Matilda's POV:

I was sitting at my desk playing with a switch blade.

When my boss slammed a folder on my desk.

It had classified written in red on it.

I open my mouth in surprise.

Here at the anomaly department.

We hunt the down the supernatural... at least that was the plan.

But all I end up doing is removing traces of it from the internet.

Which is why I'm surprised to get a new case.

"What is this about?"

"There's a man named Zero. That seemingly appeared out of nowhere."

"Alright... maybe he is using a fake identity? What makes that supernatural?"

"No... it isn't simply a fake identity. He also had real records accounting for his life. We interviewed his classmates as well as his teachers. They couldn't recall ever seeing him. But that wasn't what made it weird. What is weird is that he also started a company called 'Projekt Paradox'. We believe he may have the ability to manipulate data. He somehow managed to get all the required permits and permissions for his building for the company. But when we interviewed the officials that he would need to go through, they didn't recall ever approving it. If his ability is what I think it is... he could be quite dangerous."

"Hmm... that is a little weird."

"Something else that makes it even weirder. Is that nobody has seen him."

"What do you mean?"

"Even his own workers... nobody has seen him. He is like a ghost."

"He has to come from somewhere..."

My boss walks away and I begin to read the files.

"Hmm... an orphan, dropped out of high school. Made his money through crypto. Nothing too strange here."

"Maybe I should try meeting him?"

So I drive to his building and go inside.

I walk to the reception desk and ask to speak with Zero.

"I'm sorry... but he is not here right now."

Fair enough.

I'll try another time.

But it seems that Zero is always unavailable.

A year after I got the case.

The person at the reception desk looks at me weirdly and says:

"He actually is available this time..."

YES!

I'm a little excited. This is my first time meeting someone with powers.

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"Can I see him?"

"Let me call him..."

The lady talks on the phone for a bit.

"He is on the thirteenth floor."

I walk to the elevator and notice that it has a place to put a pin.

"Weird."

I click 13, and wait.

Once the door opens I am immediately attracted to the 'magic circles' or whatever these paintings he has all around are.

They look so beautiful.

He must be a great artist.

It looks like something straight out of fantasy.

It's like another language.

I then see a man sitting at a desk.

His eyes are green and white.

Heterochromia?

"I have been made aware that you have been trying to contact me. I apologize, but I have been occupied for the last few years on... research."

"Understandable. I assume you know who I am?"

"I haven't a clue."

"You just let a random person meet you so easily?"

"A random person that has stopped by my building more then 30 times. Why not?"

"Well... I am Matilda... I am also with the anomaly department. I will just come out and say it."

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Zero's POV:

"Well... I am Matilda... I am also with the anomaly department. I will just come out and say it."

Anomaly department?

I don't remember seeing anything on the internet about such a thing.

"Are you an extraordinary?"

"What?"

What is she talking about?

"I've done my research on you. You have the power to manipulate data, right?"

So there is the supernatural in this world?

How have I not found it?

"I assure you... I really don't know what you're talking about."

"I am glad that you have confirmed my suspicions on whether or not this world has supernatural power. Can you tell me more about it?"

"..."

"That's classified information..."

Do these people only keep their files in paper format or something?

How have I not found their database?

What Zero didn't know... was that they did indeed only have paper files.

It was mainly just due to how it has always been...and laziness.

"So you haven't noticed any changes to your body... gaining great strength, or speed, or some other ability?"

"Nope. No changes at all..."

"I feel like you're lying to me."

"I don't have any super powers... unfortunately."

"What is the purpose of your company?"

"Research into various things... such as time travel, teleportation, A.I, nanites."

"Teleportation? Time Travel? That stuff is impossible even for those that are extraordinary!"

"Nothing is impossible."

"Also, you keep mentioning this extraordinary thing. How many of these people have you met?"

"You are the first..."

"It's that rare?"

"Yes. Would you like to join us? We could really use somebody with your ability."

"What ability? I merely got lucky, that's all."

"Still... how did you awaken your ability?"

"... you're really insistent that I have some sort of power aren't you?"

"Fair enough."

Matilda then takes out a camera and takes a picture of me.

I see a flash of light and then lose my train of thought.

I notice that my memories have been tampered with.

Well the memories of the brain of the body I am in.

I wouldn't have realized this if I didn't have an independent consciousness.

Although I suppose I appear less dangerous if they think I know nothing.

So I pretend to go in a daze as she leaves.

Mark then walks into the room.

"I wanted to talk with you about your model of time and the flaws in it."

"Flaws?"

"You believe time to be a data stream that can be manipulated. Something that can easily be stopped or reversed."

"So?"

"Think of it this way. If you traveled back in time. You could have a few ways of doing it. You could physically take your body back in time. But this creates a paradox. If you ever got the ability to travel back in time. You could meet yourself and pass on the knowledge required to time travel. This destroys your future of you researching time travel. If you never research time travel, you never go back in time. Let's say that you are able to reverse time without bringing your body, while yes, you have no paradox, your brain would also get reversed and you would have no idea you time traveled. You would then be stuck in an infinite loop of discovering time travel and going back, time would never progress after such a discovery. Also, if you stopped time. Depending on how that works, you would be blinded and deaf, because light and sound wouldn't be traveling to your perception organs. There's simply too much wrong with your model of how time works."

"So how do you believe it works?"

"I think that the past and future are merely hallucinations of the brain. The only thing that exist is the present moment. But even that is wrong. I believe everything is almost predetermined. That all of existence happens in merely an instant. It is just our perception that makes us think this isn't so."

"If we use my model of time travel, it is possible to make a time machine without flaws. Making a machine that is able to interact with that small instant of existence. We need to make a machine that changes the present, before we focus on other aspects of time."

"Interesting..."