It started with an old tv 📺 (reborn in hxh)

The x Third x Phase

I was currently standing at the very top of the (extremely tall) building known as Trick Tower. Getting to the bottom was our goal for the Third Phase, and we had 72 hours- exactly three days- to complete it. The five of us had been pacing around the top of the tower trying to figure out how to get down... along with the remaining applicants.

A cold breeze passed us, and my long hair blew in the wind (and my face). I'd replaced the twin tails with a ponytail earlier that morning, wanting a change of pace. Maybe I should cut it. This long hair will definitely get in the way of a fight at some point. But I'll save that thought for another time.

"Are we supposed to... climb down?" I asked, frowning. "That would be quite the challenge," Kurapika replied, looking down at the ground below. If only I could fly... I do have that weird black and white thing, but I can't even control it, and I'm not completely sure what it is yet. I don't even know if that was me.

"Hey, aren't there less people up here than before?" Leorio pointed out. I backed away from the edge and glanced around. He was right. There were definitely less people than before. "They must be getting down somehow without climbing down. But how?" Kurapika murmured.

I jogged over to a random spot, staring at the square tile, then glanced back at the other four. An idea suddenly struck me. "Hey, maybe they're-" Before I could finish my sentence, I yelped- because my surroundings became pitch black, and heart fluttered with the familiar feeling of falling through nothingness. I blinked. What just happened? I was falling, even though I'd been standing on the surface of Trick Tower just a second ago. This is like that scary feeling when you're dreaming about falling right before waking up in a cold sweat. Maybe I'm about to wake up in the real world.

Then, I landed on something soft and squishy, and I stiffened. The lights came back on, and I realized that I was sprawled across a huge beanbag... or something. I didn't know what it was. And it was in the middle of an even bigger and eerily empty room. It was creepy, in a way, because I was surrounded by white walls and nothing else. Even the floor was made of clean white tiles.

I was surprised to find myself relieved. I didn't wake up. This wasn't a dream. Am I really happier here?

As I pushed those complicated thoughts aside and struggled to sit up, I realized that my previous idea was right. I was about to say that maybe there were trapdoors or something, and that's how everyone was getting down.

I slid down the squishy bean bag and landed softly. How am I supposed to get out? Is this some kind of test? I don't remember this from the show. I began to walk around and feel the walls. Maybe there was a secret passageway somewhere. If my test is to wait here patiently for three days, I might actually go insane.

An hour later, as my hand felt over yet another section of the room, a brick-sized portion suddenly clicked and receded into the wall. My relief quickly faded as nothing happened. Was that supposed to do something?

Suddenly, I heard a shuffling noise behind me. I turned around and saw a small podium rise in the middle of the room. I sighed. Finally, something else in this room. But I'm so tired of all this blank whiteness. Why couldn't they at least make the podium hot pink or something?

I approached it and saw that there were only two buttons on it- a blue one and a green one. The green one said LEFT on it, and the blue one said RIGHT. I deadpanned. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" I glared at the ceiling. "Examiner, if you're watching this, it's not funny!"

I groaned. Why couldn't my test be easy to understand like everyone else's? All they had to do was fight other people, and here I am, having to choose between left and right. What did they even mean? Although... I couldn't really fight (I think), so I suppose I should be thankful that I was getting an easier test... except... there were no doorways to my left or right. So would it open a passageway? Or let in an opponent? Which one should I pick?

"What the hell..." I grumbled and slammed my hand down on the blue RIGHT button. Was I being stupid? Maybe. Did I care? No... Okay, maybe just a little.

As soon as I did, I heard a clicking noise and the podium sunk back into the ground, followed by the sound of soft mechanical whirring. I narrowed my eyes and glanced around, waiting for something to happen.

There was a sudden sliding noise, the sound of bricks scraping together, and I whipped around to my right. There was a door-sized opening appearing on the wall. Should I be thankful that something is finally happening, or scared for my life? The wall stopped moving, and I stood there for a good few seconds, staring at it. Should I... enter it? Is it a trap?

Suddenly, I felt an ominous feeling coming from the new doorway. Every atom in my body told me to run and hide. I took a step back. The sound of light footsteps echoed from the dark passageway. I began to panic and back away from the opening. The feeling coming from the opening-  it was so dark and... kind of familiar? I wanted to forget about everything and just run. But I was trapped in this huge, empty room with nothing but a giant beanbag chair, which I couldn't even use. All I could do was stand there and wait, feeling the sinister presence get closer and closer.

I clenched my fists as I saw a tall figure appear, completely concealed by the darkness, and the footsteps stopped.

"Oh my, what a surprise we have here. This will certainly be interesting..."

That voice... who is it? I glared at the figure as it walked forwards and stopped in the light, revealing himself. My eyes widened as it dawned on me who the person before me was.

No way... Are you kidding me? Why the hell is he here?