The Last Roar

Prologue

Everything was burning.

Red flames scattered across the dry grass as the air was filled with the horrible stench of smoke. As far as his eye could see, the fire took over the Earth. Several trees fell, suffocated by fire, and their ashes were scattered. At that moment, you could see nothing but pure chaos. Screams of terror came from everywhere. Many animals asked for help, running and crying, trying to save themselves from the impending misfortune.

But they could not. All would die before the Sun came up, and he knew it .

How had they reached that point?

The answer was clear, but he refused to accept it. The pain of seeing his home in such chaos, without being able to do anything, was killing him from within.

Lightning struck in the distance, indicating that heavy rain was coming. And as he looked at the landscape before his eyes, he knew that the storm would put out the fire; but when that happened, it would all be over and there would be nothing left.

Why struggle? It wouldn't do any good.

And then, with a thousand questions in his mind, he could hear a whispering voice in his ear that said words he did not understand. The murmur was barely audible, dulled by all the noises that surrounded him. This caused him to shiver, making him tremble, and his blood froze. His pupils dilated and an abnormal fear seized his body. He really could not identify who the voice belonged to, which was what most disconcerted him.

What was it telling him? He could not understand it, even as the voice repeated the words.

He turned his head, hoping to see the animal responsible for the murmurs, but found only the immense solitude that surrounded him completely. What was happening? Had he imagined it?

The whispers continued, along with distant cries. The heat gradually became more unbearable, and the flames were now closer to where he was. What was going to happen next was undeniable.

He was going to die. He knew it very well, but he did not care. He accepted his destiny.

And he looked at his home one last time.

The surprise soon arrived when the flames marked a perfect circle around him, yet somehow didn't even touched him. No doubt this had to be some kind of vision, since fire would never act that way. He frowned and turned. He didn't bother to find a way to escape, he didn't really need to leave. In fact, in some strange way, he felt comfortable.

But it was a loud roar that drew him out of his thoughts. He shook his head and watched as in the distance, a figure, a barely visible shadow slowly approached. Shortly afterwards, the figure let out another thunderous roar and soon, the figure of a lion slowly manifested, walking through the fire, head down and laughing coldly. Although, at first glance, there was nothing really strange about that, he soon realized that the legs of this animal weren't touching the ground. It hovered inches from the ground, avoiding destruction in its wake. He gasped, eyes wide open. It was like an apparition, a ghost. Frightened, he stood still as he watched the lion drew nearer and nearer to Pride Rock.

Laughter became louder and louder every moment. He simply could not take it anymore, and in fear, he wanted to shout for the stranger to leave. But when he opened his maw, no sound came out. He was totally speechless. His pupils dilated. A new chill made him retreat slowly, but he remembered that the fire was still keeping him in a corner, giving him no chance to move or escape.

And so he stood still, staring at the apparition. A few seconds passed, in which laughter and shouts extinguished the voice he had previously heard. Suddenly, he noticed the lion approaching became more and more visible. Seconds later, it was just close enough for him to see his black mane. Almost immediately, a torrent of memories came to his mind about the identity of the stranger. This ended up causing him to have a headache that left him disoriented. But that did not stop an anger he had never felt before, crossing his veins, filling his body completely. He unsheathed his claws, and his breathing heightened. In his head, a thought floated and filled him with deep hatred.