By Brittany Junkins
There are special rules and conditions for Nanika's mysterious and terrifying power. Here's how they work.
Killua Zoldyck is very fond of his younger sibling, Alluka, and is one of the few characters in Hunter x Hunter who is not afraid of Alluka's special power, which her family calls "Nanika." This special power is an unstoppable force that potentially threatens everyone around Alluka, causing many people to wish harm upon her.
Nanika is the mysterious "alter ego" of Alluka Zoldyck, the second youngest of the Zoldyck family. Nanika's power is terrifying and limitless, but how exactly does it work, and where did this strange power come from?
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Nanika's Power
Similar to a parasite, Nanika possesed Alluka and is using her body as a host. Because of this, Alluka has to comply with Nanika's powers and help meet the conditions in order for Nanika's powers to be used. Nanika has the power to grant any wish or request made by someone, but only after three of Alluka's requests have been fulfilled. Once three of Alluka's requests are completed, Nanika takes over to grant a wish. Once the wish has been granted, Alluka returns to normal.
There is a small catch, however; the bigger the wish someone makes, the more difficult Alluka's following three requests will be. The requests become increasingly more and more difficult, until eventually they cannot be fulfilled. If a person refuses to fulfill four of Alluka's requests, that person will die, along with at least one other of their loved ones. The bigger the prior wish was, the more people will die if the next round of requests are not completed.
Nanika's Rules
What makes Nanika such a huge threat to humanity is it's "god-like" abilities. Nanika is infinitely powerful; any wish can be granted, no matter how difficult or impossible the wish seems. If it is wished for, Nanika could end humanity in the blink of an eye.
The only restriction is that Nanika has to rely on others for the power to be used; it cannot grant its own wishes. Its power is dependent on the desires of others. Nanika's power follows a set of "rules," or specific conditions, that have been ascertained through trial and error. The Zoldyck family only discovered five of these rules through their experiments. The first is that if someone refuses to fulfill Alluka's requests and subsequently dies, then the difficulty level of the requests returns to level 1. This is the best time to fulfill Alluka's requests and make a wish, because the requests are easy to complete. But the difficulty does not raise by one level after each wish; it can jump from level 1 to any level of difficulty, depending on the wish granted.
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The second rule is that when Alluka is making her three requests from someone, the requests cannot be transferred to someone else midway. Therefore, if the one receiving requests were to leave, disappear, or conceal themselves, then Alluka cannot make requests to anyone else. This is one proven way to temporarily pause Nanika's powers. The third rule is if the person dies mid-requests, then at least one other person will die for the failure to complete the three requests. The fourth rule is that Alluka cannot make requests of someone if she does not know their name. The last rule known to the Zoldyck family is that the same person cannot ask Alluka for consecutive wishes.
Killua's Rules
Killua and Alluka/Nanika have a very close bond, therefore Killua is given special privileges when using Nanika's power. There are some rules that Killua keeps a secret from his family, and there are also some rules that only apply to Killua. Killua knows that Nanika can only grant one wish at a time. However, he discovered a loophole, in which several conditions can be given for one wish, which expands the possibilities of what one can ask for. Killua also discovered that if you ask Nanika to heal something/someone, then Nanika must be in physical contact with the target being healed. There is no cruel backlash or consequences when a wish is used for healing. Being that Killua is the person closest to Alluka, Killua is granted special privileges with Nanika's power, such as being able to issue commands to Nanika. He can command Nanika to come out and grant his wish/request, bypassing Alluka's requests. His requests are granted without any repercussions.
Based on Nanika's "rules," it is evident that balance and justice play a major role in its power. The bigger the prior wish, the more difficult the requests will be, and the more dire the consequences. It's an equivalent exchange; if Nanika gives a lot, then Nanika will take a lot. However, if someone requests Nanika to heal something/someone, there is no cruel backlash or consequences. Nanika distinguishes between selfish and selfless requests, and punishes the selfish ones.
Theories About Nanika's Origins
Now, it has never been officially confirmed by the manga or mangaka as to what creature Nanika specifically is. However, many fans have speculated and used hints in the manga to come to their own conclusions about Nanika's origins. It was revealed in the extras of volume 33 that Nanika is an unknown creature from the Dark Continent. The Dark Continent contains what are known as the Calamities, AKA the Five Threats.
One of the five is a creature called Ai, which gets its name from the sound it makes. If a human expedition to the Dark Continent is a failure, then they are forced to bring back the Calamities to the known world as punishment, similar to a curse. Nanika's catchphrase is "Ai," which she says when granting someone's wish. It is believed that an Ai was brought from the Dark Continent to the known world during a failed voyage, and then possessed Alluka Zoldyck, creating who the readers know as Nanika.
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