The Game - Chapter 6 – The Patch Notes

I found the forum by accident.

Buried in an archived message board from over a decade ago, a single thread discussed an “unreleased prototype cartridge” that had surfaced briefly before disappearing. Every user who claimed to own it stopped posting shortly after.

One comment stood out:

“It isn’t a game. It’s a transfer.”

According to the thread, the cartridge was designed to “offload” something—memories, identity, consciousness—into a stable, repeatable environment. The player wasn’t meant to win. They were meant to be copied.

Replaced.

I checked the save file again.

MARK – DAY 18

INTEGRITY: 72%

Every time I played, that number went up.

I started skipping meals. Ignoring calls. Sitting in front of the screen for hours, afraid that if I stopped, the game would continue without me. My apartment began to feel like a set piece—too quiet, too static.

One evening, the game paused itself.

My character stood before a mirror inside the game. Their reflection moved independently, smiling wider and wider. Text scrolled slowly across the screen.

WHEN WE FINISH, YOU CAN REST.

I’LL TAKE IT FROM HERE.

Behind me, I heard the unmistakable click of a controller button being pressed.

I wasn’t holding it.

Source: Some or all of the content was generated using an AI language model