Author's Note: Hello, WTF123 here! I'm happy to help present my friend's new story, one in which I've assisted with the writing process. It was a true pleasure in helping him finish this chapter and turn it into what it is now, and I look forward to being his editor in future chapters as well! (And maybe even future works, too.) In order to prevent any confusion, it should be noted that this story will indeed delve into a lot of unnatural elements and powers from a character here. All questions about his abilities and his past will be revealed as the story progresses, Saw-style. I hope you all enjoy this work, and feel free to leave a review as well!
The blinding, vivid sun of day slowly came to rise high over the African savanna, vanquishing the darkness of night once more. Below it, the many palm and baobab trees swayed gently in the warm breeze, as if they were elderly grandmothers rocking their baby grandchildren in her arms. The wind was calm and constant, gently blowing the clouds in the blue sky to and fro. To an untrained eye, the scene on this stretch of the savannah now would've seemed entirely peaceful and unflustered in every way. But unfortunately, the scene unraveling on the vast, flat plains below was not nearly as serene.
There was an unmistakable stench in the air, spreading as far as it could across the place. It was a stench that was all too familiar to not only the animals who resided in the savanna, but to nearly all living creatures that inhabited the world itself. It was the stench of pure bloodshed, and the unnerving, primeval fear of death itself. The breeze, though warm and gentle to the trees above, utterly reeked of this foul stench, forcing it to blow all through the landscape like the sun bringing in the shadows.
However, this sickening stench was ignored entirely by the brown-furred, black maned lion whose eyes were colored a golden yellow. His mane was sleek, but his fur was matted and unkempt, and coated with not only dried blood, but with frighteningly fresh blood as well. It was so deep that the brown could've been mistaken for deep crimson. His paw was unmistakably clenched into a tight fist-like position, and in just inches front of him, a lioness grabbed at her throat. Her golden fur bristled in the breeze, and her beautiful young face was turning a deep shade of indigo, as she struggled for breath. The lion's teeth bared as he watched her struggle for dear life beneath him, and smiling as he watched her finally realize that her life was only seconds away from coming to an early end. The lioness felt a single tear run down her cheek, the last one her eyes would ever produce, as the lion's grip on her throat tightened as much as it could. Gaining the strength and courage to speak to the one currently torturing her like this, she only barely managed to utter out a handful of distinct words.
"You… you're a monster…" She violently gagged. "Not a lion... a monster."
The brown-furred lion allowed himself to chuckle with sinfully dark amusement. He sighed, yawned sickeningly casually for his situation, and managed to throw the lioness two hundred and fifty feet into a large baobab tree without even touching her. Her whole body smashed against the surface in a horrific display. Her neck snapped upon impact, her bones snapped and ripped through her skin, she felt her insides come apart at the seams, and the blood from the poor lioness splattered everywhere. Her body collapsed and slumped into the dirt below, unquestionably dead. The lion narrowed his eyes and smiled devilishly at the sight.
"No mad'am…" The lion began. "I regret to inform you that I am not a monster, though I must admit that it would be extremely pleasurable to be such a beast."
The lion smirked, and casually as could be, he strutted over to the blotched and battered corpse of the lioness, and kicked her with his front paw completely absentmindedly. His smile widened as he bent down, moving his muzzle towards her lifeless, ripped ear.
"However, I'm also not your average lion… There is a title for me, and a notable one at that. I am the God of War, Battle, and Blood, and gods are invincible. None of you have any hope, nor any chance. I would pity you if I could, but I can't. And I very much prefer it that way."
At that exact moment, a small, helpless scream arose from a small shrub roughly one hundred feet to the left of the God of War, resonating as loudly as it could.
"MOM!"
From that brush suddenly emerged a small male cub, nearly an exact copy of his recently deceased maternal parent. He furiously ran forth to the site of what he'd just witnessed, and upon seeing his mother's eviscerated corpse, the cub stood silently for just a moment.
"M-mother…" He said softly, repeating it over and over again. The cub couldn't bear to even take a step further as the wretched stench of fresh blood hit him and his nose. Shutting his eyes tightly, the orphaned child burst into tears and collapsed on to the dirt in a fit of sorrow, his whole life feeling like it was over already.
The God of War watched the cub for but a moment before he rolled his eyes and gave the young, weeping cub a look of absolute contempt.
"Equals of Mine Above kid. Grow a fucking pair of balls will you?" He said grimly. "Yeah, I killed your mom. What the hell are you going to do about it? I am one of the divine, and you aren't any bigger than one of my paws."
He took a few steps closer to him, making the cub tremble in absolute fear and anguish. "If you don't run away now, you'll meet the same fate as your 'precious' mommy."
The lion would've expected nothing else to possibly happen in this case. But in a surprising, abrupt burst of sudden courage, the young cub lifted his head out of his paws, wiped away his tears, and narrowed his still tearing eyes, standing resolute and firm in his position. To the divine, it looked like the cub was going to make a futile attempt at making a move. However, he only rolled his eyes again.
"So you want to play this the hard way, don't you? Absolutely fantastic."
Without warning, a massive, bright ball of pure electricity began to form in his paw tips, slowly growing by the second. The cub however, fearless as he was, stood resolute in his place, trying his damndest not to be deterred by whatever came his way here.
"I'll give you five seconds kid, and then I'll fry you all the way back to your mommy."
The cub only stood.
"Five."
The cub only stood.
"Four."
The cub only stood.
"Three."
The cub only stood.
"Two."
The cub only stood.
"One."
The cub's eyes widened, and suddenly, a blinding burst of electricity and flames sprung out from the great paw of the divine, moving like a shooting star towards the young cub at a rate that his young mind couldn't even comprehend.
And yet, he still stood and did absolutely nothing, save for apparently taking in and trying to enjoy what would be his very final breath of his young life. The fire and lightning instantly engulfed the cub, sending him flying thirty feet back from his original position and forcing him against the dirt below. It took nearly a full minute, but by the time that all of the flames had subsided, absolutely nothing remained of the formerly living and weeping cub besides a charred, black, and lifeless crisp. He lay there now, dead and reunited in the heavens with his mother. The divine, once again, could not help himself but to smirk.
"Mmmm. Crispy." He said happily.
Twenty miles away from this ghastly scene, the great, strong citadel that was Pride Rock jutted proudly over the savanna, standing tall and proud as it had for centuries now. However, little did any of the pride members there know that, with what had just taken place away from them, even that, along with their entire way of life, was about to be threatened by this terrorist under the guise and mentality of a god.