The Final Test

Before dawn, the sky was black as ink as the airship slowly passed through the clouds. Sparse stars glittered beyond the windows, like distant gazes cast down upon the earth, silently watching this imminent choice of fate with Gyo. On the deck, the ten candidates who had passed the fourth phase had gathered.

They stood quietly at the edge of the deck, looking at the city gradually taking shape below. The buildings were arranged in neat layers, with ancient red-brick structures. At the city's center stood an En plaza, with Shu around it in the form of low white walls and greenery. Clean and old-fashioned, it was the site of the final test—the Hunter Association's designated testing ground.

Ryan leaned against the deck's metal railing, expressionlessly watching the city beneath him. Yet from the corner of his eye, he swept over every candidate, observing their emotions and movements. He noticed Leorio standing with his hands in his pockets, brows tightly furrowed as he stared at the ground, his lips unconsciously pressed into a line. Kurapika stood perfectly straight, his shoulders slightly stiff, as if intently observing something. Gon gripped the railing, the city reflected in his eyes, his expression filled with happiness and curiosity. Killua had his head lowered, one hand rubbing something inside his pocket. He seemed uninterested in everything around him, but his peripheral vision never left Gon's direction.

The other candidates maintained their own postures as well. Ponzu stood at the edge of the group, one hand on the railing as she gazed at the sky. Hanzo stood with his hands behind his back, motionless as a statue. Pokkle looked down at the deck, his face beneath his long hair showing no emotional change. Hisoka sat alone atop the railing with a smile, flicking playing cards with