Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 14, Verse 14

If the embodied one meets death when Sattva is predominant, then he attains to the spotless regions of the worshippers of the Highest.

What's dominant at the very end is named here as genuinely deciding what comes next.

Dying under sattva's influence is tied directly to a real, described outcome, reaching the pure abodes of the learned. The state of mind at death is treated as carrying real, lasting weight.