The energy in the room crackled with momentum—visions forming, goals aligning—until Saelyn raised her voice sharply.
"Wait!"
Everyone turned to her.
She stood firm at the head of the conference table, arms crossed, her tone tight. "We don't have that kind of money. Not anymore."
Raen's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"We've already spent more than most startups burn in their first year," she said. "The headquarters, equipment, licenses, foundation of Arkbound—it's all real now. But what we've got left is just about three million Lux."
Raen blinked. "Three mil?"
Nyra frowned. "That's cutting it close."
Saelyn gave a small nod. "And remember—you told me not to borrow from my organization. We're running this solo."
Raen sighed. "Right. No strings."
Then Nyra stepped forward, hands on the table, expression sharp. "Then give me 10% of Arkbound."
Everyone went silent.
Raen stared at her. "What?"
"I'll invest 30 million Lux of my own," she said firmly. "I've run the numbers. If this robot of yours works—if it can truly build anything—this isn't just a robotics breakthrough. It's an industrial revolution."
Korin, the robotics engineer, glanced at her and then looked at Raen. "If she's putting her skin in the game, I will too. I'll put up 1 million Lux for 1%."
Raen looked surprised, but Korin added, "We're going to need deep pockets if we want to move fast. I believe in this."
Then came Lira, the quiet but brilliant programmer. "Same here. Count me in for 1%—1 million."
Raen rubbed his temples, pacing for a moment. Then he turned to Saelyn.
"Can we structure that?"
Saelyn ran quick projections on her datapad. "Here's how it breaks down: I've already contributed enough to be locked in at 25%. Nyra comes in with 10%, Korin and Lira with 1% each… that's 37% outside of you."
Raen crossed his arms. "Meaning I'd still retain 63% of Arkbound?"
"Exactly," Saelyn confirmed. "You're the founder and majority holder."
Raen turned to Nyra, eyes serious.
"I said I don't want outside investors. If you're putting in money—it better be yours. No orgs, no backdoors, no strings."
Nyra's expression didn't waver. "It's mine. All of it. I'm not about to let someone else claim this future."
Raen exhaled slowly… then extended his hand.
"Then welcome to Arkbound Robotics."
Saelyn placed her hand on his. "Let's do this."
Nyra added hers. "We're going to shock the world."
Korin and Lira followed, and in that quiet moment, five minds bound together—not just by a company, but by the weight of what they were about to create.
A new age was rising—and they were building it from the ground up.