"You should already be aware of the seals of the System and the truth about the 'disasters'? Irene asked the couple.
Arabel and Idan nodded affirmatively, indicating that they already knew about it.
"After the first 'disaster,' our world became a little stronger, and after the second wave of the serum, the number of 'awakened ones' that our World could withstand increased significantly," Irene said after pausing. "About a thousand new young people have become "Awakened"!"
"That much?" — Arabel was surprised to hear about so many "Awakened Ones" after the second wave of the serum.
"Much?" Irene just shook her head. "No, there are too few of them."
It was only then that Arabel realized the gravity of the situation. A little over a thousand awakened against a huge wave of beasts all over the world. The thought made her shudder instantly. Of course, it was too little.
"You know that after the catastrophe, which radically changed our world, mixing it up and dividing it into three continents, the familiar world was no longer the same?"
Idan and Arabel knew about it, of course. All the adults who survived the first disaster, and even the youngest children, were aware of how much the world had changed. Familiar countries have disappeared, and with them their borders.
Where there used to be water, land appeared, and part of the land went under water. The area of the world's territories has become many times larger.
As a result, the United Federation was created, which was divided into Central, Western and Southern parts.
It was a miracle that we managed to preserve the bulk of humanity's achievements and restore most of the technology in such a short period of time. But this only affected the Central Continent and mainly the capital of the Federation. Things were not so rosy on the other two continents.
"After the second Disaster, it can be said that the Western and Southern continents are lost. The Awakened Ones were barely enough to protect the Central One. Fortunately, most of the inhabitants of these continents were evacuated to Central after the first disaster. Even then, it became clear that there weren't enough Heroes and Awakened Ones to protect the whole world." And because of the increase in the territories of places.
"Two continents?" asked Idan incredulously.
"Yeah. During the year, we barely managed to evacuate the most valuable and most of the population." Irene, as an Awakened from the first wave, personally participated in this process.
Due to the appearance of alien energy, danger threatened not only on land, but also in the sky and at sea.
It has become especially dangerous at sea. Before the catastrophe, humanity had not even explored a small part of the depths of the world ocean. Not to mention that most of the world was covered with water before the disaster occurred, and after it it became even more unpredictable.
"Most of it? Does this mean that there was a population there during the second disaster?" Arabel asked, even though she knew the answer to her question.
"You know how people work, Arabel. Some of the population did not want to leave their homes and native places, even though they had changed a lot. Besides, one year is too short a time. The two continents were huge, and it was physically impossible to take everyone out." Irene had encountered such people herself. They managed to convince some of them, but some refused flatly and even tried to harm them.
"So the Federation gave up on the two continents by itself?" asked Idan, to which Irene just nodded.
"Only two disasters out of ten have passed, Idan. The world still has to go through eight stages and face the consequences, and all of them will be at least comparable to these two disasters or even worse." Irene's words reminded Idan once again that it would only get worse.
"Knowing all this, how did you and Arslan decide... well..." Idan began, but Irene immediately understood what he wanted to ask. She was aware of his thoughts and just sighed.
"After your disappearance, we didn't communicate much at first, but sometimes we met and talked about you. Then we were called up to ensure the evacuation of two continents, and we ended up in the same group. Everything happened as if by itself. Yes, in many ways, thanks to you, Idan, and Arabel, we began to communicate more and become closer." Irene also realized that if it hadn't been for Idan and Arabel, who were chosen by the System and teleported together, she probably wouldn't have bothered to communicate with Arslan at all.
"And at the end of the entire operation, before returning, an event occurred that hit our entire group hard. At that time, my relationship with Arslan was not so close, but this event played a role, and then it happened." Irene lowered her head and covered her face. It was clear what she meant.
"It was only after the incident that we realized. By that time, everything was already done, and we could only pray. But, as you already know, everything didn't go the way we wanted," Irene said, smiling at the same time.
"It was only after we survived the disaster that I realized I was pregnant. I still had time to fix everything, but I decided to keep the baby. Arslan, when he found out about it, also insisted on it."
"The first and only time?" wondered Idan. "Either Arslan is such a good shot, or you are... wow!"
Before Idan could finish his sentence, Arabel punched him in the side to silence him.
Irene was confused at first when she heard her younger brother's words, because she herself was amazed by such luck. But then she smiled as she watched the couple's relationship unfold.
Esma, watching them, enjoyed the spectacle, taking a sip of her drink from time to time.
"What happened to the waves of beasts?" asked Arabel, after shutting Idan up.
"The waves ended as suddenly as they started!" replied Irene. "The beasts retreated, but did not disappear. Now, from time to time, all cities on the borders of the Federation face their invasions," she added.
"Your brother Arslan went to the northern border to protect the cities there from the waves of beasts. Recently, there have been suspicions that the number of beasts in the north is growing rapidly, and the next wave cannot be avoided."
After these words, Irene Arabel and Idan looked at each other at the same time.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Arabel asked Idan, and he nodded with a smile.
"Besides, I know how much you want to see your little brother," Idan added.
Arabel just smiled at Idan, acknowledging his point.
Irene had already guessed what the couple were up to, and she wasn't going to stop them. On the contrary, she was even a little glad that those whom she trusted could go to help Arslan.
"I can prepare everything necessary so that you can get to the North faster," Irene said, drawing the couple's attention.