Pandora Unchained - a Cultivation Progression Fantasy

Sorin and Gabriella spent the next half hour mapping out the Ouroboros's body and diagnosing its physical condition. While they were at it, they cleared away the last few pockets of tainted energy using a combination of poison and stimulation of the Ouroboros's natural divinity to break the stalemate that had endured for centuries.

"This problem is no longer a physical one," Sorin concluded after the last of the foreign energy was cleared away. "There are two facets to this problem – mana imbalance and spiritual imbalance."

"As one who cultivates life from death, I can somewhat understand the Ouroboros's dual nature," said Gabriella. "I'm not sure exactly how he does it, but the Ouroboros exists in two states simultaneously. Both states simultaneously destroy and consume each other for replenishment and refinement."

"Then whatever attacked the Ouroboros must have severely damaged its 'living' aspect," opined Sorin. "The death aspect of its divinity is so strong that I can barely sense its life aspect. It's no wonder it fell into a coma and can't resist the encroachment of death mana."

"I honestly don't see a way to completely purge said death mana, given the sheer quantity present inside its massive body. It's like a whole river of death was poured into its body. More keeps coming, without end."

A corner of Gabriella's mouth twitched. "Your comparison isn't just accurate — it's literally accurate. Ratten is currently pouring the energy accumulated in the river Styx into the Ouroboros's body. Death mana, frigid energy, souls… he's stuffing the body full until it chokes.

"If it were a mortal, even a peak Flesh-Sanctification cultivator, such a large quantity of death-aligned mana and materials would result in instant death. Fortunately, Ouroboros is a god. It can endure the harshness of the river at the cost of its dwindling 'living' energies.

"The best comparison I can think of is that this is the divine equivalent of submerging someone in a tepid river. Slowly but surely, the body's temperature would decrease, eventually resulting in death by hypothermia."

Unfortunately, this was the type of case Sorin would rather pass on to a talented life mage. If it was a disease they were up against, Sorin would be confident in dealing with it. But this… this exceeded his capabilities. Even stimulating the 'living' aspect of the Ouroboros would only result in a short-lived eruption of strength that would eventually result in backlash and recoil.

"I'm sorry, I don't have a solution," said Sorin.

"Isn't that why you had them fetch me?" asked Gabriella. "In terms of balancing out the Ouroboros's divinity, even I must admit that it's impossible to do so using mana."

"Then…"

"We'll need to affect the Ouroboros's spirit to encourage recovery via symmetry," said Gabriella. "We must enter its Divine Realm and heal its soul. The rest will naturally follow."

Sorin shuddered. "Souls aren't exactly easy to deal with. I'm familiar with the theory, but in terms of practice, I'm sorely lacking."

Gabriella put her hands to her lips and stifled a chortle. "What makes you think any of your so-called theory applies to a deity? You're fortunate, you know. If it were anyone else, they wouldn't even be able to think about forcefully entering a divine realm." She sighed. "This is going to be costly. Entering a divine realm by force is an energy-intensive process. Ratten Hyde could do it with the support of the Underworld Bident, and so could Michael with Apollo's Lyre if it weren't in Delphi."

"Um, are we just looking for a way in?" interrupted Lawrence, who'd been observing from the side. "Sorry, most of what you guys were talking about is way above my pay grade, but I heard something about breaking and entering."

Gabriella's eyes lit up. "Right. I was wondering what was off about you. It seems you've somehow inherited Ariadne's inheritance without being compatible or deserving it."

"…. Thank you?"

"It wasn't a compliment," clarified Gabriella. "But it's a fortunate development. If anyone can find an easy way in, it's you."

"Yes, I know I'm awesome," said Lawrence, summoning a ball of shadowy string. "Pathfinder." The ball proceeded to roll into a wall and stop in its tracks. "Ahem. It usually doesn't do that."

"There's no need to doubt the ball of string," said Gabriella. "If Ariadne's Pathfinder ability says the quickest way is through that wall, then without a doubt, that's where we must go." She eyed Stephan. "You're a shifter, aren't you? Would you kindly adopt a more convenient form and start digging?"

"Digging?" said Stephan, sounding almost offended. "What do you take me for, a dog?"

"You heard the lady," snapped Daphne. "Either start digging, or I publish another love triangle story."

Stephan glared at Daphne. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me," said Daphne.

"I'd help, but I need to conserve my energy," added Sorin. "But if it's a physical enhancement you want…" Sorin flicked his finger and sent a dose of stimulant Stephan's way. His arms and legs swelled by 25 percent. "The effects should hold even after your transformation."

"Stupid dirt," grumbled Stephan as he adopted his Silver Spine Grizzley Bear form and began mauling the nearest wall. His claws were impossibly sharp and cut through stone as easily as they did dirt. That wasn't even considering the sharp spines on his back and his arms that chipped away at the tunnel as he advanced.

To Sorin's surprise, Daphne joined him by using spell forms to shovel away dirt. "Don't overthink it," said Daphne. "I found some pretty rocks I think might be invaluable. Waste not, want not." Her efforts netted her a life-and-death scale after only a few minutes of shoveling, further encouraging her mana-intensive efforts.

"Speaking of Life and Death scales, I'd prefer if you reserved them for me," said Sorin. "I can't pay you back now, but I think I might be able to work them into the next Gate Opening Tincture."

"So you're saying we could make a huge profit by snapping up any scales that hit the market?" asked Daphne.

"I suppose that's one way of looking at it," said Sorin.

"In that case, I'll tentatively commit 10 percent of my capital to their acquisition," said Daphne. "Get me a working high-efficiency tincture and treatment, and I'll divert all my liquid assets and even liquidate some of my more uncertain adventures." Daphne might have become overly greedy since arriving in Olympia, but that was something Sorin could work with.

Three hours later, they arrived at another underground pocket. Violent energies rolled out from unstable fissures in the void. "This should be it," said Lawrence as his ball of string stopped in front of a fissure. I think I should be able to force this thing open. Are we sure we want to do this, though?"

"I'll be entering along with Gabriella," said Sorin. "You can leave now if you don't feel comfortable."

"I think I'll—"

"I knew you had it in you," said Stephan, laying a heavy-clawed hand on Lawrence's shoulder. "We're team 'We Don't Need a Life Mage.' Have we ever backed down from a challenge?"

"We don't need a life mage?" questioned Gabriella. "What an audacious name. Let's see if you'll still feel that way after everything's said and done. Lawrence?"

"I'll do it, I'll do it," groaned Lawrence. "Shadow Traversal." His ball of silver string wrapped around the spatial fissure to form a black door. The fissure widened to accommodate the door frame, revealing a pale world filled with ash and smoke.

They stepped through the door to enter a world rife with death mana. Sorin was able to hold it back using his poisonous aura, but doing so was draining. I might be able to last a day, assuming we don't need to fight or do anything else that requires mental energy.

"You should pull back your aura," said Gabriella, stepping forward. "Such weak death mana is not something that can cause me problems."

Sorin reluctantly pulled his aura back and shivered as a jade-green light spread out from Gabriella, causing grass to grow and flowers to bud. Tiny saplings popped out of the Divine Realm's ashy soil.

It was an impressive display, and more impressive was that Gabriella seemed to take little to no energy to perform it. She simply used the ambient death mana as fuel to reinject life into their surroundings, forming a self-contained cycle that would endure long after they left.

Fresh greenery aside, their journey through the ashen lands was dull and uninspired. The bleak whiteness of the sky stood in stark contrast to the greyness of the land. So much for the duality of the Ouroboros, thought Sorin as he inspected the seemingly endless landscape. I think we'd have better chances of finding light in the bleakness of space.

"Wait, I see gold over there!" exclaimed Lawrence. He shot out towards a small speck of color in the distance, cutting a loop before heading back to their circle of protective greenery. "That smarts," he said, wiping away dusty particles that were flaking off his skin.

"Going out there without either me or Gabriella keeping you company is a bad idea," said Sorin, using his poisons to purge the death mana that had invaded Lawrence's skin during the few short seconds he'd been gone. "Next time, just point the way, and we'll slowly make our way there."