Beta Universe, winter, 2025, on a scenic resort island somewhere in the South Seas.
Ever since news broke that Wasteland OL would soon open for public beta testing, this mysterious fully immersive virtual reality game had immediately caused a massive sensation around the world, to the point that even this once-bustling vacation destination had become noticeably deserted.
At a beachside bar, the spacious counter was especially quiet. There was only a bartender mechanically repeating the motion of polishing glasses, and a customer who had ordered nothing but a cup of coffee.
The atmosphere was harmonious and leisurely, yet strangely eerie.
There were no other customers in the bar at all, and no one knew where all those endlessly polished glasses came from.
The customer was even stranger. Though only in his early thirties, his brows carried the calm composure of someone who had weathered two centuries of storms. Every so often, words slipped from his lips as though he were chatting with guests who did not exist.
"Just as expected of 'another me.'"
Upon receiving the notification that the mission had been completed, the man seated at the counter smiled faintly. It was as though a crushing burden had been lifted from him, and even his rigid shoulders relaxed considerably.
Memories were the foundation of consciousness.
Once one merged with memories that did not belong to oneself, one would gradually cease to be oneself.
His family, friends, and everyone familiar to him in this world... still remembered his name.
But to him, they were like old photographs left untouched for two hundred years. Even when he saw them again, they no longer looked the way they had in his memories.
It was unfair to them, really.
Just as his dear assistant had said, what made up the existence of his