Universal Cycles
[Author's Note: I keep getting caught up in the story and always forget to properly explain this part of DD's magic system, so we'll finally get to it now, lmao]
In the universe, the current state of Leonel's Force Strengthening Deviations can be called by many names. However, the one that resonated the most with Leonel was the Embryonic Stage. These so-called Embryos were represented by the small translucent spear and the 12-sided Star in Leonel's Ethereal Glabella -- each representing Leonel's Spear Embryo and Light Embryo respectively.
Unlike the various fictions Leonel had indulged in back when his life was more normal, the comprehension of Force Strengthening Deviations was incredibly complex. Each path had a myriad of variations making it so that two people at the same level could be of vastly differing strengths.