Carrying Junior, the tigers stepped into a noisy, dark, and foul-smelling world full of the smell of death. The tigers navigated a complex maze of stairs, tunnels, and halls in what appeared to be some kind of ancient temple.

Throughout the temple were cages filled with creatures howling in pain and fury. Some of them were animals. Others appeared human. Others were half-human, half-animal. They swore in an ancient tongue that Junior didn't understand. He could feel their hatred for the living.

After what seemed like an hour of navigating the cyclopean temple, the tigers arrived at an enormous door guarded on both sides by a pair of enormous apes.

Khali lowered Junior to the ground before he backed a safe distance away from the monstrous apes. Junior recognized them from one of the skeletons at the boneyard, but never would have guessed he would see one in the flesh. Even on all fours, it stood 12 feet tall. When the ape stood upright, it was at least 25 feet tall.

The ape approached Junior, lowered its head to Junior's level, and sniffed deeply before its features twisted into an abhorrent expression of wrath. "Jiak smell ul gijak ro Judah! kigiji mimba ku ul descendanav ro ul tyranav ro lighav!"

The other ape roared and slammed its fists into the ground. The tigers, even Khali, yelped and cowered in terror. But the apes did not attack Junior. It instead picked up Junior almost gently in a massive hand and motioned to the other ape, who pushed open the massive doors that led into a circular cavern of some kind where a huge crowd of the apes assembled. The apes roared upon seeing Junior.

The ape carried Junior to the foot of the stairs and then almost gingerly lowered the cub to the ground before backing away. A dark shape hidden in shadow at the top of the stairs stood from his throne and bellowed a terrifying, rumbling war cry down at his army below Descending the stairs was another ape, but he was larger than all of them. Glowing demonic markings colored his dark fur. He was holding someone in his hand. He bowed to the ground so the figure could step off.

"You may rise." The figure said to the terrified lion cub who dared to open his eyes and behold what appeared to be a mandrill. An ordinary mandrill.

"What?" Junior asked.

"You are indeed the one. You are the key to my resurrection."

The mandrill barked a word in the ancient foul language, throwing the room into darkness. Then an image appeared in front of them like a movie. It showed men and lions and other animals engaging in what looked like ritualistic ceremonies and chanting in ancient languages that Junior didn't recognize.

"Recognize any of this?"

"I…." Junior said when he heard words that his father had told him before.

Nants Ingonyama Bagithi Baba!

Then he saw it himself for the first time.

He saw the sun rising above the horizon of the Serengeti.

He saw the king lion roar a mighty cry to the kingdom.

He saw animals, great and small, converging onto the tower, the king's tower.

He saw the crowd part ways for an aging monkey, seemingly the same one that stood before him, to ascend to the rock before he carried the cub to the promontory and held him up before the crowd of animals.

He saw another lion, angrily watching the festivities along with some hyenas, plotting revenge. The lion was missing an eye.

He saw the baby grow into a cub much like Junior himself.

He saw the evil uncle whisper into his nephew's ears.

He saw the cub take a friend with him to the hyena territory where the two were almost killed until their father the king appeared and saved his son.

He saw the evil uncle scheming once more with the hyenas in secret.

He saw the uncle take his nephew the prince to the canyon. Above the canyon was a herd of wildebeest. The uncle went to the summit of the canyon and signaled to the hyenas, who stampeded the wildebeest into the canyon where the cub was. The uncle went to find the king, telling him how his son was trapped in a stampede. The king dropped everything he was doing to rescue his son who clung onto a branch.

The king charged into the stampede, braving the roaring current of thousands of charging wildebeest. One of them struck the tree, breaking it and sending the cub flying into air. The king leaped high, caught the cub, and took him to safety. But he was once more carried away from his son by the current of wildebeest. All hope seemed lost until with a mighty roar, the king leaped out of the stampede and hauled his mighty form up a cliff where his evil brother waited.

"BROTHER! HELP ME!" The king shouted.

The brother stood still, then lunged forward, plunging his claws into the king's forelimbs before leaning close.

"THE KING IS DEAD! LONG LIVE THE KING!" The brother cackled.

The brother threw off the king who fell into the stampede with a shout of despair and terror. Once the stampede was gone, the brother descended to the canyon to find his nephew, but the cub was nowhere to be seen.

He then took over the pride, solemnly announcing to the lionesses and the queen that the king and prince were dead before he shocked them by welcoming the hyenas back into the kingdom. For the first year, the hyenas hunted and killed all that they came across while the brother himself mated with every lioness of breeding age, except for the queen who would not allow it. The brother was determined to cement his legacy as the king. Then a horrible drought struck. A disease spread through the land.

He surprised them all by reinstating the system of ceremonies. He changed his ruling style, becoming far more benevolent than before. The drought then disappeared and the land flourished. There was no sign of the tyrant. He was now a king and father.

Then one day, a challenger appeared with several other lionesses following his stead. Claiming to be the long-lost son of the previous king, he challenged his uncle the king to a duel. The king was by now well-supported and respected. But he accepted his nephew's challenge and the two fought atop the tower. The nephew was younger and stronger, but the uncle was the better fighter and landed more blows. He defeated his nephew, giving him a chance to leave honorably. But the nephew delivered a sneak attack that sent his uncle off the cliff. Desperate, the uncle held fast for dear life. The nephew then whispered the same words his uncle had said to his father.

"THE KING IS DEAD! LONG LIVE THE KING!"

He then threw off his uncle. Another war started between the supporters of the nephew and those of the uncle. The war lasted generations until both sides no longer knew what they were fighting for and called peace. The monarchy was abolished along with the elaborate system of rituals and laws. Sixty-six years passed until the memory of the wars and the monarchy and the ceremonies were but a distant footnote.

Then the images disappeared and the cavern returned to its dark ominous glow.

"What was that?" Junior finally managed.

"Can't you guess? I'm disappointed, child." The monkey scolded.

"You showed me the brother usurping the king. But when the droughts and diseases came, he reinstated the laws and ceremonies. But the nephew killed his uncle, and started a war. Then everyone fought until no one remembered why."

"Why do you suppose all the kings of the past practiced those ceremonies and rituals that you saw? Why did disaster come when they were neglected."

"The god or gods were angry and punished them?"

"Why do you suppose those rituals were started?"

"To keep the god or gods happy?"

"Why do you suppose they need to keep the gods happy with the rituals?"

Junior didn't have an answer.

"Let's try from another angle. You saw me in the images of the past. Why do you think I assumed the guise of a shaman?" The monkey asked.

"You were punished for something you did in the past?" Junior guessed.

"Oh, if it were so simple." The monkey cackled.

"So, you were actually an infiltrator? Did you cause the brother to turn against the king and try to kill his nephew? Did you later bring the nephew back to start a civil war against his uncle? Why? What for? What are you really?"

"I am Rafiki. Healer and shaman and friend. That's one version of me. There's another version. The real me. That would be Chikala. The false prophet."

"I don't understand."

"No, I didn't think you would."

"What does all this have to do with Simba? Why him? Why me?"

"To bring about the end, I needed you to forget. I needed the descendants of Kilimanjaro to forget the rituals intended to keep me imprisoned. Most did. But only a handful of the line of Judah, the fourth child of Kilimanjaro, continued them. As long as one of the descendants continued the ceremonies, I remained in the abyss. I needed everyone to forget. To dismiss their own history as nothing but lies. Now, 6666 years will soon pass since the earth was forged. My resurrection is almost at hand. I have within my grasp the vessel needed to complete my reawakening onto this world! I have the blood of a living descendant of Judah!"

Chikala barked a command to an ape, who held Junior down fast onto a hard table. Chikala raised an evil-looking dagger that he plunged into Junior's chest, opening it wide, before he pulled out his steaming heart which he devoured. As soon as he did, he contorted and conversed before he let out an unearthly scream that turned into a thundering roar. The entire cavern trembled and shook. The apes howled in fear.

"YES! I AM FREE! AT LAST! AFTER THOUSANDS OF YEARS! VENGEANCE SHALL FINALLY BE MINE!"

Mount Kilimanjaro erupted. Standing atop the volcano, unharmed by the magma, was an incomprehensibly massive red dragon with seven heads and ten horns.

"NOW THIS WORLD SHALL FEEL MY WRATH!" Chiros roared.

All over the world, portals opened through which countless hordes of rampaging demons spilled forth. The invasion of earth had begun.