"What will we do with this youngster? His kingdom awaits its new king." A beautiful, tall, and dark-skinned lady applied a generous amount of a muddy substance to an unconscious body with bulging black veins.
"Is the old king really... dead?" Asked another woman with long, flowing black hair, and a voluptuous body, right beside her.
"He's gonna have to heal first. We can't throw him to the wolf that is the throne with him near death like this." With a hiss, another cloaked woman— who seemed to be in charge— answered the question. "And, yes. Sadly, the chameleon told me His Majesty had indeed fallen in combat."
The eleven figures inside the room felt a sense of great loss.
"It's because of those vile sell-outs!" The cloaked woman hissed again, this time revealing her snake-like forked tongue in her fury. "If only I'd known they could do such heinous deeds for greed!"
"Madam, it's alright. The King himself knew what's going to happen." A man with a slit for eyes said. "He told me not to tell anyone... but he himself went for the flower because of this."
"Fuck him! If that gorilla wanted to die, he should have called me! I'd get him out of there without any qualms!" The snake woman had tears threatening to fall from her eyes. "That idiot..."
"Madam..."
To them, and everyone else, there had been a major upheaval on the territories under the World Tree.
The news had spread like wildfire even in the human territories outside the reach of the World Tree. To many humans, the death of the ruthless raider, relentless reaver, and repulsive reaper, King Harambe was quite possibly one of the greatest bits of news to have ever reached their ears during their irrelevant lifetimes.
He'd been terrorizing the human kingdoms with his raids and massacres for the past few decades after building up his power base from scratch into the unstoppable force it had become.
Additionally, another piece of news evoked rapturous ecstasy to the pure human civilizations.
His kingdom, Ubwiza has fallen… to a coup.
This was a thing anyone wouldn't have believed possible a day ago, but it happened anyway.
***
"The old King was dead, long live the King!" The supporters of the new King of Ubwiza were in bliss because of their dramatic victory against the past King's royal guard. They have stoked the fires of rebellion and usurped the throne, and they will usher in a new era for the Ani-shifters of Ubwiza, and the World Tree.
They, in their half-transformed states, screamed like there was no tomorrow. Some stood directly atop the corpses of their vanquished foes. Some are in the process of burning the living royal castle roots. Some are on their knees, for their new liege...
A stalwart man with regal flair and a lion's mane.
"The old King was dead. Long live the new King!" The burning palace grounds erupted in a delirium of blood, sweat, and tears. "Long live King Uhuru!"
Behind the majestic, still bloodied King Uhuru were several seemingly pure human figures in cloaks. This alone can underline where he stands in the human versus Ani-shifter status quo.
Uhuru raised his fists in recognition and said, "The days of endless warfare and strife with humans are over! Today, peace will finally reign supreme in our great land!"
***
Draken Alpha found himself wandering an endless abyss. He was alone, or at least he thought he was, and yet he kept on hearing the sound of rhythmic breathing from somewhere. He had no idea where that was coming from, but he's starting to get annoyed by it.
Last thing he remembered was his head separating from his body in a fountain of blood...
But that's beyond him right now. "Maybe this is the afterlife for assholes like me?"
If it is then... it's too fucking bland for his liking.
Draken mumbled incoherent words to himself for quite a long time while walking until he saw light coming from another direction.
"Could it be an exit? But what abyss has an exit?"
He might be skeptical, but as a famed commander, he's an expert at making and seizing opportunities. And that light could be a massive one.
He ran for what seemed like days to him, but he never got tired, and never reached the light. His hope of an exit diminished gradually until at some point, the futility of his undertaking made him stop.
This time, he felt his legs trembling.
"Do you want to live again?" A calming, almost ethereal voice echoed throughout the abyss.
Draken Alpha's instincts took over him. He got into a fighting stance, while circling in place, not knowing whatever being had spoken.
"Eighth Legion Commander Draken Alpha, do you want to live again?" The voice spoke again.
Draken's vigilance rose to another level.
"Who are you?"
"Let me ask you again. Do you want to live another life?"
"The world of the living is too tiring... I fight the Federation's and the Legion's battles everyday... I kill people with opposing views every single day... I've grown increasingly sick of it." Draken's voice carried a tinge of both regret and disgust. "I don't even know if I managed to kill the only target I truly wanted to slay."
The abyss fell into its usual deep silence. Draken also fell into deep thought upon realizing that he had never known the fate that had befallen his killer.
"Do you want to have another chance at life?"
"No, I don't want to experience that chaotic world again."
"Your wish is my command."
The endless abyss shook like it's the end of the world. Draken felt whatever piece of earth he's standing on crumbling, and shattering.
Then he's falling.
He doesn't know if he closed his eyes or not, but the next time he opened it, there was light.
To be more specific, there's candlelight.
Draken opened his eyes and his other already numb senses to the smell of wax candles, roasted meat, his ears to the commotion outside, and the touch of a person's hand.
He shook his head wildly, thinking that he might just be dreaming… because the voice in the abyss clearly said, 'Your wish is my command.'
No way it reneged on that so quickly right?
"Your Majesty, you've woken up!" Draken's ears perked up once more upon hearing a sweet, cheery voice. The vibrant, yet unfamiliar smile caused confusion on his still adjusting eyes.
"Holy fuck… that prick…" Draken said with a low growl. Lucky for him, the long haired woman had already sprinted out of the tent and called for someone without hearing what he said. "I said I don't want to live…"
Teardrops fell from his eyes as all the repressed emotions from his first life came flooding in…
This time though… sealed memories that were not his own came rushing in as well… some unlocked for him, and some needed a little more recall.
After what seemed like several years he'd lived in a few moments… a flood of people entered with a loud ruckus.
All of them knelt down on one knee and bowed their heads with devotion.
"Your Majesty! You're awake!" The woman at the front with slits for eyes and a forked tongue said with tears streaming down her face.