Prelude

 Almost fifty meters under the sea's surface, in a tunnel a made of glass and concrete, lay a semi conscious young man. The glass tube was laid with steel tracks, similar to that of a train and boasted the size needed for one to pass through. Glass tough enough to stand against the deep's pressure, intricate designs to absorb shock from earthquake and volcanic activity alike. Truly a marvel of modern engineering.. or at least it used to be. There was little to no sunlight breaking through the dark depths but colorful glowing coral, shaded light to some of the darker parts of the abyss. Strange crustaceans, with glowing bits of coral mounted on their shell, as well as peculiar species of fish swam playfully by the glass or through the reefs along the tunnel, occasionally drawing the attention of the man and keeping him awake. 

The section of the tunnel he was currently residing in, was blocked on both ends by fallen debris. The cave-ins were created in parts of the structure that were made of concrete and prevented him from either moving back to where he came from or forward.. The cave-in on his left was allowing water to, slowly but steadily, flood the interior. The water's level now reached a good 15 cm, making the tunnel cold and damp. Pushing off the ground he sat himself up, rested his back against the hard glass and looked upon the endless blue in every direction. It was splattered with the alien colors of the deep's mysterious fauna and flora and the young man cracked a sad smile. "What a beautiful coffin.." he thought to himself. 

Reaching for his leg he realized he could barely feel it any more. His belt was still wrapped tightly around his thigh, preventing blood from freely flowing to it. And for good reason. His calve was torn as if it were mauled by a beast too large to exist in such an environment.

???: User Berto? You must remain conscious.. you must push on with your quest!

A female voice spoke to him but strangely enough he was alone in that cold place. It had no origin, was almost robotic in nature and yet gentle, nurturing even. Berto opened his eyes and realized he almost fell asleep. "Hey.. you still up?" the man named Berto, jokingly replied.

???: Although humor is a step up from accepting one's demise, we would strongly recommend you reserve your precious oxygen and energy and channel them towards our goal. Try wiggling your toes. Have your extremities retained motor function?

The voice was stern, like a mother trying to help their child focus. "That would be a negative Ghost Rider.. And your still on about that!? Take a look around Mariah.. therapy isn't gonna fix this.." he snapped at her and coughed due to the exertion. 

Mariah: Therapy is not the goal of your Side Quest! Growth is! We have already explained this.. We cannot help you survive if you don't help yourself! Grow, Learn and Overcome. Reflect on your past, tell us about your past, anything! If you follow these principles we can help you escape this place.. Please User Berto..

The disembodied voice sounded almost desperate to protect the young man, he could feel it too. "I'm.. I'm sorry Mariah. It just feels so hopeless... What do want me to do?". 

Mariah: Your injured body won't allow you to grow physically for the time being. But you can still Overcome! Overcome your fear, overcome your regrets, find the roots of your pain! If you make a breakthrough the Evergreen will reward your efforts! With enough Experience we could save you..

Ever since Berto heard Mariah's voice for the first time, the world had gone mad. Well maddER.. Mariah made him.. see things. He viewed the world like a video game or a table top RPG. Considering they were his favorite pastime it didn't seem random. At first he simply thought he lost it but as time went by it persisted and no one was around to confirm it. But he was dying.. that was no illusion. Might as well test it. What more could he lose.. "Ok.. I'll.. talk about something.. but can you show me again?".

Mariah: We have little precious time Berto.. Fine.. However please apply yourself after this.. Displaying Status!

At that moment, a two-dimensional "screen" popped up, half a meter in front of Berto's eyes. It looked like the Status screen found in many role playing games and similarly, seemed to display numeric representations of the young man's physical and mental capabilities.

* User : Alberto Ferantelli - Level: 1 *

Health: 2/7

Brawn: 8

Agility: 10

Vitality: 7

Mana: -

Intellect: 15

Charisma: 10

Spirit: 9

Skills: 

1) Engineering Lv.4 (B)

2) Bypass Lv.1 (C)

3) Pain Mitigation Lv.1(B)

Mutations: None

* Status update complete *

Berto took a deep breath and held in a wheeze, as he felt his lungs struggle against the cold and moisture. "Fine.. My turn.." he said to no one..

"My name is Alberto Ferantelli, 26 years old, born in Amalfi Italy to Giorgio and Estella Ferantelli. I'm a Mechanical Engineer, working for Cerberus Dynamics, one the biggest conglomerate firms on the planet. This facility belongs to them. The railway I'm trapped in, more specifically, leads to the facility. At the other end of course is my home. The beautiful island of Santa Barbara. My parents and I moved to the tropical island, off the coast of South America, when I was six. My mother's transfer was the main reason. She was appointed Headmistress of a school for the underprivileged, funded by the UN. It was the peak of her career as an educator. My father loved her more than anything so it wasn't a difficult decision for him to follow her here. He closed his workshop and opened a small ice-cream dairy on the island. He says the gelato is my grandmama's recipe.. Everything was fine for the first few years. Santa Barbara soon became my new and only home. My beautiful home.. The ocean, the lush green, the people..

Even considering the poverty and other problems the island has, I still wouldn't trade it for anything. And then.. the world decided to change. Everything changed! The "Quake" came.. The earth shook, the skies were torn asunder and rivers caught fire. Portals.. actual rifts in space and time, opened all over the world. From the rifts emanated a strange energy that altered or poisoned everything it came in contact with. It turned animals into monsters and a few people into something.. more. Most people got sick from this and because of its strange effects and un-quantifiable nature we called it "Mana" or simply Magic.

But Mana was no gift.. at least not without consequence. The Rifts would only grow over time, spewing monsters out of them besides the animals they mutated. Goblins and Wyverns were suddenly everyday words for even common folk. A dark reality instead of a fairy-tale.

The army, conventional weaponry, it was almost non-effective against them. People became desperate and everything seemed lost. My mother's school became a shelter and we held up there, waiting for the worst, fearing more monsters would migrate from the mainland towards the Island. That's when the first Champion showed up. Champions.. people that transformed with magic instead of becoming poisoned, developing powers akin to mythical heroes. They were the only ones capable of effectively fighting the monsters. More importantly they could somehow close the rifts.. Everything was finally looking up.. Heroes to the rescue, right? Well almost.. 

One of the teens under my mother's protection changed. They became a Champion.. not the most fitting title in this instance. He attacked her.. she tried to calm him down, protect him.. and he just.. It doesn't matter anymore. The Quake came almost 15 years ago. Changing the world forever. Our culture, our economy and even the Energy industry, they all changed to accommodate the new order of things. Rifts, Magic, Champions and monsters.. Isn't that the lamest RPG title you've ever heard? Anyway.. We spent the next year in the Hospital supporting mama. Her wounds didn't kill her but the exposure did. We were in dept.. and I without a mother. My father and I already had a life here. Even after she passed away we didn't want to leave. It was tough but somehow we managed. I finished school and.. here I am.."

Berto paused with a sigh and took a moment to breath deeper as the tube's atmosphere was slowly suffocating him.

Mariah: Minor Achievement unlocked! "Origins", Tell your life's story to a willing audience. 50xp awarded! 50/150xp to Level 2. Don't stop User Berto! This is good! Tell us about today! Tell us how it all came to be!

The feminine voice in the young man's head sounded more excited than ever. Or rather.. relieved? Berto just couldn't understand what was going on. He didn't feel any different after his "achievement" but whatever he was doing was apparently working. "Ok.. well I woke up this morning for another day at work.. man.. I had no idea what was comin my way..".

Thank you for giving this prelude a read. I am planning on releasing two chapters per week so if you found Limitless interesting, stay tuned for a release schedule. Cover art is an edited version of "Sword Tree by Patrick Westwood". All credit goes to the original creator.