Final Fantasy: the rise of the dark sorceror

Chapter 6: journey to the floating continent

It has been over five hours since Samuel and others have been thrown into the dungeon, because of how the rebels have been sneaking under the groups suspicions and released the espers that are now causing havoc in the city. They had to eat gruel that was served to them by the servants, just to keep them from starving. Afterwards, one by one, they went to sleep except for Samuel. Before he goes to sleep, he heard the door open and shut along with footsteps. Then he sees a figure coming closer from the halls of the dungeon, and as it turns out, it was none other than the emperor. He can see the emperor's eyes filled with regret, but it didn't excuse the fact that he and his group were thrown into the dungeon.

"Samuel, I am sorry for losing my temper and thrown you and your entourage into the dungeon" the emperor apologized.

Samuel stared at him silently, feeling that the apology sounded rather hollow considering for all these years of verbal abuse.

"I have spoken to the rebels in the dining hall, telling them that I surrender and I will relinquish my hold on the towns of the world. But it was a lie, for I am planning on going to the floating continent that hovers far up in the sky. After all, one of the researchers have discovered the source of magic that has been sealed for few hundred of years. Not only that, but the floating continent has the gateway to the world of espers, a perfect way to enter without needing equipment to fully access it!" Explained the emperor as he smiled with dark glee.

"I take it that you want me to come along, to be your bodyguard?" Questioned Samuel.

"Yes, but not only that, but you'll be bringing the people you have recruited to slow down the rebels so I can break the seal on magic" answered the emperor.

Samuel doesn't say anything but nod in agreement, but deep down, he doesn't want to lose the friends he had made.

"I will see you tomorrow, and I shall have the guards let you all out" said the emperor

With that said, the emperor went back up the stairs before disappearing into the darkness. Samuel lay down on the cold floor to try and go to sleep, but he couldn't due to lots of thoughts racing in his mind. Eventually, he closed his eyes to sleep.

The next morning

Everyone woke up upon hearing the bell, so they got up. Three guards came to the dungeon, and used the keys to let each of them out.

"Sister, my outfit is ruined from laying on the dusty floor!" Complained Mila.

"What do you expect? This is a dungeon, so the floors are going to be dusty since criminals are treated like animals" explained Cherry.

"Is anyone alright?" Asked Samuel.

"We're alright, but... ugh, my back ached from sleeping on the floor and I'm shivering from the cold" answered Gunther, brushing the dust off of him.

"You should at least put some real clothes on, instead of wearing only a cloth that wrapped around your waist" Tsubaki pointed out.

Gunther didn't say anything besides blushing, since over the past two months he had grown used to walking around like that.

"Alright everyone, let's go and meet with the emperor. He wants us accompanying him to the floating continent, and to slow down the rebels" said Samuel.

"He wants us to what-!? How low can he be when comes to sacrificing our lives so he can achieve whatever goals he had in mind!? This is too much for me" exclaimed Bernard.

"I know it's too much, but we can't keep his majesty waiting" said Samuel.

The others agreed, and followed him out of the dungeon. Just so they won't make the emperor impatient, otherwise they would have gotten into even more trouble. When they arrived at the airship hangar, they can see the emperor waiting for them.

"Ah, just in time. I was considering on having the guards escort you all to me, yet you arrived at the right time" said the emperor.

"Forgive us, your majesty. I was informing my group on what you were planning" explained Samuel.

"Hmph, it doesn't matter. Shall we get on the airship?" Questioned the emperor.

The group nodded before boarding on the airship with the emperor, and after some preparations, the airship took off to it's destination high in the sky.

Meanwhile

In the rebel base, they were discussing about the floating continent. One of them is the same youth who had stolen Gunther's armor and uniform to infiltrate, and the other is a commander who had defected from the empire.

"Alright, it's obvious that the emperor was lying about surrendering. No doubt that he had discovered the floating continent that hovers above the world, where magic has been sealed long ago" said the rebel leader.

"Why is magic sealed in the floating continent?" Asked the youth.

"Good question, Wayne. The reason why magic has been sealed up there, was because of the warring triad. It was deemed dangerous due to the war that almost destroyed this world, not to mention the warring triad had realized that their fighting is causing harm to the world. That's why they sealed magic along with themselves, to keep the world from being destroyed" explained the rebel leader to the youth.

"What I've read about the warring triad, of how they fought against each other. The warring triad consists of: the goddess, the fiend, and the demon. Each of them represent types of magic: the goddess represent healing and support magic, the fiend represent status ailment magic, and the demon represent offense magic. They are capable of creating any being through their powers, such as the goddess creating benevolent creatures while the fiend is responsible for the undead and aberrations, and the demon creates malevolent creatures such as goblins and bombs" explained the commander.

"If what you say is true, then we have to reach the floating continent and stop the emperor from unleashing magic to the world! Who knows what the warring triad might do if the seal on them is undone, and that's why we have to save this world!" Said the rebel leader as he pounds his fist on the table.

The rebels agreed, and they leave the tent to board the airship.

Authors note: here is Chapter 6, and sorry if it took few days.