The Great War Loomed

The light of Requiem made the world take notice.

But this time, it was not because of Requiem itself, but because the one using it was the representative of justice—Gilbert Durandal.

Cagalli Yula Athha's voice rang out across the world.

She was the only one who faced Durandal's justice head-on.

"Orb, Asaha—"

Nia Matisse watched the girl in the broadcast speak passionately, pain flickering in her eyes.

Why? Why was she so sensitive to the word Orb?

This was not the first time she had felt this way.

Yet even now, she had found no answer.

Instead, dwelling too deeply on it had given her painful hallucinations.

No one knew of Nia Matisse's suffering.

"Forgive my unannounced visit. Is now a convenient time?"

Over the intercom, Lunarmaria did her utmost to speak as politely as possible, and Shin Asuka hurried over to open the door.

Sure enough, she already had a sour look on her face.

"Luna... sorry."

Shin quickly shut the door, leaving Ray inside.

Though he had stepped out of the room, he still felt Ray's presence weighing heavily on his back.

Walking down the corridor, Lunarmaria voiced her displeasure. "Even if the two of you are both FAITH and naturally have confidential matters to discuss... I never expected him to give me that kind of attitude right from the start!"

"Yeah, I'm really sorry."

Shin apologized aloud, but Ray's words still lingered in his mind.

Ray was a clone—but cloning humans was illegal.

That meant Ray was the product of someone who knowingly broke the law.

Genes within living cells could continually replicate and produce new cells, but that replication was not infinite. With every replication, the telomerase at the ends of the genes was reduced until it eventually vanished completely.

Once the telomerase disappeared completely, the