Pandora Unchained - a Cultivation Progression Fantasy

As the city's guardian demigod, Governor Loveless held unparalleled political clout. A few orders were all it took to shut the city down.

Though the situation was still developing, and classifying it as an epidemic would be premature, speed was the key to dealing with such situations. History books were littered with examples of small cities and outposts being wiped out due to uncontrolled illnesses.

Three days later, Sorin was seated in a conference room with the city's highest-level physicians, government officials, and community leaders. Though Physician Olivander was chairing the meeting, everyone knew that Governor Loveless would personally scrutinize the entire exchange.

"The number of infections detected has seen a sharp increase since yesterday," Physician Olivander reported. "Including cases where an accurate diagnosis is impossible, the number of cases stands at 2400. Of these, 300 are already dead, 400 seem to be recovering, and 1700 are still uncertain.

"To be clear, the fatality rate does not seem to discriminate between mortals and cultivators below Flesh-Sanctification. The mortality rate for both groups is quite elevated and the same for both groups. I don't believe I need to explain how devastating such a blow would be to the outpost's population. And that's without considering the potential for reinfection.

"Though we've done everything we can to date, it won't be long before this epidemic is impossible to contain. Difficult decisions may await us in the near future. Now let's review the symptoms and what we've learned so far."

What followed was a twenty-minute presentation displaying troubling statistics and gruesome pictures. Many in the meeting clearly objected to seeing such graphic pictures, but given Governor Loveless's interest in the current topic, they swallowed their complaints.

Finally, Physician Olivander took a seat and yielded the floor to Governor Loveless. Despite being an emotional wreck due to his daughter's illness, he radiated an aura of calm that struck Sorin as magical in nature.

"Difficult decisions are for difficult times," said Governor Loveless, looking around the room. "But we've yet to reach the point of no return, so we will keep trying. Every single life is precious and worth fighting for." Sorin knew full well that he'd sacrifice ten thousand to save his daughter, but he didn't call the demigod out. Neither did anyone else in the room. "Physician Sorin, has your research yielded any results?"

"The common cold," answered Sorin, holding out a thumb. "Brewer's Kidney. Localized Upper Epidermis Necrosis. Dust-Breath Pneumonia. Upper Intestinal Atherosclerosis. Cultures and tests indicate that the epidemic is a combination of not one illness but five."

"With all due respect, Physician Kepler, this has yet to be conclusively proven," interrupted Physician Olivander. "A battery of tests needs to be run to confirm this."

"With all due respect, Physician Olivander, we don't have time for certainty," Sorin countered. "The symptoms match. The bacteria involved match. The only thing that doesn't match is the severity of the symptoms and the virulence at which these supposedly minor diseases are spreading.

"Spread is relatively easy to explain, so my current focus is on the amplification effect. Is it mana-based, and therefore scales with cultivation level? Or is whatever combining these four diseases able to latch onto genetic weaknesses?

"I currently favor the latter explanation since there has been a complete absence of symptoms in Flesh-Sanctification cultivators despite the fact that they can serve as carriers."

"Yes, but—"

Governor Loveless silenced Physician Olivander. "What do you need, Physician Sorin? What will help you solve this case."

"Time," said Sorin. "As much as you can buy me, which is why we must continue to enact the necessary quarantine protocols. Guild Master Royce, have you made any headway on finding the substitute ingredients for Six-Foot Slumber I suggested?"

"We're still short three ingredients," answered Guild Master Rory. "In the meantime, we can only rely on administering your diluted blood."

Sorin shook his head. "I can generate poisons, but I'm not omnipotent. Once the case number grows too large, I won't be able to keep up with demand."

"We're doing what we can, Physician Sorin," assured Governor Loveless. "In the meantime, don't hesitate to ask for things that you need. Speaking of which, how did the collection go?"

"I located twenty plant species not on Physician Sorin's list," said Guild Master Rory, handing over a medical storage bag.

"We managed to hunt down three more venomous creatures found in our records," said Guild Master Berry from the Adventurers Guild. "I'd expect Olympia to have a more varied stock."

At the mention of Olympia, the governor's expression turned gloomy. "Unfortunately, the Infinite Dungeon is currently experiencing a surge. All demigods are prohibited from leaving the city until further notice. This means that we can only rely on Flesh-Sanctification level couriers. Supplies are one week out. Medical support will take two weeks to arrive from Delphi."

Sorin cursed under his breath. "Two weeks is too long." You wouldn't need two weeks if you were less stubborn.

"We can only rely on the resources currently in our possession," said Governor Loveless. "The situation is critical, so do not let clan and organizational politics get in the way.

"This is an order. Refusal to obey this order will be viewed as treason. Those who refused to cooperate will be executed."

The governor then issued commands, including turning back non-emergency shipments a hundred miles away. Any caravans currently scheduled to leave the city would need to wait until the situation was resolved.

When Sorin returned to the Mildred General Hospital, a thick stack of books awaited him. It was smaller than the batch that came before. Once again, Sorin found no applicable case history.

"Is that all there is?" Sorin asked Astley, who was half asleep after having sorted the entire archives and currently doodling on a sheet of paper. "What do you plan on doing now? Wait, is that what I think it is?"

Sorin snagged the sheet of paper she was drawing on and held it out. It was a three-dimensional rendering of the artifacts that had been destroyed at the stand where they'd encountered Aeris, including the pyramid that Lawrence had picked up. "I thought you said you couldn't replicate the pattern from Lawrence's pictures."

"I can't," said Astley helplessly. "But by using the descriptions you all gave me, I was able to figure out a few of the symbols. The rest is extrapolation."

Sorin returned the paper. "What do these symbols mean?"

"Something about sealing," said Astley. "Something about the soul. I'm not sure if it's relevant to the current case, but maybe we'll get lucky."

Sorin left Astley to her research and returned to the Alchemists Guild, where he was conducting dozens of simultaneous experiments. He'd discovered that the disease wasn't airborne but manaborne. It spread despite solid physical obstructions and could jump between mortals and cultivators with little resistance.

One advantage they had—or disadvantage in many respects—was that the disease was both debilitating and quick to kill. This greatly diminished how many people it could spread to before a patient was found and isolated.

Sorin spent the next three days engrossed in simulations. Since he couldn't identify the amplification mechanism, he had to transpose known cures and apply them to higher cultivation realms.

Physician Olivander's reports poured in as he worked. Gareth and Lawrence also provided the occasional tidbit of information indicating that the disease seemed to originate in Fleet Street, where the Loveless siblings had spent half a day.

Lorimer also proved extremely helpful. After the initial outbreak in the market district, he was able to better identify the disease and pass these teachings on to his brethren in the city. As a result, they were able to catch instances of the disease before symptoms broke out, greatly reducing the rate of spread.

How many times are you going to decline my aid? This supposed disease isn't as bad as you imagine. Just say the word, and I'll help you solve it. You'll crack this case within the hour!

Is your pride worth so much? Do you need to win so badly? Fine. If you don't want my help, at least do what needs to be done. When a limb is rotting, the obvious solution is to chop it off to save the rest of the body.

"How's your progress?" Sorin's eyes snapped open, and he realized he'd dosed off.

"Gareth," said Sorin. "What brings you here?"

"Just a little something I found," said Gareth. "Though there are just twelve 'Wheel Cities, ' as they call them, there are a few well-guarded villages in the area. I couldn't leave the city, but I had the governor's men visit the clinics in the area and obtain a record of all prior epidemics in the area, along with corresponding symptoms and casualties. How are you holding out?"

Sorin let out a deep sigh. "I'm trying my best, Gareth, but I still can't solve the crux of the issue: aggravation. Every theory I come up with is inconsistent at best."

"Can you not create a cure without knowing this mechanism?" asked Gareth. "Apologies if the question sounds stupid. I have very little medical training."

"The mechanism is key, unfortunately," said Sorin. "Not that I didn't try to do what you said. The issue lies in the fact that this disease seems to be able to bypass natural resistances. It's not that these patients have no immune system, but rather that the diseases are able to hijack their immune responses. That's why the disease seems to scale with a patient's cultivation realm."

Gareth nodded. "New numbers are in."

"Three thousand?" asked Sorin.

"Three and a half," said Gareth. "Like I said, I'm not a medical expert, but it seems to me like we're crossing the point of no return."

"Indeed," said Sorin, crunching through his last numbers. Could I maybe imitate the mechanism with Porous Indigo Root or Adaptive Rot Fungus? Wait, I tried that a few days back, didn't I? Why is my memory suddenly so bad? "Anything else?"

"Just an observation," said Gareth. "There are… options for dealing with situations like these. They don't differ all that much from how we deal with cases of community-wide corruption."

"I won't do it," said Sorin, immediately dismissing the suggestion. "I won't call for a purge of the affected groups. Too many innocent people will die. People that can still be saved."

"My suggestion might seem harsh, but it's actually standard procedure when it comes to things like this," said Gareth. "Though brutal, much fewer people will die in the long run, assuming there is no cure to be found."

"That's it right there," said Sorin. "If there is no cure to be found. But my dear Gareth, there's always a cure."

"Of course, you'd think that," said Gareth. "You've never failed a case in your life. But what if this is the first? How many people will die because you were too stubborn to give up?"

Sorin's aura flared and forced Gareth to fly back, but the ranger stood tall as his heroic ability, Winds of the Watchman, supported him. "I will not call for a purge when there's still a chance at salvaging the situation," Sorin said to the archer. "I will not give up on these people."

While the winds helped Gareth withstand Sorin's aura, it was difficult to maintain. "Though I think it's your pride talking, it's reasons like these that let me know that you're still human." He sighed and took a seat beside Sorin's desk, and Sorin, realizing he'd gone overboard, withdrew his aura. "Now, what's all this?" A mess of papers and information jades lay scattered across the table, including a map of the city. The map was littered with pins that marked hotspots and controlled regions.

"Predictions," said Sorin, placing another pin on the table. "Though I can't pinpoint the next point of infection with a hundred percent certainty, I can guess the right answer thirty percent of the time."

Gareth frowned as he looked over the map. "You can predict where it will strike next? You're making this sound less like a disease and more like a demon."

Sorin nodded. "I didn't notice it at first because spread is usually easy to explain. It follows certain patterns, much like how dye in water will slowly spread out from the point of origin via diffusion.

"Over the long term, that is indeed the case, but over the short term, whether or not the disease spreads is up to chance. As a note, I'm not talking about normal spread, but surprise pockets that pop up despite physical obstructions and purity seals."

Coincidentally, Sorin sensed a tugging via the karmic web alongside another sickly green thread. He placed a red pin on the map, replacing a yellow one where his prior guess had been, and then moved the pin further out.

"Gareth, could I trouble you to investigate these five locations," Sorin said, gesturing to the five yellow pins on the map. "See if you can find individuals facilitating the spread? Maybe an Agent of Disease."

"I'll take care of it," said Gareth, touching the map to replicate it. That same map appeared in Sorin's mind via Gareth's heroic ability. "Are you coming along?"

"I may as well, if only to stretch my legs," said Sorin. "Maybe I'll get lucky and catch a hotspot as it emerges. Which location do you want?"

"Location three," said Gareth. "It's fairly central, and I'll be able to move to the next location quickly."

"Then I'll go to location four and see if I can spot anything unusual," said Sorin.

Gareth spoke into his communication and held it to his ear. " Lawrence will check out Section 1, and Fenrig will check out Section 2," said Gareth. "As for Astley…"

"Leave her to her research," said Sorin. "I have a feeling she's onto something."

But you could know for sure. Think of the lives you could save.

This time, Sorin didn't disagree with Azrakul. The herald's offer was growing more tempting by the day.