Spirit's Awakening: The Path of Lightning and Water-Chapter 362: Crafting the Gateway (Part 3)

Lassim stood at the schematic table, his engraving tool deactivated but in hand, as his stormy eyes scanned the adjustments he had begun drafting to the [Convert] rune.

"Alright," Lassim muttered to himself, drawing a deep breath. "The additional [Filter] rune should stabilize the ambient mana before it reaches the conversion pathways, but it won’t be enough on its own. Rlyis was right. I need something that actively accelerates the process or else it’ll just take too long."

He tapped the quill against the edge of the parchment, the faint scratch filling the quiet workshop.

Eno and Rlyis were preparing materials for the matching second gateway at the far end of the room on their own. Before they could use the warehouse factory to replicate the parts, they still needed a second gateway to test the spatial tunnel between the two prototype devices.

Lassim’s mind, ignoring their side discussion, molding of metal and engraving work, remained locked on the storage container’s failure to meet expectations.

After a long moment, inspiration struck from the already budding idea he had. He drew a clean, sweeping line beside the [Filter] rune and sketched a new spatial rune: [Accelerate]. The concept was simple in theory but could be quite complex in execution—a rune designed to amplify the mana’s flow velocity towards the container could have disastrous effects.

He needed to maintain the integrity of the incoming elemental ambient mana in a way that balanced the container’s storage capability. Plus its ability to convert would need to keep up with the increased rate of absorption. Regardless, he worked quickly, refining the design to fit the space available on the storage container’s array lines. The adjustments would be tight, but they would hopefully work.

"I think I’ve got it," Lassim said aloud, breaking the ambience of the engraving work taking place on the other side of the workshop.

Rlyis looked up from where she was working on an arch segment for the second gateway. "Something worth sharing?"

Lassim turned the schematic toward her and Eno. "The solution is adding a secondary [Filter] rune to stabilize the mana and pairing it with a new concept: [Accelerate]. This will speed up the conversion process while keeping the ambient flow consistent."

Eno crossed the room, his metallic mana flickering faintly around his fingers as he returned his mana to a dormant state. "[Accelerate]? Well, it fits the issue perfectly. I’d imagine that the storage container should have no problem recharging in a fraction of the time, if it works."

Rlyis studied the design, her gaze tracing the lines. "This could work. It’s a solid fix, so let’s give it a shot."

Without further delay, Lassim took the storage container from the base plate near the control panel and set it on a reinforced lifting plate so he could work on it. The cylindrical module’s surface was still faintly glowing slightly with remnants of his fused mana from the earlier test, but nearly all of the mana was back inside Lassim’s inner heart world.

He activated his engraving tool, the stormy nature of his fused mana filling the air with a slight buzzing as he began the delicate process of adding the new runes.

The first step was the additional [Filter] rune. Lassim worked methodically, layering its intricate patterns over the existing array lines.

The glow of his mana pulsed steadily as the engraving tool etched the rune into the Astrium Veinstone’s surface. It settled into place with a faint hum, merging seamlessly with the previous engravings with his iconic holographic shimmering.

"Looks good," Rlyis said from behind him, her spirit sense brushing over the completed section. "You’re good to move on to the next."

The [Accelerate] rune was next. Its design was far more intricate, and untested as a brand new rune, requiring Lassim to carefully write the rune with his hands to ensure no mistakes were made. He paused several times to recalibrate the tool’s output, his focus was commendable and praiseworthy in Rlyis’ eyes.

The rune’s lines interwove and made their way through the layers of those of the [Gather] and [Convert] runes, forming a unified system that would guide, speed up, and transform the mana.

Rlyis and Eno watched in silence, their presence a steadying weight at the edges of Lassim’s awareness. When he finally finished, he stepped back, sweat beading his brow despite the cool air of the workshop.

"It’s done," Lassim said.

Rlyis approached first, her spirit sense scanning the newly inscribed runes. After a long moment, she nodded. "Clean work. No turbulence in the flow pathways, and the alignment is perfect."

Eno folded his arms, a faint smirk on his face. "You might actually pull this off."

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The storage container was then taken from its lift, carried easily with one hand despite its size, and reconnected to the exposed base section of the first gateway.

Lassim placed his hand on the container, his fused mana swirling as he initiated the test. Due to the nature of the previous test having already worked to fill then drain the container, but it still being left in the (Near Empty) state, it was still primed perfectly to immediately begin work to refill itself with the ambient mana. The runes activated in sequence, their glow spreading through the array lines.

The [Accelerate] rune flared brightly, its energy coursing through the system. Ambient mana from within the workshop surged toward the container, drawn in by the enhanced [Filter] rune, and the conversion process began in earnest.

"Well, that’s certainly a much stronger pull. We might need to add some mana gathering arrays to the areas we install the teleportation devices or else we’ll turn them into dead-mana zones after a while. I’ll draw up some plates and you can add that to the instructions for future reference." Rlyis said with a tinge of approval in her voice as she noted the improvement to the device.

The gauge on the container’s side filled steadily and quickly, the mana flowing smoothly and at an insanely faster rate than before. It really was as simple as adding just the [Accelerate] rune as in no more than five minutes, the container reached capacity before turning its absorption processes off.

Lassim exhaled, relief washing over him. "That’s more like it."

Eno stepped forward, his metallic mana probing the container. "The container itself is stable, but it’ll be up to you to tell if this actually converted it to space elemental mana. Neither of us can tell that, but barring that, I’d say the redesign worked."

"Good," Lassim said, stepping forward to check. "Yep, it’s pure space mana. It’s not as good as what I have inside my fused mana or inner heart world, but it’s close enough. Now we replicate everything for the second gateway."

The process of forging and engraving the second gateway began in earnest. With the experience gained from the first, and Eno and Rlyis’ speedy work to get it prepped earlier, the entire progress proceeded smoothly and much more quickly than the first.

Eno continued to adjust and finalize the forging on the massive Astrium Veinstone segments with his metal attuned mana, while Lassim and Rlyis worked as a team this time—instead of Lassim by himself—on engraving the foundational and advanced runes.

Though the design was identical, Lassim found the process faster this time, his familiarity with having written all of the runes once allowed him to work with greater confidence. Each segment was checked and double-checked, ensuring perfect symmetry with the first gateway.

By the time the final segment of the second gateway was completed, the perpetual storm of the Tempest’s Cradle outside had intensified into one of its angrier mood swings, lightning illuminating the workshop in stark flashes. It seemed like even the world recognized something magnificent and monumental was soon to occur.

The two gateways, though not yet assembled, stood as twin monuments to the team’s efforts.

With both gateways complete, the final task was synchronization to make sure they could connect with each other. It was imperative that they had identifiers of some kind and matched with each other on the same threads of space so that they could "talk" with each other. Imagine it as two friends sharing their contact rune with each other, but instead being the two keystones instead of communication discs.

Lassim, Rlyis, and Eno worked seamlessly, assembling the twin arches into upright positions with care. The keystones, already engraved with the intricate [Horizon] runes at the center, pulsed faintly as they were locked into place at the tops, completing the arches.

The storm outside howled louder at that moment, its lightning illuminating the massive frames inside the workshop in stark, jagged flashes. The air inside the workshop grew still—not from mana or residual energy or really anything else, but solely from the weight of anticipation. Every movement felt heavier as the three prepared for the final step.

Lassim stood at the control panel of the first gateway, his fused mana surging as he activated the runic circuits within the base section. The engraved lines across the frame began to glow, the light spreading in cascading waves until the entire arch radiated a steady violet-blue luminescence.

"The first gate is powering up," Rlyis confirmed, her voice steady but her expression tight with focus.

On the other side of the workshop, Eno prepared the second gateway. He set the control panel to the matching sequence in the preprogrammed system that would connect the two keystones and share their identifiers between each other. It came alive and slowly, the twin arches began to hum in unison, their runes shining brighter with each passing moment.

"Mana flow is stable and I’ve got confirmation that they’re connected and saved into the internal contact database with their portal identifiers. We can change them to be the location names of where they’re placed eventually, but for now I’ve labeled them as Device Marinelle for mine, and Device Zaphyrella for yours, Eno," Lassim said, his eyes fixed on the readouts after a few short moments of inputting the naming scheme. "Now, here we go. Let’s initiate the spatial tunnel."

He placed his hand on the control panel, channeling a torrent of fused mana into the system to get it jump started. He realized they’d missed a bit of programming for the secondary activation sequence, but he could go around that for now.

The next moment, the [Horizon] runes on both keystones ignited, their purple-blackish, void light expanding in a swirling cascade that rippled across the many engraved array lines on the arches. This caused the embellishments of all the feathers and scales incorporated into the design—as Lassim had promised Zaphy during the initial idea of the teleportation device—to glow and be highlighted as this "flair" as she called it, added a fantastical presence and mood to the entire archway.

All of the scales and feather embellishments all cascaded downwards from the halberd that seemed to be floating in the eye of a swirling universe or storm. It was almost impossible to tell which it was, but Lassim knew it was the image of the whirlpool within his heartworld.

Finally the underside of the archway within the first teleportation device shimmered, bending and warping as the spatial runes attempted to bridge the void and weave the spatial threads together into a tunnel. The hum of energy grew into a resonating roar, buzzing the ground beneath their feet.

The light from the runes intensified, coalescing into a swirling vortex at the heart of the first gateway. A faint distortion began to form, its edges flickering like a mirage in the desert.

Then, without warning, the vortex pulsed violently, a surge of energy rippling through the workshop. Sparks erupted from the array lines, and the distortion wavered, flickering dangerously between stability and collapse.

"I’m on it!" Lassim shouted, his hands glowing as he poured more fused mana into the control panel of the first device.

Rlyis moved to the side, her spirit sense sweeping the second gateway. "The synchronization is off! Eno, adjust the keystone stabilizer program!"

"GOT IT!" Eno barked, his metallic mana flaring as he worked to recalibrate the circuitry that made the system of the control panel.

The vortex within the first gateway surged again, this time extending outward like a claw reaching for something unseen before snapping back towards the archway into becoming a flat sheet. At that moment, the second gateway reciprocated until they were both identical on either side. The distortions within the very centers of the sheets under the arches expanded gradually, its growing edges sharp and jagged, as if the void itself were trying to tear through.

A low, resonant hum filled the air, a sound that seemed to come from deep within the world or even beyond the workshop in the void of the heavens.

The gateways shuddered, their frames somewhat straining under the immense pressure. The glow from the runes flickered, and for a heart-stopping moment, the entire system seemed on the verge of collapse.

But just as it seemed they might succeed, the vortex pulsed one final time, unleashing a shockwave that swept through the workshop. The light from the runes dimmed, the distortion within the gateway collapsing into itself.

Silence followed, heavy and suffocating. The glow from the arches faded, leaving only the faint hum of residual mana.

Lassim stood motionless, his hands still on the control panel, his chest rising and falling with labored breaths.

He exchanged a tense glance with Rlyis and Eno, the weight of the moment pressing down on all of them.

Then, from deep within the first gateway, a faint flicker of light appeared….

It grew steadily, spreading across the arch until the distortion reformed, smoother and more stable than before.

The vortex rippled once, twice—and then stilled.

The air around the gateways grew heavy, the silence almost deafening. The light from the runes intensified, their glow reflecting in the wide eyes of the three cultivators.

And then, with a soft whoosh, the void shimmered, revealing…..