The Lazy Genius With 999x System

"Let me get this straight," Jay said, adjusting his loose uniform collar as he stepped into the teleportation chamber. "We're heading to a forbidden ruin to find a superpowered dropout named Echo… who may or may not be rewriting the laws of magic using an experimental system like mine?"

Alicia, now equipped in light travel armor embroidered with royal runes, sighed. "Yes. And we've got permission to intervene only if he poses a global threat. Which, by the way, he does."

Jay looked skeptical. "Can we define 'global threat'? I cause sinkholes and no one bats an eye."

"Jay, you cause sinkholes accidentally. Echo turns cities into recursive time loops on purpose."

"…So he's like me. But motivated."

> [New Area Unlocked – "Ruins of Saekorr."]

[Warning: Interference Detected. System stability 82%. Proceed with caution.]

The teleportation rune lit up beneath them.

"Try not to nap mid-teleport," Alicia warned.

Jay yawned. "Too late."

---

Ruins of Saekorr – The Ghost Code Zone

The air shimmered.

Reality here wasn't quite… real.

Cracked towers floated sideways. The ground occasionally pulsed with old binary code—ancient magical technology buried under layers of broken time.

Jay stepped onto the distorted floor and immediately tripped over a floating logic cube.

> [Environment Hazard: Inverted Gravity Detected.]

"Cool," he muttered, floating sideways.

Alicia grabbed his collar mid-spin. "Focus."

"Focusing is against my religion."

She was about to argue—when the sky blinked.

And someone stepped out of a mirror that wasn't there a moment ago.

---

Enter: Echo

White hoodie. Slanted violet eyes. One arm was entirely mechanical, the other traced with glowing tattoos.

His voice was calm. Dead calm.

"Jay Arkwell."

Jay blinked. "You know me?"

Echo gave a faint smile. "The system remembers itself. I've seen your blueprint."

Alicia reached for her sword. "You've been tampering with world-code. Folding timelines. Why?"

Echo looked at her like she'd asked the wrong question.

"I'm fixing what they broke. The Systems were never meant for balance—they were meant for control. You think Jay's gift is a coincidence? He was engineered to be lazy so he'd never ask questions."

Jay's smirk vanished.

Echo walked closer.

"You have 999x Intelligence, Jay. Start using it. Ask the right question."

"…Which is?"

Echo leaned in.

"Why did they make more than one of us?"

---

System Alert – Memory Surge

Jay's System flared red.

> [Warning: Locked Memory File Attempting to Sync—]

[Origin Thread: "Project Genesis Loop."]

[Host Suppression Instinct Activated.]

His head throbbed.

He saw images—flashes of labs, children wired into floating coffins, glowing data trees branching endlessly into other versions of himself.

> "Only the most apathetic mind can survive omnipotence."

---

Back to Reality

Jay dropped to one knee, sweat pouring down his face.

Alicia summoned a magic circle. "What did you do to him!?"

Echo raised a hand. "Nothing. He unlocked it himself."

Jay slowly stood, his voice hoarse but steady.

"Echo…"

"Yes?"

"…You suck at naming files."

Echo actually chuckled.

Then his face turned serious again.

"I'm leaving this ruin, Jay. And you can't stop me."

Jay tilted his head. "Wasn't planning to."

That surprised everyone.

"You're not… arresting me?"

"Nope. I came to see if you were crazy or right. You're both. So I'll wait."

Echo narrowed his eyes. "Wait for what?"

Jay looked up at the fractured sky.

"For the moment someone even worse than you shows up."

> [System Ping: Unknown Signature Detected – Codename: "ERROR."]

[Location: Vija Magical Academy – West Wing.]

Jay froze.

"…Uh, Alicia?"

"Yes?"

"We might need to teleport back."

"Now?"

"Right now."