Prologue

When David breathed his last, he expected his final experience to be the chilling sensation of darkness swallowing him whole. However, like most of his assumptions, this expectation turned out to be wrong.

After an indeterminate amount of time, the darkness receded, and he regained consciousness in a large white room. Save for his translucent ghost-like form and the human shaped radiance standing before him, nothing else existed in this room. As he gathered his bearings and focused on the being made of blue light, a cold robotic voice emanated from it.

"Welcome, David Okyere. I am Guardian, a defense mechanism designed to protect humans from forceful reincarnation."

David blinked a few times as he processed the words. His memories had also returned, granting him a clear grasp of the situation. Forceful reincarnation? Didn't that just mean another chance at life? He had read many isekai novels, making him well familiar with the concept. So he didn't understand what this… person meant by "protection."

'There has to be more to this,' he analyzed, doing his best to hold back a plethora of expletives at the grievance he felt. Unable to fully mask his emotions however, he asked in an accusatory tone, "If I'm getting this straight, I had a chance to be reborn, and you 'protected' me from it. Is that right?"

Perhaps uncaring or unable to perceive David's rude tone, the radiant silhouette ignored it and clarified. "No. You still have the chance. The claim on your soul has not been removed." Guardian ignored his latest guest's surprise and gestured at the surroundings with what seemed to be its arm. "This room is not just a defense mechanism. It is also a decision room for souls that have been beckoned to the other side."

"So that means-"

"Yes, you can still be reborn. But it will be your choice."

"Yes!" David pumped his fist in joy. He had never been more happy at making a wrong assumption. 'I can't believe it! I'm going to live again!' he rejoiced. Many regrets and unfulfilled desires began to bubble up inside him, however, like someone who objects at a wedding, numerous questions arose amidst his celebration.

An unknown entity wanted to reincarnate him. Why? Who was this entity? What did he, she or it want? Why did it choose him of all people? One by one, the questions began to pile up, and all of a sudden, accepting this did not seem like a good idea.

Just as the thought of rejection arose, the scenes of sadness and regret flashed past his eyes once more, injecting his plummeting resolve with a new dose of fuel. But right after that, the questions reared their ugly heads again. Thus, a tug of war between David's logical and emotional side ensued and waged with no end in sight.

As David experienced a meltdown, Guardian ignored him and brought up a hovering blue screen with his profile. He spent less than a second on it before scrolling up, revealing a page titled "Karma." His creator, along with the design and creation of this space, initiated this karma collection system as a means for claimed humans to enter their next life with at least a modicum of power.

This system allowed every individual to accumulate karma throughout the course of their life. Every action or inaction added or deducted from one's points. Good karma increased one's points and bad karma reduced them. Dying with karma in the negatives made one eligible for the Tier 0 gift, the lowest tier possible.

David had Tier One karma, meaning his karma did not exceed ten points. It also signified the ordinary impact he'd had on the lives of others. It may seem unimpressive, but for someone to have Tier 2 karma (above 10 and below 100 points), they had to be the sort of person that had helped and improved the lives of people that could fill a small town.

Being a former university student whose life had no direction, David's Tier 1 karma was justified and not at all surprising. As for whether he'd accept the call and cash in his gift, Guardian had no doubt that he would agree. Of his thousands of years operating this station, he'd come to the conclusion that humans were all the same.

It did not matter where they came from, how they were raised or how they died. When presented with a chance to come back to life, over 95% percent of them would agree. They'd hesitate and fidget forever, yet they'd always agree in the end, no matter the abysmal or suspicious nature of the claims.

The remaining five percent who refused were those bound for Heaven. For them, there existed only one God, and he reigned supreme. They didn't put these otherworldly entities in their eyes.

Guardian noted David's karma tier and pressed a button right below it, dissolving the screen into light particles that coalesced to form an orb of white light. Now David just had to say yes and this gift would become his for the rest of his new life.

"Have you made a decision?" the AI asked.

Still unsure about what choice to make, David did the only thing he could do; gather information about the subject. With the most respectful tone he could muster, he asked, "Ummm, Guardian. Who is this entity? And why did he choose me?"

"The entity refused to elaborate on his identity and only explained his reason for choosing you."

"And? What was it?" David requested, his tone leaking excitement. After all, the reason might just give him, no matter how unclear, a glimpse of the entity's mindset. And he could use that to make a decision.

"He sensed a kindred spirit in you."

The excitement inside David fizzled out, like a pot of boiling water taken off a stove. "That's all? That's all he said?" He asked again, just to make sure. Because that information wasn't much to go on.

"Yes. Now make a decision. You have five minutes." The AI replied, its cold and monotone voice giving the ultimatum more credence.

Five minutes. David could only assume that should his time run out, he would earn another experience of being swallowed by an endless void. But he didn't want that. He wanted to be something other than "nothing." All of a sudden, the decision didn't seem so hard.

It came down to two things: he could either go back to being dead and "nothing," or choose to be alive and "something" or rather "anything" under the machinations of an unknown entity.

"Anything" contained infinite possibilities, but recalling the entity's reason emboldened him. 'A kindred spirit huh. That means he sees himself in me. He couldn't possibly want bad for me. Right?' This analysis further steeled his resolve and solidified his decision.

"Guardian, I accept." He affirmed as he straightened himself and faced the AI.

In response, the AI waved its arm and sent the orb flying towards him. "David Okyere, you have accepted the reincarnation offer from an unknown entity. This makes you eligible for a parting gift decided by your Karma Tier. Congratulations."

'Gift? Karma tier? Is this a cheat or something?' Looking at the tiny light bulb, he couldn't help but wonder, 'What if the entity also gives me a cheat? Doesn't that mean I'll have two cheats?' David cheered inwardly as he followed the orb with delighted eyes. It flew toward him and sank into his ghost body, disappearing like a pebble thrown into a pond.

Before he could make his questions known, Guardian beat him to it, "The orb is a 'Potential Spark.' No matter what you are reborn as, the spark will elevate your talent and potential to the highest level possible for that race."

"Woah," David mouthed with even wider eyes. 'This is just Tier One?' He could only imagine the gifts those with higher tiers would receive. Not only that, he began to daydream about the spark's effects on some of the fictional races he knew, and this raised a serious question.

Oblivious to his guest's thought's, Guardian prepared to send him away. "Goodbye, David. Good lu-"

"Wait! Please, I have a question." David hurriedly pleaded upon discovering the widening wormhole beside him. The AI listened and paused, causing the wormhole to shrink and close. "What is your question?"

Unwilling to waste anymore time, David went straight to the point. "Thank you. I just wanted to ask. Is the spark a one time thing? Or will it work every time I change my race?"

"It will work every time your race changes. Is that all?" The AI asked and conjured the wormhole again.

With a beaming smile, David replied, "Yes. That is all," and looked at the fully opened wormhole. Before he walked through it, he turned to the AI and bowed, feeling it to be the appropriate method to show his gratitude. "Thank you so so much for this. Please extend my thanks and greetings to your master."

"You are welcome. Master already knows. Good luck in your new life."

Equal parts excited and equal parts worried, David gave one last look at the space, Guardian and the wormhole before stepping into the latter. When the portal swallowed him completely, Guardian closed it and uttered in its unsettling robotic voice, "No one has ever bowed to me… huh…"