Pandora Unchained - a Cultivation Progression Fantasy

Sorin spent the next three days appearing in public as little as possible. On Elder Marek and Elder Nolan's advice, he ignored the mounting protests outside his house and stuck to the basement where there were fewer windows and, therefore, fewer opportunities for reporters to take pictures of him.

Though it was risky, Percival, Clarice, and the rest of Sorin's staff took turns going out to fetch supplies and fresh newspapers. Though it was clear that some hidden group was trying hard to keep the narrative on Sorin, Lawrence and Daphne did a remarkable job in keeping their attention diverted, eventually bumping Sorin down to the newspaper's third page.

Unfortunately, the people of Delphi had notoriously short attention spans. People got bored of Lawrence's antics, and Sorin was bumped up to the second page once again.

This time, it was Stephan who became an unlikely hero. Having made significant inroads in his arena career, Stephan succeeded in defeating everyone else in the arena at the same cultivation realm, did the same for those of the fourth forging, and then moved on to challenging long-time veterans at the peak of bone forging.

To top it all off, the rising star issued a challenge to the current Arena Champion. The Arena Champion accepted his challenge, and the match was to take place in exactly four months.

Arena battles were the premier sporting event in Delphi, and this story immediately made the front page. This led to a cascade effect whereby sports commentary overtook the entire newspaper, reducing Sorin to a second-rate figure of minor interest at best.

This lasted until the long-awaited day arrived. On Administrator Pollen's order, the narrative abruptly shifted and steered away from all heroes involved in the Shrine Descent, and Sorin was able to travel through the city without trouble and gather with his companions at the Shrine of Delphi.

A large group of oracles poured out of the Shrine just as they had before, though Sorin noted that the corruption on the Chief Oracle had grown significantly and had even contaminated several other oracles. In addition, their numbers were only two-thirds of what they originally were.

The oracles waited until Administrator Pollen made his customary appearance above the temple before sending forth their representative, who once again read pre-prepared words from a golden scroll.

"After four long months of seclusion, the Oracle has finished her preparations for the next phase of the Shrine Descent," read the oracle. "The seal has been opened once again, and it falls to those having received Lord Hope's blessing to continue the Descent.

"This time, we have received information on the Descent's format directly from Lord Hope. It is a new and exciting format called Hero's Roulette.

"Upon entering the catacombs, certain rules will be enforced. Teams and individuals may both participate, and there will be generous rewards for excellent performances.

"We are unsure of what these rules and rewards are, but Hope was asked for, and Hope was given. We look forward to a successful and rewarding Descent once again.

"I wish you all luck. Delphi's fate is becoming increasingly precarious, and only by pushing forward bravely will we ensure that the city endures.

"Your success is our success, brave heroes. You fight not just for Delphi but for all of humanity."

The Chief Oracle's attendant then rolled up the golden scroll and withdrew with the rest of the group, but not before the Chief Oracle turned her head in Sorin's directly once again. Her lips struggled against the golden threads in an attempt to speak, but ultimately, she was unable to break through their confines. The attempt seemed to take up most of her energy, and the Chief Oracle could only allow herself to be escorted back into the shrine by her assistant.

Once the oracles were gone, Administrator Pollen summoned a golden rift, and the assembled teams made their way into it.

The order of entry has changed significantly, thought Sorin. His team was fifth to enter the rift, just after the three God Seeds and the team from the White Tower Group. Owen, Onesca, Fenrig, Faile, and Joseph's teams went next, followed by the other teams with members who had achieved heroic empowerment.

They appeared in the catacombs clustered together in front of a familiar gaping hole. Corruption and filth oozed out of the warded hole that led into the underbelly of Delphi.

"Hope's Blessing wasn't just crucial to quickly advancing everyone's strength," explained Melinoë. "It was also the key to allowing us mortals to resist the corruption sealed in the second level of the catacombs. Please note that this is only the barest requirement. Each individual will respond to corruption differently, and therefore experience a variable reduction in strength upon entering the second level."

After explaining the situation, Melinoë and her team crossed the barrier into the second level. The other God Seed teams followed, followed by Bast and the White Tower Group and finally Sorin's team.

The spiral staircase cut a wide circle that slowly brought them beneath the current city layer. For minutes, only bare stone could be seen on either side, until finally, they passed through a cloudy starscape and saw the scorched ruins of what was once a resplendent city.

"The size is about the same," commented Astley as the descent. "Would you care to get me a map, Gareth?" A flash of information poured into all their minds, and Astley confirmed her hypothesis. "It's exactly the same layout as before, with only minor alterations.

"The location of food establishments and shops is identical. The architecture is confirmed to be ninety-nine percent identical, with only minor acceptable variations. A preliminary analysis of surviving signs hints at the language being mostly unchanged."

Sorin was impressed by the detail of the delivery this time around. "Your ability has improved, Gareth," he commented.

"It took a lot of heavy training," said Gareth smugly. "But in the end, I was able to accomplish my goal of capturing all of Delphi's in acceptable detail."

"Acceptable detail?" mocked Lawrence, calling forth a smaller projection. "Then what do you call this?" The image depicted some explicit graffiti with blurred-out features. "It's pixelated, Gareth. Pixelated!"

"I was afraid you'd abuse my ability, so I steered it in a family-friendly direction," admitted Gareth.

Lawrence gawked. "Wait, you intentionally censored your own ability?"

"I, for one, am grateful for the addition," said Stephan. "Imagine getting distracted by unnecessary details mid-battle, like whether or not a person is wearing clothes."

"Those details are important! " said Lawrence, provoking glares from both Daphne and Astley. "I mean, am I wrong? Given the level of fame I've achieved solely based by delivering crucial information on underwear, are you going to say underwear doesn't matter and that tiny details like whether or not someone has embarrassing candy stripes on their underwear when well into their thirties aren't important?"

"He's got us there," said Daphne. "The list of underwear preferences he published was quite a hit. Half the city must have been involved in trying to figure out exactly who this mysterious underwear thief was."

Astley cleared her throat. "In any case, this city is ruined beyond recognition. I likely won't be able to obtain any further information to support my premise here. Also, doesn't that look like a lot of frightening demons down there?"

Indeed, even someone with Sorin's limited perception could detect several frightening presences. Tens of thousands of demons milled about near the staircase, and over a hundred of those had reached the equivalent of a fifth forging cultivator.

"They said Hero Roulette was the format, but this looks more like another monster-hunting challenge," said Stephan. "Unless the oracle's comments that Hope was asked for and Hope was given is to be taken literally? That Lord Hope going to intervene directly?"

No sooner had he spoken than several bright white specks appeared in the starscape above the second-layer catacombs. Large balls of white fire emerged from the starscape and rained down upon the city beneath them, flooding it with a sea of Lord Hope's signature wish-fire.

A large amount of corruption emerged from beneath the city to meet the white fire. The two forces clashed, and any demons below fifth forging perished.

The two forces continued fighting back and forth as their teams descended until, finally, they came to some sort of agreement. The black miasma retreated to the center of the city and allowed the white flames to consume the demons and concentrate their energy into a large, nine-tailed depiction of Lord Hope. As for the black miasma, it formed a giant black disc covered in white runes at the center of the city atop the opening to a lower level. The statues and the disc were separate items, but the black runes on the white fox and the white runes on the black disc hinted at an interconnected relationship.

With the demons eradicated, the adventuring teams were able to wander through the scorched remnants of the city without any problems. They quickly confirmed that no demons remained, and all corruption in the second stage was concentrated upon the black disc and the white fox statue.

Stephan was the first to speak. "It looks like an arena stage. A place to do battle. I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed here, but I'd imagine we need to step up as individuals or groups to accept challenges."

"But what are the rules?" said Onesca Mayfair.

"And what are the consequences?" added Faile Atlan.

"I imagine one of our teams will have to step up and find out," said Fenrig. "I volunteer my entire team to find out exactly what's going on."

"Everyone should first calm down," said Michael. "Let us assume this is a challenging stage, as Stephan suggested. This means that there are likely rules, rewards, and consequences. I have the following questions:

"How many people can participate at once?

"Will the level of challenge change depending on whom or how many people step up?

"Does a team get only one fight, or is it an endurance battle?

"Can a team withdraw once a fight begins?

"If multiple stages are involved, can they withdraw between fights?"

"I'm personally more interested in the rewards and the consequences of failure," said Sorin. "Because if Lord Hope is involved, and this challenge is an agreement between two powerful entities, I doubt this is as simple as a win-or-die proposition."

Charles Hargrave scoffed. "Are you saying that if we win, we get rewarded, but if we lose, the corruption beneath the city benefits?"

Sorin shrugged. "This just reminds me of competing poisons trying to devour each other. Their battle has reached a stalemate, so they need external poisons or stimuli to tip the scales."

"I suggest we send one of the emerald-rank teams first to try things out," said Melinoë. "This way, we'll risk the least and gain knowledge on the situation."

"So you want to gamble with our lives?" said the leader of an emerald-ranked team called Banner. Every member of their team had only attained an emerald blessing from Lord Hope, the lowest level of blessing.

"I think her proposal has merit," said Michael. "And I say this as the heir of the Pollen Clan and someone who has Delphi's best interests in mind. I care about every hero this city produces and would loathe to throw anyone's life away."

"That's funny because that's exactly what this sounds like," said Banner. "Don't get me wrong, Michael, I'm all for her proposal because it's how we do dungeons. But I think we have a lot to lose here and no upside if you get my drift."

Michael sighed. "What do you want."

"Five hundred thousand gold for me and my teammates, and we'll go up first," said Banner. "Since the risks are unknown, and everyone here will benefit, I think that much is fair. Especially if every team pitches in."

Melinoë laughed. "You're just gambling on this being a multi-stage challenge. You'll face a single challenge and quit after the first, getting an oversized reward for minimal risk."

Banner's expression stiffened. "You caught me. What are your terms?"

Michael looked at his companions. "Delphi can foot the bill, and I'll guarantee it with the funds of the Pollen Clan. If it's a difficulty-based challenge, you'll pick intermediate difficulty. If it's a multi-stage challenge, you'll challenge at least ten stages."

"Three," countered Banner.

"Eight."

"Five."

"Six, and that's the minimum," said Michael. "Take it or leave it. I'm sure other teams would be willing to take me up on such a generous offer."

Banner exchanged a look with his teammate and grinned. "You've got yourself a deal, Master Pollen. You guys stand back and watch as Team Unsinkable clears the way."

"Team Unsinkable?" whispered Lawrence. "That's a terrible name. They're doomed."

"What does their name have to do with anything?" said Astley.

"Hubris," said Daphne. "I for one agree with Lawrence's assessment."

"That's just baseless superstition," said Astley. "Not scientific at all."

"But it's a common storytelling element," said Daphne. "And I'm willing to bet on them not faring well."

"How much?" asked Astley.

"Let's make it an even ten thousand gold?" suggested Daphne.

"All right," said Astley. "You're on."