Chapter 1

As the warriors of the fallen goddess, Cosmos, exit the forest they see a wooden door with iron hinges on a stone wall. This reminded of the many castles each of the warriors have explored in their homeworlds. What was different from all of them was a skull of some sort of creature.

"Could it be a dragon?" Luneth thought aloud.

"Clearly death lurks inside. Its best if we all stay alert and stick together." Firion suggested.

Bartz stepped on something hard and as he looked, the soil looked as if it was disturbed. Curiously, he brushed away the dirt revealing a shiny object. It was a small, silver key. "Hey, look what I found!" he cried as he held it high for everyone to see.

It gleamed under the sunlight and he handed it to Firion who opened the door. A loud, shrieking noise was heard as they walked inside. The foyer was very spacious and a dome celing towered over their heads. It looked to be approximately fifty feet high. The walls dimmed as two torches burned in their pedestals. To the right was a locked door and in the center was another wooden door. As the group settled, there was a cold blast of wind and the door behind them closed with a bang. The room darkened and they heard a low, deep cackle.

"That pitiful wizard, Lakmir, was a fool to send bufoons like you to stop me. You will surely regret it for the only thing here for you is a horrific death!"

Shantotto's face brightened and she let out a bellied laugh. "Ohohohoho! You are certainly one to talk, but could you be able to walk the walk?"

The voice didn't answer.

"This place is definitely full of traps and ruthless enemies..." Squall thought aloud.

"Indeed. But they can't stop us!" Everyone faced Firion as he spoke. "This warlock may not be an easy adversary. But as Lakmir said, we must prevent him from summoning the behemoth and destroy him. Our only chance to do that is by working together. Understand?"

Everyone nodded.

"If we stay together, we survive. We fight as one like we did with Chaos. That is how we shall prevail!" He took his Ragnorak out from the holster and stuck it in the air as he cheered. "To victory!" And so, the journey has bound to begun.

With the crystal shards removed and the wooden door unlocked, the warriors set foot on their quest. They entered a room consisting of granite descending stairs and a black book resting on a small platform extending from the left wall. It looked like an ancient tome and its pages looked as if they haven't been used in ages.

At the sight of the walls, Luneth began to shiver, "T-these walls seem uncomfortably close...I hope they don't cave in on us..."

Laguna gave a smack on his back. "Relax, dude. These walls are as sturdy as a tank."

To demonstrate he knocked on it and in astonishment, nothing happened. Luneth began to take a deep breath to calm his nerves. They grabbed the two lit torches and walked down the stairs but Zidane stopped them as he observed the black book.

"Hey! I wonder what this black book is for! I'm sure it'll help us beat this warlock lord to a cripple!"

As he reached for it, the floor collapsed from underneath! After they fell half of a foot, Prishe opened her palms and yelled, "Float!"

As if by magic, everyone was hovering but they were still below the ledge.

"Whew! That was a close one!" Zidane chimed. He looked at his hands and he was holding nothing but thin air, the book was missing. "Awwww man! I can't believe I lost it." he moaned.

"We can't dwell on that. Let's get to the top." Firion said.

He took out a grappling hook and pressed a small button on its handle. With a loud whoosh, it extended diagnally upwards and hit the top edge of the wall. He climbed up the rope and the rest of the fighters followed with Luneth and Shantotto bringing up the rear.

He saw a large stone at the corner of the back wall and decided to hit it with his blade. Crack! The noise grabbed everyone's attention as they looked back at the Onion stone was removed and he and Shantotto looked inside a dark tunnel.

"Mmmm. For a small pest, I am quite impressed." she praised.

"Hmm. Let's see what's in there." he wondered.

They peeked in and saw a handle on the left and right walls, and an arrow on the front wall. Luneth took it and curiously looked at one of the handles. He rubbed his chin, "I wonder if I do this..."

He reached and grabbed a torch on the left wall and the handle slipped down revealing a spiral staircase leading down.

"No way...Hey guys, check this out!" he hollered. The other warriors ventured in.

Inside they stood at the edge of a dark chasm. From the darkness below, they could hear the screams and the moans of the undead. Up ahead were two bridges. The left was made of stone and concrete leading to another chamber, while the right had a old, shabby bridge leading to a different place. It looked like it was in poor condition for anyone to stand on it. It would've collapsed since it was only made with frayed ropes and rotted planks.

Everyone whispered all at once at their surroundings.

"Welll, I suggest we head this way." Laguna pointed with a gung ho attitude.

Everyone walked across the stone bridge and suddenly a shadow wraith wrapped in a worn out cloak appeared out of nowhere in a flash of light.

"Whoa! I've never seen anything lie this! Unless...if we were to die or something." he concluded.

Tidus pushed in front, took out his Brotherhood sword and challenged it. "Well then! Look's like we got ourselves some fish to fry!"

Shantotto scolded as he appeared beside him. "Do not lose your head, or you'll meet certain death."

She pouted with her hands on her hips and Yuna stepped into the fray. "Let us fight together with all our strength."

First was Tidus who sliced the wraith. As a counterattack it casted Curse on him which prevented him to make his next move. Yuna used Esuna to reverse it and Shantotto opened her hands which started to make an orange glow.

Then she shouted "Scorch! Begone with you!" It was Firaga. She released the flames which engulfed the apparition and vanished.

She boasted with a big smile. "Easy. Far too easy!"

The trio heard footsteps and Firion asked if they were alright. "Oh, certainly. That despot of the undead was quite a warm-up for me."

He admired her enthusiasm. "Alright, then. Let's get moving." And the team marched on.