As they all returned to the Pride Rock worriedly, Dan's heart was racing, thinking of a terrible possibility: Simba was already a little old and did not leave much of the Pride Rock.
The sun set on Pridelands, changing the Pridelands from day to night. Animals from near and far had come close to the center. Something was in the air... an atmosphere of sadness and sorrow: the time of King Simba was about to end.
Kiara, Koda, Vitani and Dan went back to the rock of the king while Shany, Jabari and Akira stood outside with their families, hoping for the best and hoping that everything went well. To their surprise, Kion was in the outside of the cave with his flaming red mane, symbolic of his adulthood.
"Kion ... brother, nice to see you" Kiara greeted him.
"It's good to see you all again, sister" he replied. Then he noticed the two young lions: "Wow, you both have grown up"
"Hello Uncle Kion" Koda greeted him.
"Hello ..." Dan greeted him, "Wait, did you come alone this time?"
"The rest of the Night Pride had to stay" explained the lion, "We have had problems lately with certain reptiles on the coast ..."
"Excuse the interruption," Kiara cut in, "But I think we should go see our father."
Kion sighed, and then nodded. Finally, everyone entered the cave. Upon entering, the group found Kovu, Nala, Rafiki and Rahisi around Simba, who was lying down and breathing heavily.
"Mom, how is my father?" Kiara asked concerned.
Nala just looked at him with a sad face, tears starting to come out of her eyes. Rafiki, meanwhile, approached Kiara and said:
"Your father is quite weak, Kiara" he said, "I'm afraid it won't happen tonight."
"Oh no ..." Kion exclaimed.
"No, it can't be..." said Dan, quite scared, "Please, you are the real Mjuzi, you have to save him"
"I'm afraid he's right" interrupted the voice of Simba, who was struggling to stay awake, "I'm very old now, I don't have much more time. We cannot prolong the inevitable... "
"Dad, don't say that" Kiara replied with tears in her eyes, "You can still get out of this one"
"She's right, Dad," Kion supported her.
"I think running away from hyenas as a cub is easier than getting out of this situation, don't you think sweetie?"
For a moment, Nala intended to laugh remembering the old days. However, the situation made him even sadder.
"Have your majesty" Rahisi told him as he brought him a wooden bowl of water.
Simba drank and seemed better for a moment. Then he said:
"Kiara, Kion, come closer for a moment, please "
Both lions advanced. Kiara was so sad that, had it not been for Kovu, she would have burst into tears. However, Simba reassured her:
"Kiara; My daughter, you have grown so much that you are no longer a cub. You must be strong with the duty of being queen, do not cry anymore, please "
"I'll try dad" she replied as she tried to wipe away her tears. Then Simba addressed Kion:
"Kion, you too are a great king of the tree of life. Do your duty and protect the tree of life with your roar"
"So, I'll do it dad ..." replied the son.
Then, Simba turned his head towards Kovu:
"Kovu, I'm sorry I didn't approve of you from the beginning. I was wrong, you really belong here and I am very grateful to you that you take care of Pridelands and the rest of my family. Take care of Kiara, please"
"I will, Simba..." Kovu replied.
Simba coughed again and had to take another drink of water for relief. Then he addressed Nala:
"Nala, I'm sorry to get you in trouble when we were children. But I thank you for being with me"
"There was nothing else I would have wished for, Simba..."
The queen wept, shedding a couple of tears. On the other hand, Simba addressed Vitani this time:
"Never doubt Kion's judgment to know that you are an excellent leader of the lion guard. Please protect Pridelands, Vitani"
"You have my word, Your Majesty" she replied.
"Thank you," Simba continued. Finally, he called Dan and Koda. Both young lions advanced just as sad as the others.
"And here are the two opposing brothers…" Simba joked (it was surprising that he still had some sense of humor), "… and the future of Pridelands. I'm glad I lived to see you both grow up… "
There was a second when no one said anything, then Simba continued:
"Koda, I know you are still young, but I put the protection of Pridelands on your paws. Learn from Vitani to become a great leader of the guard and think before you act. Listen to others and you will be better every day, do you promise?"
Koda was crying as she replied, "I promise, Grandpa."
"Good…" finally, Simba turned to Dan: "And here is the big-hearted cub… Dan, I know you still have questions in your head, but I trust that you can find them yourself. As the oldest, a great future awaits you and both I and Kovu hope that you can be a lion king…"
"But ... Grandpa Simba..." Dan cried, "I can't ... I still need you ..."
Simba coughed and then said: "I can't teach you anymore ... What you must do is always remember ... we are always one ... "
Simba's voice trailed off as he slowly closed his eyes. Finally, the lion king laid his head on the rock and fell asleep peacefully and eternally. Everyone, without exception, mourned him silently.
(A few minutes later, outside the Pride Rock…)
All the animals, especially the lionesses and the lion guard, were waiting for the news. Seeing Kovu leave with a face of utmost sadness, their suspicions were confirmed. King Kovu stood on top of the rock to raise his voice:
"I regret to inform you that the majesty Simba, former king, has died. Losing him has been really painful for all of us, also for me ... since he had accepted me as his family ... "
Kovu sighed, but couldn't hold back a tear slipped from his full left eye, where he had the scar.
"For me, it is a deep and personal loss; Simba was the father I never had. A close friend who always advised me on how to be a king. I just have to say that I am proud to be one of his family and to follow in his legacy... "
(Not far from there ...)
While all the assembled were mourning the loss of Simba, not far from there and observing everything, a snake slipped back towards his hiding place: at the back of the volcano.
When he arrived, a strange lion greeted him:
"Well, Hatari, what news do you have?"
"King Simba is dead" replied the viper.
"Really? Umm ... "
The strange lion got up and turned around before looking off into the distance, in the direction of the volcano. In one of his eyes, he had a scar.
"It's still too early to bring him back," he declared, "One more year and my kids will grow up too. It will be the perfect time to take what we deserve. When that happens, your mission will be to make the future leader of the guard doubt"
"Do you want me to bite him, master?" laughed the snake.
"No, idiot" he roared at him, "A scar will be a pretty obvious sign. We also won't know if it will work. Let's wait a little longer... "
Author's Notes: Sadly, the cycle of life is like this, isn't it? Life is not eternal. And now, Dan and Koda were each assigned a duty, Simba was right and will each be what they should be? And who are the snake and the strange lion that were hiding all this time?