Pandora Unchained - a Cultivation Progression Fantasy

The corruption in the chasm was intense, and climbing became taxing on the entire party despite the added protection of the divinity-infused staircase.

It wasn't long before the five heroes elevated from bronze to silver tired out. Only eleven silver-grade heroes, including Sorin's companions, remained.

"Silver flames are the strongest, and my words about proximity weren't empty," said Michael as their pace slowed down. "I believe it might even be possible for some of you to reach the end. I suggest unleashing every ability you can. With luck, we'll have a respectable party to fight Melinoë with."

Bast, the party member with the greatest need to prove himself, was the first to volunteer his services. He cast a concentrated purification spell around their remaining party members, surrounding them in a corona of protective light. "Out of all the elements, light is most effective at purging unwanted elements," he said in a smug tone. "I hope everyone else can contribute a little something."

Fenrig released a lightning-filled aura next. "Ironically, this heroic ability only works on small fries. It's useless to me but seemingly quite effective at reducing corruption. I should be able to hold it till we reach the top."

"I suppose I should go next," said Faile. "My heroic abilities aren't very useful in such situations, but my Soul Bound Treasure, Thousand-Mile Boots, will be of assistance. Follow behind me if you would like to travel the path of least resistance."

Joseph, a demon hunter, took out bottles of S-Tier Corruption Resistance Potions. And though Onesca specialized in curses, she was also proficient in wards. Every party member was gifted with an S-Tier Corruption Warding Talisman.

Sorin's group was lacking relative to these group leaders. Fortunately, Astley had come prepared and took out an additional layer of S-Tier Corruption Warding Talismans supplied by the Order of Phantasia. These means combined took the entire group three-quarters of the way up the stairs, at which point Charles stepped up and used his potent poisons to eliminate a large batch of corruption.

Michael acted next and shot out a few arrows of light, bringing them nine-tenths of the way up. "If that's all we have, we'll need to concentrate our efforts on getting fewer members to the top," said the archer. "Unless you have some other tricks you've yet to reveal, Sorin?"

Sorin was reluctant to reveal his ability to devour corruption, but the situation left him no choice. He was bout to step up when a wind arose. It washed over their group—Sorin excluded—purifying the corruption infecting them and clearing a path across the chasm.

"This my ability, Winds of the Watchman," said Gareth. "I can only sustain it for thirty seconds. Let's act quickly."

Alarmed, Michael rapidly placed the remaining steps and finished up with a welcoming hall depicting the Trials of Apollo. With the addition of the final piece, the crumbling temple came to life, and a wave of healing energy washed over their group, restoring their vitality and regenerating their spirits.

Sorin looked at Gareth thoughtfully as they enjoyed their reprieve from the temple's corruption. His ability is probably very harmful to me. It seems he's taking his role as my watchman very seriously. He wasn't opposed to the development; quite the contrary. Given the path he was walking on, it was possible he'd lose his way without even knowing it.

Michael led them down the trial hall into the room where Administrator Pollen had held Lawrence hostage. The room was stripped of all decorative elements, including the sculpted wall at the back, which now joined the entrance they'd seen floating on the other side of the chasm.

A door made of concentrated corruption and inlaid with golden runes blocked off the entrance. Michael cut open his palm and placed a bloody hand on the door, activating the golden runes. Corruption gushed out into the entrance hall as soon as the door dissolved, revealing a torchlit hallway covered in similar golden glyphs. Unlike the temple outside, the stonework remained untouched by time.

At the end of the hallway lay a floating golden core surrounded by golden lines. A third of the lines were slowly being taken over by a much smaller bundle of corruption floating beneath it. Melinoë lay prostrated in front of the twin cores.

"The results are obvious, so why throw your lives away?" said Melinoë, picking herself up and straightening out her robes. "The seal has already been broken, and in a matter of hours, Delphi will destroy itself from the inside out."

Michael wasted no words with her and directly pulled out a white arrow covered in golden runes and shot it at the black core. It was one of the three God Sealing Arrows prepared from the remains of Pollen Clan demigods. True to its name, the spot where it struck was immediately covered in dense golden seals.

He immediately pulled out a second arrow and proceeded to shoot it. This time, Melinoë was prepared. Nightmares emerged from the ground and attempted to intercept the arrow, but they were met by a cloud of corrosive poison courtesy of Charles. The cloud weakened the nightmares such that the arrow cut through them like a hot knife through butter and landed a second clear hit.

By then, the third arrow was already flying. This time, it was Sorin who restrained Melinoë using Python Coil. The three-hundred-foot serpent wrapped around the God Seed and tossed her like a ragdoll. It's too easy, thought Sorin as the third arrow struck the core, releasing a blinding golden light.

"Kukukuku," laughed Melinoë as she picked herself up off the floor. Her bones were broken, but they were rapidly reknitting themselves. "Do you think me an idiot? That I don't know those heartless fools in Olympia expected me to turn and leave those heroes unprotected specifically so I could use them as a sacrifice to enter this place early?"

"That hardly matters now that the seal is reinforced," said Michael. "With the damage we've dealt today, the corruption in the city will lessen greatly. You can rest now and await reincarnation, knowing that you've accomplished your purpose."

"Ha! Look again where you stuck your arrows, Michael," said Melinoë. "I've been here for quite a while, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that I laid a trap specifically to deal with your clan's 'secret' contingency."

Shooting the God Sealing arrows had taken a lot out of Michael. His fingers were slick with blood, and his arms were covered in deep gashes. His face was pale, and his body was trembling, but not just because of the vitality he'd expended. "You didn't need to sacrifice all those lives to enter the city early, did you?"

"As usual, just a step too late," said Melinoë. "Those sacrifices weren't needed for early entry. Instead, I used them all to fool the only person who could ruin my plan: you. I even went through great pains to make it seem like I was ignorant and had Python focus on Sorin so that you, the God Seed of an Olympian, would proceed as planned.

"Their blood and cultivation might be useless for something like eroding a divine level seal, but given their relationship to you, a descendant of the administrator, it was possible to use them to spin a web of madness whose sole purpose was to increase your impulsiveness.

"All of this was done so you wouldn't realize the realm of distortion placed around the Source of Corruption. Look again and see what you hit, Michael. You didn't save the city—you doomed it!"

Three gold and white spots could now clearly be seen on the larger golden core, restricting its energy flow and thereby weakening the seal on the Source of Corruption beneath it. The corrupted third of the web had started rapidly expanding to infect the major branches that crossed space and connected the entire province of Parnassus.

Sorin let out a deep sigh. "You weren't corrupted, Melinoë. You were just a God Seed that had been manipulated by this cursed city to do the enemy's dirty work. Why give in after all these centuries instead of cooperating with humanity? "

Melinoë let out a desperate laugh. "Maybe I would have if it were centuries ago. Maybe I would have if the Pandora Government cared one whit about my situation.

"Do you have any idea how difficult it is to be reborn time and time again? Reborn with no hope for advancement save through the destruction of the city your destiny is bound to?

"I've had it, Sorin. I've had it with fighting the Kepler Clan and whatever enemy this city's corruption wants me to deal with. I'm tired of being a lackey.

"You think your clan has it hard because it can't produce demigod-level God Seeds? Well, that's been my story for the past four hundred years! At first, the missions were achievable, but when the Pandoran Government caught on to my situation, it became all but impossible!

"Bone-Forging Divine Trial: Destroy the Kepler Clan and extinguish its divine inheritance. Once upon a time, that was feasible, but then the Kepler Clan moved its core membership to Olympia, where dozens of demigods were stationed. Every decade, I resurrect. Every decade, I'm faced with the same hopeless mission.

"The worst part of all this is that the Pandoran Government had every opportunity to alleviate my situation. All it would have taken was a top-tier offering to Hope to free me from my curse. Instead, they let me loose to keep the Source of Corruption distracted, knowing full well that if I was freed, another more valuable Divine Inheritance would be infiltrated."

Sorin could sympathize with Melinoë, but he wasn't about to let her have her way. Moreover, allowing her to talk allowed Sorin to better analyze the situation. "You've tied your life and destiny to both the Source of Corruption and the Core of Civilization, thereby forming a bridge between them. Your weak point is, therefore, clear as day."

"You're right," admitted Melinoë. "If you all manage to miraculously destroy the Source of Corruption, I'll be directly purged from the Cycle of Reincarnation."

"Then let's give it a shot," said Sorin, stepping up beside Michael. ""Michael? I'm going to need you to snap out of it. Your firepower is needed to keep her busy. Charles, I take it your divine mission is related to spite and vengeance against the descendants of Hades. Melinoë is your target, then?"

"And here I was hoping to surprise you after taking this bitch down," said Charles, summoning forth a spider staff that radiated Malevolent energy. "That was naturally before she pulled a fast one on us. I'm no longer confident in being able to do so."

Sorin turned to his companions. "I hope everyone can buy me the time I need."

"We've got your back," replied Stephan, adopting Arctic Rune Bear form. "Don't worry about us. Just do your thing."

"To clarify, what exactly is this thing you're going to be doing?" asked Faile.

"It's simple," said Sorin, stepping towards the Source of Corruption. "That little ball of darkness is a problem. So, I'm going to eat it."