The elevator rumbled downward, deeper than any sane building should go. The walls were seamless stone, glowing faintly with embedded nen runes — wards, traps, surveillance.
Kaen stood in the back corner of the lift, eyes shut, arms crossed.
Gon, Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio were near the center, quietly watching each other.
And next to the panel, arms behind his back like a funeral host…
Satotz.
The floor display stopped at 100.
"Welcome," Satotz said, "to Trick Tower. Your next trial begins now."
The doors hissed open, revealing darkness — and four doors, each sealed with an iron emblem of the Hunter Association.
⸻
Gon approached first, squinting.
"No handles?"
Kurapika stepped forward. "They're keyed to group entry. We won't move on until we form a full team."
Satotz nodded. "Five-person teams only. The first floor of Trick Tower must be completed as a unit. Choose wisely."
Candidates began shouting.
Scrambling.
Fights broke out immediately — alliances forming, shattering, betraying, all in seconds.
Kaen didn't move.
He waited.
And then, naturally, he was the fifth to join the same group as Gon, Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio.
Leorio groaned. "Great. The guy who looks like he sleeps with his eyes open."
Killua chuckled. "He's not the one you should worry about."
Kurapika nodded. "He's dangerous. But he's… quiet dangerous."
Kaen cracked a rare smile.
"Relax. I'm just the mirror."
"…Until someone looks in," Killua muttered.
⸻
The door sealed behind them with a clang.
A speaker above buzzed to life.
"Welcome to Floor One of Trick Tower. Your team must win three out of five matches against specially selected criminals. Failure results in elimination… or death."
Leorio cursed. "Perfect."
The first gate opened.
And the world changed.
⸻
The room was a circular arena, twenty meters wide, with walls pulsing in red light. Standing in the center was a brute with arms like tree trunks and a grin that split his face.
"I'm Majtani. I kill for fun."
Gon stepped forward.
"No thanks," Kaen said, placing a hand on Gon's shoulder. "Let me."
Gon blinked. "You sure?"
Kaen nodded. "I need to test something."
⸻
Majtani laughed. "You? You're a stick. You look like you break bones by reading too hard."
Kaen didn't answer.
He walked to the center, feet silent, aura tight.
Majtani lunged — fast for his size, a full-force punch meant to cave in ribs.
Kaen didn't dodge.
He raised a single hand and whispered:
"Mirror Fang."
WHAM.
The impact echoed like thunder — but not from Kaen.
From Majtani.
The brute's own punch was flung back at him mid-strike, twisting his body backward like a ragdoll. He hit the far wall and bounced, spitting blood.
The crowd stared.
Killua's eyes went wide.
Kurapika whispered, "He… he didn't even channel nen back."
"He redirected it," Leorio said, jaw slack. "Like a… like a nen mirror trap."
Gon smiled, eyes alight.
"That was awesome."
⸻
Majtani tried to rise, groaning.
Kaen walked up and said quietly:
"Your aura's sloppy. I returned it better than you threw it."
He raised a hand.
"Want me to show you again?"
Majtani passed out.
⸻
One win.
The second match was Gon's — he chose a prisoner with a puzzle trap instead of a fight. Solved it in under a minute.
Two wins.
The third was Kurapika's — a mind game involving false names and false threats.
He won by speaking the Spider's truth.
"I don't bluff. I kill those I promise to."
The criminal folded.
Three wins.
⸻
The system didn't stop the final matches — they were "optional," but anyone who participated could earn points. Kaen stepped back, ready to observe.
But that's when the fifth prisoner was revealed.
A man wearing a Council of Black Thread mask.
Everyone froze.
Even the announcer stuttered. "Uh… contestant override. This entrant wasn't scheduled…"
The man stepped forward.
His mask was not full — a half-mask over the right side of his face, eyes glowing faintly.
"I am The Listener. And I came for the Mirror."
Kaen's heart dropped.
Kurapika moved first. "Who are you?"
The man's eyes flicked toward Kaen.
"He knows."
Kaen stepped forward, fists clenched.
"This wasn't part of the exam."
"No," The Listener replied. "But neither were you. The Council doesn't like anomalies."
The room dimmed.
Hisoka, wherever he was, laughed somewhere down the tower.
Ohh, now things get spicy.
⸻
Kaen raised his hand.
Mirror Fang formed — but this man didn't attack.
Instead, he whispered in a voice laced with echo:
"Reflect this."
He split into five images — each with a different aura type. One conjurer, one enhancer, one manipulator, one specialist, one emitter.
Kaen's mirror spun wildly.
"Mind Palace: Split Construct. Reflective Surge Mode."
The room cracked with pressure.
Aura screamed around him.
He didn't dodge. He didn't attack.
He copied.
One. Two. Three…
Each aura — understood.
Each technique — absorbed.
Each illusion — broken.
And then he struck.
"Mirror Fang: Kaleidoscope Shatter."
A burst of reflected nen hit every version at once.
Only one screamed.
Only one was real.
⸻
The Listener collapsed.
Kaen stood over him, chest heaving, eyes burning with seven colors.
"Tell your masters—"
He crouched down.
"If they want my reflection… they better bring a real mirror."
⸻
Silence.
Then the speaker crackled.
"…Judges have ruled the bonus round complete. Proceed to the next floor."
The door opened.
And Gon was already grinning.
"You're way more than you let on."
Kaen gave a rare smirk.
"You haven't seen anything yet."
⸻
To be continued in Chapter 14: Floor of Faces – Hisoka's Game