Barron Vrax barged through the Arkbound gates like a bull in full charge. No appointment. No patience. Just fury.
Inside the conference room, Nyra was already seated, waiting. Calm. Unmoved.
"You sold me five bots," Barron snarled the moment the doors closed behind him. "I transferred six hundred and twenty-five million lux. Now I hear you're taking them back in forty-five days?"
Nyra met his glare without blinking. "You were given access. No ownership contract was signed."
Barron slammed a heavy fist on the table. "Don't play word games. You took my money. That's ownership."
Nyra folded her hands. "No documents were signed. No legal transfer. The bots were deployed to your site for use. But we haven't finalized anything yet. That's what this meeting is for."
He scowled. "So now I have to sign something after the fact?"
"If you want continued access," Nyra replied, "yes. This is no longer a purchase—it's a service model. You're not buying bots. You're renting Arkbound's capabilities."
Barron laughed bitterly. "You baited me with the illusion of ownership and now you're switching to rental? Who's really running this place?"
Nyra leaned in slightly. "The people who understand the power of what we've built—and who will not let it fall into just anyone's hands."
"You really think I'm going to let this slide?"
"I think," she said coolly, "you'll see the value in locking in your access now before the cost skyrockets. You're currently using five bots—something that in the future would cost half a billion lux for just twenty days. You've already seen what they can do. That's why you're here."
Barron's jaw clenched.
"You want me to sign a contract that makes me a renter?"
"A client," Nyra corrected. "You'll pay per deployment. We handle logistics, programming, and operation. You show us the blueprint. We do the rest. You pay for the result. Not the tech."
He hesitated. "And what if I don't sign?"
Nyra smiled faintly. "Then in forty-three days, the bots come back home. And next time you need a building put up in two nights, you'll be on a waiting list behind every other billionaire who wants what you already had."
Barron said nothing.
She added, "You're getting a 45-day live demo of the future, Mr. Vrax. Most people would kill for that."
Silence stretched between them.
Finally, Barron exhaled through his nose. "Fine. Draft the contract. I want my site done before the window closes."
"You'll have it within the hour," Nyra replied. "And just know—this is the cheapest it'll ever be."