Relic

The "Relic" refers to an object, or more actually a pair of objects, connected to a past Level 5 and Academy City's "previous generation".

Etymology
In a religious sense, a (derived from the Latin reliquiae, meaning "remains") is an object or article of religious significance from the past, such as the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other similarly venerated person, preserved for veneration as a tangible memorial. Relics are present in Christianity, Buddhism and various other religions. A shrine housing one or more religious relics is known as a reliquary.

The term can also refer to something which has survived the passage of time, such as an object or custom whose original culture has disappeared, as well as an object cherished for historical or memorial value (such as a keepsake or heirloom).

Principles
There are numerous rumors surrounding the Relic, said to have leaked from a now-defunct laboratory. It has been said to be a malignant tumor which consumes esper powers, a precious stone which gathers lifeforce, or a secret technique to rearrange the "braid of time".

Tokiwadai Middle School also has a rumor concerning a "Relic", specifically rumored secret win condition for its student council presidential election, outside the election itself - a treasure hidden in Tokiwadai which is said to give each president a hidden power, with people relying on the rumor called Diggers.

Relics
The actual Relic (or rather Relics, given that there are at least a pair of them) is a cube which is connected to one of Academy City's past Level 5s and the city's mysterious "past generation".

At the time of the events surrounding Tokiwadai's Student Council Election, one Relic was in Tokiwadai, held by and manipulating Kokuchou Mayui,  while the other was in a facility which Kouzaku Mitori infiltrated, with that Relic subsequently making contact with her.

Created through the former Level 5's Synthesize Grid, the Relics are capable of manipulating those who hold them, apparently putting them under the influence of the former #1,   and allow them to draw upon powers associated with them. Aside from through a host, the Relics can communicate through metal vibrations. One of the Relics later received a speaker platform attachment to convert the vibrations into a voice, created by Kobayashi Satori after Iori Mashiro decoded its frequency.

While normally cubes, the Relics are capable of changing their shape. The Relic which Kouzaku found could change shape into an orb or a bar, while the Relic in Kokuchou's hands could disguise itself as a book.

Synthesize Grid
The ability possessed by the former #1 Level 5 and used through the Relics is known as Synthesize Grid. The second Relic referred to their power as Absolute Leaf, but later confirmed Synthesize Grid and Absolute Leaf were the same power and they only used the different name to distinguish between them and their counterpart. Kokuchou's Relic invoked Synthesize Grid with the command Drive, while Kouzaku's Relic invoked Absolute Leaf with the command Throttle.

According to the Relic Kouzaku found, Synthesize Grid allows its user to control the Starting Crystal (始点の結晶), described as being at base of all crystals and possessing incomparable bonding power. Growing from the small metal particles used as a core, the Synthesize Grid's influence can enter apparently all forms of matter to transform and control them, described as practically taking control of the entire space around the user. Since the bonding power is derived from a metallic bond, the affected matter exhibits some of the properties and appearance of metal. If the all-purpose crystal grows, it can also create new matter (such as Shadow Metal created by consuming esper powers, not naturally-existing and not creatable through a particle accelerator), with Relic saying it could theoretically create fictional metals like or hihiirokane, hence the Starting Crystal's name.

A clash between the powers of the two Relics produced a spatial warp at the point of the clash, with a nearby observer witnessing glimpses of the Imaginary Number District. Kouzaku's Relic later said that their power shouldn't be able to pry open dimensions and they couldn't explain that 'strange view', wondering if their counterpart had developed while they were wandering or whether they merely didn't remember.

Previous Generation
Not much is known about the unnamed Level 5 behind the Relics. When communicating with Kouzaku, they claimed to be her "Senior" academically and the previous #1 Level 5. During a conversation with Kobayashi Satori and Iori Mashiro, they talked about making Bank requests over a phone line charging every 10 seconds and watching images loading line by line on a monitor, with it taking over a minute for a page to display. In discussion after Shokuhou awakened, besides their former status and ability, they claimed not to remember their name or how they ended up in their disembodied state, though the few fragments of memory they retained suggested that Aleister Crowley and Kihara Noukan were involved in their original body's destruction. They described themselves as wandering the skies of Academy City and devouring the supernatural as they did, until a powerful clash during the Daihaseisai allowed them to be reborn into the physical world, fashioning their current vessel via their ability. Kamino later described them as a born esper, a Gemstone, who had come from outside the city and rose to #1, with research on them greatly contributing to esper development techniques and forming the foundation for the current generation.

There were differences between the wills in the two Relics, with the former Level 5's mind having apparently been split, and returning from wandering at different times. With Kokuchou's Relic, on taking over when Misaka Mikoto approached, they said a current Level 5 should stopped by the previous. They also expressed a wish for revenge and intent to bring down the hammer and destruction upon the city's law and its ruler. They were initially unaware of the other Relic and its similar power, later describing it as its copy. The Relic in Kouzaku's hands intend to stop its counterpart's plots, describing itself as the same as the other and it itself as its own greatest enemy, as well as accepting the 'humiliation' of returning to a world it considered hellish to do so. In response to its counterpart's 'arrogance' towards its copy, it claimed that people evolved by copying and there was nothing to say a successor was inferior to the original.

Aside from the Level 5, there is also another group associated with the Relics who are also said to be part of the mysterious and rarely mentioned "previous generation" before the current generation. This group used two squares (visual representations of the cubes) as their symbol. Aside from the Relic, the group also sought Shadow Metal, said to exist as cubic crystals, with an increase in activity after a large amount was generated in an event during the Daihaseisai. The group had a number of facilities and personnel at their disposal.

According to Kamino, they originated as a group of researchers who studied the former #1 and came to worship him. After they were split into two cubes, the scientists with those ideals and goals adopted the two squares as their symbol and the name □□, camouflage for inconspicuousness. A schism in the group later led to a portion of them breaking off to form the {{Nihongo|Kaisei Corporation|回生コーポレーション|Kaisei Kōporēshon}|lit. "Regeneration Corporation"}} (KSC for short), which would become Academy City's top company in the field of. The company's logo (⧈) is also made up of two squares, but with one inside the other rather than side-by-side. □□'s current goal is apparently to create a new body for the former #1.

Other
Aside from the two with the Relics in hand, one of the other election candidates who was involved and emphasized in the events surrounding the election and the cubes, possesses traits notably similar to the Relics and their associated aspects.

Kamino appeared to have square-shaped eyes (somewhat similar to the square representation used by the group connected to the cubes) and used a spatial ability affecting a cube-shaped area, capable of disintegrating objects within a designated area. At the time of the ambush, Kamino was targeting the building in which Shokuhou was trapped with her ability. At the same time, in the sealed off space (with a cube-shaped barrier in place), Shokuhou was feeling effects reminding her of the past Level 5 (with the effect represented visually with a dark miasma), however much of this was actually the result of the power exerted by the Relic. Kamino's square eyes were actually the result of her wearing contacts to support her true ability, a form of "area" teleportation that allows her to transfer targets between designated areas within her line of sight. The contacts have a sight drawn on them to measure out and designate a box-shaped teleportation field, while the "matter annihilation" erroneously recorded as her esper power is a result of a failed teleportation when she loses sight of the destination.

However, after revealing this while saving Shokuhou Misaki, Kamino displayed knowledge of circumstances surrounding the cube, saying she would tell Shokuhou about the previous generation and "□□" once she recovered. She turned out to be connected to the Kaisei Corporation, who had funded some of her experiments.

Background
The exact time frame which the past Level 5 and the "previous generation" were active, and the circumstances which led to their obscurity and the creation of Relics, are currently unknown.

The Relic Level 5 was apparently active during a time when Bank requests were made over a phone line charging a user every 10 seconds, with a page taking over a minute to display, mentioning watching images load line by line on a monitor. After their original body was destroyed, likely by Aleister Crowley and Kihara Noukan, their mind managed to survive (though torn and missing memories) and wandered the skies of Academy City, devouring the supernatural as they did so.

In a conversation with Kamijou Touma one year prior to the main story, Shokuhou had mentioned that there was once a Level 5 capable of spatial control.

Tokiwadai Election Arc
The Relic(s) played a key role in the events surrounding Shokuhou Misaki's involvement in Tokiwadai's student council presidential election in October, with at least one of them having been created as a byproduct of an incident in September. Prior to her involvement in the election, Shokuhou began investigating the Relic, learning of a supposed close connection to someone at Tokiwadai. Although it had started as a simple investigation, Shokuhou ended up taking out a related institute, with individuals connected to the group involved attacking her in the next day.

Three days after this attack, Kouzaku Mitori had a phone conversation with Shokuhou about these circumstances, with Kouzaku subsequently infiltrating a related institute and coming into contact with the Relic housed there. Around the same time, the rival election candidates conducted an ambush on Shokuhou and Gaouin Tsukasa, with the similar-traited Kamino and Relic-influenced Kokuchou Mayui playing a role in these events. These events eventually led to the two Relics clashing with one other.

After the unleashed Level 5 powers brought down the building, Kouzaku brought her cube when she and Mikoto went to the injured Shokuhou's side, and later, while Shokuhou was recovering in hospital, the Relic had a conversation with Kobayashi Satori and Iori Mashiro. After Shokuhou awoke, the three were told about what little the former #1 Level 5 could remember and about the capabilities of their power, with the Relic requesting Shokuhou's help in stopping the other one. Following discussions at the hospital, Shokuhou and Kuroko met with Kamino at the Kaisei Corporation, and after a brief scuffle with Kihara Yuiitsu (who was doing research with the company), received a tour of the facility and an explanation about □□.

Trivia

 * When the Relics communicate, through a person or otherwise, the dialogue box is square shaped.
 * The ability and situation concerning the Level 5 behind the Relics bear a number of similarities to the case of Kakine Teitoku.  The two espers manipulate a substance which does not naturally exist in the world (Shadow Metal for the Relic Level 5, Dark Matter for Kakine) and use it to produce various phenomena.  Both of these substances carry their thoughts in some manner,   both seemingly left behind their will and power in some form separate from their original human body (the unnamed, disembodied Level 5 in the Relics created with Synthesize Grid, Kakine through his Dark Matter with his mangled remains preserved),   and both have had iterations of themselves produced in this state act against them.