After making two new friends, Marina began her days as a new member of the Science Division peacefully, even though Valencia was no longer by her side.
A few days later, Marina remembered Alice's promise to her and Iris about explaining the Leystream in more detail. It was 10 p.m. local time, and Marina was in her room.
"Hmm…."
"Maybe I can find some material about Leystream on this computer."
Her fingers typed rapidly, her eyes focused on her room's computer screen.
"Hehe, I can't believe they installed computers in every room. I wonder what Alice and Iris are doing right now?"
Suddenly, a video call notification popped up on her screen. Marina accepted it, revealing Alice and Iris in their respective rooms.
"Hey Marina, is it connected yet?"
"My signal was acting up earlier."
Alice's firm and direct voice came through Marina's headset, followed by the faces of her two friends.
"I-it's working, Alice!"
"It's so late, what's up? Iris looks like she's already half-asleep."
Marina's red eyes fixed on Iris, who was slumped over her desk.
"Hey, you guys said you wanted to know more about the Leystream from me, didn't you?"
"Iris! Wake up!"
The shout caused Iris to slowly blink her eyes open. Alice pouted, seeing Iris looking so sluggish.
"Hey, Sleeping Beauty, wake up. Or else I'm coming over to your room right now."
Slowly, Iris sat up and saw that Marina and Alice were ready.
"Wait a second, guys. I need to head to the bathroom first."
Iris stood up and walked into her room's bathroom.
"Chh, typical Iris!"
"She looks so serious in class, but here she's just lazy, hmph!"
Alice turned her head away, leaving Marina slightly startled by the dynamic between her two friends. After a short while, Iris returned with wet hair.
"Hmm, did you just wash your face?!"
"Hehe, I'm already sleepy at this hour."
Once everyone was ready, the three of them began discussing the Leystream.
"Hey, this hour is usually when an Angel like me should be resting."
"You're different, Alice. Demons are practically best friends with the night!"
Iris's green eyes fixed on Alice, who was in the middle of a drink.
"Hehe, sorry about that. I only had time tonight; I was busy handling letters from my parents all day."
"Alright, let's get into it. I'm going to tell you all about the Leystream. And the Primordials too!"
Alice began typing something, and a few moments later, several images appeared.
"Just like we heard from Professor Laura back then, the Leystream is the foundation of everything in the world. Everything originates from it and functions because of it."
"These are the images my parents used to show me."
A series of pictures appeared, showing members of the Demon race seemingly doing something.
"What are they doing, Alice?"
Marina was curious about the images of the demons, who looked like they were performing a demonstration.
"They're performing an elemental reaction, Marina. And in this other picture, they can lift heavy objects with ease."
"My parents said the Leystream increases our physical strength drastically. Besides that, we can manifest basic elemental powers like fire, water, earth, ice, wind, and lightning!"
Alice showed a few more images. Iris watched with focus despite her heavy eyelids. Marina listened intently, so much so that her glasses slid down without her noticing.
"The elements from the Leystream itself are divided into three types if I remember correctly: Normal, Special, and Combined."
"Normal types are the ones I mentioned before. Special types are for those who can manifest powers like darkness, light, fate, dreams, time, death, and life."
"I can use darkness and light, though light is difficult for me, so I can only do a little."
Alice raised her right hand, and a dark purple aura surged, forming a sphere of energy. Marina stared in awe, her glasses sliding down further, while Iris rested her head back on the desk.
"Oh, I just remembered. The Leystream created the 13 fundamental elements of the universe: light, darkness, life, death, time, fate, dreams, water, fire, ice, earth, wind, and lightning."
"I was told once that the special elements aren't just for anyone to master."
More images appeared, showing users of various elemental powers.
"And the last type is Combined. These are people who can fuse normal elemental powers and transform them into new elements!"
"Like Crystal is a combination of ice and earth, Wood is water and earth, Lava is fire and earth, Storm is wind and lightning, Magnet is lightning and earth, Steam is fire and water, and Sand is earth and wind. And one more that my brother used to be able to do: Frostfire—a combination of fire and ice."
Alice's fingers flew across the keyboard, and an image showing users of Combined-type elements appeared.
"I-interesting. I used to be able to use wood elements. Is it because I'm an Elf that I can use it?!"
Marina adjusted her glasses, her red eyes glowing elegantly in the light from the computer screen. Alice noticed that Iris seemed to have fallen back asleep.
"Iris… wake up!"
"Try showing your light power. You're an Angel, after all."
Alice's voice pierced the ears of the slumbering Iris, making her jump.
"Fine, fine, just a second."
Iris positioned both hands in front of her chest. A white and gold aura emerged, forming a stable sphere of energy.
"I used to have a hard time studying the light element, but I finally got it!"
Both of them demonstrated their respective powers, making Marina feel a bit envious as she crossed her arms.
"Alright, that's it for the explanation of elemental Leystream powers. Now, on to the physical enhancement part of this energy."
Alice typed something, and a video appeared showing several people fighting monsters.
"As I said, the Leystream drastically increases physical strength. On top of that, it grants us all super-regeneration that works 24/7 without stopping!"
"However, my mother said there is one disease that cannot be cured directly by the Leystream itself: LIC, or Leystream Internal Corrosion."
Alice displayed the description of the disease to the two of them.
"Hey, I've seen that. Once, an Angel was afflicted by it and was immediately rushed to the hospital, though they didn't survive."
"From what I read, the disease can appear if someone experiences a deeply traumatic event. If I'm not mistaken, that Angel suffered from severe depression. I forgot why, but they were so depressed they never left their house for work!"
Iris shared her experience, while Marina fell silent as if remembering something.
"Hmm, what is it, Marina?"
"Are you thinking about something?!"
Alice instinctively looked at Marina, who had suddenly gone quiet after paying such close attention.
"Oh, i-it's nothing. I just... remembered someone from the past."
Marina looked down in silence, recalling everything she had heard long ago.
"What's wrong, Marina? It looks like you're remembering a sad moment."
"You can talk to me or Alice about it."
Iris watched the saddened Marina; Marina's red eyes began to glisten with tears.
"It's okay, you two. I'm fine, r-really."
Marina wiped the tears that were about to fall with her hand, relieving Alice and Iris.
"Hehe, alright then, Marina. But next time, you can tell us, okay? We're your friends."
Iris's offer was gentle, her calm tone reaching Marina's ears.
"Yeah, we promise we won't leak your secrets, don't worry!"
Alice smiled, and Marina returned it with a small smile of her own.
"Okay, back to the topic, you two… now I'll explain the four categories that determine a person's physical strength. This part is my favorite because it's really easy to understand, hehe!"
"Alright, so there are four categories: Bound, Limit Breaker, Gifted, and the Formam or Revenant. Bound is the standard category found in most people. Their regeneration works within milliseconds, and the maximum speed they can reach is… the speed of light!"
Alice showed a demonstration video featuring Spartan soldiers and normal citizens. It made Marina briefly think about Valencia.
"For Limit Breaker and Gifted, you could say their abilities are the same; the only difference is how they got them. If I recall correctly, Limit Breakers are people who surpassed their own limits, or they could be cyborgs and robots specifically designed that way."
"Gifted are those who, as I remember, received a blessing of power from the Primordials. For example, like our High Sentinels. From what I've heard, some of them are Gifted, and others are Limit Breakers."
Alice displayed images of High Sentinels like Vorta Caelum, Foxana, and Seth Amotis. Marina's eyes narrowed as she looked at the pictures. Iris rested her head and hands on the desk.
"As for the Formam or Revenant, they are the vessels for the Primordials themselves. So far, from what I've read, the Revenant is the only one whose identity remains unknown!"
Iris suddenly sat up and began typing. Marina was curious about the figure of the Revenant because she had once heard that someone who becomes a Revenant must have died first.
"I-I've heard that whoever becomes a Revenant must have died once."
"But I don't know if that rumor is true or not."
Marina closed her eyes while Iris finally finished typing, and an image of the Primordial Bahamut appeared.
"This is Bahamut, the Essence of Light. Angels often seek his advice and guidance."
"If I'm not mistaken, the Revenant is the figure who will become his vessel."
The image of a bipedal, four-winged, horned dragon appeared clearly, making Alice stare in awe before she began searching for something.
"Wait, where is it…."
"Aha, here it is!"
Suddenly, Alice showed an image of a nine-headed, horned dragon with two dark wings.
"This is,"
"Primordial Hydra, the Scales of Darkness!"
Iris recoiled slightly, while Marina leaned her head closer to the monitor. Before they knew it, the clock showed 11:30 p.m. Alice realized how late it was and decided to stop for now.
"It's late; I'm going to sleep. Let's continue this some other time."
Alice stretched her arms back, the sound of her stiff bones audible to Marina and Iris.
"Hehe, alright, Alice. I want to head to the bathroom before bed too."
"Goodnight, you two!"
Marina gave a thin smile and waved. Alice looked a bit embarrassed, but Iris just smiled watching her.
"Heh, turns out you can actually be shy, huh? Hahaha!"
Iris teased Alice, making her pout as her eyes sharpened.
"Shut up, Iris!"
"Goodnight to you guys too. I'm going now, bye!"
Alice disconnected the video call. Marina stood up and walked toward her room's window, her mind wandering.
"It's been a long time since I've been in contact with him... since the incident 700 years ago."
"Huft, I hope he's doing okay."
She looked up at the night sky. starlight was scattered across the vast expanse, and the bright moonlight of Planet Romeus shone brilliantly.