<h2>CHAPTER 100 - THE LOST LITTER</h2>


    The lioness would neither see the end of the battle nor a happy ending. She had flown the berserker above the dark clouds of Zepathorum, obliterating it in the sun; and it had slashed Gabriella in the gut during the struggle. The lioness was dying, but inside of her was new light, new life.


    Like the golden rays from the sun and the infinite blue of the sky, the golden-bluish shine of the wings blossomed as they spun, smuggling the lion away. At this point, they looked more like the petals of a flower than wings, constantly turning, splitting, morphing. Gabriella was losing blood fast from her wound which appeared to be infected with the shadow rot, also known as algae plague, and necrotica.


    In the fight with the berserker, she used the essence of Magnanimous to grow abnormally large. Now, she was shrinking back down to normal size, but not her belly. Underneath the infected gash the beserker left behind, her womb had grown to full term. Gabriella roared out. She cried for Mitakahn. To see him one last time. The only thing she cared about besides living.


    The lioness roared out and the cocoon of light closed around the litter of kittens birthing forth. The last lion cub out slipped through the last crack in the cocoon and fell into a wisp of cirrus clouds. A portion of the wing’s light shot out after it, but the coccoon kept moving upward, as if it had a specific destination.


    Three lion cubs were left in the cocoon with the dying lioness. She looked over at them. Two were pure black. The infection of her wound had tainted them. The cocoon shook, sensing the same thing. The light wings released the black cubs to plummet through the air. All that was left was the remaining cub. It was a female, another lioness.


    Gabriella tried to look at the kitten, unable to move much anymore. The black from the wound had reached the veins on her neck, rendering her paralyzed. Once the shadow entered her eyes it would be over. The baby lioness got to her feet, standing on the cocoon of light.


    She walked over to her mother, as they flew high into the sky, ever increasing in altitude. The little lioness rubbed her nose on Gabriella’s. Instead of waiting for a kiss, the lion cub licked her mother’s nose. Gabriella closed her eyes. She no longer missed her prince. She imprinted upon the young lioness an image and scent of Mitakahn and one final sense before dying, a message. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    “Find him.”


    The shadow finally reached Gabriella’s eyes, but she was at peace and the godforce was gone, redistributed through the four cubs. From the lioness’ eyes the shadow struck straight for her heart and stopped it. The coccoon disappeared and the last of the shadow plummeted back down to MagnaThora in the corpse of the lioness, burning up before ever reaching the ground.


    That left the lioness cub. With what little light she had left she struggled not to nosedive along with her fallen mother. There was little hope for the baby lioness if not for intervention. Luckily, Chronis, the silver-tailed hawk swooped in with impeccable timing, and snatched the lion cub from danger, flying her to Legacy City. Where the cocoon was headed all along.


    When they reached the ascended realm, Chronis could tell something was wrong. There on the ankle of the lion cub’s left heind leg was a black stripe. The shadow had gotten this cub too. Without hesitation, Chronis ejected a couple of his feathers and bonded them to the baby lioness. By introducing his own magic to the cub, it would not only counter the dark magic but overwhelm it, keeping it at bay forever. Together, the silver feathers and the black shadow had an unusual effect on her golden fur.


    The lioness looked other-worldy. Her fur now had the shine of metal to it and splashed effortlessly from gold to bronze, to silver, to black. For example, her eyes were surrounded by black fur, feline eyeliner. As for the rest of her coat, when she moved it looked like oil and vinegar dancing in a bottle, like different color sands pouring through the hour glass, mixing together. Her fur was an enigma, her color and pattern was a ripple of nature’s purest essence, a true representation of the wild.


    Chronis stared at the Ripple as the shine of her tapestry of fur changed according to her movement and knew she was something special. She would be the bridge between worlds and Mitakahn’s chariot to the ascended realm. Every time her feet padded the floor it moved the stripes of gold, silver, and black across her back in unpredictable ways. Truly a sight to behold. Like a tiny lion made of bronze and chrome.


    As soon as The Ripple was old enough it would go out in search for the prince. No, not for the prince her mother told her about. The prince of the royal lions, the prince of the Pride. The cub was still out there. The one that slipped through the wings of the cocoon. The only cub to have escaped the dark touch.


    The young lioness knew her brother had the same light inside of her. He would not go down without a fight and most important of all, he was the true heir of Magnanimous. Fate would not let him fall so easily, not on MagnaThora. The Ripple would not rest until she found the lost cloud lion cub and reunite them with the Pride of Zepathorum.


    End of Part Seven


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