on the spot he dithered and the spell was broken.
Life became dull, for a moment it became dull. He felt suddenly lost as things around him changed. Familiar faces appeared strange.
He put his head into his hands and prayed.
"She's a goner," said Paul, as though to reassure us that what we were all thinking was true.
I painted a picture. It was neither bleak nor spectacular, and in that way was more than bleak.