Pandora Unchained - a Cultivation Progression Fantasy

"That was awesome," said Lawrence as they left Administrator Pollen's manor. "That was a demigod, Sorin. A demigod, and you basically stared him down. Even the old sword guy here couldn't look at him straight, but you did it! And it paid off!"

Elder Marik cleared his throat. "I'm not sure being respectful to a demigod that could crush me in three strikes flat counts as 'not being able to look at him straight.'"

"Reee!" agreed Lorimer, who'd been shaking with fright in Sorin's pocket the entire time.

"There was a non-zero chance that the administrator would crush me to a pulp," admitted Sorin. "But I didn't place those odds at greater than ten percent, given my read on his character and the situation."

Lawrence gawked. "You put your odds of death at ten percent and still came to save me? You're—"

"Mad," said Elder Marik.

"I was going to say my hero, but that works too," said Lawrence. "I guess that's what makes you the boss."

"I'm not the boss," said Sorin. "Stephan is. And Gareth sometimes."

"Sure thing, boss," said Lawrence. "Anyway, are things looking strange around here or what?"

Elder Marik's hand went to his sword, but Sorin maintained his relaxed demeanor. "It's the web of corruption in the city. The corruption is coming to a head, and violent eruptions are about to get a lot more frequent. Lawrence, I need you to do a few things for me, no questions asked."

"Anything," said Lawrence.

"The first thing is to try finding Melinoë," said Sorin. "If possible, I'd like to eliminate her before the shrine descent."

Elder Marik coughed lightly. "Are you sure that's wise, Sorin? Administrator Pollen made his intentions quite clear on the subject; Elder Simon was forbidden from doing so when she was first spotted."

Sorin considered this detail but didn't rescind is order. " I'd much rather take her out up here than face her down in that corrupted city. Especially after she's had so much time to prepare."

"Track down Melinoë so we can kill her," confirmed Lawrence. "Got it. Anything else?"

"I want you to get current spatial coordinates on this location," said Sorin, tossing him an information jade. "Please relay them when you get the chance."

"Accurate spatial coordinates on mystery location," repeated Lawrence. "What else?"

"I want you to distract a few of the assassins currently bearing down on our position," Sorin finished.

"All right, the assassins that are bearing down on—" Lawrence abruptly cut off as a throwing knife came shooting his way. Sorin, having seen the attack coming thanks to Nemesis simply stopped moving a fraction of a second early; three daggers thrown by Flesh-Sanctification cultivators missed him by a hair's breadth.

A large spell—fire aligned and not poison-aligned as he'd expected—appeared like a miniature sun in the midday sky, forcing Elder Marik to fly up to intercept it. The assassins, no longer constrained by the fearsome elder, charged Sorin with everything they had.

Unfortunately for them, Sorin had already prepared a shower of poisonous needles laced with both Violence and Madness. The spray pierced through their thin armor and infected them with a poisonous cocktail that rapidly spread throughout their body, sharply lowering their reflexes and mana conductivity while simultaneously eating them from the inside out.

Three out of the five assassins, sensing the threat to their life, immediately retreated. The last two wore crazed expressions and attacked Sorin without regard for their lives—only to catch sight of the legendary Underwear Thief, whom, for some reason, they had even greater enmity towards. They immediately abandoned their pursuit of Sorin and chased Lawrence as he flickered into and out of shadows.

All that remained was a tangle of vines that had started growing beneath Sorin and Lorimer since the beginning of the ambush. "Reee!" Lorimer screamed as he transformed into his flame form and tunneled beneath the street's paving stones. A roar sounded as a demonic plant erupted from the sewers, trying its best to fight off not just Lorimer but a literal horde of rats that had come out of the woodwork.

Sorin considered interfering but seeing that Lorimer and his recruits had things well in hand, he held back and waited for Elder Marik to return.

"It seems I underestimate your ability to defend yourself," said the elder, appearing at Sorin's side. Lorimer had just defeated the plant demon and had claimed its core for himself.

"Did you catch him?" asked Sorin.

The elder shook his head. "Whoever it was, he was cautious and likely afraid of Administrator Pollen."

"Then that makes my next gamble a lot more certain," said Sorin. "Please accompany me on a trip into enemy territory, Elder Marik."

"Can you please avoid provoking enemy forces, or at least give me a few hours to arrange a proper entourage?" asked Elder Marik. "My old heart can't take this."

"You're hardly old for a Flesh-Sanctification cultivator," said Sorin. "Besides, there's no time, and I need to meet with Gareth on our way to our destination."

Twenty minutes later, Gareth jumped off a rooftop and joined Sorin. "You've changed," said Gareth, looking Sorin up and down. "And not in a good way."

"I'm adapting to current circumstances," said Sorin. "But if you find things are becoming unmanageable, our prior arrangement still stands." He was naturally referring to the arrangement of Watchman and Corrupted. Sorin had no illusions about the slippery slope he'd hopped onto.

Gareth nodded solemnly. "All right. Let's see where this path takes us, then. By the way, did you hear the news?"

"I've been busy," said Sorin. "Please fill me in."

"Stephan and the current champion drew the match," said Gareth. "At first, it was pretty one-sided, but then Stephan managed to salvage the situation by having Heroic Breakthrough."

Sorin nodded. "That makes sense. Was the transformation… Violent?"

Gareth sighed and rubbed his glabella. "Of course, you had something to do with this. And yes, it was a violent transformation. Stephan grew to be thirty feet tall, forcing the champion to evade for dear life."

"Did you say thirty feet," interrupted Elder Marik.

"Yes, it was definitely thirty feet," said Sorin. "Unfortunately, he was low on energy and had to stop—but not before gravely wounding the champion, making it so neither one of them wanted to continue."

"That's effectively an Aspect Transformation," said Elder Marik. "It's usually not something that can be developed until later on in the Flesh-Sanctification Realm."

"Whatever you call it, he did it," said Gareth. "Impressed a lot of people in the process, including Haley. Word is that the York Clan mobilized one of their elite protectors to watch out for his safety. They even took out some pretty expensive healing potions and are sparing no expense to get him back into tip-top shape for the next phase of the Shrine Descent."

"It better be a good potion because that's coming up much faster than people might think," said Sorin, looking up at web in the sky. "What's everyone else's situation?"

"Daphne was originally researching spells to dodge the media circus but told me she stopped when mana started going haywire in the Mages Guild," said Gareth. "As for Astley, she contacted me before I could get in touch and said she'd be ready. A divination told her that standing by would be the best course of action."

"Excellent," said Sorin. "Then please join Lawrence in looking for Melinoë. You can also pass on the word that we'll be mobilizing within the day, if not within a few hours."

"You're sure?" asked Gareth.

"Positive," said Sorin.

"Then take care," said Gareth. "Also… no, never mind. Since you've set your mind on, you must have certain odds of success." He jumped onto the rooftops and sped off towards the center of the city while Sorin and Elder Marik continued toward Oak Street.

"Sorin, I can't help but notice that you're leading us in a certain undesirable direction," said Elder Marik as Gareth ran off. "Our Ancestral Manor is the other way. On the hand—"

"I'm aware," said Sorin. "The Hargrave Clan is our next destination."

"Kill me now," groaned Elder Marik.

"Relax," said Sorin. "There's safety in danger. Probably."

To say their arrival at the Hargrave Clan was unexpected would be an understatement. Their security team, alarmed at the sudden arrival of a Presiding Elder and a God Seed, immediately escalated the matter to the top.

"Apparently, you're welcome inside to visit the Chief Elder," said the bemused security officer. "If you dare."

"Please show us the way," said Sorin, motioning to the front door.

The duo followed the relaxed guard directly into enemy territory, where impressive spell formations had been worked into the stone and brickwork. Though a few curious heads popped out to watch the show, most individuals with any sense of self-preservation evacuated the immediate vicinity in anticipation of a great battle.

The Hargrave Clan's residence was similarly built to Kepler Clan's and shared the same general layout. Where it differed was a large amount of obsidian decorations. The theme was juxtaposition.

Large double doors opened into the assembly hall, revealing seven chairs, six of which were empty. A familiar old man in mages' robes sat upon the largest chair, looking confused as to why the target of their assassination attempts had just waltzed into their clan's most tightly fortified position.

"What are you doing here, Sorin," said the Chief Elder lazily. "I could kill you with hardly any effort. As for you, Marik, I might not be able to kill you, but wounding you isn't out of the question."

"Tyrone, don't think I'm a pushover just because I took things easy on you," said Elder Marik, drawing a poisonous blade that that caused Sorin's blood to sing. The spell runes that had been slowly building up in the air since their arrival began to break down and disintegrate."

Chief Elder Tyrone's eyes narrowed. "So you did retain the Ten Thousand Poison Fang. It seems my caution wasn't unwarranted. But aren't you risking a little too much, dedicating a guardian artifact to an unstable place like Delphi? Entire bloodlines have perished, alongside countless divine treasures used to protect those who remain."

"Delphi is our foundation," said Elder Marik calmly. "It is inextricably linked with our bloodline. Perhaps you, too, would feel the same way about Mattapan if you hadn't been chased out by the Hyde Clan.

Chief Elder Tyrone said nothing for a long while. His venomous gaze flickered between Sorin and the elder until, finally, he sighed. "How did you find out?" he asked Sorin.

"I only confirmed it just now," said Sorin, finally managing to untangle the complex threads of enmity tying him, the Chief Elder, the Kepler Clan, and the Hargrave Clan. "In truth, I've always found our clan's blood feud confusing. Our relationship had never been that terrible, and the fact that your Grand Elder didn't forcibly detain my mother and allowed her to marry my father indicated that the relationship was reluctantly approved, at least on some level.

"There's also the fact that if you'd wanted me dead, I wouldn't have been able to survive till now, even with Elder Marik's assistance. The coordinated attack was very real, likely a requirement of setting up a convincing play, but in the end, it was destined to fail."

"A fair analysis," said the Chief Elder.

"But there are two things I don't understand," said Sorin. "Firstly, you don't seem to bear a large grudge against me, but Charles wants nothing more than to eat me up alive. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he was directly involved in setting up the ambush and all it entailed."

Chief Elder Tyrone sighed. "In truth, many in the clan want you dead, Sorin. Luckily for you, your maternal Grandfather is not one of them. Though blood for blood is typically our clan's modus operandi, and we take great pleasure in causing others pain, there was no sense in escalating things over the loss of your mother."

"Then why cause such a big fuss?" asked Sorin. "Was it all for the same play that everyone else in Delphi seem to be participating in?"

Chief Elder Tyrone shook his head. "In truth, the current 'grudge' has some merits. Many people were upset when she married your father. Your mother was the greatest talent of her generation and showed great promise cultivating the clan's divine art, the Malicious Sutra of the Undefiled.

"In the opinion of most of the clan's elders, a marriage should have been arranged with a promising plague mage to keep her blood in the family. But the heart wants what it wants, and our Grand Elder never could refuse his daughter anything.

"In the end, he convinced the council of elders that her temperament wasn't suited to cultivating the Malicious Sutra of the Undefiled to the highest levels. Her heart was too bright and lacked the necessary bitterness and venom. There were also benefits to having an improved relationship with the Kepler Clan.

"Your mother willingly gave up her cultivation, but she quickly made up for it by cultivating the clan's subsidiary art, the Cascading Toxicity Sutra. Her growth, however, was forever stunted."

"Then the death of my parents…"

"Ruined a lot of important plans," said Chief Elder Tyrone. "The Grand Elder was furious and approached your own Grand Elder for an explanation. On the surface, this resulted in a blood feud. In truth, however, this is a lie perpetuated by our clan's top leadership. In Delphi, Elder Marik and Elder Simon are likely the only ones aware of the details."

It took Sorin some time to digest Chief Elder Tyrone's words and incorporate them into his growing political map. This explanation covers most things I was confused about, including how Chief Elder Tyrone dared attack when the Administrator was 'busy'—in broad daylight, no less.

"I think I understand now," said Sorin. "The Malicious Sutra of the Undefiled requires resentment, enmity, and cruelty. That's why Charles is always so petulant and insistent on making things hard for me."

"Your mother was too kind, but Charles has always been excessively cruel," confirmed Chief Elder Tyrone. "It was therefore unsurprising when he awakened as a God Seed of Achlys, a development that vindicated our decision with your mother. As for her death… it's a pity. She was greatly loved and will be sorely missed."

"Then I have one remaining question," said Sorin. "Given Charles's temperament and his cooperation with Melinoë, which is he likely to choose: hatred or the good of Delphi? Because as I see it, those two things are mutually exclusive."

Chief Elder Tyrone frowned. "All God Seeds share a single mission from the Pandoran Government. You are all to cooperate in order to reseal the Core of Corruption beneath Delphi. Infighting will not be tolerated."

"I just want to know if I can work with him if Melinoë takes advantage of the situation to attack me, or if he'll stab me in the back," said Sorin.

" Charles would naturally choose the good of Delphi and humanity," said Elder Tyrone. "If Melinoë's attack is unjustified, that would quality as betrayal. But since you are so concerned about potential conflicts, I will make sure to remind him of his priorities."

"Sooner rather than later," said Sorin. "Who knows when the third phase will commence; it could be next week. In fact, it could be today."

"I will remind him as soon as you leave," said Chief Elder Tyrone. "Now, shall we get on with it? I have appearances to keep up. Moreover, I've always wanted to try my hand against the Ten Thousand Poison Fang."

Countless spell formations lit up and the sky shattered as two of the strongest cultivators in Delphi traded opening blows.