In a crowded room, multiple people were arguing over a stack of papers.

An older gentleman banged his hands on the table. "That's insane. There is no way that will work! Are we going to take a child's word that this is plausible?"

A slender woman looked over, questioning the numbers and the odds before speaking, " John, I think Aleson is onto something that might work. Why don't we just try?"

A young man was sitting nearby. The man looked like he was in his early twenties. He was the youngest person here; however, he was technically the boss.

He was Aleson, who was the first person Ryder had hired to lead the medical division.

In the previous timeline, Aleson was a jobless person who didn't have money. His grandfather's death motivated him to push himself into research which made him come up with a great discovery that changed how cancer was detected in advance.

Unfortunately, that was a different timeline. Aleson was in a different timeline now, which was changed by Ryder.

Ryder had hired Aleson already. Not only that, he even gave some research which he had only known because of Aleson in the previous timeline.

John was another high-profile hire in the medical division.

He had years of experience and a big name; that's why he didn't like working under Aleson. He didn't trust Aleson either.

John grumbled as he stood up, looking angry at the woman. "Fine, Jane, you want to waste your time with Aleson chasing after an improbable odd! I won't stop you."

"Once you two make idiots of yourselves, then I will be promoted. I'll be seen as the only reliable person, and I will have you both gone!" John stormed out of the office, heading in the opposite direction of the lift.

Aleson watched John storm out of the office. He didn't stop John or try to convince him. An incomprehensible yet confident look remained on his face.

Aleson turned over to Jane. "Well, It looks like we are on our own here. Doesn't matter. Let's test this and see how well it works out. According to my calculations, it should have at least a forty percent chance of success."

Jane sighed as she walked over towards the testing station, "You know the boss might get upset at us for wasting his money and not making any progress. You might even lose your role. Can you afford to make this kind of mistake?"

Shaun pulled out a vial of blood with a frown on his face, "If we don't take a risk, we will never make progress. Without risk, we become complacent, and we will not strive for better. I am willing to take this gamble." Aleson put the vial into the testing equipment and started the simulation.

As they were watching the progress move slowly, their faces held more and more shock and anticipation.

"There seems to be a reaction. Maybe this will really work. If we pull this off, we will save a lot of lives. Early testing will be more accessible, and we will be heroes," Aleson muttered as he watched the test. A hopeful look remained on his face.

"Aleson, you are a genius. Even if this fails, you don't have to be disappointed. You're really talented. You'll soon find the solution."

Down the hall, John started to fiddle with a lock to one of the bigger offices, trying to get in, "Come on… Come on; I'm so close, just open up already."

With a loud pop, the handle came loose, and the door opened. He smirked as he entered and shut the door going through documents looking for the information he wanted.

"This is it. I finally have what I wanted."

A wide grin remained on his face as he watched the documents that were in his hand. There was a word written on the top of this file that read, "Classified!"

******

"All your confidence is because of a Gun? I am disappointed," Luke told Ryder as he watched the gun being aimed at him.

He didn't seem shocked. Instead, he was disappointed.

Ryder opened his lips as if he was going to say something, but he didn't speak. Instead, he directly pulled the trigger. He only showed that he was going to talk more to throw Luke off.

It was much easier to shoot someone when they didn't think that they were going to be shot.

As Ryder pulled the trigger, a bullet left the gun with the sound of a bang.

Teck!

The bullet hit the wall as Luke disappeared from his position. Luke was missed.

Luke watched Ryder as he appeared behind him.

Tap!

He tapped on Ryder's shoulder. "Anything else? Why don't you show me more."

Ryder turned back as he frowned. The smiling face of Luke fell in his eyes.

Unfortunately, he could only see that smile before a punch landed on his chest, making him fly back.

Ryder was tossed back like a bow from an arrow as he smashed on the wall.

"Urgh."

He couldn't help but cough out extensively. The gun also fell off from his hand.

Luke stepped forward and picked up the gun which was lying on the ground.

"This thing is so funny. A small metal piece gives you such a sense of security that you even decide to face death. Interesting indeed," he muttered as he frowned. He aimed the gun towards Ryder.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

One after another, he fired four shots. All of the shots were fired towards Ryder.

One bullet entered his right hand. Another entered his left arm. The third bullet penetrated his right leg, whereas the fourth bullet was aimed at his left leg.

"Argh!" A painted grunt left Ryder's lips as he was shot.

His clothes became colored in red as his blood spilled out. The bullets remained inside his body.

"Funny, right? I gave you a choice. I didn't want to do it. I wanted to be a gentleman, but you forced me. It's fine. I'm a sensible person. I won't give you a painful death," Luke let out as he smiled.

He didn't know that the bullets which were inside Ryder's body had started melting already. The bullets melted inside his body and turned to nutrition as his wounds started healing. It was all because of the Nature fragment of his bracelet of Immortality.

Ryder had many abilities because he had managed to collect four fragments already, one of which gave him the ability to heal. Second gave him the ability of going back in time. The third gave him the ability to fly, whereas the fourth gave him the ability to rule pure water.

Unfortunately, there was no pure water here.

"I'm sorry for this. But I'll take care of Alice really well on this journey. You can rest in peace," Luke let out as he aimed the gun at Ryder's head.

Ryder had just finished healing, but his body was still not in full control as he tried to stand up.

Ryder was certain that it was going to penetrate his skull this time.

Even though he didn't want to have to go back in time, he had no choice. He started to utilize the ability to go back in time by half an hour.

As long as he didn't die through death, the Lord of Time wasn't going to know. That's what he wanted to do to have an advantage since his body wasn't moving or listening to him.

Unfortunately, his ability didn't work either this time. He wasn't able to travel back in time.

A perplexed look was on his face as he didn't understand what was happening. Why was his ability not working?

His wounds were still healing, but his ability of time wasn't working. Why?

Bang!

He heard another gunshot as he watched a bullet leave the gun of Luke. The bullet advanced towards Ryder's skull. He had no choice. It seemed like his death was near, and he was going to be forced back in time by twenty-four hours.

That was when something strange happened, though.

The bullet, which was mid-air, stopped in its tracks. Everything turned grey, and nothing moved. The world lost its color.

Ryder's eyes widened in surprise. What happened? Everything had stopped. Even Luke wasn't moving at the moment.

While Ryder was trying to understand what had happened, he felt an itch in his hand where the strange black tattoo had appeared. The itching became so unbearable that he wanted to scratch; unfortunately, his body wasn't moving either.

"So this is where the time distortions happened."

A calm voice filled the room suddenly. It didn't belong to Luke.

'Who said that? No one else is here,' Ryder thought as he frowned. This voice seemed like it was coming from everywhere. It was impossible to locate its location.

A white portal appeared between Ryder and Luke. A young boy stepped out of the portal. A curious gaze of his looked everywhere.