Ryan attempts to deliver a briefcase to a pub in New Rome, only to be brutally murdered by a skeletal Genome named Ghoul. After dying multiple times, Ryan uses his time-stop power to anticipate the attack, smashing his car into the pub and beating the assassin with a baseball bat. This encounter introduces the Meta-Gang and the corporate influence of Dynamis, ending with Ryan bribing security to avoid arrest.

Ryan is approached by Wyvern of Il Migliore and later by Vulcan of the Augusti, both wanting his unique powers for their respective organizations. He navigates these offers while searching for Len, eventually discovering that the Meta-Gang is targeting an orphanage in Rust Town. Ryan coordinates a counter-ambush, using a lethal plushie to eliminate the Meta-Gang's leadership, including Psyshock, though he discovers the terrifying truth of the Meta's biological mutations.

Ryan infiltrates a hidden facility below the Junkyard, discovering a cache of Mechron technology and a dormant orbital laser called the Bahamut. He faces off against the colossal Frank the Mad and the ruthless Big Bad Adam. The climax occurs when Adam triggers the orbital laser, incinerating large portions of New Rome and killing many of Ryan's allies, including Len, leading to a devastating realization of the cost of his delay.

Ryan discovers the nature of the Purple World, a dimension between time and space that powers Violet Genomes. He learns that his power is actually temporal bilocation, allowing him to exist in two time periods simultaneously. After a series of emotional confrontations with Len and the revelation of the Carnival's role in the city's history, Ryan resolves to pursue a path that saves everyone without sacrificing his own humanity.