The platform below me re-brightened, I tried to observe anything else that could be incorporated into its structure, in order to allow the lights to stay on. To put this in Earth terms...it’d be like if you were trying to pay your electric bill, except they only accept it online with a card type you can use at an atm, but does a major brick when trying to enter your info online, frustrating, to say the least, and confusing as f*ck to boot.

I thought about going into the sea to try and find more arms, but almost immediately forced myself to rule out the idea. Thinking about it further, even if I had some way to retrieve arms from the black sea without dying, there would be no guaranteeing that they’d willingly cooperate like the first ones had.

Next, I thought about the possibility of trying to get the limbs that became the platform to somehow reformat themselves, but, again, this had to be ruled out since trying to manipulate this thing might just drop me into the sea.

Finally, there was the option of making something using magic since I’d gotten to the stage where I could make something solid. However, the drawback to this plan would be that I would need a power source for that too, thus nullifying the potential benefits.

I tried to sigh in frustration but was denied since I couldn’t make noises, which only served to frustrate me more…

I walked to the edge, where I proceeded to sit down and dangle my legs, like a kid who was taking a break at the pier. I kept trying to think of alternative solutions, but none of them were sustainable. 

After what seemed like a few minutes or so of being angry and mute, I decided to do something that seemed improbable to work, ill-advised, and even life-threatening, which was, of course...trying to find more of those arms…

Suddenly, I heard a distinct noise, coming from the waves, aggressive splashing and it didn’t seem natural. I looked down, trying to find the source of the noise, even laying down so that my head could go further over the edge, but couldn’t find it.

I prepared to give it up and go back to planning, but a sudden scratching drew my attention. The place where the noise was coming from was below the deck of the platform, strangely enough, but I didn’t think there could be much harm in trying to look as long as I didn’t fall...I was so, so wrong.

Once I managed to lower my head enough to see the underside, I was immediately greeted with a vice-like grasp that covered my face! I was filled with terror, screaming against the palm of whatever was holding me, to no avail…

Desperately, I struggled to rip the hand from my face, digging my small fingers under its palm and trying to push firmly while still maintaining my balance, but still couldn’t make it budge! Finally, as an act of desperation, I attempted to channel mana through my body to create a flame or an explosion, but was met with another tight grip that bound both my arms, crushing them up to my elbows! I continued to mutely scream in terror, while toppling to the floor of the platform, internally cursing myself and these damned....whatever the f*ck they were!

Finally, after attempting to wrestle the limbs off of my body several more times, I’d had enough and,  once again, allowed burning mana to flow through my body, but this time it wasn’t going to my hands…

I felt the heat rush to my eyes, but I felt no pain and instead, only felt the joy of knowing that I was about to do something that could only be seen in comic books…

And in the next instant, there was a loud boom, followed by me being able to see again...through a hole that had been burned into existence! That’s right, I was able to use heat vision!

However, I had no time to bask in the glory of my own success, I felt fingers scramble across my forehead, frightening me to no end...but the now burned through hand began to detach itself from my face. 

It dropped onto the platform, where I was able to perceive that it was, indeed, another of the disembodied arms from the sea, but it had now turned bright red, a glow even brighter, filling the hole in its hand where I had blasted through.  

The arm launched itself forward, slamming into the other arm which had been binding my hands together! They were both hurled to the edge of the platform and began to attack each other with fury, both seemingly desiring to tear the other apart!

Although disoriented, I began to rapidly brainstorm before coming to the seemingly obvious conclusion that my mana had somehow changed the arm I’d blasted through to fight for me. It didn’t make sense, but I didn’t have room to ask questions in case ‘my’ arm would lose…

I gathered flame-mana within my eyes and let loose another destructive burst of energy, right as the arms flung each other away! The fiery beam dug into the black arm, burning a hole through its wrist while ‘corrupting’ it with a red light!

Soon, both arms dragged themselves to rest in front of a weary and heavily disoriented me. They were now under my control, but I couldn’t bring myself to try anything as I began to lapse in and out of consciousness.

I suddenly felt the limbs reach themselves under me, lifting me unto them and proceeding to carry me out, through the open gate, leaving a world which I still didn’t understand at all.

...