Pandora Unchained - a Cultivation Progression Fantasy

Shadows danced eerily in empty streets that would normally be bustling with activity. There was likely more than forced spatial transmission involved, but Nigel and Natasha, his protectors, didn't elaborate on the situation.

A rain of throwing knives appeared just as they were rounding the corner, forcing the entire group to duck to avoid getting caught up in the storm of blades. Paving stones erupted immediately afterwards as a dagger pierced up towards Sorin, but the attacker, a peak Bone-Forging cultivator, died from a dagger through the brain, courtesy of Natasha, before he could even respond.

"Don't let up your guard," snapped Nigel, throwing his sword out to lop a cultivator's head off and retrieving the bloody blade a half-second later. "Don't get complacent just because you've got two early Flesh-Sanctification cultivators watching out for you.

Three cloaked figures appeared above them from the rooftops, but Nigel swept his finger to bisect the lot. Unfortunately, the damage was done. Blood rained over their group, infusing them with an alchemical tracker that would prove easy to follow.

"Can you two fill me in on your plan or are we just going to be killing things as we head back towards the Ancestral Manor?" asked Gareth.

"Plan?" said Natasha, jolting backwards to stab at a shadowy creature appearing just feet away from Sorin. "Our plan went out the window as soon as we were teleported. We're improvising."

"Then allow me to shed light on the situation," said Gareth. He tossed a silver bird up into the air, provoking a round of enemy fire. Fortunately, the silver bird seemed invulnerable to such attacks and easily cleared the rooftops, providing vision expansion in the form of a mental map for their entire team.

"This way," said Elder Nigel, noting an ambush up ahead. He cut three strokes into a concrete wall, then kicked. The slab he cut out crashed through the dwelling and into the empty street on the other side. To Sorin's relief, the inhabitants of the building were only frightened and not wounded.

They quickly climbed to the other side and ran towards a shrinking gap in their encirclement. Just when it seemed like they'd managed to squeak through, an intense aura settled onto their group. A powerful old man in deep green mages robes descended from the sky and rained poisonous death on their group.

Nigel attempted to use his sword as a windmill to chase away the miasma, the poisonous spell proved invasive and gradually encroached on their group. It was about to reach them when a silver sword suddenly cut towards the robed elder, forcing him to withdraw his spell to form a solid shield of mana to protect himself from decapitation.

Three individuals appeared above Sorin and company. The sword wielder was naturally Elder Marik, and beside him was Elder Calvin. To Sorin's surprise, Elder Samson was also present. The shadow-clad elder reached into the shadows and dragged out several Flesh-Sanctification assassins that had reached their group unbeknownst to Natasha and were just feet away from reaching Sorin, their target.

"Does your Hargrave clan only know how to bully juniors?" asked Elder Marik, squaring off against the elderly man in mid-air. "You have courage, I'll give you that. Or is it folly? Mounting an attack against our faction in the middle of broad daylight is tantamount to spitting in the administrator's face."

The elderly man smiled as he folded his hands into his long sleeves. "If not now, then when? Administrator Pollen is busy handling complications with Delphi's seal and won't be coming out to assist anyone."

"And you're confident in being spared upon his return," said Elder Marik. "Interesting. But I imagine that's likely contingent on minimizing the damage dealt to the city's infrastructure. Shall we take this up higher, or do you insist on levelling a tenth of the city?"

"If you're asking me for a friendly spar above the city, I see no reason to refuse you," said the elder. He and Elder Marik flew up until they were nothing but tiny sparring pinpricks in the sky.

"You might as well show yourself, whoever you are," said Elder Samson.

A sigh echoed through the streets as a beautiful woman in a long black dress walked out from behind a building. "What can little old me to do but accept when a strapping man like yourself offers to me out for a stroll?"

Both Elder Samson and the mysterious woman vanished, seemingly into another dimension. The only indication of their presence was the occasional burst of energy that echoed through areas of intense darkness.

"We should get going," said Elder Calvin, the third member of Elder Marik's relief team. "But first, let's mark our targets, shall we?" He took a pouch from his waist and crushed it; a poisonous mist spread out in all directions and caused nearby cultivators hiding in ambush to light up with an unmistakable light.

These targets also lit up on Gareth's map, something that didn't escape the elder. "Mr. Fletcher, please lead Sorin and his wonderful rat towards the Ancestral Residence whichever way you see fit. Natasha, Nigel, and I will cover your movements."

Gareth didn't hesitate to pull Sorin towards a medium-sized clump of enemies while Lorimer followed. "That's clearly not the best way," complained Natasha, but her words cut short as she saw their enemies rearrange themselves. In fact, the group they were heading towards began reducing in number. Sorin and company arrived to find a neat stack of corpses.

"Took you look enough," Haley said, her black armor stained in blood. Beside her was Stephan in his Pigmy Shadow Bear form, wearing a suit of lustrous black armor that could only be Stephan's soul-bound treasure. "Have you called up any other allies? Our York Clan isn't very well connected in Delphi."

"A few," answered Gareth. "This way. Sorry to trouble you, ladies." Haley and Natasha exchanged a look before simultaneously disappearing. They mopped up small groups as Sorin and company advanced unmolested.

The enemy quickly reacted to their change in movement patterns, and Natasha and Haley were soon unable to cope with their numbers. Sorin, having the benefit of Nemesis, sensed the attackers' moments before they appeared. He dodged to the side and summoned a storm of poisonous golden needles to repel a pair of rogues, then stabbed backward with a summoned dagger toward the most potent source of violence on the other side.

This, it turns out, was a bad decision. Sorin's weapon directly collided with that of a Flesh-Sanctification cultivator. The impact knocked his weapon out of his gloved hand, though it immediately reappeared to defend his vitals. Fortunately, Lorimer was ready and jumped on the attacker, surprising him just long enough for Elder Calvin to disintegrate him with a poisonous missile.

Another wave of enemies appeared, this time with over a dozen Flesh-Sanctification cultivators. Elder Calvin, Elder Nigel, Elder Natasha, and Haley were deftly separated from the rest of the group, leaving Sorin and his Bone-Forging companions to deal with a group of three Flesh-Sanctification cultivators.

Stephan let out a bestial roar and shifted into a Silver-Spined Grizzley Bear. He then used Natural Selection to forcibly attract all three attackers and spur them into a berserk state.

Poisonous spells and swords struck the grizzly's now-silver armor, tearing deep gouges into its metal and pushing Stephan to the brink. These wounds were mirrored on his enemy, however, forcing them to surfer backlash in order to retreat lest they accidentally kill themselves.

The attack greatly wounded Stephan, but the precious seconds he bought allowed Haley to escape her encirclement and decapitate one of them. Sorin simultaneously used his Wraith Hare Boots to teleport behind the lone Flesh-Sanctification plague mage and took a three-star spell to the chest in exchange for stabbing wo daggers into her torso.

The mage was quick to react and attempted to teleport, but Sorin was ready and used a combination of Cobra's Glare and Python Coil to immobilize her. He then stabbed the enemy a second time in the heart and liver, weak points in any human. She struggled for a few seconds before finally succumbing to the lethal concoction.

A Flesh-Sanctification Plague Mage is probably my limit, thought Sorin, pulling away from his dead target and letting Haley deal with the third opponent. A mage's constitution is weak, and I'm highly resistant to poisonous spells. Even so, that was close. Her spell took out a chunk of my armor and great deal of flesh. Fortunately, I have my armor's Life-Siphoning ability. Otherwise, it might take me days to recover from such injuries.

"We need to keep moving," said Gareth, taking out his bow and snipping someone on a rooftop. He did the same to four other targets before using his aura of command to urge them down a constricted alleyway.

"This is the opposite direction we're supposed to be heading in," said Natasha, appearing beside them. "I'm really starting to question your judgment."

"Be quiet, girl, and focus on the shadows!" said Elder Calvin, flying in front of them and tossing a pouch of poison. Three cultivators screamed as the poison invaded their hiding places and melted the skin off their bones.

The elder was clearly no stranger to battle. He calmly collected their storage pouches but tossed their bones to Sorin. "Bones at Bone-Forging grade or higher are excellent alchemical reagents. Don't let any moral hang-ups stop you from collecting them when their owners so willingly give up their lives for foolish causes."

The continued fleeing, and soon, they arrived at a square filled with a dozen cultivators in strange robes. Sorin immediately felt something shift as he passed the boundary of the square. The chemicals and blood staining him were stripped away, and it was the same for his companions.

Unfortunately, that same force seemed antithetical to the corruption in his blood. If they didn't leave this place, and soon, it would start to impact his vitality stores.

"Many thanks for your assistance," said Elder Calvin, clasping his hands and bowing to their leader, a silver-haired woman.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about," said the woman. "Our order of Phantasia is simply here to conduct a ritual assisting Administrator Pollen and the Oracle of Delphi. Astley, do you know these people?"

A slightly built robed figure lowered her cowl and grinned at Sorin and company. "Sorin, what a coincidence," said Astley. "You seem to be in dire straits. Master, is diplomatically permitted for me to help a friend and colleague in a difficult situation?"

"We have specific clauses dealing exactly with such situations," said the silver-haired woman with a smile. "Do be careful, however. I sense a dangerous presence in the void spinning a web beyond my comprehension. Also, you should get going. One of your members seems to be adversely affected by this formation."

Sorin let out a sigh of relief as their group, Astley included, left the square. Once again, they were headed in the opposite direction of the ancestral manor. "Alright, I understood purifying tracking influences, but this is just too much," said Natasha to Gareth.

"I have a plan," said Gareth. "And I've taken us this far. It would be foolish to abandon this course of action and start hacking our way back towards the Ancestral Manor.

"I have confidence in you, Gareth," said Elder Calvin. "Ignore Natasha and continue leading the way. Right now, we have the advantage of stealth and our destination being unknown. Let's get ahead while we still can.