Limitless: New Dawn (Book II Complete)

People clutched their bags packed in haste, some held children half-asleep in their arms as they followed Arthur outside.

"Sir Arthur…" Hudson stepped closer. "How exactly are we leaving?"

Arthur glanced over his shoulder. And without saying anything, he reached into his dimensional storage and took out something.

And with a heavy whoosh of air displacement, a sleek, obsidian-black VTOL aircraft materialized in the field.

Audible gasps tore through the crowd, and their eyes wide opened. Even the sleepy children were now fully awake, staring at the futuristic ship with mouths agape.

"What… is that?" a fourteen year old kid whispered.

"A ship," Arthur said casually, walking toward it as its ramp extended with a soft hydraulic hiss.

"Sir…this…" Hudson asked, dumbfounded.

Arthur just gave a small smile seeing Hudson's dumbfounded look.

"Come on," Arthur said, gesturing. "We don't have all night. Everyone, board in an orderly line."

As people began to file in, their expression filled with awe as they saw the wide and luxurious interior.

The ship's interior was lit with soft light and surprisingly spacious. Rows of comfortable seats faced forward, equipped with safety harnesses and padded headrests. It felt like… something made for nobles and royalties.

Once the first ship was full, it began to hover gently, as its thrusters came alive. After it lifted off the ground, the VTOL's exterior shimmered and faded from view, its cloaking mechanism activating.

Gasps filled the open field again as the remaining people saw the ship disappear. Even the adults were now whispering like children seeing magic for the first time.

Arthur summoned the second VTOL and told the remaining people to board it..

As the rest of the crowd climbed aboard the second ship, Arthur stood last, and looked at the orphanage one final time.

"Goodbye," he murmured.

From the windows of the ships, the passengers looked back at the orphanage, watching the only home many of them had ever known grow smaller and smaller. Some eyes welled with tears, while some smiled through them.

In the cockpit…

Lisa held up her stuffed bear tighter as she sat on a seat behind Arthur and Kai. "We are reawlly leaving…"

She looked at Arthur and asked "Awuthur…Where are we going?"

Arthur gave a small smile, his eyes locked on the stars ahead.

"Home," he said.

And then the VTOLs vanished into the night sky of Brightwater City.

…

The Orphanage - An hour later

A group of five knights approached the gates of the orphanage. Their boots crunched against the gravel path as their leader, a sharp-eyed man in his thirties, halted before the door.

"Check the perimeter," he ordered.

"Yes, Captain Roen," one of the knights nodded and split off with two others, circling the orphanage.

Roen pushed the metal door open with a faint creak, stepping inside cautiously, his hand on the hilt of his sword.

But even after scouring the whole orphanage twice he didn't find a single soul at the place.

"It's empty," he muttered.

Beds were still made, toys lay undisturbed in the corners. And even warm leftover food sat on a table in the kitchen, the only thing missing was people.

One of the knights re-entered the main hall. "Captain, there's no sign of anyone. Not a single person, it's like they vanished overnight."

Roen narrowed his eyes. "Check again, and see if there's anything useful here."

They split up again, searching every corridor, dormitory, storage closet, even the attic. Twenty minutes passed in silence until they all regrouped.

Roen exhaled slowly, glancing at the staircase. "Where the hell did they go?"

He sighed and said, "We will report what we saw here. Let's go."

They left as silently as they came, their footsteps the only sound echoing in the ghostly orphanage now standing still under the moonlight.

…

Guildmaster Rhys' residence

Several hours ago, at the same time Arthur was being rescued.

Knock knock.

Hearing a knock at his bedroom's door, Rhys sat up in his bed, while rubbing his temples. His hair was disheveled and his eyes groggy. "Who is it at this hour?" he grumbled.

Throwing on a robe, he shuffled toward the door and pulled it open.

But there was no one there.

He frowned, then he saw at the foot of the door there was a tablet-like thing lying there.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

It was a sleek, rectangular black device the size of one's palm.

He picked it up carefully, and the moment his fingers brushed the metallic surface, the screen lit up.

Reflexively, he almost dropped it. "By the gods…!"

Catching it in time, he shut the door and moved back inside, placing the device on his desk.

Words then started to scroll onto the screen as he held the device.

(Hello Rhys. I'm Arthur. For some unavoidable reasons, I must leave the city immediately.

If the Church comes asking for me, say I was just a frequent customer. They might try to use your connection with me against you, so it will be better to not let them know of our partnership.

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about your favor. This device can be used to contact me directly. Just speak to it, say my name, and it will connect me with you.

Goodbye.)

Rhys stared at the words, his brow furrowed deep.

"So… he escaped," he whispered, he had heard earlier today that Arthur had been arrested as a suspect of killing Elaric.

The middle aged guildmaster leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his beard as the room grew silent again. He reached for his pipe but didn't light it.

"What the hell did you get tangled in, Arthur?" he murmured. "And how did he get out of the dungeon?" But there was no one to answer his question.

He turned the device over, and started inspecting it like a man holding his favorite toy.

…

Last night Arthur was going through the list of places he can choose to rebuild the orphanage that had been tagged by the probes floating around Thyrandel,.

A holographic screen floated before him, displaying topographical maps, terrain data, and probe footage.

It was then he came across an island, though calling it an island would be downplaying it, it was a huge landmass of roughly 500 km (310 miles) long, 400 km (248.5 miles) wide. The island was lush with greenery, with plenty of freshwater lakes, and surrounded by mountains and beaches.

And the most important thing was, the land was not controlled by any powers.

It was situated only thirty kilometers (18.6 miles) in the west of the mainland. And near a small kingdom, which was famous for producing various kinds of fruits.

It was a perfect land for him to claim as his.

…

Waves gently lapped the pristine shore of the island, as the VTOLs settled silently some distance from the shore among some sparse trees. A long ramp extended from one of the ships, as Arthur stepped out first, followed closely by Kai, both of them in lightweight combat suits and cloaks.

Since it was an entirely new place and they didn't know the type of danger lurking around, Arthur told the others not to step out of the ships.

Arthur thought for a second and took out the golem, the golem immediately looked at its surroundings and wanted to explore the place.

Arthur stopped it, "Wait, stay here and protect those two ships. You can explore the place later."

The golem dropped its head and sagged its shoulders in a depressed way while creating a droning sound.

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Now come one, don't be a drama queen. I will treat you with mana stones if you stay here." Hearing about mana stones the golem perked up and eagerly sat in front of the ships.

Arthur chuckled seeing how easy it was to convince the golem, he then took out nearly hundred guard bots, he ordered some to stay here and guard the place and the others to scout the area.

Kai cracked his knuckles. "So where should we start from?"

"I'll go north. You take west," Arthur replied.

Kai gave a mock salute and jogged off, his cloak billowing behind him.

Arthur walked into the tall grass, the cool sea breeze brushing against his face. Birds chirped somewhere deeper inland, and odd animal cries echoed in the distance.

He paid attention to his 'Map' while moving forward to detect any powerful life signs.

He walked further, brushing past tall ferns and crossing a small freshwater stream. The trees here were tall and thick, reaching nearly eighty meters (262 feet) high.

He paused on a small cliff and looked out over the horizon.

The sun was just beginning to rise, spilling golden light across the sea and the lush green landscape below.

"This… this could be our new home," he whispered.

Kai's voice came through his comm, "Area's clear on my end. No threats, but I saw some animal tracks, big ones."

"Copy," Arthur said. "Let's start clearing a perimeter. Then… we will start to build."

Behind them, in the ships, the children stared out the windows at the new world they'd landed in. From the cabin, Lisa peeked from behind the windshield towards the forest and whispered, "Wow…"

…

The sun had long crept above the horizon by the time Arthur and Kai returned to the ships.

The VTOLs sat quiet on a flat expanse of grassy terrain near the edge of the island's eastern shore. Nearby, the guard bots moved silently, scanning the perimeter and tagging local fauna for study.

Kai ran a hand through his tousled hair and took in the view with a low whistle. "Well," he muttered, "not a bad place to start your own kingdom."

Arthur chuckled softly. "Let's just make sure everyone is familiar with the place first."

He stepped toward the ramp of the first VTOL and tapped a small panel near the entrance. The door hissed open, releasing a soft gust of air, he then opened the other one too.

"You can come out now," Arthur called inside.

Slowly people started to emerge from the two ships. Hudson, followed by a group of children, staff, and several of the women who had volunteered to help organize things. Their eyes squinted at the sudden brightness.

The kids ran past Hudson and spilled out into the open field, their mouths opening in amazement as they caught their first sight of the ocean.

"What is that?" one little boy gasped.

"The ocean," Hudson said gently, a hint of reverence in his voice.

Lisa pushed her way to the front, still clutching her stuffed bear. Her wide brown eyes sparkled as she stared at the rolling waves far off beyond the dunes. "It's so… bwig," she whispered.

Then, her eyes turned upward to Arthur.

"Awuthur?" she asked, tugging his cloak. "Can I play in the water?"

Arthur looked down at her, his expression softening. "Not yet, Lisa. It's not safe."

Lisa pouted, hugging her stuffed bear tighter. "Hmph. But it looks nice…"

Arthur knelt to her level and ruffled her hair. "Later, alright? Once we make sure there aren't any sea monsters lurking around."

Lisa's eyes widened. "Sea monsters?!"

Kai snorted. "Smooth."

Arthur stood again, shrugging. "She wasn't gonna listen to 'no' otherwise."

As more people filed out of the VTOLs, the murmurs of awe grew louder. Many of them had never even left Brightwater City, let alone seen an ocean. Their feet shifted nervously on the grass, unsure if they were in a dream or a new reality.

Arthur, then summoned several crates from his dimensional storage with a wave of his hand.

From those, he pulled out large cooking utensils, portable stoves, electric oven, metal racks, water filters, and sacks of grains, ingredients and some bundles of vegetables.

Miss Dalia, an older woman with sharp cheekbones, their head cook, and Thomas the assistant cook, a wiry man in his thirties, stepped forward.

"Alright then!" Miss Dalia clapped her hands, slipping right into her role. "Thomas, start with chopping. Get the potatoes and onions, we'll make hash and toasts for breakfast today. I'll get the eggs going."

A small group of teenagers and the people who Arthur rescued were quickly roped into helping. Within minutes, the smells of sizzling butter and fresh herbs began wafting through the morning air.

Arthur stood slightly apart from the group, watching the waves roll in at the edge of the island. He took a breath, then turned toward the makeshift kitchen to help.

The orphanage may be gone, but something better has just begun.

***