Suddenly, the pain stopped.
Scar gasped and sat up. His eyes flew open.
It took him a moment to take in his surroundings. He sat in a lush meadow with a twilight sky overhead. The air was warm and pleasant.
Somewhere close by, Scar could hear water running.
How had he gotten here? The last thing he remembered was being surrounded by flames and attacked by hyenas.
Suddenly, he was aware of a large figure approaching him. A familiar scent hit his nose.
"Mother!" he cried, jumping to his paws.
The reddish brown lioness stopped in front of Scar. She regarded him sadly with her reddish brown eyes.
"How…?" Scar began. "Mother, how can you be here? I was with you when you died!"
"Oh, Taka," she said. "Don't you understand? You did not survive the hyena attack."
Scar felt a little sick.
"No," he said, shaking his head. "No. I'm just unconscious. I'm dreaming all this."
"You are in the land of the Great Kings," the lioness said. "I'm afraid you may not be here long, though."
Her eyes brimmed with tears.
Scar suddenly felt afraid, more afraid than when the hyenas had attacked him.
"Please, mother!" he said. "Certainly there is something you can do to help me."
"Before you can spend forever here, you must make amends for what you've done," the lioness said. "For the life you took and the life you tried to take, you must now save two lives."
"Of course!" Scar said, eager to avoid punishment and please his mother.
"You will return to the world of the living and help two lions who would not survive otherwise," the lioness said.
"Must I leave you?" Scar asked, suddenly realizing how much he wanted to stay with the only relative who had ever really loved him.
The lioness's expression became serious, almost angry.
"Taka," she said. "You killed your own brother and tried to kill your nephew. That cannot go without consequences."
Scar swallowed hard.
"Try to understand," he said. "I knew I could be a better king for the Pridelands. I did what I had to do…"
The lioness snarled and Scar flinched.
"There is no excuse for what you did!" she said, eyes blazing.
Scar shrank like a frightened cub.
Seeing Scar frightened, the lioness's expression softened.
"I want you with me no matter what you've done," she said. "For that to happen though, you must do as I have said. Now, you will return. I will see you when your mission is complete."
The lioness nuzzled Scar's mane, and Scar leaned into it, smiling.
When the lioness pulled away, Scar's surroundings began to fade and shift. Moments later, he sat on a dry-looking plain. Yellow-brown grass reached as far as he could see.