The Genius System-Chapter 99: Taking a decision

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Since that conversation, the system hadn't disturbed him again.

Not a word...Not a whisper.

As if it were waiting.

And Lassen hadn't called on it either. Not yet. He didn't need to.

He already knew.

He woke up early now. By choice. He still read, but no longer for distraction. He reread certain precise passages, dialogues, decisions, simple sentences he had forgotten. Not to escape the world, but to look at it differently.

He observed more.... spoke less.

And his assistants had noticed.

Alex kept his distance, not daring to ask questions. Adrien, true to himself, followed the movements without ever commenting. Even Elias, usually unimpressed, had cast a worried glance the last time they crossed paths in the hallway.

Something had changed.

It wasn't anger or sadness, not even euphoria. It was… calm...stable. Like the beginning of a plan that only needed the first step.

Lassen was in a dilemma that few throughout history had ever dared to imagine: save the world, with no guarantee of success, or keep indulging in this world's pleasures and wait, like the others.

He thought about it often now. In silence. Without distractions.

One afternoon, as Lassen sat in one of the secondary lounges, a closed book on his lap, Kaela came to see him.

"Looks like Mister Genius is taking a break. That's a first."

He looked up at her. She was smiling, as usual, with that slight teasing tone in her voice that was never truly mean.

"I wonder if you'll end up getting bored without an international conspiracy to unravel."

"What if I told you I'm thinking about exactly that?"

Kaela raised an eyebrow, then sat down without waiting for an invitation, placing her tablet beside her.

"Oh, you mean the shadow master is starting to dream of a vacation?"

"No. I'm just wondering if I'm wasting time. Or gaining it."

She tilted her head slightly "That's... unexpectedly poetic. Are you okay?"

He didn't answer right away. He looked out the window. The sky was clear, blue, peaceful in a way that made everything feel more surreal.

"What's wrong?" she asked again, more softly this time.

He let out a slow breath

"If you had the responsibility to save the world, what would you do?"

Kaela froze. That wasn't a question you asked lightly.

"I… wow. That's a loaded question" She leaned back

"Save the world? You'd have to define what 'the world' means. And what 'save' implies. For some, it's peace. For others, it's survival. And for many, it's just preserving their comfort zones."

He gave a faint smile "So you'd do nothing?"

"No" she said firmly

"I'd think about it for a long time. Too long, maybe. And then I'd do something. Not because it's right. But because I wouldn't be able to stand the idea of doing nothing. I'd feel useless."

Her tone shifted more serious "But you're not me. You're already doing things most people can't even imagine. You see everything. Predict everything. The rest of us… we're just trying to keep up."

He turned his gaze back to her, voice low:

"What if doing nothing is the only way to keep peace? What if interfering only accelerates the end?"

"Then I'd still interfere" Kaela replied without hesitation "Because I'd rather fail while trying than live with the guilt of watching everything fall apart knowing I could've tried."

There was a silence. Longer, deeper.

"I don't think people understand what saving the world means" Lassen said "It's not about being a hero. It's about sacrificing your peace, your detachment, maybe even your humanity. It means making decisions no one will thank you for. It means becoming a monster to stop worse monsters."

Kaela studied him closely, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Then why are you hesitating?"

"Because I don't know if this world deserves it" he admitted.

"You're afraid of making the wrong choice?"

"I'm afraid of not making a choice at all."

Kaela leaned forward "Let me ask you something. Do you feel anything for the people here? Not the politicians. Not the elites. The people. The ones who'll never know your name."

"I don't know" he said honestly "Sometimes I think I do. Then I see the chaos, the hatred, the ignorance… and I wonder if they even want to be saved."

"But isn't that the point?" she said "That they don't have to be perfect to deserve a chance? That maybe someone has to believe in them even when they can't believe in themselves?"

He looked at her. Really looked at her.

"You believe that?"

"I want to" she said "And I want you to, too."

She stood up, took her tablet, and took a few steps toward the exit. Then she turned, eyes locked on his.

"Then slip, Mister X. But choose your slope carefully"

She paused again before the door, then added, quieter this time,

"I don't know what's happening to you or why you think you have the responsibility to save the world or save it from what. But I know one thing if anyone has the power to do it, it's you."

She left without another word.

And Lassen, alone once more, stared at the cover of his book for a long time, without reopening it.

He felt the weight of the moment.

He was no longer a mere observer.

The world had started to move, slowly, imperceptibly.

And he was at the center.

He murmured to himself:

"I've always read web novels where the hero saves the world… I think it's time I become one."

He stood up slowly, letting the book fall gently onto the couch. His gaze was steady, his steps silent as he walked to the window. Outside, the world kept spinning, unaware. But he was done watching.

No more waiting....no more questions.

Whether it deserved to be saved or not,he would decide that himself.