Limitless: New Dawn

The infinite darkness of space was pierced by a streak of blazing light, a meteor rushing through the cosmic void with an almost frightening speed. 

Originating from a shattered asteroid field on the fringes of the planetary system. Its surface shimmered with an otherworldly sheen, jagged and cracked. The meteor tumbled end over end, its speed increasing as it entered a distant planet's atmosphere.

The icy silence of space was broken only by the roaring fury of its descent as it breached the planet's atmosphere. Flames engulfed the meteor as the friction of entry turned its edges to molten fire, and the roaring inferno became a beacon visible from miles below.

…

Arthur crouched low among the underbrush, his eyes locked on a panther-like creature ahead. The hunt wasn't just about survival,it was personal. The creature's obsidian scales, shimmering faintly in the dappled sunlight, reminded him of the beasts that had destroyed his home. 

Arthur had just gone to hunt for a prey this morning, and when he returned to his cabin with his hunt, what he saw made his blood boil with anger.

He saw a panther-like creature rummaging at what was left of his home. The dried meat and jerky must have attracted the monster to his cabin and destroyed it in search of food.

Each movement it made brought a wave of bitter memories, sharpening his resolve. This wasn't just a chase; it was a form of repayment in the form of the panther-like creature becoming his dinner. 

Its obsidian scales shimmered faintly in the dappled sunlight, catching fragments of light as it slinked through the forest. Every muscle in its sleek body rippled with tension, poised to flee or fight.

Arthur smirked. "You think you can get away with what you did."

The panther bolted, a blur of black slicing through the dense foliage. Arthur gave chase, his enhanced legs propelling him forward with blinding speed. 

The wind whipped past his face, the forest blurring into streaks of green, but his vision remained sharp, tracking every move of his quarry.

For minutes, predator and prey raced through the wilderness, their speeds evenly matched. Arthur's heart pounded with exhilaration.

"This thing is fast," he muttered, his breath steady despite the effort.

Just as Arthur gained ground, he noticed an oddity in the forest. The usual cacophony of life, chirping insects, rustling leaves, distant growls, had fallen eerily silent. Ahead, the panther-like creature skidded to a halt, its body trembling.

Arthur stopped, his brow furrowing. Around him, monsters of all shapes and sizes were fleeing in the same direction, their frantic movements betraying a primal fear. 

Some were hulking beasts with scales shimmering like fractured glass, their tails thrashing wildly as they stampeded. Others were smaller, skittering creatures with too many legs and eyes that glinted with terror. 

Their guttural cries and panicked footfalls blended into a cacophony of dread, saturating the air with palpable fear. The stench of sweat and primal desperation hung heavy, mingling with the crushed vegetation under their chaotic escape. 

Even the panther that had been his prey moments ago seemed paralyzed by terror.

"What's going on?" Arthur whispered, his voice drowned out by the growing rumble in the air.

Then he heard it, a sharp, piercing whistle cutting through the sky. His head snapped upward, and through the canopy, he saw it, a fu**ing meteor falling from the sky.

…

Arthur froze, his breath catching in his throat. The fiery orb tore through the sky, its golden streaks blazing like a second sun. The air around it shimmered with intense heat, distorting the view of the impending catastrophe.

Fear gripped him, cold and unrelenting. This wasn't a danger he could fight or outrun.

"Move, damn it!" he barked at himself, his legs propelling him forward instinctively.

The forest blurred as he followed the stampede of fleeing monsters, his mind racing. "I've survived death once," he thought, his teeth gritted. "But if this thing falls on top of me, not even a drop of my blood will remain to regenerate."

The meteor's roar grew deafening, its heat palpable even from afar. Arthur pushed himself harder, his muscles straining as he shattered his previous speed records. But it wasn't enough.

The meteor struck.

First came the blinding light, brighter than anything Arthur had ever seen, searing through the forest with an intensity that felt like it could pierce his very soul. 

The heat carried the acrid tang of burning foliage, and Arthur instinctively shielded his eyes, though even behind his hands, the brilliance seemed to seep through, carving itself into his memory. 

Then, the ground shook violently, throwing him off balance as a thunderous explosion erupted behind him.

The shockwave hit next, a force so powerful it obliterated everything in its path. Trees splintered into shrapnel, the air itself seemed to scream, and Arthur's body was torn apart in an instant like a sharp knife cutting through paper. His skin, muscles, bones, all disintegrated as the searing heat followed, vaporizing even the smallest trace of his existence.

…

Few light years away, on a colossal space station the size of the moon of Earth orbiting a distant star, alarms blared, signaling the presence of a powerful energy pulse that signaled a meteor impact on a newly found resource planet controlled by United Federation of Earth. 

This station, one of the many linchpin of interstellar defense, monitored such anomalies to protect inhabited systems from potential threats. 

With the UFE's technology they could have known ages ago before even the meteor impacts on the planet. But due to it being a recently found planet, no proper defences were placed around the planet, which caused the meteor to pass through their watch.

Its vast, labyrinthine halls and cutting-edge technology symbolized humanity's reach into the cosmos, while its crew remained ever vigilant against the unpredictable forces of the universe. In the command center, a holographic display showed a pulse originating from a distant planet.

"Admiral, you should see this," an officer called out, his voice urgent. "Its RP-2235 sir"

"A meteor just crashed near the resource hub." the officer continued.

The admiral, a seasoned figure with a stern expression, analyzed the data. "No distress signal," he muttered, "but that energy signature… It's too significant to ignore."

"Send an Epsilon with an ECHO squad," he ordered, his tone decisive. "If there's a beast rampage, we need containment it immediately."

"Aye, aye, sir," the officer replied, saluting before relaying the command.

Moments later, a sleek spaceship launched from the station, disappearing into the Einstein-Rosen Bridge, a wormhole in a flash of light some distance away from the Dreadnaught class space station.

…

Arthur awoke, or rather, he became aware. He was floating, weightless, in a seemingly endless expanse of white. A sense of profound solitude enveloped him, mingling with a twinge of unease. 

His mind raced with questions, but the stillness around him offered no answers, only amplifying the disquiet. Yet, beneath the uncertainty, a flicker of awe stirred within him, a strange serenity in this void that felt both alien and familiar.

"Am I… dead?" he wondered, his voice echoing strangely.

Unlike the dark void he had experienced before when he died for the first time, this space felt serene yet disorienting. Time and distance held no meaning. Arthur drifted aimlessly, his thoughts spiraling.

"What is this place? Why am I here?"

Before he could dwell further, a sudden force pulled him forward, propelling him at unimaginable speed. The sensation was overwhelming, and he lost consciousness.

…

While Arthur was in that white space thinking about his situation, in the outside world something incredible was happening.

After the meteor crash which left the area it fell on with a 2 Km diameter crater, there was silence. All the monsters were killed in the vicinity of nearly 5 km diameter due to the shockwave and heat even the sturdy plants were not spared. 

Near the meteor's core, something extraordinary began to happen. Golden light coalesced, swirling into a dense, glowing mass. From it, droplets of blood formed, shimmering as if imbued with life, floating and converging into a single point. 

The golden light enveloping them pulsed rhythmically, as though echoing the heartbeat of some unseen force, hinting at a deeper, almost divine intent behind the phenomenon.

The blood began to build a skeletal structure, each bone forming with precise detail. Organs, muscles, and skin followed, knitting together in seconds. The figure that emerged was unmistakably Arthur, but some difference could be noticed immediately at first glance.

The body looked overall similar to Arthur but there was some glaring difference such as his height, if before he was 5 '9 now his body is 6' 3, he stood taller, his body radiating strength. . His once-black hair was now platinum blonde, shimmering faintly before settling into a natural glow. 

Arthur's body lowered in the ground and his eyes fluttered open. His black eyes pulsed with golden energy before settling back to its original black colour. He stood up as immediately noticed the changes. 

"What happened?" he muttered in shock. He thought he really died this time even though not even a single strand of his DNA must have been spared in the crash he was still revived.

He clenched his fists, feeling the raw power coursing through his veins and every cell of his body.

He also felt his slightly different perspective due to his increased height. He couldn't see his change in his hair colour or he would have been surprised again. Although he doesn't know how much his strength increased, he felt he could now obliterate the wyvern with a single punch. 

Experimentally, he jumped and was amazed he could casually jump more than 20 meters in the air without using much strength effortlessly.. He tested his speed while trying to get out of the crater, and he felt he could leave his previous self in the dust. 

"This is insane," he muttered, testing his newfound speed and strength as he climbed out of the crater.

…

The devastation around him took his breath away. Trees were flattened, the ground scorched, and not a single living creature remained in sight. Arthur felt a hollowness grip his chest, he was thankful he was still alive after going through an event which caused so much destruction

This destruction was absolute, overwhelming, and yet he was standing amid it, alive against all odds. "Haa...." he sighed, questions echoing in his mind about the origin of his powers.

Arthur glanced at his surroundings one last time, trying to orient himself. His cabin was gone, every trace of his path obliterated. 

He chose a direction and quickly arrived again in the forest, seeing his naked form he fashioned a makeshift covering from sturdy leaves and set off in the direction the monsters had fled.

***