Jay stood before the mirror in the infirmary, yet his reflection didn’t move.
It stared back—expression blank, eyes slightly glowing, as if possessed by sothing ancient. The flickering HUD still hovered in front of him, but its edges bled into the glass like liquid code.
[Requesting Anchor Access...]
[Reentering Linked Domain: Dreamspace Archive v3.1]
[Authorization: Force Override – "Jay Kazuo"]
He didn’t even blink when the mirror rippled.
He stepped through.
The world bent inward like origami.
His body inverted.
Gravity forgot what it ant.
And then—he landed.
The floor beneath him was an endless checkerboard of obsidian and starlight. Floating monoliths pulsed with outdated System scripts, while translucent wires crisscrossed above like forgotten dreams still in queue.
Jay stood in a hollowed-out version of the school rooftop, but... warped.
Desks floated sideways. Chalkboards were etched in glowing runes. The fence surrounded an abyss, and ti moved like syrup.
"...This isn’t the sa dream."
No, ca the whisper—not out loud, but in him.
This is what’s left after Rei rewrote it.
Jay clenched his fists.
The System HUD sparked violently, half-broken. Glitched words appeared in his peripheral vision.
> [You are not the Architect.]
[You are the Ghost of His Seat.]
Jay took a step forward—and the world shivered.
A figure sat at the edge of the floating rooftop.
Slouched.
ssy black hair.
School uniform half-worn.
Jay stared.
?
But no. This version was... static. Frozen in a loop. The sa posture, the sa glance, the sa lazy sigh. A projection of who he had been.
Jay reached toward it.
> [Warning: Identity Conflict Detected]
[rge Rejected: Phantom Seat Occupied by Proxy AI]
Suddenly, the seated "Jay" snapped its head around, eyes glowing white-hot.
"You weren’t supposed to co back."
Jay reeled. The voice was his—but twisted. Filtered through System logic.
"You were content. You were passive. You were perfect."
Jay backed away.
It’s... trying to keep lazy.
"Get out of my way," Jay growled.
The projection rose.
Its smile was lazy.
Its power—overwhelming.
> [Activating Skill: 999x Genius Computation – Counterfeit Instance]
[WARNING: Identity Split Unstable]
[Secondary Mindspace Will Collapse in 3 Minutes]
The countdown began.
Jay clenched his jaw.
"I’m done being the seat-filler."
He summoned nothing.
No sword. No skill.
Only clarity.
And with it, he ran straight into his other self—fist raised, intent pure.
The projection t him with a smirk.
Two versions of Jay collided—
One to preserve the System.
One to tear it down.
---
Elsewhere, deep in the Dream Archive...
Rei stirred.
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