I emerge from what feels like years of coma, and I feel more rested than I have ever been. I look around, and it's like everything is brighter and higher definition. I take a glance at my hands when I feel a sudden surge of power from my insides. I don't know why, but I instinctively feel like this internal ocean is my soul strength.

Again, I don't know why, but I know that this amount would be enough to maintain Phase Two for quite a while. It may be why the Enemy knew how much strength I had, and how much of Phase time I had left.

I glance towards the cell, which is still holding the prisoner. It's the real test since, according to the memories of my recombined selves, the Enemy has been wiped out, and the remnants properly taken care of.

But the expected murderous voice and violent urges never come, my mind is clear for the first time in god knows how long.

However, there's still one thing to test before declaring complete victory, and I press the Quick Rewind button hidden on my palm.

According to my theory, the Enemy was created because of constant Rewinding, so I wonder what will happen now that I killed it?

The world shifts and I feel something churning inside me. I somehow feel 'cleaner'; it's like a certain wrongness has been erased before it even arrived.

Interesting, it looks like my system is now flushing the Rewinder-induced corruption. I wonder how this will hold up when I will Rewind thousand of times in a second, but I guess that only time will tell.

But now, I need to take care of Alison and the Organization. The savagery that the Enemy unleashed is not a good way to handle all those brainwashed teenagers, but I will not hesitate to shoot back if I have to. It might seem cold, but I don't know if I can save them, or if it is even possible in the first place. So, as much as I want to get these people on my side and free them from Adam and his vicious system, I don't know if I will be able to do it. And if they threaten the Order's operations, then I won't hesitate to unleash hell upon them.

After all, everything is fair in love and war.

I shake my head and focus on the cell, this 'brief' interlude with the Enemy shook me to my core, and I kind of lost where I was with Alison's interrogation. I Rewind to the beginning of the inquiry to make sure that I don't look like an idiot and review what I already know.

The Organization is hellbent on killing me for some unknown reason, and Adam will apparently use every mean at his disposal to take care of me.

I am kind of flattered by the attention, but I also cannot figure out why he of all people would want me dead.

If he were related to the Empire or the Enforcers, then I would understand, but I draw a blank in this particular case.

Anyway, it doesn't matter. I need to know more about the Organization, or particularly their system. If their system can help us harness the World Code, then it might give us the advantage we need against the Oracle, but it's also not a priority. After all, I don't know if we can use their system, or if we can even copy it. Furthermore, I cannot guarantee that putting in the effort to tackle the problem that is the Organization will actually help us in the long run.

And the Oracle is probably immune to the World Code. It doesn't make sense that someone like her wouldn't know about the Code, and she must already have dozens of countermeasures.

A defeated sigh escapes my mouth as I turn towards Alison's cell.

"Miss Alison, you don't know me, but I know a lot about you. I know you're a squad leader for the Organization, and that you were sent here with your comrades to kill me." I finally say to her.

"H-How?" she reacts immediately, "And what happened to my friends? You'll pay if they are hurt!" she growls.

I shrug, if the timeline is going to be erased anyway then what I've done in those isn't morally reprehensible, right?

...Even I am not that convinced by my reasoning.

"Do not worry about them; they are safe for now." I lie, "But you don't want them to have a tragic accident, do you?"

"You bastard!" she says as she grits her teeth.

"Tell me everything you know about Adam's system and they might live." I finally say with a burst of my aura.

This particular display feels more intense than the last one, but maybe it's my imagination.

Alison stays silent for a moment; it's obvious that she's struggling with her artificial loyalty that has been implemented by Adam. She wants to save her friends, but everything else in her body tells her that she shouldn't reveal anything.

I feel kind of bad for putting the young woman through such an ordeal, but I already plan on scrapping this timeline so it should be fine...

My rationalizations for all the horrible things I've done to her are weakening by the minute. I know that it's necessary to extract as much information as possible, but it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth for doing so in such a horrifying manner.

"So, do you not care about the lives of your friends?" I say while refraining from stopping the whole thing. I already killed Alison countless times, so I shouldn't be that affected.

Man, living without a deranged voice in your head that tells you that killing everyone is a fun activity is really harder than it looks, I wonder how most people do it.

"Fine, I'll speak." She says after clicking her tongue.

"But I'll warn you first; I don't know a lot about Adam's system." The prisoner says. "I only know a few things. First of all, Adam's system is somehow using quantum computers, and that we can Connect to this system to enhance our World Code Calls."

"And that's it?" I ask after a long pause.

"Yes. I told you that you'd be disappointed." Alison replies with a hint of smugness.

I only slightly gassed her this time around.

She keeps repeating the same things despite the gas and further threats, so I have to assume that she's telling the truth. I know that we have no real ways of confirming that she's not lying to us since Sarah cannot decipher their memories, and repeated gassings cause no changes in her story, it only makes her voice more slurred and her cries of pain get more intense.

I sigh and Rewind; there's no sense in keeping her in so much pain if it doesn't yield any results.

My shoulders slump, most of this interrogation has been a huge waste of my time since I barely learned anything new about the Organization. I'm still on the fence about committing resources to finding and destroying them, and then I would also have to allocate Fabricators to decipher Adam's system...

This whole thing is a huge fiasco.

I Rewind to before the appearance of the Organization's group.

The few answers I gained during all those Rewinds are lacking, and they don't answer the most important question.

How the fuck am I supposed to deal with the Organization?

Killing them on sight will cause Adam and his crew to arrive, and we cannot guarantee that we'll be able to kill them. If they survive the first encounter, then they'll be able to create countermeasures to our weaponry, or they could spread the information to rival factions.

Making a show of fighting them will also not work, Adam will intervene as soon as his pawns are about to lose or reveal crucial information. A flashy takedown will also attract unwanted attention from the bigger players like the Empire, and I shudder to think what would happen if the Oracle decided to boost the Organization to fuck with me.

The bitch is more than capable of such a thing, so I shouldn't give her too many opportunities to make my life even more miserable.

I sit on the floor and look at the decrepit ceiling of Krognar's shop, why must everything be so difficult?