Adventures with My Alternate Self

[Warning: Japanese-style Western fantasy. The main and supporting characters have a mix of sexual orientations. The ending features one lesbian couple and one gay couple, with all four getting a happy ending.]

After the player hadn't logged in for days, Hero finally admitted the truth: the player had uninstalled the game.

The good news: it wasn't in the recycle bin.

The bad news: she'd been sent back to the test server.

As deleted data and, essentially, a nonhuman, Hero quickly came to terms with being abandoned. She teamed up with her male counterpart, Heroriel, and prepared to make a splash in this playerless playthrough.

“If we pull off something amazing, the player will definitely come back!” After all, they'd uninstalled because the life-sim game was too boring.

The journey was never smooth. Their companions often heard Hero and Heroriel arguing: “Your wife!” “Your husband!” Yes, the player had unlocked every ending. As co-protagonists, Hero and Heroriel shared a certain stretch of life and the same person, but slight differences always gave them different perspectives.

“I slaved away for ten lifetimes to slay a dragon for you.”

“Why don't you mention that I spent eight lifetimes as a freelance operator in the Black Street just to help you become a god?”

Hero and Heroriel bickered their way along an increasingly realistic country road. Behind them, the real world was gradually replacing the game's textures.

Theme: Life will find its own way. It doesn't need anyone meddling.