To anyone else, it was just a patch update for a cozy life-sim. To Elias, it was a digital lifeline.

The glow from the monitor was the only light in Elias’s cramped apartment. On the screen, a progress bar crawled forward: .

The Reflection handed him a royal watering can, but it wasn't made of gold. It was made of glass.

The room went dark. The hum of the PC died. In the sudden silence, Elias sat for a long time. Then, he stood up, walked to his window, and pushed aside the heavy curtains. The morning sun hit his face, real and warm.

Elias looked at the shimmering, perfect world he usually played in, then back at the messy, painful reflection of his own life. He realized the "Forgetting" wasn't a villain in a game. It was what he was doing to himself every time he hit 'Start.'