Of the four—Irene, Arslan, Hayley, and Esma—the very first, of course, was Esma who successfully formed her Beast Soul. Being more experienced and "wise", she was able to do it before the others.
Joyfully, Esma opened her eyes and almost screamed with delight. However, when she stopped in time, she saw that the other three were still sitting with their eyes closed, concentrating on forming their first Beast Souls.
"Phew..." she exhaled slowly, holding her chest. Realizing that she had almost interrupted the others, she got up carefully and silently and left the room, leaving them alone.
As she approached the stairs, she suddenly remembered the rightmost room, and instead of going down, curiosity led her there.
Soon, a disappointed figure came down the stairs, muttering to himself.
"Oh," she stopped abruptly when she saw Arabel and Idan, who were sitting on a chair in each other's arms.
