A man was strapped to a bulky chair inside a large, empty room. The walls were several hundred meters thick, and everything was constructed with the most durable material humanity had discovered.
"Solus, how do you feel about having committed heinous crimes for hundreds of years?" A deep voice reverberated through the space from the hidden speakers.
The man's arms, legs, and all the cybernetic parts that posed threats were removed. His face was hidden underneath his long black hair and short beard. The chair in the center of the room was also made from the same material as the walls. It cost a fortune to construct such cells, but they were necessary because they held the galaxy's most wanted criminals.
"For 3000 years, you have worked as an engineer. You had it all—money, fame, and everything. Why did you decide to work beyond the law? What did all of that mass destruction get you?"
"Heh heh heh, you expected me to blindly follow the rules and live like a pig? I exist to destroy the structure that holds everyone together."
The elderly man behind the wall's expression hardened as he stared at the monitor in front of him. Soldiers who were considered war machines stood in the corners, angrily staring at the large screen.
"You dare to laugh after causing trillions of deaths?!"
"If you were tired, you could have told us and taken a break from work. But why did you go that far?"
"Do you think destroying cities out of boredom is entertaining? Do you know how many lives and resources that cost?"
The warriors standing behind Solus yelled at him, but they stopped when the old front man raised his hand. He massaged his temples to maintain his composure.
"Solus, you know how strict the laws are. You were a top-tier engineer whose work was praised all over the world. If you had surrendered back then, we could've done something about it, but you have gone too far, to a point where you're all alone."
Solus let out a small laugh after hearing those words.
"You think I am a kid acting out of curiosity? I know what I did, and I'm pleased about it. So what if trillions died? There are many more. Such a small number should not be an issue."
"You are not the same person I knew then. You have changed so much that you are no longer recognizable. What was the reason?"
Reason? It was the same question he was asked over and over. When people asked him why someone became a villain, he could not understand. His response was, "Why would a villain need a reason?" Who would stop him if he woke up one day and declared his desire to become a villain? That mindset was alone enough for a reason. Not everyone was a piece of filthy trash who could only make excuses.
"Disgusting! You have completely lost your mind!"
"I can't believe I used to praise a monster! How absurd!"
Solus remained calm. He had long developed a clean mind without cluttering his thoughts about the mistakes that caused him to lose. Those were in the past. He was now one step away from death.
"Solus, you were different from the others, and I saw you as my own child. I gave you all the benefits that others couldn't imagine, yet you chose the path of destruction. Do you have any last words?"
Solus smiled faintly in his chair and looked to the wall as if he could see the old man behind it.
"If I were reborn hundreds of times, I would take the same path each time."
The old man closed his eyes and sighed deeply before pressing one of the numerous buttons in front of him.
"Farewell, son. If there is hell, we will meet again."
A small section of the ceiling above Solus began to open, with two parts sliding apart to reveal a dark chamber. Then a wide rod descended slowly, making a faint mechanical sound, followed by two smaller rods.
A million-volt spark flashed between the two rods for a brief moment, causing the air to tremble and loud noises to echo throughout the room.
The rods were far apart and gradually lowered until Solus' head was in the gap between them. He remained calm as before and showed no emotion in the face of death.
With a sigh, he closed his eyes.
Only a fool believes that one man can change a world in which millions follow the same rules. He calls himself a genius, but he never notices those around him. How many can he beat? One? Two? Three by luck? He will still lose.
Solus was not the same fool. He had no desire to rule the world because he saw no value in it. He intended to swim in the opposite direction of the current. He was, however, close to ruling. He alone terrorized the world, a feat few have ever achieved.
"The test is worth dying for."
However, he had a plan. A villain had to be prepared to die at any time. Solus refused to let death take away his accomplishments. He had a backup body that he had created many years ago. If he dies, his memories will be transferred from his current body to the spare one. But he was not sure it would work because he built it over 3000 years ago. The technologies were not long-lasting, so the chipset could have already died.
The execution method, which used high-voltage electricity, was quick. He felt extreme heat for a split second before everything went dark. He could only see endless black space. He stared blankly into the devouring void for what felt like an eternity.
Suddenly, the pure darkness turned gray, and blurry shapes appeared ahead of him. The view gradually improved to the point where he could see clearly.
He found himself in a dimly lit room, surrounded by various machines and technologies. The layout appeared familiar to him. When he instinctively raised his arm, instead of flesh, he saw two main support rods with numerous colored wires running through them.
"It worked."
He stood up, but found it difficult to maintain his balance. When he looked down at his body, he noticed a metal sheet with a few tiny lights blinking rapidly. The green ones remained stable, whereas the red ones were blinking.
The entire frame was nothing more than an old piece of robotic body constructed from basic materials. It was something only a poor child would do in the past. The frame was white, but there were numerous scratches on its surface. Some wires were exposed and sparking in the air, illuminating his delicate robotic face.
It took him a while to recognize the room because it had been thousands of years. It was his childhood lab, where he experimented with various things for fun. He used to assemble small robots out of junk.
The robotic frame he was in was a project he began at a young age. He had a villain's mindset from the beginning and spent 3000 years gaining knowledge and experience. So he planned everything from the beginning.
Children dream big and walk toward them without thinking about the risks, whereas adults only consider the benefits and chances of success. It was a ridiculous idea, but he never imagined it would succeed after so many years.
He did not expect the lights to work anymore, but when he pressed the switch on the wall, they turned on. The small lab was located beneath his old house and was still intact because he had never sold it. He never considered selling it because he was so busy with his work. Electricity was not a problem because so much of it was generated by the galaxy's stars. As a result, everyone had access to some electricity for free.
When he looked at his old lab, memories came flooding back. The tables were still cluttered with papers and equipment. Then he returned his focus to the main issue.
He saw a black space after execution because the microprocessor took a long time to receive and process such large amounts of data.
Whatever, he achieved something unbelievable. His 3000 years of memories and experience remained intact. With those, he could climb back to the top without making the same mistakes.
"My past actions were merely experiments to learn about the system's limitations and power. I refuse to let a mere story decide my fate. Just wait, I will be back to greet you all again!"
He did awaken in another body, but it was too fragile and lacked biological parts. He was able to think because of the microprocessor implanted in his brain. If it died, he would definitely be dead. If he wanted to crush others, he would require a biological body that he could constantly upgrade.
Fortunately, he had a solution hidden in his lab.