Pandora Unchained - a Cultivation Progression Fantasy

As Sorin was on the cusp of breaking through, Sorin had no choice but to enact his plan here and now. He gave up on chasing away the bone rot and instead chased it into his silver bones.

The confused Divine Bone Rot attacked his silver runes without hesitation, and Sorin, a little worried about the final result of his experiment, watched on as his strength approached that of someone who'd barely made it to the Bone-Forging Realm.

And now, the moment of truth, thought Sorin as he watched the last of his silver runes break away, revealing the last of his untainted white skeleton. The Divine Bone Rot immediately grew agitated and attempted to infect this new layer of bones, but Sorin decisively chased it out and completed the last cycle of his forging and tempering.

Tarnished Golden Light erupted from Sorin's bones as his fifth forging and tempering were complete. His bones, now the same tarnished gold as his mana, greedily drank in his mana and filled his body with overwhelming strength.

Twenty. Thirty. Forty. Fifty. Sixty! Sorin quickly confirmed that these tarnished gold bones amplified his battle prowess by fifty times, three times more than silver bones. What's more, there were no runes on his bones. This was because his unsealed bones were the best conduit for mana one could hope for.

Sorin's body also underwent another round of improvements thanks to Toxic Metamorphosis. His physical body was already quite powerful, but now, its might bordered on that of a Flesh-Sanctification Cultivator. His mere existence caused the void to crackle and the catacombs to reject him.

Aware that time was running out for the heroes on the front lines, Sorin tested his newfound powers on the barrier. He attacked it from three angles: mana, body, and spirit. The barrier bulged inward and began revealing multiple major flaws.

Charles, Bast, and Daphne immediately adapted to the circumstances, with Charles taking over where Sorin had originally been active and melting away the supporting matrix. Daphne bombarded the weak points that appeared in the formation, causing cracks to spread out, while Bast, having sensed a change in Sorin's demeanor a while back, was already halfway through chanting an S-Tier spell. A sword of light appeared in the sky and tore through the shield, creating a fissure that Sorin widened using golden-gloved hands. The spell matrix resisted for three full seconds until, finally, it could no longer stand the strain. It shattered, releasing a mixture of divinity and corruption from the central area and onto the battlefield.

"Retreat into the temple!" Sorin called out. His words invigorated the overwhelmed heroes, who activated various abilities to hasten their retreat. Of special note was Gareth, whose advancement was linked to Sorin, as they had both suspected. By unsealing his own bones, he'd unlocked the archer's potential. His attack power skyrocketed, allowing him to draw on his Heroic Breakthrough to release a silver arrow filled with wind and lightning that tore a two-hundred-foot trench through the enemy army for the allied heroes to escape through.

The demons pursued despite their fear of the runes. Their bodies were instantly weakened by holy light, making them easy prey for the defenders.

Like the other demons, Python also entered the temple complex. A holy light much stronger than that attacking the weaker demons appeared and blasted away its scales. Its resistance to poison fell sharply, allowing the poisons Sorin had infected it with previously to explode in potency and attack its body from the inside out.

It was in the mythical creature's final moments that Sorin realized the nature of his new Divine Ability: Autogenesis. His poisons had now taken on the characteristics of a living being. They could now feed on the life force of others to replicate themselves. As long as the enemy wasn't too powerful, these toxins would continue to grow until they overwhelmed their target and consumed their remains.

But there are limits, thought Sorin as he and the others pulled back to let Michael take over. The God Seed of Apollo drew on the might of the temple to bombard the serpent from above, first severing it in half and then attacking its remnants. Mostly range limitations. I must remain within ten kilometers of my poisons. Otherwise, they'll lose the hint of life they've gained and revert to normal poisons.

Another part of Sorin's divine ability involved evolution and adaptation. Whereas before, he'd need to formulate a new poison and infect his enemies anew, he could now transform poisons that were already inside his enemies by using life force or the poisons themselves as fuel.

Sorin immediately took advantage of this ability and targeted Python's bones, weakening their structure so that Michael's arrows inflicted maximal damage.

Its vertebrae broke first, followed by its many hearts. Finally, a hole was blown straight through its skull and struck its demon core, cracking it.

The Catacombs of Delphi grew eerily quiet. Python was dead, and the demons were quickly following suit.

Even damaged beyond recognition, Python's remains were a treasure trove. Nearby adventurers tore off any undamaged portions of leather and collected bone fragments. They didn't approach the skull, however, where Michael was standing guard.

Sorin approached Michael alongside Charles. "Since it's a team effort, I think it's only right that we share the loot," Sorin said.

Michael gestured towards the skull. "There's nothing I need here. Take what you want."

Charles walked up to the serpent and touched his staff to its two fangs. The fangs immediately began to melt and pour into his staff, which glowed with intermittent silver light until finally, it began glowing with gold light, confirming that he'd successfully upgraded his deficient Soul-Bound Treasure.

Sorin inspected the skull for a moment before lifting open the creature's jaw bones and making his way to a cracked core that was slightly larger than his fist.

"Ree!" said Lorimer from beside him.

"I know it's what you need, but for now, it's best to wait," said Sorin, stowing the core in a pouch. "Fortunately, Michael didn't damage the skull too badly. Python's venom sack is intact." He grabbed a small pouch of flesh that stored and produced concentrated poison. "As I suspected. It's a hundred poison, one that's compatible with Eater of All."

Finally, Sorin turned his attention to Python's skull. Though it was lacking compared to the other items he'd taken, each bone was inscribed with tarnished gold runes. These runes ran all the way down the creature's skeleton, making it difficult to damage for even elite Bone-Forging cultivators.

Sorin placed one hand on the skull and projected Python Coil with the other. Using Madness, he twisted the divine ability, adding runes to the summoned serpent until it grew to a length of three hundred feet long and three feet thick. The skeleton crumbled as the last rune was added.

It was at this moment that he realized that they had erred. A large spike in corruption emerged from the temple as Python's demise and the disappearance of its runes provoked a chain reaction.

"Damn Melinoë," muttered Sorin as he tracked the nigh-imperceptible threats connecting Python to the catacombs. "She has plans within plans, and we keep playing right into them."

Michael groaned. "I was going to suggest we rest, but it seems we no longer have that luxury."