In the darkness of vast space laid an eternal void. A void that could not be seen by anyone holding ties to the material world. It was hidden from the starry universe outside. Even as incomprehensible alien organisms drifted past that area, none of them was able to detect the void's presence.

That void actually contained an occupant right now.

Jasper could not feel himself. All of his five senses had left him the moment he died. He had mostly been unconscious as his soul had left his body behind. Still, on a subconscious level, he had some understanding of what was happening to him.

His time as Jasper Quinn had come to an end. His soul would soon enter the reincarnation plane. He would lose all his memories and ties to his previous life and then be reborn into a different life form.

At least that’s what was supposed to happen. Until he was pulled by a mysterious entity into this unfathomable void.

“Hello? Can you hear me?”

That's what Jasper wanted to ask, but unfortunately, he had no mouth to voice this question. So instead, he just thought this question in his mind, hoping that the person who pulled him here would be able to hear him.

[Yes, we can hear you, Jasper Quinn]

Jasper was given quite a shock as the foreign thought just loudly barged into his mind.

Well, at least this works.

Jasper stopped for a few seconds before thinking out a question. “Why did you pull me out of the reincarnation stream? I felt the other souls going in there, but you stopped me midway through my journey.”

[You have been stopped because you have been deemed to meet our requirements. Congratulations, Jasper Quinn. In the vast cosmos, you are among the few rare souls we offer our contract to. You shall ask any questions you have.]

“A contract? What is it for?”

[We offer you an opportunity. Your soul shall be transported to a new world. You shall retain all your past memories and your sense of identity. In return, you shall complete a mission for us.]

Jasper’s mind stopped for a second after hearing this. An opportunity to retain all his memories? He knew that the moment he goes into the reincarnation stream, he would be purged of all his past ties. They were deemed as shackles that prevented a soul from reincarnation. But if this entity had some method to help him reincarnate without actually losing his identity-

Suppose the 'mission' this entity spoke of turned out to be terrible or even impossible. In that case, he might end up regretting his choice.

“What is this mission you speak of? What world will I be transported to? And do I have the option to refuse?”

[To answer your first question, it is -CLASSIFIED-. To answer your second question, it is -CLASSIFIED-. To answer your third question, yes, you have the right of refusal. Upon your refusal, we shall terminate your soul.]

What. The. Fuck.

The spherical form of Jasper almost jolted. He felt like shouting, but he still controlled himself. He had never been a particularly emotionally volatile person. It was still better to stay calm. Being rude to an all-powerful extraterrestrial entity didn’t seem to be the best of ideas.

He took a minute to compose himself before thinking again. This time though, he only asked a single query at a time.

“What do you mean? Why is all this information classified?”

[The reason for classification is -CLASSIFIED-.]

Jasper would’ve had taken a deep breath if he could have done so. This was getting very annoying.

I hate annoying things.

“How am I supposed to know what to do if you even refuse to give me the details of my mission?”

[You will be given your mission once you agree to the contract, and your soul is transported to the assigned world.]

“And what if I don’t want to? What if I don’t want to accept this stupid contract? What if I want to go back to the reincarnation stream, even if it means losing all of my memories?”

[You have been granted the right of refusal, Jasper Quinn. Upon your refusal, your soul shall be terminated. As for your right to go back to the reincarnation stream, it cannot be granted.]

“What sort of right is it if the only other outcome of it is certain death?!”

This time there was no response from the entity as it recognized that Jasper was not really asking a question, rather only letting out his frustrations.

“Right. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have burst out like that. I apologize for my behaviour.”

[Your apology is accepted, Jasper Quinn.]

This time the entity spoke with some emotion, almost resembling a hint of curiosity.

“So refusal is basically out of the window. Just to confirm, does termination of soul mean exactly what I think it means?”

[Yes. All the words spoken in this exchange with you have been done so with the intention that you would understand us. You don’t need to worry about any misinterpretation on your part.]

Jasper cursed. If termination of soul meant exactly what he thought it meant, then it would mean he had not been given much of a choice. Certain death upon refusal was almost equivalent to no right of refusal at all.

So this is basically a do or die situation, isn’t it?

Since I’ve been given only two choices, I can only choose the one that leads to the chance of survival. Even if such a chance ends up being very minuscule.

After thinking for a bit, Jasper made his decision. Before informing the entity of his affirmation, he asked one final question.

“Who are you?”

This time there was silence for a while before the entity deemed responding.

[You can refer to me as a System Z67O9$j#8. I am a part of a vast hive-mind organization entrusted with ensuring order throughout the vast cosmos. The mission you will be assigned will be in context of the same.]

Finally some information. Jasper finally had some of his curiosity sated. He wondered if he could get out more information.

After he tried asking multiple similar questions, the System replied to most of them with the same -CLASSIFIED-. The few questions it did answer were something along the same lines of what it had previously stated. This seemed to be the limit of information it was permitted to reveal.

“Alright. I’ve made my decision. I accept your contract. Send me to the world I’m assigned to.”

[Very well. We are glad for your cooperation. You will come to highly appreciate this opportunity granted to you in the future, Jasper Quinn.]

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll see about that. Wait, I forgot to ask one question. What happens if I fail to complete this ‘mission’ you speak of?”

[Your soul will be terminated]

Of course.