As the gate shimmered with light, a girl emerged, her face glistening with sweat as she weakly made her way outside the platform. Noticing the intense gazes fixed upon her, she nervously shifted her glance elsewhere.
Jack rushed towards her with a joyful shout, "Nicole!"
The tenth candidate to emerge was none other than Nicole. Jack, along with Sylvie and the others, approached her with concern, asking, "Are you okay?"
"I'm... fine. Just really tired," Nicole nodded weakly, utterly drained from the ritual. Understanding her fatigue, they allowed her some space to rest and redirected their attention to the gate.
It didn't take long for another figure to step out. He appeared to be a robust boy with a muscular build and a covering of body hair. Spotting him, a girl called out excitedly.
"Dean, over here!" The figure that had just emerged was indeed Dean, and the one who called out was Rosy. They were part of the same alliance formed by Kalsie.
