The city's noise faded behind them as Raen and Saelyn stood before a compact four-story structure tucked away in a quieter district—modern, minimal, yet full of untapped potential.
Smooth metal panels caught the afternoon light. The building was small, sleek, and easy to miss. Exactly how Raen liked it.
"This is the one?" he asked, hoodie drawn over his head as he scanned the structure.
Saelyn nodded. "Yeah. Four stories. Reinforced walls. Enough space for a lab, dev center, admin, and secure storage. Quiet block. No eyes."
Raen stepped forward and ran his fingers along the cold steel door. "How much?"
She replied without pause. "One million Lux."
Raen stopped in his tracks. "Wait. One million?"
Saelyn looked over, amused at his reaction. "And I'm only investing ten million into ARKBOUND. No more."
Raen turned slowly and gave her a side glance. "Ten million…"
Then he grinned. "You're going to be a billionaire."
"I already told you, I'm not here for charity."
"I know," Raen said seriously. "Just… don't use your organization's money. Use your own."
Saelyn raised an eyebrow. "Why does it matter?"
Raen folded his arms. "Because I want this company to be yours, and mine—not theirs. If your org pays for it, they'll claim it later. ARKBOUND can't afford that."
She studied him for a moment, then gave a sharp nod. "Fine. I'll fund it personally."
"Good," Raen muttered. "I want ARKBOUND built from scratch. No strings attached."
They entered the empty building. Each floor was silent, unpolished, and full of echoes. But Raen could already picture the top level lined with advanced robotic systems. The second floor would hold servers and AI dev pods. The rest—admin, storage, and a clean vault for sensitive components.
He stopped near a window and pulled out his handheld device. A few taps later, a glowing projection appeared: a skeletal humanoid frame, robotic limbs attached to a central core module.
Saelyn stepped closer. "What is that?"
Raen's eyes didn't leave the projection. "An autonomous construction unit. It can learn, adapt, build, and teach. I call it... NEAR v1."
"NEAR?"
"Raen, spelled backwards."
She blinked, then smirked. "You're not wasting time."
"I'm not building it yet," Raen said, cutting the projection. "I don't have the right equipment. This is just design phase. I'll wait until the lab's complete."
Saelyn nodded. "It looks like something out of military-grade labs."
"It's not meant to be a weapon," Raen said. "It's meant to build the future."
She didn't reply. Instead, she looked around the empty room, then at the space between them and the world waiting outside.
In that moment, it was clear: ARKBOUND wasn't just a robotics company. It was the start of something larger. Something invisible now—growing in shadows—but one day, the world would see.