Reincarnations, the infinite.

Brazil, São Paulo (SP). Eduardo gazed at the numerous buildings surrounding Paulista Avenue through the window of his imposing office on the 14th floor of the "Workstation Building." The twilight cast an incredible reddish hue on the sky, a sight he always admired during late afternoons. Despite loving the view, these days, the practice was becoming increasingly rare due to the excess of work. Days turned into nights without him even realizing it, drowning in his role as the perfect example of the English-origin term "workaholic." However, today was Friday, and Eddie, as he liked to be called by friends, found himself doing what other executives in the nearby buildings did—anticipating the awaited "happy hour" for workers. Moreover, he had other plans in mind. He hoped to leave early since he had promised his young and beautiful wife that they would go out tonight and spend the entire weekend together to make up for being a lousy husband lately. Before Eddie left his office, a notorious electronic, almost childish sound caught his attention, making him turn his eyes to the 21-inch LCD screen of his state-of-the-art notebook. It was an old friend who had just messaged him through an instant messaging app with the following phrase: "– Hey, man! How's things in Sampa? We're having an RPG game with the college gang to reminisce about the old times. Tomorrow night! Are you in?" The one who had called was Nakata, his university friend with whom he used to play various games a few years ago. Specifically, the RPG mentioned, whose acronym stood for Role Playing Game, was a type of game where each player adopted a character, filling out a sheet with characteristics, much like an actor in a movie. Eddie's mind was flooded with great memories at the mention of the game. It was a good time. Despite the suit and the air of responsibility, Eddie was quite young and had not been out of law school for long. He was now 26 years old, having completed his law degree at UNICAMP in Campinas, where he met people with similar interests, even though most of them pursued different degrees. Despite being excited about his friend's invitation to the "adventure," Eduardo politely declined: "– What's up, man? I'm swamped here in Sampa. I really wanted to play, grab a cold one, and chat until dawn with the gang, like we used to do in the old days, around the table with all those books and character sheets, remember? But I promised Samantha that we would spend time together. If she finds out I'm playing with you guys, she'll also remember the college days when she used to complain about our games, you know? Hugs, buddy, hit me up if anything!" Thus, Eddie sent his message and began the standard shutdown procedure, as he liked to call it. This involved turning off the computer, gathering documents, putting them in the "weekend analysis" folder, and leaving the room, turning off the lights. Typically, these steps were taken by one of the last people to leave the building, leaving only the doorman in charge. However, not today. Today, Eddie would leave even before his secretary and arrive early in Bragança Paulista, his hometown, to fulfill his promise. After all, Eddie knew that if he waited a little longer, he would hit the "rush hour," and he hated that. Besides, he was one of the millions of people who worked in São Paulo but lived in neighboring cities. The only advantage and difference were that Eduardo had an apartment rented by his employers in the same block as the company, avoiding the need to take the road every day. However, in return, he could only see his wife on weekends, and she was starting to wonder when they would stop the hustle and try to have children. Descending in the elevator, Eddie remembered his dreams when he was in his early twenties, just starting law school. While searching for the key to his recently purchased Ford Fusion, Eddie realized how much he had changed. He had learned to enjoy unrestrained consumerism and the life of a "false king" he led, for the king he had wanted to be before was impossible in our reality. Something out of a fairy tale but with a Hollywood touch. He wanted to live in another world and participate in the most incredible fantasies. To be the hero who engaged in wars, treasure hunts, and always saved the most beautiful princess in the end, who then became his queen. But Eddie grew up, and now he was a man who applied everything he learned in strategy games to his current capitalist and competitive life. He decided to turn his real life into a game, playing the role of an ambitious lawyer in this RPG called REAL LIFE. His Ford Fusion quickly left the building's garage, and after a long time facing the traffic on São Paulo's streets, Eddie found himself on Marginal Tietê on his way to Fernão Dias Highway, where he would finally leave the city and have his "peaceful" weekend. To relax, the young man turned on his car's sound system and followed the road to the tune of Pearl Jam's "Once." After a few hours on the road, Eddie was getting drowsy on that seemingly endless double highway. He saw a sign indicating that a gas station was approaching but decided to continue since his city was not far away. Thus, he pondered on his life, on what could have been, and what it had become. Was he really happy this way? He used to be a young man with many dreams, many aspirations. Now he followed what destiny had reserved for him without questioning... And he really couldn't complain, could he? He was a successful young man with plenty of money in his pocket. It seemed to be a peaceful trip until, at a certain moment, Eddie came across a man in the middle of the road, causing him to panic behind the wheel. A man in old clothes, staggering in the middle of the highway, stood in front of the speeding Fusion, forcing the driver to make a sudden decision to swerve away from the seemingly intoxicated figure to avoid hitting him. The car went off the road, falling into a small ravine, and Eddie hit his head on the steering wheel. Eddie regained consciousness: "Did I die?" he thought, already doubtful. The sound of the ocean reached Eddie's ears, making him realize the sand on which he was lying. He opened his eyes and saw a dark, starless night. He got up slowly, noticed some clothes that weren't his hanging on an improvised clothesline, and a strange being with peculiar clothes nearby, who, upon realizing that Eddie had regained consciousness, said: "Hello, friend. I wrapped you in these white wolf furs so you wouldn't freeze. Consider yourself reborn! I could swear anyone would drown in this sea, if they were lucky, as most would surely serve as food for sharks." The one who saved him was blond, tall, slender, with slightly long and straight hair, and a beard as blond as his hair. Eddie rubbed his eyes and thought he was going crazy but responded nonetheless: "Where am I, and who are you? I remember having an accident and then falling into a hole. Now I'm on a beach!!! How strange..." "Calm down... Hold on... You're in the outskirts of the village of Tenebras... Almost there, actually. Tenebras is just over there, in fact," said the young blond pointing to the north. "My name is Andrey, and I'm a fisherman. I was working here and noticed a body floating nearby. I got my boat, went there, and it was you, unconscious, almost drowning and sinking. I saved you, took off those barbaric clothes of yours, and left them to dry. If you want, you can take some of my clothes. I always carry a spare in case something happens... But... What's your name? Where are you from?" "– Oh no... This must be some kind of joke... – Eddie thought. – Am I stuck in a medieval fantasy world? Is this a dream or someone playing a prank on me? These weird old clothes and the Nordic look of this guy... I can't believe I'm losing it... Just when my career was going so well... No... NOOOOOOO!!!" The young and promising lawyer was dumbfounded in a nightmarish situation. He wondered if the entire scenery around him was a punishment for his consuming lifestyle, which affected not only him but everyone around him. Now he thought of his wife, Samantha... Oh... If he only had the chance to say goodbye. And Nakata, he should have called his friend and told him how much he missed the times when they were real friends, closer to each other and not just connected through computer networks. But no! Eddie was trapped in a world he had always wanted to live in, but now reality was different...