The wind was different out here.
Raen stood atop a rise of flattened stone and uneven dirt, the horizon stretching out like an untouched canvas. No apartment blocks. No buzzing city noise. Just earth and potential. Behind him, Saelyn Vire waited patiently, hands folded, her expression unreadable.
She had brought him to this territory just beyond the southern fringe of Zareth City. Technically, it was an unclaimed development zone—but the truth was clear: this land belonged to her organization.
"This entire area," she said, stepping forward beside him, "can be molded into what you need. Housing, infrastructure, power grid, communications—"
Raen raised a hand. "No villagers."
That stopped her mid-sentence.
"…Excuse me?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.
Raen's gaze didn't move from the horizon. "You heard me. I don't want any villagers. Not yet."
"Why not? That was the point. You were going to spearhead the evolution of this site."
"I will," he said quietly. "But not now. Not until the ground is properly seeded."
She folded her arms. "What kind of seeding are we talking about?"
Raen turned toward the southern ridge of the land, where the rusted remains of an industrial utility structure jutted out like a fossil. Pipes disappeared into the hill, the doors sealed, half-covered by dirt and neglect.
"That." He pointed. "Underneath it is an old utility vault, maybe even a multi-level complex. I want it cleaned, reinforced, and converted."
Saelyn followed his line of sight. "You want that to be your base of operations?"
"I want it to be something else," he replied. "I want it to breathe technology. React to me. Build with me. A lab that can learn. Think. Evolve."
A pause. Then—
"An ark?" she asked.
He nodded. "Exactly."
Saelyn stared at the buried facility for a while. "Even if we secure the space and handle construction, you still need people. You'll never build that alone."
Raen smirked. "That's why I want you to send me two people. Just two."
"Two? That's your entire team?" she blinked. "You want to birth a technological revolution with three people?"
"Three's enough," Raen said. "Me, and the two you choose. One robotics specialist. One elite systems programmer. Not soldiers. Not administrators. Thinkers. Builders. Loyal to the bone."
"Why only two?"
Raen's eyes darkened slightly. "Because too many minds corrupt the signal. And too many mouths talk."
Then he added, "And they must be able to die for you, Saelyn. No spies. No leverage. If you send me someone soft or disloyal, I'll know."
Saelyn's lips parted slightly in shock. "Are you trying to build a humanoid?"
Raen only smiled.
She shook her head, stunned. "Do you understand what you're hinting at? The scale of what you're suggesting?"
"I understand that if I pull this off, it can't be traced back until it's ready to be revealed."
Saelyn stared at him, weighing everything.
"You'll still need this place protected," she said. "Walls. Security. Infrastructure."
"I saw your other villages," Raen replied. "High walls, reinforced gates, hidden transport routes. If they get it, so do I. I'm not playing martyr just because I'm trying to build something no one's ever seen before."
A heavy silence fell. The wind kicked up, rattling the brush.
Finally, Saelyn gave a short breath. "I'll send the engineers. One robotics, one systems."
Raen nodded. "Make sure they're the kind of people who vanish from public records the moment they step in here."
"And after that?"
He looked toward the sky.
"Then… we start building something no one will believe until they see it."