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A virus like that could become the next dominant life form on planet earth, replacing humans, and that thought is scary as hell.
Nope, not possible. Viruses are not even alive, technically. They are more like computer viruses, depending on interconnected computers to reproduce. Without living hosts, viruses can't continue to reproduce or even to maintain viability. Higher organisms like anthrax can form spores and remain viable for years outside of hosts, but that is something a virus can't do.
An important outcome of all the SARS-COV2 research is all the general antiviral things we have discovered. Lots of them are not specific to this virus. Because of conservation of genetic capability, many other virus strains use the same mechanisms as SARS-COV2. (That means that once a particular gene has proved useful for a function, the descendants of that organism keep that gene.)
This means that any non-antibody and non-vaccine treatment for SARS-COV2 will probably be just as useful for any other RNA corona virus. Most will probably be useful against more virus strains, like Vitamin D and NAC for flu. SARS-COV2 is not really that deadly. The main reason people die from it is their own autoimmune response, and we actually know how to deal with that now.
The retrovirus that causes the common cold is also a type of coronavirus. No cure or vaccine has ever been found for it, and people have been trying for decades.
