Spirit's Awakening: The Path of Lightning and Water-Chapter 361: Crafting the Gateway (Part 2)

The two stood side by side, their focus locked on the massive blueprint that dominated the central table. Their discussion was as sharp and precise as the lines they debated.

"The alignment of the keystone’s runes to the stabilizers needs another review," Rlyis said as she gestured to a segment of the schematic, her finger tracing the intricate pathways linking the [Horizon], [Thread], and [Bridge] runes to the core array. "If there’s even a micro-fluctuation when the bridge forms, the entire structure will destabilize."

Eno shook his head, his brows furrowed in concentration. "You’re overcomplicating it. The stabilizers from Lassim’s initial design already account for fluctuations. What he should do is add additional reinforcement on the [Balance] runes along the outer rim of the keystone. If we position them here—" he tapped a section of the schematic—"it’ll act as a buffer for the entire subsequently generated bridge tunnel, reducing strain across the frame."

Rlyis crossed her arms, her eyes fixed on the design. "That could work, but it risks creating turbulence in the mana flow if the placement isn’t perfect."

Lassim approached, his stormy eyes scanning the schematic as he placed a hand on the table. "Oh, did you notice some issues with my plans? Let me see." He leaned in, studying the points they’d marked.

His stared at the pathways between the runes, before closing his eyes, his mind running through the sequence of activation. "I don’t think we need to modify the placement. The existing design accounts for turbulence by routing excess energy through the stabilizers and into the frame. Adding more [Balance] runes here would interfere with that flow, no?"

Rlyis raised an eyebrow, a faint smirk tugging at her lips. "You’ve got the whole thing memorized, don’t you?"

Lassim straightened, his expression steady. "I’ve been living and breathing this design for months as I created the spatial alphabet runes. I imbued them with my concepts and I think they work best in the current layout. I’ll fully support changes if the first activation doesn’t work, but let’s stick with the current alignment and focus on ensuring the rest of my engravings for the keystone, control panel, and mana container are perfect first."

Eno grunted in agreement, stepping back from the schematic. "Fair enough. If you’re confident in the design, let’s get to it. You’re the lead here and you know the spatial runes the best… for now." His lips lifted into a smirk.

Lassim nodded and turned toward the massive components still arranged in the semicircle around the workshop floor. The keystone was centered at the top of where the arch, which would eventually be lifted into a standing position once everything was finalized—a centerpiece that would anchor and stabilizing the tunnels between two completed gateways.

Taking up his engraving tool, Lassim approached the keystone, ready to add to the advanced and multiple layers he still needed to created.

He glanced at Rlyis and Eno. "While I work on the engraving, can you double-check the flow sequence for the stabilizing runes on the other sections as I finish them? I want to be absolutely certain it’s ready when we integrate the keystone."

Rlyis gave a short nod. "Consider it done. Eno, let’s go through the stabilizer array design one more time as he gets started."

As the two returned to the blueprint, Lassim turned his attention fully to the keystone. The faint hum of his fused mana filled the air as he activated the engraving tool, its tip glowing with a stormy light.

This was it—the heart of the device, the piece that would make or break the entire project.

"Let’s get started," Lassim said, focusing his attention on the base section in front of him.

The first rune Lassim inscribed for the advanced layer was [Redirect], a critical addition that would allow the gateway to manage and redirect excess energy during activation. The rune’s intricate lines demanded precise execution, each curve and angle designed to interact seamlessly with the foundational runes beneath it.

As he worked, Lassim’s fused mana flowed through the engraving tool, the lines glowing faintly as they settled into the Astrium Veinstone. The material’s density was higher in the keystone due to Eno’s working of the mineral.

Though the material was chosen for its resilience to handle high and absurd energy surges, for some reason the makeup of the density caused it to slightly resist the engraving process, but his control over his mana and its divine nature ensured the tool cut smoothly, leaving no imperfections.

Rlyis and Eno had finished their study of the schematic and took a few steps over to where he was to observe in silence, occasionally stepping back and forth to compare the engraved runes with the schematics.

She gave a curt nod of approval as Lassim completed the first [Redirect] rune. "Good alignment with the first layer that you carved yesterday. Remember, keep the flow rate of your mana consistent; any disruptions here will create turbulence in the array lines where the mana flows later."

Lassim moved on to the next advanced rune, [Channel], which would guide the energy through the arch during activation. The rune’s design required careful layering over the existing pathways, its lines interweaving with those of the [Solid] and [Lock] runes’ lines that had connected from the lower portions of the archway.

Piece by piece, the secondary layer began to take shape. Lassim worked methodically, pausing occasionally to inspect his progress and ensure every rune was aligned perfectly. His focus was unshakable, his stormy eyes narrowing as he carved the runes into the massive frame with precision.

When he finished the final [Channel] rune on the first segment, Lassim stepped back, rolling his shoulders to relieve the tension that had built up during the intense and hunched over work.

Rlyis stepped forward to examine the segment, her spirit sense sweeping over the engraved lines. "This looks clean and solid. We’ll obviously still need to test how the mana pathways handle under pressure, but for now, this looks good. You can move onto the next step."

As Lassim continued engraving the remaining arch segments, Rlyis and Eno turned their attention to the keystone one more time now that he’d finished the next layer.

The keystone’s design was more intricate than the other segments, its surface covered with layers of runes that would regulate the spatial bridge and anchor the entire structure.

At its core was space left for the [Horizon] rune, the final addition that Lassim would add at the end. This rune’s function determined the entire fate of even activating the spatial tunnel, but so far things looked good.

This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

Eno took a moment to take his metallic mana and flow into the keystone just briefly as he smoothed its surface in preparation for eventual engraving. "The Astrium Veinstone held up well during forging, but this piece will face more stress than any other. Hopefully it’ll hope up once the engraving is done."

Rlyis began marking the keystone’s surface with faint guidelines to help Lassim with his engravings later as this last rune’s array lines would be the most challenging for their Array Apprentice.

She carefully mapped out the placement of each rune with an opaque and plain ink as she called out, "Lassim, once you’re done with the arch segments, I’ve added some assistance for your primary engraving on this. Take your time though. No rushing."

By the time Lassim completed the engraving on the final arch segment, the storm outside raged on as it always did, flashes of lightning illuminating the workshop in irregular bursts. Yet, they’d skipped lunch and Lassim was so engrossed with his engraving that he’d missed his planned afternoon cultivation session.

He’d noticed earlier, but by the time he’d finished the connection sections and moved back over to work on the [Horizon] rune on the keystone, he’s decided to just skip today’s meditation.

The completed segments of the gateway stood in a semicircle around the room, their engraved runes glowing faintly under the violet hue of the charged light filtering through the Storm Leaf Trees from beyond the windows.

Next was the singular most important piece of the entire process…. Testing the "battery".

Rylis and Eno had decided to prepare the mana storage container’s base, a cylindrical module Lassim had designed to convert ambient mana into spatial energy and store it for use during activation. The device was going to be connected to one of the base sections of the arch, on the side next to the control panel, but due to the nature of it potentially having any number of outcomes like exploding, imploding or just creating some void phenomenon, they decided to handle it’s work themselves initially. Its array lines were already completed and running along into the engraved runes on the device’s system panel control frame.

"Now that the rest of the work is done, this will be the first real test," Rlyis said, her gaze sharp as she checked the connections. "Before we attach it to the gateway, we should test to see if the storage container can handle the initial infusion of fused mana, and subsequent conversion of ambient mana into a usable form."

"Agreed. I’m not quite as confident in this part," Lassim stepped forward, placing his hand on the storage container.

He closed his eyes, drawing on the whirlpool of fused mana within his inner heart world. The energy surged through him, a controlled torrent of lightning, water, and spatial elements.

As he channeled the energy into the storage container—with a focus on infusing a higher proportion of the void-related mana inside the container than the other elements—the runes on its surface began to glow, their light spreading through the array lines into the control panel and only the unconnected base section of the arch.

Its side was exposed just to prevent any potential real accidents like opening another portal to the void with no actual destination like he’d done during the first attempts at the spatial alphabet. The faint hum of mana filled the air as the device came to life.

"This is a good sign that the engravings are good. It’s working," Rlyis said, her voice tinged with cautious optimism.

Lassim directed the mana flowing out of the exposed ends of the pathways back into his inner heartworld to not let the fused mana cause havoc in the surroundings. This continued until the storage container’s gauge when from full to completely empty. It was at that moment that the engravings for the next step in the refilling process kicked on and lit up with a powerful surge.

With a powerful suction, the ambient mana surged towards the entry receptacle on the side of the container, but shortly after, as the container began to draw in ambient mana, the flow faltered.

The conversion process was sluggish, the ambient mana gathering in uneven bursts rather than a steady stream.

Lassim frowned, his hand still on the container to check the refill rate. "That’s not good. The conversion rate is too slow. At this pace, it would take weeks or even an entire month by my estimate to recharge fully after a single activation of the portal."

Eno stepped closer, his metallic mana extending toward the storage container to examine its internal structure. "The runes are definitely doing their job, but I don’t believe they’re not efficient enough. Rlyis, check this. I think the [Gather] rune is pulling in mana, but the [Convert] rune isn’t processing it fast enough to keep up."

Rlyis stepped forward to place a hand on the container as well, watching the internal structure of the array lines before taking her hand off and then tapping her chin in thought, "Yeah, that’s the issue alright. You’ll need to redesign the [Convert] rune and some of the supporting runes like the [Filter] you have. Maybe add a secondary [Filter] rune to refine the ambient mana before it reaches the [Convert] rune would help speed up the process, but you might need something else to really give it that oomph that it’d need. Sorry though, you’re the creator of these void runes and I’m not sure what concept you’d need added or what changes to [Convert] would be needed. You’ll be on your own for that."

Lassim nodded, already considering the adjustments. "No worries. I’ll start working on the redesign. I think I know what I can add, but I’ll need the evening to think it over.."

"It was going too smoothly, so I’m glad the first problem is just this," Lassim said, "Thankfully, we can fix it easily enough I think."

Rlyis smirked faintly, her confidence in his work so far undiminished. "Of course! This is just the first draft, after all. That’s why we call them prototypes."