Chapter 1Reborn with a Vengeance

The night before the National Robotics Championship, I took a hammer to my masterpiece and quit.

The internet exploded—forums flooded with accusations of fraud, cowardice, hacks who couldn’t handle the spotlight.

Only Greg Croft, the golden boy hailed as a tech prodigy, offered hollow support to the press:

"I have complete faith in Leo’s abilities. He’s the only rival I’ve ever considered my equal. Whatever’s happened, I just hope he finds his way back and proves the genius he truly is."

In my last life, the robot I’d brought to the championship was a bolt-for-bolt replica of his.

No matter how I tried to expose his theft, he played the magnanimous victim online: "It’s alright. Leo can have this one. I can always build better."

His fans descended like wolves.

Fueled by rage, I rebuilt overnight—until a power failure triggered a catastrophic explosion.

I woke in the ICU. The internet cheered my downfall.

That same night, Seraphina signed my DNR.

My last thought before darkness: How did he steal my data? How did he turn her against me?

Then—

I opened my eyes.

Back to the day before the championship.

"Leo, this dynamic humanoid design is absolutely insane! We're going to crush it this year. First place is in the bag!"

My best friend Matt's excited voice snapped me back to the present. I stared at the six-foot-tall robot before me, a violent shiver running down my spine.

"I'm uploading the final specs now! Then all we have to do is wait for the live demonstration tomorrow!" Matt was already at the computer, grinning from ear to ear.

"Wait!" I yelled, my voice cracking. "Stop! I have a better idea."

My hands trembled as I took the laptop. I navigated to Greg's public project feed, my heart pounding in my chest. There it was. A video demonstration and a full spec sheet.

It was a perfect copy of my robot.

"What the hell?" Matt leaned over my shoulder, his face a mask of disbelief. "How is this possible? I checked his feed this afternoon, and his bot looked nothing like ours! Where did that son of a bitch get our design?"

I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood. Last time, I had made the same check in the afternoon. Seeing that his robot was different, I had relaxed, complacent. I only discovered his theft half an hour before the submission deadline.

I had frantically reported him to the organizers and posted my entire design process online, but it was useless. They didn't believe me. Greg's fans tore me to shreds.

"Leo the Leech, at it again. First, he copies Greg's ideas, now he's trying to frame him. Shameless!"

"Greg posted his data first, you pathetic thief. How dare you claim his work as your own?"

The abuse was relentless. I had tried to prove them wrong by building a new robot overnight for the competition floor.

And somehow, Greg’s robot had changed again, perfectly matching my new one.

I was humiliated in front of everyone. They threw water bottles at me. Desperate, I tried to demonstrate my unique dynamic humanoid system, but the moment I powered it on, the robot exploded. The blast left me critically injured, fighting for my life in the ICU.

With me out of the picture, Greg coasted to victory. He won the two-million-dollar prize and was immediately taken under the wing of a titan of the tech industry. His future was secured.

And me? I was lying in a hospital bed, hovering between life and death.

To make matters worse, the competition officials announced they'd found traces of high explosives in my robot's wreckage. They concluded I had been planning some kind of attack and had become a victim of my own malice.

But I knew. I knew I hadn’t put anything like that in my machine.

That announcement was my death sentence. I was expelled from the university. The online mob doxed my parents. They spray-painted "FATHER OF A MONSTER" on their garage door and left funeral wreaths on their lawn. They said my parents deserved to die for bringing someone like me into the world.

The night I was admitted to the hospital, Seraphina signed the papers to take me off life support, telling the world I had succumbed to my injuries.

The internet rejoiced. My parents, shattered by the news of my "death," took their own lives.

My soul watched it all, a helpless, screaming ghost, refusing to move on.

And then, I woke up. Back on the day before it all went wrong.

This time, I will uncover the truth. I will clear my name. And I will make Greg Croft pay for every last thing he stole from me.