The hivemind is conquering for me? Chapter 1: Another one

"Bright." I grumbled while lifting my arm to shield my eyes.

"Oh, a thousand apologies—we forgot to switch off the supernova background." A serene, commanding voice declared. "There, is that better?" In a flash, the glaring light scorching my retinas faded away, revealing what looked like an office. Gray walls, a modest desk with a door situated behind it across the room, and—wait—a creature formed entirely of pure blue light?

"Where? Where am I? How did I get here?" I stammered, baffled by the sight before me. "Who are you? What are you?"

*Haah* The entity sighed. "Great, another chatterbox," it grumbled. "Where are those stunned, silent types I've heard so much about?" *Ahem* After clearing its nonexistent throat, it pressed on.

"What we are doesn't matter right now. Welcome to your life evaluation. Your physical body has reached its unavoidable conclusion, and your mind accessed a higher consciousness thanks to your open-mindedness about the 'Afterlife.' You've been cleared for reincarnation—congratulations!"

"Come to its end... you mean I'm dead? How? When? I don't remember," I questioned in growing alarm. I strained to remember anything unusual from today, but my mind drew a blank—everything felt perfectly ordinary.

"Well," the blue entity cut in, "does it really matter now? Your fleshy shell is already rotting away, and a fresh one awaits you amid the endless expanse—how thrilling, eh?"

Before I could respond, the being went on. "Now, let's check this out." It scanned some papers on its desk. "Karma, karma, karma... let's see... Ah, here it is." "Some good deeds, as expected. Some bad ones—mmm, mmm, nothing unusual. Congratulations! Your karma from your last life tipped just slightly positive from neutral—a fine balance."

"So, does any of this actually mean something, or are you just sharing it for no reason?" I asked, intrigued.

"Of course it does. You earn a minor boon for your next life. Nothing overwhelmingly powerful, no major curse either—balanced karma means you don't warrant extremes. But the boon itself is a gamble. You'll gain it right at birth; it could be literally anything." "Naturally, you can refuse and dissolve back into the infinite as pure energy. What's your choice?"

I thought it over briefly. Merging with the infinite sounded oddly appealing, but so did a shot at a brand-new start. My previous life hadn't been remarkable—proof lay in that neutral-ish karma. Twenty-two years with zilch to boast about? Time to reset.

"Can I pick my new world?" I asked.

"No."

"Race?" "No." "Gender?" "No." "Anything?" "Yes." "Really?" "No."

...

"Fine, I'll take your offer and the boon. Thank you."

"Splendid, splendid! Let's wrap this up swiftly—we've got another meeting in two of your 'linear' decades, and we crave some downtime beforehand. So, please, this way." It motioned toward the door behind its desk and added, "Step through, and your existence will be reshaped into its new shape. What feels like mere moments later, your fresh life begins."

I rose from the chair, approached the door, and drew a deep breath. Swinging it open revealed what seemed like a portal—a dark core ringed by rainbow edges. I felt drawn toward it but held back, instinct kicking in, and queried, "Does it hurt?"

"Does what hurt?"

"Remoulding my existence. It doesn't sound pleasant."

The being hesitated; surprise would have flickered across its features if it had any. "We're not certain—we've never thought about it, hmmm." It stroked its chin. *'We should check with the boss after this.'* Composing itself, it turned back to me. "But it shouldn't. We've never heard any screams."

Great...

"Very reassuring," I murmured. "Okay. Okay. Okay. Let's do it. Wish me luck." With those words, I leaped through the portal into whatever destiny lay ahead.