Chapter 157: Twilight Land (Part 3)
Adyr’s two energy bodies hovered above the supplies, confirming every detail before beginning.
The materials were simple but versatile: stacks of tempered steel I-beams, crates of anchor bolts, pre-cut support rods, and panels of interlocking steel grating for flooring. Nearby, he had piled rocks of every size—from mineral-rich pebbles to waist-high boulders—along with polished marble slabs, dressed limestone blocks, and weather-worn bricks.
A row of battery-powered tools waited at the edge of the site: a portable arc welder, angle grinders, rotary hammers, pneumatic nailers, and a compact plasma cutter.
He marked off a rectangle that covered exactly a third of the island’s surface. Using the plasma cutter, he trimmed the I-beams to length and welded them into a rigid perimeter that sat flush with the bedrock.
Cross-braced trusses and vertical posts followed, secured with heavy anchor bolts so nothing could shift under load. When the welding sparks faded, a sturdy skeletal frame stood ready; it could hold several times the weight of the stone he planned to stack on it.
Next, he positioned the steel grating across the frame, spot-welding each panel and sealing the seams with continuous beads of molten metal to prevent corrosion. The open mesh allowed air to flow freely and would let dust and debris fall through, keeping the platform dry and clean. When finished, the deck filled the marked rectangle, leaving untouched soil on the rest of the island for future landscaping.
He turned to the stone. Large boulders became the outer shell, laid in staggered courses like oversized masonry blocks. Smaller rocks filled the gaps, and he tamped pulverized mineral chips into every seam so the façade looked natural.
Inside, he bonded layers of limestone and marble to the walls with industrial epoxy, creating a smooth interior that would reflect low light.
Angled steel struts supported a sloped roof of slate fragments, giving the cavern a rough, volcanic silhouette. He left a single entrance wide enough for him to enter and left with ease, capping it with a forged lintel to carry the overhead load.