His body trembled in agony, flickering his eyes open whilst a crackling laugh scratched his mind. The twisted land surrounding him cracked and crumbled as the figure approached him, inhaling mere inches from his throat.  
"You're such... a pathetic... fool!" Scar's victorious slither seeped into his ears. The skies roared with thunder, shaking through his body as the shadows ensnared the young lion's body. Everything was hopeless. Every strain of fur on his body cried out in pain, knowing all too well he was doomed.
The lioness who pierced the realm had once given him hope, relief. But now she was gone. An angel stricken from the skies to be consumed in the deep dark void below. Now only darkness remained, blinding him from all optimism.
"Is that so?!" A strong feminine voice roared through the skies, causing Scar and Vipawa to glance towards a large peak nearby. A lone lioness stared down at them, sticking out her chest as the soul-screaming breeze rushed past her. Scar's eyes focussed on the lioness, smirking slightly as he realised who towered over him.
"So, you finally reveal yourself... Potea, wasn't it?" The demonic god smirked, standing proud and tall beneath the looming lioness. She ignored his ghastly gaze, focussing on the torn, broken husk of Vipawa's soul. Her fur hummed with ethereal energy, shimmering through the hazy smoke stanching the air. Her master had a plan, and she would see it through.
Scar sensed it all coming. The power building in her body. That beautiful, glorious fountain of energy. He could almost taste her soul filling his ever-hungry belly. The floating islands surrounding them began to break orbit as the corrupted crystalised structure in the distance reached out to the Scarred god. Dark green strands of ethereal essence swayed through the air, absorbing into Scar's body. It forced his form to arise into the air, infusing with his corrupted soul. Potea held her ground, flicking her attention between the empowering god and his apparent prisoner.
Her master's plan was rolling perfectly.
As the strands of corrupted energy fused with Scar's form, he began to enlarge, overshadowing the ancient Royal Mlinzi. His fur glistened with ethereal energy, igniting in soul-lit flames whilst Potea simply inhaled slowly. She knew what she had to do. 
Before the scarred god could release his roar, the lioness roared towards Vipawa, catching both him and Scar completely off guard. Vipawa panicked as a bolt of light blasted before his eyes. His feet left the decaying soil, swaying up into the air as he began to fall into the light. The sound of Potea's roar bellowed into his ears, cutting off as his vision started to burn away.
...
The lion's eyes slowly opened, flickering back to life as the sound of birds chirped around him. He now found himself in a lush field surrounded by strange, crystallised mountains. They glistened on the horizon, harmonising with the clear blue skies.
"Wha...Where?"
"It's okay, Vipawa," A mature, masculine voice beckoned the young lion forward. With his eyes now mostly focussed, he noticed a familiar, majestic figure sitting before him. He overlooked the land, sitting as elegantly as the sun on the horizon.
"It...It can't be..." Was all that he could whimper, feeling a rageful fire start to kinder in his chest. The figure turned to face him, revealing his recognisable brown eyes. "Kopa?"
The two stared each other down for a moment, analysing every vibration of their furs. Vipawa's eyes narrowed, locking onto his prey as Kopa simply sat still, smiling back gently.
"You... You killed them, didn't you?!" Vipawa stepped forward, halting mere meters from Kopa. His claws dug into the soil whilst his teeth ground together. Kopa simply sighed, keeping his chest aloof.
"I didn't kill your pride, Vipawa." The lion god raised his paw, causing the younger lion to halt his snarling approach. "Your mind has been altered, scarred by a demonic presence." Flicking a single claw out of his paw, Kopa rested it at Vipawa's scarred eye, causing the younger male to flinch backwards a little. "May I?"
For some strange reason, Vipawa couldn't help but stare Kopa in the eye. His heart pulsed, warming his body as Kopa's eye shimmered with a bluish hue. The Uasian god moved his paw closer, digging its single primed claw across the surprisingly calm lion's head. Vipawa's eyes started to gleam brightly, blinding the young male as Kopa's paw dug into his mind and soul.
....
It was as if it was yesterday for Kopa. The feeling of the dry, cracking earth on his paws. The harrowing, boiling winds rushing from the east, blowing in his mane as he ran. Kwaheri rode on his back, holding on for his life as the mighty Royal Mlinzi ran.
He looked up to the sky, watching as an eagle swooped overhead, her eyes focused off into the horizon. The soft sounds of conflict rumbled through the air as the trio quickly approached the raging dust storm. The occasional view of what seemed like two lionesses caught their eyes. Especially the eagle's.
"Jicho! Status report?!" The lion roared, looking up at his eagle friend.
"It's definitely two lions, Kopa." The eagle focussed on the two sparring lionesses. Something caught her sight. One of the lionesses seemed to be made of... rock? There was only one thing she knew that this could mean. "But... one of them looks like..."
"A Giza!" Kopa stared forward, focusing his eyes at the rocky lioness. She seemed to have pinned the other down, shoving her muzzle down towards the lioness' throat. A death wrenching, gagging scream echoed through the open, barren land. "NO!!!" Kopa roared. A sudden burst of energy pulsed through his body, eyes locked forward as he approached the conflict before him.
As he got closer, he noticed the small, still bodies of four new-born cubs. The bare sight of them only fuelled his rage, as he began his pounce towards the attacking Giza. Kwaheri leapt off his back, somersaulting backwards into the air.
The Giza looked up, seeing Kopa's snarling, deathly teeth lunge towards her. She swiped her rocky paw at him, knocking him out to the right, landing with a solid thump onto the blood dyed soil.
"You're too late, Royal Mlinzi." The spectral lioness laughed, holding her ground, as Kopa arose. "He will rise to power again!" She smiled proudly, all her attention focussed on Kopa. The blood of the other lioness dripped from her rocky muzzle. The twisted, greenish flames cracking through her body growled with heightened integrity as she stared Kopa down. However, she didn't notice Kwaheri and Jicho sneaking up on her.
"Not on our watch!" Kopa held his ground, preparing his body to strike. Looking over the twisted lioness' shoulder, he nodded towards Kwaheri. "Now!" Without delay, Kwaheri pounced, grabbing the Giza's neck. The spectral lioness pounced and galloped, trying to knock the monkey off.
Within seconds, she broke free, flinging Kwaheri a few feet away. She turned to him, staring him down with a death-drenched stare. Frozen in fear, Kwaheri tried to hurry back as the spectral lioness rushed him, her rocky teeth-gnashing and snarling aggressively. From the corner of his eye, though, he noticed a flash of spectral light, zooming down to the earth.
Jicho had begun her dive, rushing towards the jagged feline. Her feathers igniting with ancient Uasian energy as she squawked, louder and louder like short, volatile bolts of lightning, crackling down to the dry, rocky land beneath her. Reaching the ground, the harmonised eagle pulled up, slashing the Giza's side, knocking her over.
Now weakened, Kopa stepped forwards. Jicho swooped down and grabbed Kwaheri with her talons to an orchestra of giggles and howls of excitement coming from the excitable monkey. She softly dropped him off beside Kopa, who stood firm, his claws digging into the warm dirt. The Royal Mlinzi's mane started to hum, glistening softly as the ground beneath him trembled. The small, uneven stones and pebbles on the ground began to bounce up and down as if an earthquake was slowly building. But it was something far more powerful.
With one sharp intake of air, He unleashed an almighty roar, causing the dusty dry ground to brush into the wind, bellowing towards the spectral lioness. Upon hitting her, the once firm, armoured body she had held started to crumble, ripping her out of the physical plane. As she fell, Kopa halted his roar, just as her skull, once lodged firmly in her spectral essence, dropped to the ground, surrounded by the rocky remains of its body, stumbling onto the barren, dead land beneath it with a solid thump.
Slowly strolling up to the pile of rock and bone, Kopa raised a paw, slamming it down on the skull. The sound and hue of her soul shot skyward, howling up as it dissipated from this realm. His paw still raised, Kopa turned around, facing his eagle and monkey friends.
"Everyone alright?" The pair nodded, slowly approaching their lion friend. Just as they did, Kopa twitched his right ear, seemingly picking up a strange sound not far from them. It sounded like... gasps? Wheezing? He turned to the source to see the injured lioness, laying in the dirt, her four, still cubs not far from her, all spread upon the area. Kopa rushed over to her, moving around to see her face.
"Kopa?" Jicho flapped her wings, taking off in the direction of the lion. She watched as he looked down at the lioness, placing a paw on her slit throat as he sat down beside her. The lioness' body twitched as he did so, her eyes slowly opening barely, looking up at him.
"Vi...Vipawa?" Her eyes flickered, as if unfocused. Kopa's ears twitched. He recognised that name from many years prior. But it couldn't be, could it? He kept his paw firm on her throat, trying to stop her bleeding.
"No, I'm Kopa..." The Royal Mlinzi held her head up slightly, letting go of her wound with his paw. Craning his neck down, he tried to lap away at her neck, hoping to clean and fuse her throat back together. The lioness growled in agony at this, swiping at Kopa's now blood-soaked muzzle. He shot back, looking back down at her. Her wound continued to bleed, only made worse by her sudden lunge.
"Hold still! I'm trying to save you!" He held his paw back on her wound, not worried that it was covered, drenched in her blood. She struggled under him, panic rushing through her body as she tried to look around.
"My... My cubs..." The lioness' wheezing, gasping breath shrieked through the air as she desperately tried to clamber to her paws, desperate to see her cubs. "Are...they.." Kopa's attention shot up, over to the small gathering of little lion cubs not far away. Kwaheri had kneeled before one of them, placing his primal hands at the cub's neck. Upon feeling it, he lowered his head, ears folded back. He looked up at Kopa, shaking his head with a gloomy, rather uncharacteristic look.
"I'm... I'm so sorry.." Kopa lowered his head, sighing softly as he spoke. His ears folded back on themselves, flicking slightly as they did so. His tail remained still, flopped to the ground, wrapping around his rear. He looked down at the lioness, his paw firmly planted at her neck, holding her tight. She struggled beneath him, tears welling in her eyes.
"NO!" She seemed to use the majority of her remaining breath to scream, leaving her weak and breathless. Her mourning, breathless cries whimpered as the wind began to pick up. "I...I failed them..." Her head fell onto Kopa's other paw, softly shaking, slower and slower.
"No! Stay with me!" Kopa pleaded, placing his other paw deeper into her neck. Blood poured over it, flowing onto the ground beneath. The convulsing hum of her body slowed, until... nothing. Her breathing halted, heartbeat faded. The dusty wind blew small particles of dirt into her fur, beginning to cover the body.
Kopa held her for a few seconds, before letting go. He allowed her to rest, removing his paws from her head and neck. As he did, he looked down at his bloody paw, watching it twinkle in the now setting sun.
Jicho and Kwaheri looked over at their friend, his mane damp with both the lioness' blood at the bottom and the barely noticeable drops of tears rolling from the corner of his eyes. He turned around, walking off slowly, head lowered to the ground.
"Kopa?" Jicho softly whimpered, hopping forward slightly. She could tell what the lion was thinking. The loss of this lioness reminded him of his own loss, the loss of his mate, his love. Though, she could still be out there, somewhere. The eagle looked at the deceased cubs nearby. She hoped Karimu was having a better round of luck than this lioness. She turned rapidly as she heard Kopa's reply.
"Come..." the young adult lion spoke. Head still lowered to the ground. His tail stayed frozen in place behind him, flopped to the ground as he began to walk. "Let's just go." Jicho looked over at Kwaheri, who had been unusually quiet during the entire endeavour. The monkey looked grim, gloomy from the horrors surrounding them. Understandable, given things.
Without delay, the pair began to catch up with Kopa. Kwaheri jogged behind, up to the lion whilst Jicho took flight, taking her role as navigator once more. They had a big journey ahead of them. Halfway to the Pridelands after all, and if the Giza were out here, the three would need to warn them.
After all, Scar had already destroyed the Uasilands... The Pridelands would most likely be his next target...
As Jicho scouted the route forward, she heard some noise behind them. Looking back, she noticed another male lion, sitting beside the lioness' lifeless body, his mourning roars echoing across the land. He seemed to look towards the trio, analysing the track of blood created by Kopa's bloody paw.
Jicho sighed. Everything had seemed dark and depressing recently, but looking forward, towards the setting sun, she couldn't help but think, maybe things would get better. If Karimu had listened to Kopa, if she had made it to the Pridelands, maybe everything would be okay, and their cubs would be safe.
She could only hope so...
..............
Kopa held strong as he pulled the spectral entity from Vipawa's scar. The serpent Giza, thrashing and spasming, tried its best to fight back, to dig itself back into its scarred victim. But Kopa was stronger. As Vipawa collapsed to the floor, Kopa strangled the spectral snake, crushing its body to dust. Vipawa arose just as the dust settled, fizzling out of existence at the touch of the holy soil below.
"You...He..." Vipawa's mind burned with thought. Everything he had just seen... Surely not. He looked over at Kopa, seeing the small, salty droplets run through the lion's mane again. "You...tried to save them?"
"I did, Vipawa..." Kopa panted, sitting down before the younger lion. "I tried..."Kopa lowered his head, his chest slowing its beating. Surprisingly, Vipawa slowly approached him, before nuzzling up to the Uasian god. Taking a step back, the young lion lowered his head, pondering the events he had just witnessed.
"Wait, so if you..." Vipawa swayed his head side to side, flicking between Kopa and the land beyond. "And if he?..." His eyes stiffened, crumbling whilst a pool of unbridled rage built within his soul. "He USED ME!" The realisation hit him straight in his face, causing his claws to swipe at the ground below. The rage within smothered out quickly, replaced with understanding. Kopa simply watched on, relieved to see Vipawa broken of his sufferable chains.
"I'm sorry..."
"Don't be." Rubbing his eye, the young male glanced back at the god before him. The feeling of his scar smoothed had relieved every muscle in his body. The scurrying sounds of Scar's subconscious slipped away, replaced with his own. For the first time in what seemed like years, he had finally regained his will. "He will pay for his treachery..." Vipawa slowly began to bow before the Uasian god, feeling a sense of awe and wonder flow through his veins. The love of his mate, his cubs... it all flowed back to him. "You have my word."
Kopa simply raised a paw, stretching his paw pad out to the younger male. The sun behind him gleamed, almost blinding Vipawa as the godly figure spoke a single word.
"Come..."