Apollyon looks in your eyes. He believes you will make a good choice.

"It's okay. I know how to use the spirits against him. I will set you on fire, and... NO, no, calm yourself! You won't feel it, I promise. My fire will turn your body into a flaming torch along with the whispers. The flames will attach to the whispers as they channel into Apedemak's body and burn him from the inside."

You cringe. Being on fire sounds pretty damn painful. Can you trust Apollyon? He's brought nothing but destruction lately, but... Menhit does love him. Maybe you could trust him. Having no other choice, you agree. As the pair stays hidden, you approach Apedemak.

Apedemak looks at you, his eyes brightly glowing from energy. He orders you to touch a large crystal that seems to be slowly sponging whispers from the Celestial Stone next to it. When you put your paw on it, you feel as if millions of ants crawled on your pawpads, while whispers swirl around your toes. How hypnotising.

"Repeat after me."

Apedemak orders you, and you close your eyes. Sentence by sentence, you repeat the incantation in a weird language. You hear the final verse, and everything starts to tremble.

As you're about to read the last verse, a horrible, burning pain engulfs your body. Fires scorch your body in the most painful way you could ever imagine. You can barely breathe, and you can no longer see. Apollyon lied.

Finish incantation and hope for the best

Succumb to fire and break the ritual

Despite the pain, you finish the verse, hearing the faint screaming of Apedemak's voice. The fire leaves your body along with whispers, channeling into Apedemak through every opening in his body, setting him on fire from inside. He explodes in a fiery death, as you fall in pain to the ground. Your whole body is painfully covered in embers. Your fur is turning into charcoal, and your blood is smoking.

You breathe heavily as Apollyon approaches the collapsed remains of Apedemak.

"The blight is over."

He walks towards you to check on you. Suddenly, a red winged whisper emerges from Apedemak's body, but instead of whispering, it's emitting a high pitched screeching.

"Oh... His corrupted whisper, it's being cleansed by my fire. This will be the crowning I need."

Apollyon bursts into flames and swallows Apedemak's whisper. His body twists into something wicked and new, as a divine touch to his Sidereal body brings out his oriental roots in a visual vivid colour. He becomes an Astral king, an Efreet and Celestial essence united into one. Using his new power, he touches you to remove the pain instantly, and the smoke and burned skin vaporises with your wounds. You're saved from impending death.

"Yes, Apedemak is dead, and I have his powers. I will claim his kingdom and cleanse the lands while Menhit advises my every move. My gratitude for your sacrifice is endless."

As he smiles, he slowly goes back to looking back like himself. His control over the elements is astounding, and likely truly helped with absorbing Apedemak's essence.

"I will stay first and foremost a Firelord, and Menhit will be the Queen her lands deserve. We'll bury her father and finish our business for the next few days. Feel free to visit us. You are our Sidereal hero."

You watch Menhit approach the remains. She does not seem to be as stricken by his death like she was with Tefnut's passing. Perhaps it's because the corpse doesn't resemble her father anymore. She leans against Apollyon, and you think that everything might be okay.

Finish the Storyline

It hurts unbearably. The anger you feel overcomes any reasoning you had left, and the pain makes room for a weird feeling of serenity. You succumb to the fire, no longer able to fight. You die.

Everything turns black, quiet and calm. You are still yourself, what feels like for eternity. You try to scream, but you can only hear a very distant whisper, like you're dreaming. You feel nothing. There is no physical body for you to feel with, no emotions you can contain... But then, the overwhelming lack of sensation suddenly vanishes. You feel an odd pulling, and you start phasing into the living world again, but it's different somehow. It's like you are above everything, and you're everywhere, all at the same time.

You see Apedemak and Apollyon over your scorched and twisted body, arguing, which they seem to have been doing for a while now. How long has it even been? What felt like forever must have been just a few long moments here. You cannot hear anything too well. In this misty view, you notice Menhit. She grabs your paws, crying. You are overcome with her emotions, and you feel more. The lions, all of them, seem to regret everything. Their feelings speak to you more clearly than any sound would.

Apedemak lowers his head, letting blue light drip from him onto your scorched body. Slowly, the liquid creeps in, seeping into your body's cracks and wounds. It starts to burn again from the inside, as if you had wings. Just when you thought that you're probably better off not feeling anything anymore, a sudden jolt of pain makes you realise your spirit is connecting with your body again!

A sudden gasp makes you take a deep breath. You're alive! As you move, the charcoal attached to your body crumbles away, revealing a soft, squishy, and wonderfully normal body. You can see, you can hear! You notice all three of them are above you. The first thing you do is smack Apollyon's chin for the horrible lie about the pain.

"I... I am so sorry! But you are back! Oh, thank the sun!"

Apedemak, almost lifeless, tries to not fall down. His legs are weak, and he looks very old. Returning your life seemed to drain any powers he had left from all the whispers he had absorbed throughout the last month.

"This is the most horrible way to realize how blinded and selfish I was. Apollyon... please accept my apologies. Menhit is yours to love, who am I to decide her fate? I will not bother you. I will just... go back home."

Apedemak leaves, defeated and weak, with his legs trembling like an elder lion. Perhaps he's leaving to curl up somewhere and die from exhaustion. Menhit follows him with her eyes for a bit, likely thinking same thing, saying goodbye in her thoughts but not expressing anything to him, as if he does not deserve even that. She looks at you again, smiling, and rushes at you in a tight hug. Hell, even Apollyon joins in, happy that you're back.

"We will stay here for a bit, then move back to the Burning Lands. You should visit us sometime. After all, you're the one who stopped the blight and brought love together through a sacrifice no other lion could suffer. You are our Sidereal hero."

You smile at them, happy that love will always beat the odds. But why don't YOU get a princess and a happy ending? Something's fucky.

Finish the Storyline