The next day, Leon was called in by the army scientists because the energy readings from him were off the charts. What was the mysterious power that allowed him to survive the red zone where elite forces and drones vanish?
In the coming days, Leon sat strapped to a gurney, his wrists and ankles bound with reinforced restraints. Wires, needles, and scanning equipment clung to his body like ivy. Around him, sterile white walls pulsed under flickering lights. Army scientists in hazmat suits moved about the room, some whispering excitedly, others tapping away at data pads.
"These readings are off the charts," muttered Dr. Ramsey, chief of the Experimentation Division. "We're onto something big. This might be the power from the other world, Captain Elena talked about. "
"It's truly incredible, this 'Rem' from the other world. It might be a new form of revolutionary energy." Dr. Copan said, staring at the charts.
"It really is." Dr. Ramsey commented.
Whilst these tests were going on, Allen continued to sneak out with military scouting vehicles to hunt some monsters and try to understand the mysterious energy--his rem-- he felt.
Elena continued her diplomatic exploits with the Valemarians, learning more about their ways of life and the concepts of rem, all the while giving them information about the weapons and machines Earth uses.
Her efforts led to rapid improvements in the data and experiment to harness rem.
With this new data, they conducted even more intense experiments but still no results. Ramsey had already given up.
"Harnessing Rem for us earthlings might be impossible Copan."
"If the fathers of science gave up when it seemed impossible, we wouldn't have had the world we have now Ramsey," Copan replied, eyes still glued to his data tablet.
"Yeah, you're right." Ramsey sighed, picking up from where he left off.
After days of tests and guidance from Valemirian knowledge, the breakthrough came, they were finally able to activate Rem in Leon.
A vibrant blue hue wrapped around his body.
After two days of intense surveillance, he was handed a handgun and some targets— captured goblins and knolls in a containment. He moved with precision headshoting each target. His agility and speed were better than elite soldiers' by a factor of three.
The scientists tried their experiments on members of the Black Squad. All except one of them had rem activated in them, With Captain Elena having a white hue around her. They had no idea what to make of that color, so they continued researching.
They discovered that everything has Rem. From plants to humans.
Measuring them, plants possess a Rem level of 1, animals possess a Rem level of 1.5-2 and the average human has a Rem level of 2-2.5.
To use Rem outwardly, it must be at a level of 3. Most people are born with this level and others are higher. But one thing is certain, one can train to increase their Rem level.
After a few more weeks, with the army's research and the teachings from the High mage Serena given to Elena, they came up with a system.
Blue hue..... Agility, speed specialist
Black or Ash hue... Strengtheners and physical enhancement.
Green, yellow and white hue... as crazy as it seemed, Magic users.
These were the first classifications of Rem users known to Earth.
Deep within a military facility, a huge machine stood, one that was built when the artificial activation was created, the REM Activation Engine. This was the military's way of weaponizing Rem.
They called in all their military might---air, land and sea, for the Rem activation except those who had had theirs. Thousands of soldiers stood at attention, ready to become part of the world's first REM-empowered army.
The countdown began.
10... 9... 8...
"Systems nominal," a technician called out.
5... 4... 3...
Then came a spike.
The reactor was unstable.
"Shut it down! NOW!" Dr.Ramsey screamed, reaching for the button.
2... 1...
A blinding pulse erupted from the machine. Time itself seemed to fracture.
The explosion destroyed the facility.
Many members of the military lost their lives. All the scientists died except for Dr.Copan, lodged between a beam and the ground, unconscious.
A shockwave of raw REM energy swept across the globe.
In mere moments, people everywhere collapsed as their latent REM awoke violently. It was anarchy. Machines shut down as a result of the pulse. Prisons were defenseless against both regular and awakened prisoners. People screamed as their skin pulsed with different color hues. Buildings crumbled, skies cracked, cities fell into chaos.
Only those with dormant REM were affected—but that was millions.
Hospitals overflowed, with both people who got hurt by Rem users and Rem users who got hurt with their own Rem.
Governments panicked.
The world changed in a single breath.
The crisis was mitigated to an extent by the intervention of the Kingdom of Valemire.
With their help, the U.N. was able to manage the crisis but they returned to ages before their advancement.
The catastrophe forced global militaries to restructure overnight. The U.N. formed the world's first official REM Special Force(RSF), outfitted with rifles and Silver blades with streaks of gold on them— orchullum swords, for tactical and close combat.
Half the U.N. army's survivors now possessed activated REM. Other nations rushed to form their units.
The balance of power had shifted irrevocably.
With guns and nukes and Rem. The world's power system has been irreversibly altered
Far south, an uncharted landmass near Antarctica had surfaced—an ancient continent, the Demon Continent.
There, inside the obsidian throne hall, the Seven Demon Kings met. The leader Vortigon, a 10-foot figure clad in jagged, armor that seems to drink in light.
His face is pristine like an elf, crowned with horns. His obsidian-like skin accentuates his features, with two burning white voids for eyes.
He tossed a destroyed drone in their midst, "It seems the humans have done something stupid again."
"What exactly is this contraption?" Malgetha, a grotesque, bloated figure with sagging, bile-green flesh that constantly sloughs off, asked.
"I know not what it's called," Vortigon answered.
"Any news on the human continent?"
"No." Hellakrion, a 10-foot skeletal being wreathed in a robe of black fire, his bones charred but unbroken, answered
"It seems as though we are in a different world. There are people in land mass bordering us but they seem different."
"I felt it too. The Rem suddenly became richer," Vortigon inhales deeply
Vortigon rises to his feet, "Take your soldiers and conquer the city that borders us," he told Hellakrion, holding his gaze.
"Even if we change worlds, our goal remains the same. Our conquest will not be slowed. We will take this world and with its power, we will return to ours and conquer it."
The other demon kings stood up in cheers.
Hellakrion opened a portal with the spell [Gate].
He appeared in his castle's throne room, where his lead knight and commander of his forces was waiting with a bent knee.
"Welcome my Leige," Mataura said.
"Gather your soldiers Mataura, we invade the border at sundown," Hellakrion said, his glowing red eyes flared like twin suns.
Leon stumbled through a ruined corridor of the destroyed base, his restraints scorched off, his clothes in tatters.
He coughed, eyes stinging from smoke and dust. Around him, there was only ash, blood, and silence.
Dead soldiers line up the floor like flies on a decaying corpse.
He takes a deep breath and then preps himself to sprint. His Rem emitted from his body but concentrated around his legs. He moved, exploding from his start point, covering twenty feet in one step.
He ran three miles, the wind howling against his ears.
He came across a military car headed for the main base.
He flagged them down and joined them, his breath ragged.
His calves ached with agonizing pain after that run and his lung burned.
None of the soldiers said a word. The world has changed, words can come later.
They got to the base at night and the radio in the car cackled, "Hostile races discovered in Antarctica, requesting aerial assistance....."
Through the radio, there were growling and human screams. A final message came through, "Demons. The attackers are demons."
Silence followed after.