Pandora Unchained - a Cultivation Progression Fantasy

With the death of the three-star floor boss, it didn't take long for the remainder of the cores to get snatched up. As for the entrance into the second level of the catacombs that appeared after the floor boss's death, the corruption there was so potent that even the three God Seeds didn't dare enter.

Administrator Pollen was there to greet the surviving heroes upon their return. "The Chief Oracle is currently recuperating from breaching the barrier, so it falls to me to preside over this year's blessing," said the demigod from his perch atop the shrine. "You all have ten minutes to decide on the allocation of cores amongst your party members."

Sorin and company quickly took out their cores and tallied them up. They'd gathered a total of 95 Cores of Corruption during the delve, excluding the three-star core fragment.

"We should trade this thing for more cores of corruption," Sorin immediately said. "Our entire team deserves credit for slaying the creature, but this is only useful for one person."

Stephan shook his head. "A powerful blessing isn't something we should pass up on. It's far better for the rest of us to get a lesser blessing in exchange. Whichever party member receives the empowered blessing will be able to carry us through the next trial more easily. For the record, that won't be me. I know my limits."

"Nor me," said Astley. "I'm just a tagalong."

Gareth was the next to speak. "My potential is limited, so it shouldn't be me. So is Lawrence's."

"Hey!" said Lawrence. "You know you're basically insulting my entire family by insinuation, don't you? But yes, he's right. I'm the strongest Holt that ever was."

Daphne was the only one on their team that was conflicted by the decision. "I think it's clear by now that I have a history with the White Tower Group and that Bast and I have a bit of an antagonistic relationship. We're first cousins, see. He's from the Purelight Branch of the White Tower Group, while I'm from the Eternal Flame Branch. Relatively speaking, I'm very untalented; my parents sent me away to study in the middle of nowhere so I wouldn't have to deal with politics and the like."

"This core… it could change my destiny. That being said, getting my bones fully unsealed would have a similar effect. I won't accept less than silver bones, Sorin. Otherwise, I'm taking a loss." She stepped away from the core fragment. "The fragment is yours."

"Ree!" added Lorimer.

Sorin wasn't surprised and had expected this development. "I won't let you down. The same applies to you, Lorimer." He reached out to the three-star core fragment, which was too large to pick up without a storage treasure, and branded it with his spiritual sense. The rest of his team did the same for the remaining 95 cores, with Astley volunteering to keep five less than the others to keep the numbers round—just in case there were thresholds.

Lorimer, being a familiar, wasn't entitled to a blessing.

"Since you've all decided on the allocation, I now beg for Lord Hope to descend upon this ancient shrine," intoned Administrator Pollen. "Lord of Humanity, Bringer of Salvation, Light of the Lost, please look kindly upon these lacking heroes and strengthen them so that they may better accomplish your will!"

The demigod then raised his hand and tore open the sky. A channel appeared above the shrine, through which Sorin could barely glimpse the figure of the chained Evil, Hope. White fire gushed out of the channel and split into portions according to their share of cores. It then proceeded to fuse with the Cores of Corruption to create a platform for each qualifying participant. Those who didn't make the mark instead received items as consolation prizes.

The platform's lowest grade was an emerald, which corresponded to those who'd collected the bare minimum. Emerald platforms were ten feet tall and allowed anyone who sat upon them to tower over their unqualified competitors.

The next grade was a sapphire for those obtaining ten cores of corruption. This platform was 20 feet tall, double the height of the first.

Those lucky enough to obtain 15 Cores of Corruption obtained a 40-foot-tall ruby platform. In Sorin's team, it was only Astley who was stuck with one. As for the others Sorin excluded, they were able to condense a 60-foot-tall bronze platform covered in silver runes. Each of these runes corresponded to their paths, making it clear that they qualified to receive a tailored blessing.

Standing just 20 feet taller than the bronze platforms were twenty silver platforms. Only those who'd pooled 50 cores on a single individual were able to attain this powerful blessing.

Last came the five golden platforms. These platforms were a hundred feet tall, and of the five, three were occupied by God Seeds, a hidden God Seed occupied one—Sorin, and the last was occupied by Bast Phillips, the inheritor of the White Tower Group's Purelight Corona Art.

With a wave of the demigod administrator's hand, the heroes were teleported to the peak of their respective platforms, where they were immediately bathed in golden light. Each platform, despite their disparate grades, gave off potent god light, which immediately began remolding its owner's blood, bones, and soul.

Tiny imperfections and injuries were cured. Cultivation mistakes and trauma were fixed. Even the trauma Sorin had suffered to his meridians from having his cultivation crippled, something that three-star physicians had agonized over, was healed.

More surprising to Sorin was that the God Light tried to heal over his crippled mana sea. For a second, he held out a sliver of hope, but in the end, the god light turned tail and fled upon sensing the vast amount of corruption caged in its place. Unable to improve upon his divine-grade cultivation art, the God Light settled for the next best thing: improving Sorin's genetics.

Sorin felt something inside himself shift. His alignment with the Ten Thousand Poison Canon grew manifold. His Abberjay bloodline rapidly reached a purity that hadn't been seen in his family in decades.

The transformation of his blood and genetics was quickly followed by a transformation of his bones. Even between bone grades, some runes were better than others; with the God Light's help, Sorin's became more compact and potent.

On its own, this wasn't a bad thing. But bronze runes began chipping off his bones, revealing the more potent silver runes beneath them; Sorin started to panic. No, no, no! Stop it! If this is the blessing you're offering, I don't want it!

Unfortunately, the fox didn't seem to care about what he wanted, and the blessing continued unabated. What's more, the Divine Bone Rot infecting him also seemed to be receiving the God Light's nourishment and was speeding up the rate at which it attacked his bones.

Sorin quickly considered his options. Upon seeing many of the cultivators present, including Melinoë, breaking through, he decided that undergoing a forging was indeed the most efficient and risk-free solution.

He immediately took out the C-grade manatoxin he'd manufactured and drank it down. It was immediately absorbed into his mana channels, where it froze over his mana reserves, then proceeded to attack his bones and the surprised Divine Bone Rot.

Sorin's body felt like it was plunged into an ice bath. The mana in his meridians, his blood, and his bones, refused to budge an inch. It was the same for the Divine Bone Rot—the death-aligned poison was helpless to react as the C-Tier manatoxin hammered away at Sorin's bones and forcefully upgraded all manatoxins in Sorin's body by an entire tier.

This state continued for a full hour until, finally, Sorin's mana circulation system broke free. Mana surged from his newly forged bones at nearly double its original potency.

While this was useful in suppressing the Divine Bone Rot, Sorin soon discovered that an increase in mana circulation rate accompanied the increased potency of his mana. Two-thirds might reduce the total amount of poison, but its growth rate had doubled.

I can still complete another forging, thought Sorin as he firmed his resolve. He didn't have a completed B-Tier poison on hand, but he did have the next best thing: the Dark Lady's core and natural neurotoxins. Time was not on his side, as the blessing wouldn't last forever, so he quickly pulled these items from his storage ring and directly ingested them.

Toxic Metabolism quickly separated the powerful corruption from the core, producing an untainted A-Tier Neurotoxin. He forcefully digested using the potency of the blessing and incorporated it into his body.

Sorin's body began naturally producing neurotoxins of increased potency until, finally, they broke through to the ten-poison level. Neurotoxins weren't as effective against the Divine Bone Rot as other types of poisons, but as an A-Tier poison, the Dark Lady's neurotoxins had no trouble destroying a healthy amount. An hour passed as Sorin's bones transformed, and yet another two-thirds reduced the bone rot while his mana circulation rate once again doubled.

Sorin thought, as his bones, blood, and mana transformed once again. This cultivation speed was unreal. It wasn't advancing by leaps and bounds—it was practically cheating! No wonder Haley had told them to remain at the first stage of bone forging.

He was the only one to experience a double breakthrough. A full half of the heroes present also enjoyed a similar benefit.

As predicted, the double breakthrough utilized most of the blessing's potency, leaving only a smidgeon behind to improve Sorin's body. Stabilize my cultivation, stabilize my cultivation, stabilize my cultivation! Sorin urged.

Unfortunately, the God Light seemed to have a mind of its own. As soon as it encountered Sorin's freshly forged bones, it immediately saw the hidden potential and began chiseling away at its outer layer. Sorin cursed as the bronze rapidly broke away from his bones, eventually giving way to pristine and complex silver runes that greatly enhanced his power. With the full unsealing of his silver bones, the Divine Bone Rot's spread reached unprecedented heights, pushing Sorin into an even more desperate situation than when he'd started.

Always beware of the blessings of the fox, thought Sorin as he remembered the teachings of his ancestors. With his bones upgraded, there was nothing left to improve. The Bone Rot was, therefore, the beneficiary of the remainder of the blessing.

It looks like I have no choice then. Sorin sighed as he reluctantly pulled out the Divine Tome, Embracing and Cultivating Evil—a Practical Guide to Unleashing the Ultimate You, from his hero emblem. He sincerely hoped that the fox wasn't playing yet another trick on him and that the blessing hadn't purposefully stimulated the bone rot to force him down this path, but he knew that this was only wishful thinking. More likely than not, this was completely within the fox's expectations.

A dense aura of corruption filled the space around Sorin as he cracked open the book. For a moment, he worried that the outside world would learn about his dark secret. This worry didn't last long, as what he observed through his bond with Lorimer was untainted and holy God Light, the kind one would encounter in divine items or a divine tome.

It's time to see exactly what I'm in for, thought Sorin.

Chapter 1: Defining and Understanding Evil.

Evil has been around since the existence of gods, for Divinity embodies perfection, and what is perfect will inevitably be Corrupted. They are two sides of the same coin, unable to exist independently.