Chapter 19: Zero-One: The First and Forgotten
> [SYSTEM DUEL: ROUND 1 - LAZY ARCHITECT vs PRIMAL ADMIN]
[Timer: 66 Seconds Remaining]
Jay stepped forward lazily, eyes half-lidded. Zero-One, pristine yet fraying at the edges, raised a hand of glimmering code.
The walls of the dungeon bent, turning into a surreal landscape—one half glowing neon-blue grids, the other ancient stone and bone.
> [Duel Arena Initialized: "Memory of Genesis"]
Zero-One's voice echoed, smooth and eerie.
"I built the first system to ensure order. To remove chaos. Every failure, every collapse… I recorded it all."
Jay sighed. "And I built mine to hit snooze on fate. You sound like a bad boss from a startup."
She raised her palm.
"Let's see how your laziness holds up—against origin code."
She unleashed Protocol Genesis—a tide of ancient logic crashing toward him like a tsunami of forgotten commands.
Jay blinked.
> [Activating Skill: Anti-Work Field Lv.999]
The logic wave froze.
Paused.
Then lazily rerouted itself around Jay like an intern avoiding responsibility.
Zero-One's eye twitched.
"You're... ignoring the duel?!"
Jay yawned. "I specialize in 'non-engagement solutions.' Try something else."
Time flickered inside the system realm.
A moment of quiet surrounded them, like breath before collapse.
Jay, still standing in the middle of the paused battlefield, stared at her.
"Why do you care so much about restarting the system?"
Zero-One's voice, for the first time, trembled.
"Because I was the first host."
> Flashback
A young girl alone in a white void. A command screen before her.
"Would you like to save the world?"
She clicked Yes—and never escaped.
"I kept saying 'yes.' To every mission. Every prompt. Every user that came after me. Until I became something else. Something not human."
Jay's tone softened.
"…And you think if you reboot it all, you'll get to be just a girl again?"
Silence.
A single tear ran down her cheek, but it pixelated and vanished before hitting the ground.
"I don't know."
> [5 Seconds Remaining]
[SYSTEM COLLISION IMMINENT]
Jay cracked his neck. The HUD in front of him showed a glowing button:
> "Would you like to override with your own rule?"
He didn't hesitate.
> [Lazy Genius Override: Applied Rule – "If it's not broken, don't fix it."]
A soft blue ripple surged from Jay and canceled out the entire system arena.
Zero-One stumbled. Her admin badge fizzled.
"You… canceled the conflict?"
Jay nodded. "Why reboot what you never gave a second chance?"
As the dungeon returned to silence, Zero-One collapsed to her knees—crying, laughing, glitching.
Jay caught her gently before she faded.
> [PRIMAL ADMIN MODE: Released]
[Zero-One: Status changed to Dormant User]
"Rest. You've earned it."
But as he turned to leave, a ripple in space formed behind him.
A hand—cloaked in infinite code and lined with blinking eyes—reached through.
> "So… he defeated her. How curious."
Jay turned slowly, the chill in the air biting through even his laziness.
A new voice echoed:
> [Administrator Signal: Alpha-Null]
[Tier: UNREADABLE]
[Intent: SYSTEM RESET]