Chapter One

This isn't the way it was supposed to be.

Raiden hovered—his legs crossed, his arms folded, his head bowed—cloaked only in shadow. His lips curled into a scowl. Every few moments, his eyebrow twitched uneasily. His meditation, his focus had suffered drastically since the Mortal Kombat tournament. Raiden had been sent as a divine instructor to the three chosen Earth warriors: Liu Kang, an accomplished Shaolin monk, Johnny Cage, an action film star, and Sonya Blade, a lieutenant in the armed forces. Within these three warriors dwelled Earth's only hope…and it was Raiden's job to help them realize their destinies.

I achieved all that they expected of me… didn't I?

Although Liu had managed to defeat the unholy sorcerer Shang Tsung, putting an end to the tournament, the three warriors had endured horrors along the way that deeply scarred their psyches. The journey back to Earth had been fraught with its own terrors; Sonya had been lost in the fray. Raiden commanded the warriors to leave her behind for the sake of their own safety. Liu Kang, quieted by this experience, returned to the silence of his temple to train with the other Shaolin monks. Johnny slipped into a deep depression, briefly retiring from the limelight; when he realized this only provided more time in which to dwell on thoughts of the past—and of Sonya—he returned, but half-heartedly. And Raiden had been secretly watching it all.

Did I fail in doing my duty? Sonya…

"Raiden."

A deep voice jarred Raiden from his trance. His eyes opened immediately and he struggled to stay afloat. He let his arms drop to his sides and extended his feet downward so that he hovered as if standing. Exhaling anxiously, he craned his neck to look over his shoulders.

The Temple of the Gods hung in the clouds, invisible to the human eye. The marble floors gently reflected the clouds, visible through the glass walls. Every now and then, the sun shone through the glass, illuminating the intricate carvings of the Shinto gods that adorned the golden ceiling.

A tall and serious-looking man stood rigidly at the entrance of the room. His skin was dark and bronzed, but his eyes flashed cerulean and his long silvery hair, pulled into a braided ponytail, hung down to his knees. He wore nothing but a pair of revealing white briefs and golden wrist and ankle bracelets that flashed when he moved.

"Yes?"

"I come bearing regretful news."

Raiden scoffed and slowly turned himself around. He faced his visitor directly, folding his arms once more and furrowing his eyebrows. A tension surmounted, causing the visitor to look at his feet apprehensively. He opened his mouth, as if to speak, but shook his head, unable to find the right words.

"Go on," Raiden commanded.

The visitor sneered at Raiden.

"A dark force has been detected on Earth."

Raiden lowered himself to the floor. His feet softly touched the cold marble floor, sending a shiver up his legs. He moved them, adjusting his stance so that his member was more modestly hidden from his visitor's view. The visitor awkwardly looked away from Raiden, recognizing his desire for privacy.

"What brand of dark force, exactly?"

"The pattern of energies emanating from this being suggest to us that it may, in fact, be the demon sorcerer."

"What?!"

"Only a collection of souls would exude signatures like that."

"Perhaps."

A brief silence followed, as Raiden scratched his chin, lost in thought.

"I suppose the question now is: why have you come to inform me of this?"

The visitor appeared puzzled. He titled his head to one side, narrowing his eyes at the thunder god who stood before him. He frowned. Taking a deep breath, he marched towards Raiden, grabbing him firmly by the shoulders and turning him so that they stood face to face. Raiden was more aware of his nakedness than before and felt entirely too vulnerable for a being of his nature, especially knowing what his visitor was about to say.

"Raiden, you must once again lead the Earth warriors into Mortal Kombat."

Raiden glanced across the room at the glass wall stretching from the floor to the ceiling, behind which clouds were passing at an alarmingly fast rate. The sky, however, maintained a healthy blue color and beams of sunlight penetrated the glass.

"I have done so before."

"Successfully. Which is why you must do so again."

"Successfully?"

Raiden pushed the visitor away. The visitor tripped over his footing but caught himself before hitting the ground. He disjointedly stood back up, brushing his ponytail back over his shoulders. He rubbed his forehead, frustrated with Raiden's stubbornness.

"Raiden."

The visitor advanced toward Raiden briskly, placing his right hand open-palmed against the small of Raiden's back and drawing him close, so that their faces were only inches apart. He pressed his left hand against Raiden's cheek and held his head still so that they could see one another eyee to eye. Raiden felt the warmth radiating from the visitor's chest. The hefty, rounded bulge in the visitor's briefs hung precariously close to Raiden's genitals. Raiden let out a small gasp as he tried to reclaim the general evenness he exuded.

"Raiden. We have been comrades for ages. I know how you feel. I know the state you have been in. But this—this is something you must do. You must."

The visitor pushed Raiden away and turned on his heel. He began to leave the room, but paused just at the door and turned his head slightly.

"If it helps," he said, "think of this as an opportunity."

"An opportunity?" Raiden asked. "For what?"

"For atonement."

The visitor stood perfectly still, awaiting a reply.

"I will do all that is expected of me," Raiden quietly responded. "But I will do it… as a mortal."

The visitor spun around, a look of shock on his face.

"I can no longer find it in me to ask others to risk their lives for our own benefit—when my own is not at stake."