The morning haze lingered over the city as Raen stepped into the now-claimed ARKBOUND building. The first floor echoed under his boots—bare, quiet, and untouched. But that silence didn't last long.
Saelyn was already there, standing near the center of the room, arms crossed, expression unreadable. Two individuals stood beside her—one tall and lean, with a mess of silver-dyed hair and a portable debug visor strapped to his forehead. The other was shorter, sharp-eyed, wearing fingerless gloves and a jacket covered in custom-coded patches like trophies.
Raen raised an eyebrow. "This them?"
Saelyn nodded. "Handpicked. Most trusted. They'll work under you. Both are off-record geniuses."
She gestured to the guy first. "Korin – Robotics specialist. Hardware prodigy. Built his first biped walker at ten. The military tried to hire him. He ghosted them."
Korin gave a casual wave. "I prefer freelance madness over structure."
Then she turned to the girl. "This is Lira. Software architect. Handles machine learning systems like she's weaving lace. She writes code like she's painting a canvas."
Lira smirked. "If your hardware isn't stupid, my code won't have to compensate."
Raen gave a half-smile. "I like them already."
Korin folded his arms. "We were told you'd be our lead. But we know nothing about you. No portfolio. No past projects. Who are you?"
Raen glanced at Saelyn, then stepped forward. "I'm the guy building something that shouldn't exist yet. I don't need you to believe in me—just follow when it counts."
He tapped his wrist console. A small 3D model appeared in the air: NEAR v1.
Korin's eyes widened. "What the hell is that?"
"Builder unit," Raen said calmly. "It learns. It adapts. And it can construct tech, repair, teach—eventually build like a human. That's what we're doing here. But not just this—ARKBOUND will become a sanctuary for invention. For things the world isn't ready for."
Lira leaned closer to the projection. "This… this design is insane. It's almost theoretical."
Raen locked eyes with her. "It won't be. We're going to make it real. From scratch."
Saelyn finally spoke. "Now you understand why I only brought two. Small, precise. Trusted. If you can't die for each other, you don't belong here."
Korin grinned. "Sounds like my kind of hell."
Lira nodded slowly. "I'm in. But if we're doing this… I want my own dev floor."
Raen pointed upstairs. "Pick your floor. Your world. Just be ready to move when I say."
As they took a moment to breathe in the weight of what was starting, Raen's expression shifted slightly. He looked around.
"…But hold on," he said, turning to Saelyn. "Where's the third one?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Third?"
"Our CEO," Raen said with a smirk. "The face of the company. We still need one. Remember the deal?"
Saelyn narrowed her eyes slightly, then gave a slow, amused nod. "Ah. Right. The one who stands in front while you stay in the shadows."
Raen's smile deepened. "Exactly. Someone's gotta take the light while I build in the dark."
She gave a faint laugh under her breath. "Don't worry. I've got just the person."
And with that, the foundation of ARKBOUND truly began to form—not just with machines, but with people who could carry its weight.