Spirit's Awakening: The Path of Lightning and Water-Chapter 363: The First Connection

And then, with a soft whoosh, the void shimmered, revealing a smooth and faintly bubbling event horizon within the archway.

The shimmering surface stretched across the inner frame of the gateway like a taut sheet of translucent liquid. Peering into and past the event horizon was a magnificent spectacle. Threads of faint void-purple and silver wove together in constant motion, creating the impression of a tunnel underneath a cosmic bridge.

The destination in the other gateway’s arch, standing at the opposite end of the workshop, gave a view of that side of the workshop that was clearly visible despite the distortion.

Stepping through would be more than a singular step—it would be a traversal through that tunnel, flowing naturally like a spirit ascension cultivator through the skies as though traveling across this spatial tunnel.

Yet, the tunnel wasn’t fixed to a physical plane; it was a connection woven between the two keystones as they tore through the void, a bridge of spatial energy that bypassed the vastness of physical distance in the blink of an eye.

"It’s stable," Rlyis said with a low voice, almost a whisper. She let her spirit sense sweep the structure. "The synchronization between the keystones is holding. No major issues from what I can tell."

Eno, standing near the second gateway, examined its control panel. His metallic mana flickered briefly as he verified the stabilizer readings. "Both systems are talking to each other and balanced. The ambient mana draw isn’t exceeding the tolerances either. Can you notice any issues with the tunnel itself, Lassim?"

Lassim activated his [Spatial Vision] and scanned the surface of the event horizon. It remained unbroken, smooth, and stable. The weaving of the spatial threads were interwoven with magic spatial rune words and symbols that he wasn’t familiar with but he could feel the influence and pressure of Khaalseru’s touch in them. They appeared like the roots of a tree compared to his more circular and arch related designs.

He reached out with his spirit sense next, probing the energy flow within the arrays and keystone. "The transition points are aligned perfectly. The spatial threads are binding together without issue and it seems like even the goddess has blessed the tunnel. I wonder if that’s her actively doing it or maybe I did something to her satisfaction."

As Lassim’s words faded, the air in the workshop shifted. A faint breeze stirred, though no window or door had moved or opened. The shimmering threads within the event horizon pulsed softly, their silver and purple hues deepening to starlit brilliance for a brief moment.

From the arches, the embellishments and the halberd symbol at the peak glowed faintly brighter, their light extending and coalescing into fleeting roots along the surface of the tunnel—turning into spirals and patterns that felt both ancient and otherworldly. A low, harmonious tone emanated from the gateway.

Rlyis glanced at the glowing arches, "Uh, that’s not your doing, is it?"

Lassim shook his head slowly, his gaze fixed on the event horizon as he then shut his eyes and sat in the feeling of the diving mana only he could recognize. "No, it’s her," he said, almost to himself. "Khaalseru."

The glow faded back to its previous state, leaving the spatial threads subtly more vibrant, but still more to the normal resonance it had earlier.

"I guess that settles your hypothesis. She approves," Rlyis said as she addressed him.

Lassim let out a slow breath, "Then let’s make sure we’re worthy of it."

The three of them stood in silence for a moment, the faint hum of the gateways filling the workshop.

Eno was the first to speak. "So, do we walk through, or do we throw something in first?"

Rlyis gave him a bit of a glare. "We test it properly. Lassim, I assume you planned for this?"

Lassim nodded and walked over to a nearby workbench, picking up a small metal plate engraved with a basic array designed to emit a steady pulse of mana. He returned to the first gateway, holding the plate in his hand. "We’ll send this through first. It holds a steady charge to imitate a Spirit Growth stage spirit warrior, but without the danger of risking their life. If it makes it through, then I’ll step through it myself."

Eno walked to the second gateway, positioning himself near its control panel. "Alright then. Ready on this side."

"Sending now," Lassim said as he carefully tossed the plate towards the event horizon. As soon as it touched the shimmering surface, the distortion rippled outward in concentric waves, drawing the plate in with a seamless motion.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the array lines on the second gateway flickered briefly, and the plate reappeared, gently falling to the floor of the workshop and landing at the base of the opposite portal.

"It arrived intact," Eno confirmed, picking up the plate and holding it up for Rlyis and Lassim to see. "No signs of damage or even disruptions to the arrays. Zero energy loss."

Lassim glanced at the control panel of the first gateway. "The energy readings basically confirm that the energy flow between the two sides was uninterrupted as well."

Rlyis stepped back from the first gateway, her arms crossed as she observed the event horizon. "Well, are you ready for the next step then?."

Lassim nodded, taking a step toward the portal.

Without hesitation, he extended his hand, pressing it against the surface of the event horizon. The bubbling distortion rippled slightly as it surrounded his hand but offered no resistance as he pushed through. He stepped forward, his body disappearing into the shimmering void.

Eno and Rlyis watched silently, their focus on the second gateway.

Less than even a moment later, Lassim emerged from the second portal, stepping out with the same steady pace he had entered. He glanced back briefly, his expression calm. "The transition felt seamless. It might be because of the short distance, but I didn’t even see or feel the "tunnel" effect that you can observe just by looking."

Rlyis moved toward the first gateway, "Let me try."

She paused briefly before stepping into the portal herself, disappearing into the bubbling distortion. Not even a full second later, she also reappeared on the other side, her spirit sense active as she evaluated the connection.

"It’s smooth," she said after stepping fully clear of the event horizon. "And I didn’t even really feel anything at all. It just felt like I was walking forward. If I didn’t know I was walking through a portal, I’d say it’s nearly impossible to even tell. Does it feel the same when you [Teleport], Lassim?"

"No, there’s actually quite a bit of dizziness that I’ve gotten used to as just general mental strain that follows when I do it myself, but maybe that’s something I can improve. I wonder if all the work and runes we put into the device to make it stable has fixed that issue. I’ll need to look into that and maybe improve it." He answered after careful thought.

Eno was the last to test the connection, this time in reverse as he strided through the second portal without hesitation. He reappeared on the other side of the gateway of the first moments later, nodding in approval. "I don’t feel any shifts in mana flow or pressure. If there’s an issue, it’s not in the transit itself and it works both ways."

The three regrouped near the second gateway, the faint hum of the portals filling the air.

"We’ve confirmed the basics," Lassim said as his gaze shifted between the two arches. "The connection is stable, and the transfer between the two sides works. I am worried about how it’d perform with a longer distance between the gateways like it’d actually be, and if it’ll hold up under repeated use. I’m not sure how we can test that second one in the long run, but I’ve got an idea for the first one."

Eno and Rlyis straightened their backs as they listened to him say, "Since we want to mass produce this eventually, it’s best if we take one of the gateways back to your workshop back at the hidden outpost. I can make it there in probably thirty minutes with my [Storm’s Dance] and then we’ll be able to test the longer distance while also making it easy to travel from the warehouse assembly line and here."

"That’s a good idea. There’s also some extra tools we left behind that could make any alterations to the system programming in the control panels a lot easier. We didn’t know what you wanted from us back then when you sent the vague invite, so that would help." Rlyis agreed. Eno nodded his head silently too.

The hours that followed were filled with rigorous double checking of everything after they selected the option to cut the portals and turn off the gateway, carefully examining the storage container’s quick refilling and other aspects. Lassim, Rlyis, and Eno made several notes about the gateways’ performance. They worked systematically as they practically took a fine tooth comb to every millimeter of both arches and studied if there were any changes.

Fortunately they noticed several changes were made, mainly along the embellishments. It seemed that Khaalseru had done more than show her approval, she made a few small additions with unfamiliar runes that Lassim could only recognize as her handiwork.

He carefully reviewed and copied down the additions and even small adjustments she made to his runes. He then re-sketched the entire blueprints of the gateway and made changes to the growing notebook that carried the "dictionary" of his spatial alphabet.

Lassim finished noting the final adjustments in his notebook and exhaled, closing it with a firm snap. He turned to Rlyis and Eno, who were still poring over the faintly glowing arches, their gazes fixed on the embellishments Khaalseru had subtly altered.

"That’s everything for the changes I noticed," Lassim said. "Once you’ve checked every section, we can then move one of these to the outpost so we can test the long-distance connection."

Rlyis straightened and gave him a sharp nod. "We’re basically done. Anything left over can be rechecked once we try to make duplicates of each module when we’re back there."

The team moved into action. Lassim approached the base of the first gateway and began loosening the bolts that held the base plate section securely to the workshop floor. The modular design allowed for straightforward disassembly for the rest of the sections, but the sheer size of the arch meant every step required careful coordination.

Rlyis focused on the keystone at the top and upper frame. She used the lifts and handed each piece to Eno, who carefully placed them into their previous semi-circle arrangement neatly on the floor.

With the keystone removed, the rest of the disassembly proceeded smoothly. The arch segments came apart in manageable sections. Each piece was inspected briefly before they moved onto the next.

Finally, with the gateway fully dismantled and everything checked for damage, Lassim pulled a specially prepared magic pouch from his belt. Unlike his primary pouch, which was filled with ESS, clothing, and leftover preserved foods from the Drow realm, this one was empty but large enough to accommodate the modular components of the gateway.

One by one, he placed the pieces into the pouch, their forms vanishing into the void space.

When the last segment was stored, Lassim reached for the keystone, tucking it securely into a reinforced sling that he tied it to his belt.

"That should do it," Lassim said, straightening.

He glanced at the second gateway, still standing tall at the other end of the workshop, before turning to Rlyis and Eno. "It’ll take me about thirty minutes to reach the outpost with [Storm’s Dance]. Wait here, and I’ll reactivate the connection once I’ve set everything up."

Rlyis leaned against the workbench, crossing her arms. "We’ll be ready. Make sure you double-check it’s locked to the floor before powering it on."

Eno gave a brief nod, already checking the control panel of the remaining gateway. "Safe travels. We’ll see you soon."

Lassim gave them a quick nod in return before stepping toward the exit of the workshop.

Activating [Storm’s Dance], his form blurred, and with a surge of his fused mana, he vanished into the storm outside.

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