Duni was far from the happiest cub in the world. In fact, he was miserable. Very, very miserable. So miserable that even the happiest person in the world would become extremely depressed at just the sight of him. That's all he was.
Miserable, miserable, miserable.
Bad luck just seemed to follow him wherever he went. It was as if he were cursed. Cursed by something truly, truly evil. It wouldn't surprise him. Only one joyous thing had ever happened in his life – but that was all in the past. It had been stolen from him. Stolen in the most cruel and horrible way.
Duni slowly sauntered along the wet, sloppy ground of the Pride Lands, as the unrelenting rain lashed down on him. It felt cold, wet and unpleasant on his fur. It just added to the misery. The endless misery.
Duni looked upwards, but could barely see a thing. The heavy rain seemed to mask most things from sight; he could barely see his paws. He struggled to see if there was some kind of pride nearby.
He wasn't good at knowing the land. He just left his home – there was nothing for him there, not even his parents – and started walking aimlessly around the land. It seemed to go on for ever and ever – and it probably did. He had crossed deserts, fields, even a massive jungle to get here.
Wherever 'here' was.
Duni stopped for a second, trying to catch his bearings.
Crash!
Duni shot his head upwards, to look at the black clouds in the night sky. It was thunder. Loud, scary thunder, which sent shivers up his spine.
He didn't like storms. They were just scary. He just wanted to get out of the rain and find some shelter – but there was none to be found. The rain made it so difficult to see. He couldn't tell if there was any kind of life nearby. Maybe he was in the middle of a massive filed – a field that just went on for miles and miles and miles.
He couldn't tell. There was no knowing where he was going. And what made it even scarier was the fact that the storm seemed to be getting worse.
It was very peculiar. When he was trekking across the flatlands to get here, the weather wasn't nearly as bad. The rain was just softly trickling down to the ground. It seemed that the storm was solely focused on this one particular area.
Duni took a few steps forward, battling against the ferocious wind that was trying to blow him back. It was so strong. It felt as if he was going to be carried off the ground and into the sky.
Crash!
Duni stopped dead in his tracks. The lightning sounded even louder now. That was the worst part. The lightning seemed to strike anywhere and everywhere. It was totally unpredictable. "Lightning never strikes the same place twice," someone had once said to him.
Yeah, right. From the way Duni was looking at things, lightning was striking the same place over and over again. It was relentless. He hoped he didn't get struck by it. If that happened, then he would be dead. His miserable, unfair life would reach its climax.
But did it really matter? That was the question Duni had on his mind. Maybe he should just allow himself to be struck by lightning. Then he would be reunited with the people – person – he loved the most.
However, Duni was far too scared. He feared death. When you were cursed to a life of misery, you feared a lot. One of those things was death. But as unfortunate as he was, Duni didn't want to die.
What he wanted was somewhere to stay for the night. That would be preferable. He was trying to find some kind of pride nearby. He did find one in the jungle, but he heard them talking angrily about "those damn three cubs who escaped us," so he decided that it would be best not to disturb them.
Duni cried out in surprise as he tripped into an unseen puddle. The freezing cold temperature of the water stung his skin. Almost like it was b urning him.
Quickly, he climbed out of the puddle, shaking himself to try and get some of the water off. His breathing became loud and heavy, as he frantically scanned his surroundings, trying to find somewhere he could hide from the seemingly ominous storm.
Everything seemed to be closing in on him. The thunder, the lightning, the wind. It was all out to get him. The storm was chasing him. Trying to catch him. Duni had the feeling that it would get him eventually.
That was when he started running. Crash! More thunder. Or was it lightning? He didn't know. He didn't want to know. He just had to get away. Find some cover. Anything that would allow him to hide from that storm. It was more than just weather.
It was alive.
Running faster and faster, Duni couldn't see anything. Everything was going so fast for him. He didn't know where to go.
He didn't know what to do. He skidded to a halt, feeling completely lost.
And that was when the lightning struck.
A big, blue bolt of lightning struck Duni on the chest, causing him to cry out as the agonising pain engulfed him. The lightning was burning him. It was singing his skin. It felt like his whole body was on fire. He felt like he was going to explode.
He continued to scream and scream – not that it was helping in any way – until the lightning suddenly stopped.
His whole body smoking, Duni collapsed to the ground. He lay on his back, his eyes half closed, staring up at the black clouds.
He lay there, having lost all of his remaining strength. His whole body felt so fragile. He was dying. Slowly, painfully dying.
He could feel his heart slowing down. His eyes slowly began to shut. He was slipping away. Slipping away from the world.
Slipping away from life…
But then, his heart started to beat faster.
And faster.
And faster.
It was thumping in his chest, as an immense amount of strength was suddenly pumped through his veins. Duni gasped loudly at the top of his voice, his green eyes snapping open. His body began to feel stronger and stronger. He felt so powerful. He didn't even think such a thing was possible.
Bringing a paw up to his face, Duni's eyes widened in surprise.
His paw crackled slightly with blue electricity. He could tell already that something strange had just happened to him.
He looked at his paw, and then up at the sky. It didn't take him long to figure out what had happened.
Somehow, after being struck by lightning, power had been transferred into him. Ultimate, glorious power.
Duni outstretched his paw. A bolt of lightning shot out, blowing a tree in the distance into pieces.
Duni looked down at his paw, wide-eyed. He looked at the tree he had just annihilated, and then— —he started to chuckle evilly. At the top of his voice. He had power. Destructive, perfect power. For once in his life, he wasn't miserable at all. He was happy. Very, very happy.
Because now he was the most powerful cub in the world.