My pride

In ancient times, there was a place where many lions lived—the Emerald Valley. It was once a beautiful, green, and lush place. The valley served as a shared, sacred space for three ancient kingdoms—Moon, Sun, and Storm. The lions of these lands lived there in harmony. Kyōga was engaged to Light of the Sun Kingdom—a union meant to strengthen peace between the two lands. However, she harbored no romantic feelings for him, treating him as a close friend. At the same time, she hid her secret affair with Karabi from Light. Feelings flared between Karabi and Kyōga, and they decided to elope. Upon learning of this, Light, blinded by jealousy and mistrust, accused Karabi of kidnapping Kyōga and unleashed a war. To stop the violence, Karabi and Kyōga agreed to meet Light at a high point in the valley. When Light, ignoring Karabi's warning, got too close, she attacked him in self-defense. Kyōga stopped her, but Light, fearing Karabi would kill him later, fatally wounded her. Upon returning to the kingdoms, Light lied, claiming that Karabi had killed Kyōga, and then he had killed Karabi herself. As a result, the Pride Lands began to view Karabi as a villain, and her actions led to the fall of the kingdoms and the enactment of Pride Law.

Many years later, prides were founded, and in one of these prides, there was a lioness named Nothing, a lioness with a wounded paw and muzzle. One sunny day, the young lioness headed to the watering hole, when suddenly, she smelled the scent of a stranger, perhaps it was a maneless...