Seeing through the Flames (Killua x OC) (Kurapika x OC)

Chapter 3

"..." Arla blankly looked down at the tall featureless pillar. This was Trick Tower - the location for Phase Three.

"Can we even climb down this?" Leorio murmured with an equally blank face. Arla held onto his arm sleeve to stabilize her footing as she felt Ai grab onto her arm at the same time. They watched an experienced rock climber candidate trying to climb down the side, but they were quickly eaten by some flying monsters. "...I guess that answers my question."

"Well that was a fast goresome death." Ai laughed nervously, not wanting to go near the edge of the tower. Arla nodded in agreement.

"We'll have to search for clues." Kurapika announced to the group.

Arla forced herself to not grab onto Leorio again and went down on her knees to check the flooring. "In my favorite mystery novels... Places like these usually have some kind of trap door or some kind of mechanism."

"Oh, oh, oh!" Ai tugged at Arla's arm sleeve. "Which mystery novels did you read?" Her indigo eyes sparkled at Arla. She smiled wryly at the crossdresser.

"Well... We can always talk about it after the exams? I would be happy to discuss them with you then." Arla motioned to Ai to start knocking on several places. When she was a little further from the group, she eventually found a space that seemed to be hollow. She stood up from excitement and her foot stepped on it harshly when she was about to call out to the others. "Shinichi, Go-" Before she could complete her sentence, she screeched when the door opened, making her fall in. The last thing she saw was everyone turning their heads to see her but she realized that at the speed of their head turning, they probably ended up not seeing her at all.

"Ouch..." She rubbed her bottom and childishly glared at the trap door above her. "Couldn't you have made the landing softer?!" She yelled at the door. Realizing how ridiculous she was being, she coughed and regained her calmer self. "I suppose I have no choice but to meet everyone at the end."

When she found herself surrounded by millions of doors, her eye unwillingly twitched, indicating her indignation towards the situation she was in. "What...is this..."

"Choose the door that leads to the right path. Only one door will be safe. The rest will lead to danger. Choose well." Someone's voice echoed in the room. She sighed.

While she did not want to use her power very much, it seemed like she had no choice this time. Raising her right index and middle finger, she focused her energy into them. "In the name of Froshumburg, Arlania, I write. Edit. In the name of Arla, I write. Assume. One door leads to safety. Requires. Safest path, no danger, reaches the base of the tower within 72 hours. Payment. Temporarily lose sensation in left hand in the next 72 hours." As she wrote what she said in the air with her energy, a light surrounded her, absorbing her left hand. She could no longer feel anything in her left hand.

Understanding that her power was working well, she smiled and continued her chant. "Set. Activate! Show me the light - SHOOTING STAR ROAD." She grabbed the light that the words formed in her right hand before releasing it above her. It seemed to go through the walls and floor.

After the shower of light ended, a sliver of light connected to her left hand.

"...Well hopefully, this worked. It was a simple one, so there should not be as many errors..." She doubted herself a little, but since it was better than straight guessing, she decided to follow the light. She could almost hear her family members yelling at her for using her powers so recklessly.

A slight grimace appeared on her face as she opened the first door. Her right hand immediately grabbed her dagger, but nothing appeared. She sighed in relief. "So far, so good... Thank goodness."