Pandora Unchained - a Cultivation Progression Fantasy

Though the land was ash-covered and bleak, it did contain small hills and low valleys that broke up the monotony of their surroundings. They soon found a dried-up creek where only a trickle of golden fluid flowed.

"You don't want to get anywhere near that," Gabriella warned as Lawrence went to scoop up the trickle of life-attuned divinity. "It's not just you that should be wary, but all of us, God Seeds included. We're nothing but ants before the power of the Ouroboros. Exposing ourselves to its power will inevitably pollute and might even corrupt our inheritance."

Several more hours passed by as they followed the occasional trickle uphill and downhill in a gravity-defying fashion. Eventually, the trickle became a tiny stream flowing away from a faint pulse in the distance. Tiny waves of life energy battered their group and ironically threatened to destroy Gabriella's protective domain.

Eventually, the pulses grew too powerful. Gabriella was forced to dispel the circle of life in favor of Sorin's poisonous protection. Even then, Sorin could only block out so much. The constant stream of death energy accumulated in their bodies, forcing them to face the waves of life energy to neutralize the dangerous poison.

Wave after wave crashed upon them, forcing their bodies to adapt. Life and death energies sank into their muscles, infusing them with golden runes that slowly but surely increased their sanctification levels.

Even Sorin found his stalled cultivation advancing forward. The hundred-poisons within his body stirred as they were exposed to these conflicting energies and were whittled down to their base elements.

As the pressure rose, the poison and corruption in Sorin's body squeezed together to compensate. This eventually led to a partial fusion of these elements in a way Sorin had never thought possible. Though the fusion was only temporary and Sorin's cultivation would regress eventually, it gave Sorin a hint, a potential path to power should he seek it.

Eventually, the life-speckled hellscape gave way to life-filled hills surrounding a steep mountain brimming with life-attuned divinity. Golden streams of energy spilled down its rocky slopes, feeding a lush garden that Sorin suspected even demigods would kill to witness.

The stones on the mountain breathed. The moss on said stones similarly drank in sunlight.

Simply gazing upon the mountain washed away the mental fatigue that had accumulated in Sorin's mind, including large patches of damage caused by his willing corruption.

A stone staircase ran from the base of the mountain to a flat peak located near the head of a golden serpent. This was the life-attuned portion of the Ouroboros. Its sleeping body was coiled around the mountain where dark chains of energy tied it down.

Beneath the mountain was a dark lake. Icy, cold tendrils of death-attuned energies moved from the lake into the Ouroboros through the dark chains, slowly dragging the living half of the deity into a peaceful, nightmare-free sleep.

"These chains are what we need to break," said Gabriella, pointing to nine different stretches of black metal strapped across the mountain. "Each of these chains is monstrously sturdy even without external reinforcement."

Sorin nodded slowly. "I can sense a faint connection to the outer world through the black lake."

"Ratten Hyde is currently infusing the chains with a steady stream of Death Mana," said Gabriella. "Due to certain reasons, his access to Death Mana has limits. If possible, he would prefer to use it sparingly. Given that the corpse of a deity is at stake, however, I expect him to mobilize everything at his disposal should these chains be threatened. If his mind is set on preserving them, these chains will be impossible to sever."

Sorin frowned as he inspected the chains. "I take it we don't need to cut these all away?"

"We'll need to cut at least 4," answered Gabriella. "Six would be preferable. After that, it'll be up to the Ouroboros to break the remaining chains."

Sorin walked up to one of the chains and inspected their structure. For the most part, the mana was at the three-star level. A single thread of golden mana ran throughout the entire chain, granting it sturdy properties that even Sorin would need to take seriously.

"These chains are no joke," he concluded. "According to my analysis of their composition, we'll need to attack them everything we have. Daphne I'm not worried about, and Stephan can handle something like this. But Lawrence, Gareth, and especially you, Gabriella…."

"Don't you worry about me," said Gabriella, summoning a green spear brimming with life-attuned energies. Golden runes covered its surface, blurring the line between healing and harming. "I can hold my own, especially against constructed death mana."

"My lightning and wind-based abilities seem to be quite effective against death-aligned energies," opined Gareth. "I'll give it my all."

"That only leaves Lawrence," said Sorin. He cut his wrist to produce an acidic sludge that reeked of conflicting madness and violence. "This stuff is unstable and needs to be used in the next half hour. I'd… avoid using it with a weapon you intend on keeping. Maybe use it to weaken the links first and attack with everything you have a second later?"

"I'll give it a shot," said Lawrence, accepting a flask. "Wish me luck."

They scattered across the mountain to select a chain. Sorin chose the thickest chain near the head, while Gabriella chose the second thickest chain wrapping around its tail. They remained in contact using Gareth's ability and waited as Daphne linked fireballs to create an impressive spell circle.

Now, the question was whether or not the Ouroboros would be happy to see them. Gabriella was certain they'd be evicted the moment the Ouroboros awakened but was uncertain about where.

"Is everyone ready?" asked Gareth through their connection.

"Born ready," answered Lawrence.

"Affirmative," said Daphne.

"Let's get this show on the road!" said Stephan, activating his Aspect Transformation ability to assume his largest transformation.

Sorin poured everything he had into his spear, all five types of corruption, his five poisons, and the potent power of Excision. "Let's do this."

"We only have a single shot, so let's make the most of it," said Gabriella, her spear glowing with intense green light."

"Attack in three seconds," instructed Gareth. "Three. Two. One."

Now! Sorin's spear screamed as it pierced through the air and struck a single link of shaped death mana. His body shook and the chain trembled as their conflicting energies clashed, first forming thin cracks on the chain's black metal that eventually joined together, causing the chain to snap like a dry twig.

A second snap followed soon after when Gabriella unleashed a burst of green energy. The Divine Realm shook as the influence of death weakened and life attempted a resurgence.

Stephan's chain broke third, and Gareth's followed shortly after. A wind blew across the divine realms, sweeping away ashes to reveal flora and fauna that had lain dormant for several centuries.

A fiery explosion dragged Sorin's attention back to the mountain and the Ouroboros's body. Daphne was a hair too slow, and Lawrence's chain wasn't breaking.

Sorin flew through the air and landed beside Lawrence. The rogue's hands were black with corruption and poison, and bones could be seen on the tips of his fingers.

"I tried what you said, but these poisons really don't discriminate," said Lawrence with pain-filled eyes.

"Rest," said Sorin, pulling the poisons and corruption out of his hands. "It was my fault. My poisons are too slow. The chain is dissolving, but death mana is already flowing into the chain to reinforce it."

Sorin had already used Excision, but Hand of the Twisted Physician was still on the table. Sorin tapped the corroded chain link and infused all the poison he could. The golden thread in the chain alternatingly thickened and thinned as death and poison scrambled for dominance.

"I'm sorry, the chain was just too powerful," said Daphne, arriving at Sorin's side. "How can I help?"

"For starters, you can join Gareth in shooting those spirits crawling up the chain," said Sorin. The archer, having severed his own chain, was unleashing volley after volley of lightning-infused arrows at the creatures crawling out of the black lake. But Sorin could tell that his energy stores were low, and it wouldn't be long before he was overwhelmed.

As Daphne joined Gareth in snipping off the creatures, Gabriella arrived. Her face was pale and bloodless, but the green and gold spear in her hand was brimming with strength. "This chain is deceptively strong despite its thickness," said Gabriella after inspecting it for a few seconds. "Your poisons are working, but Ratten is adapting. We need to strike hard and fast."

Sorin didn't hesitate. His spear pulsed with corruption and poison as he pierced into the single corroded link on the writhing black chains.

"Break!" he shouted as he pushed the raw and conflicting energies into the link.

"Shatter!" shouted Gabriella as she forced divine life mana into that same link.

The two conflicting energies exploded as they clashed, sending their entire party flying off the face of the mountain.

The air shivered. The dead lands trembled. Life gushed forth as the seventh through ninth chains suddenly crumbled away, and the sleeping Ouroboros opened its blood-red eyes. "You… do not belong," said the Ouroboros in a gravelly voice. "Begone!"

The powerful force of expulsion came as a relief to the life-filled energies wreaking havoc in their bodies. Space shivered as they were forced through the healing cracks of the divine realm straight into a large ancient building. Adventurers milled about, inspecting tablets and collecting what intact items they could find.

"What have you done!?" exclaimed a familiar voice. A wave of death washed over their team as Ratten Hyde emerged from a stairwell at the back of the building. They'd clearly been transported directly into the mausoleum. "You dare steal a soul from the Lord of the Underworld, Sorin Abberjay Kepler?"

Sorin could barely catch his breath as death mana flooded the cramped space and forced away the nearby adventurers and God Seeds.

"Hey, we're busy looting here!" shouted Michael.

"I thought we had an agreement, Ratten?!" shouted Benjamin Riss.

Ratten Hyde snorted. "So now that your interests are threatened, you mention agreements? Well, what about the agreement between my Hyde Clan and the Olympian Government giving us priority on high-level corpses?"

Sorin laughed as he picked himself up. "A corpse? What corpse? You were trying to kill a living, breathing creature that somehow survived the Cataclysmic Emergence."

Ratten Hyde pursed his lips. "It seems our clan has been too low-key these past few decades. Let it be known: Sorin Abberjay Kepler's soul is now the property of the Hyde Clan. Any who oppose this claim shall be deemed an irreconcilable enemy."