The Lion Guard: Without Him ✔️

twelve

"Well?" Kiara asked softly. "Ready?"

Fuli could practically feel her heart about to beat out of her chest and run away with unmatched speeds. Kiara's words barely fazed the young cheetah as she stared through the gap in the doors into the darkness on the other side. Whatever was in that darkness could restore any dreams of love and hope she once had.

The thought gave a sharp tug at her heartstrings. Fuli found her eyes seeking out the other cheetah beside her, the one who had clearly been trying to hard to break down the walls to her head and heart. However, she could not allow that. If something happened to him, if he died because of her, just like everyone else she loved, if she could not protect him, she would truly become a broken, flat soul walking the surface of the Earth.

Fuli was surprised she was even thinking like this. She hated Azaad. Hated his jokes, hated his laugh, hated his eyes, hated his smile, hated his personality, hated his warmth. Right?
Yes. No. Yes.
Maybe.
Whatever the answer may be, Fuli had no time to decide for here they were: the Temple of Life.

Forcing her sleeping limbs to move, Fuli slowly followed Kiara and Azaad into the darkness. After a mere ten steps, they were consumed by darkness except for the little light from the doors which illuminated little to nothing of the stone, freezing cold cave.

"What are we supposed to do?" Kiara's voice rang out from somewhere to Fuli's left, sounding so close yet so far.

As though Kiara's voice had set off a surprise stampede, light suddenly filled the cave. Fuli's eyes adjusted to the warm light while taking in the cave. It was massive and round with drawings lining the walls in lines, circles and other shapes. There were sculptures made from the same stone as the walls, crafted into different animals, each holding a torch of fire. There was an ape, a lion, a zebra, an ostritch and so many others, even a hyena. The roof of the room was round and leading up like a cone, the top submerged in never-ending darkness. However, what caught Fuli's eyes was not a statue or a flame but the large round podium in the centre of the room. It was at least a foot higher than the ground with ancient markings scrawled along the sides, reading an old text which even Fuli could not decipher.

"What does that say?" She asked, though in the large space her voice sounded hollow and echoey.

Azaad stepped forward from beside her, his handsome features sunken into a frown.

Wait, handsome?

Before Fuli could think on it, said handsome cheetah started speaking, his voice shaking with a nervous edge. "It says that this is the Temple of Life." He explained. "We're in the right place."

"Why is it so cold in here?" Kiara asked.

"Because," Azaad explained. "The power of life has yet to be activated. Only at its roots in the ground is there life."

"Like the papaya." Fuli agreed.

He nodded, "Exactly. It says here that to start the process of activation, two loved ones of the lost hero must stand in front of the trees. Trees?"

"Those!" Kiara said, gesturing to two opposite sides of the room. Sure enough, a tree was drawn on each side of the room, identical, each parallel to the podium. "It must be."

Azaad nodded in agreement. "I think you are right. Go on, then, stand in front of the trees."

While Kiara sped off to the one on the left side, Fuli took her time, gazing at the carefully drawn tree with uncertainty.

"Fuli?" Azaad's calm voice called.

She looked at him, her eyes soft and slowly brimming with tears. "I-I can't." She stuttered.