Author's note: Welcome! And thank you for clicking my story. I'd like to begin by telling you that this is a tale a long time in the making. Inspired from one of my favorite characters from the videogame, Mace the Dark Ages, I've tied his basic story to the MK mythos to create what is in my opinion a fantastic story arch with great potential. It's fairly short, only about 6 chapters, but it should be a fun filled experience. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Oh and leave some feed back... :o)

Prologue: The Laws of the Elders

The Law of Souls:

When the spirit of a living being loses its anchor to the physical realm, it will either reseed itself back into the world naturally, be ushered into the kingdom of Heaven, or will be dragged into pits of Hell, as according to our will.

Through the Laws of the Elder Gods, the universe and all its functions can be governed. Through the Law of souls, the wheel of life turns, and the creation and renewal of souls is maintained and filtered.

Vast, timeless, and incomprehensible, the Universe is the expanse where everything begins, resides, and dies. Functioning as any natural body does, the universe seeds, and re-seeds, itself with the life-blood needed in order to stay fresh and everlasting. The realms, as the universe is most commonly referred, are alive, and it is the Elder Gods who have charged themselves to look after this expanse, and stave off the inevitable reformation of the One.

For longer than any mortal could ever know, the Elder Gods have manipulated the realm's life-blood, the souls of the universe, in order to preserve a balance between Armageddon and Oblivion, as it is through the soul that all can be potentially un-done.

Forged in destined realms across the expanse, the souls of the universe are born and matured, and though their lives, their path is determined; free-will being their first, and only, natural right. It is this free-will that the Gods protect, and thus choose to let live, but it is this free-will that the Gods also fear, as through it, the seeds of the One are sown, and new life, unnatural life, can to take root.

The land of the dead; the wastes; the Netherrealm; this world is the closest physical plane of existence there is to the spiritual plane of Hell. As it was at creation, this realm has remained empty and void of all life, as while other worlds were naturally cultivated and thus able to mature, this world seemed to shun all that was good, and living, as it reveled in a constant state of death and darkness. Its void wastelands and ravenous environments were the perfect prison for the tainted souls of the realms, and thus is why it was chosen.

As according to the Law, all those souls deemed worthy at death would be drawn to thisplace, and with this constant stream of adverse energy flowing into, and through, this lifeless world, the land would become a prime beginning for the influence of the One to take hold. Knowing this, the Elder Gods would keep close watch over the Netherrealm to ensure that the balance they sought to maintain would stay intact. Deeming interference in the lives of mortals as a transgression of their Law, the Elder Gods put their hope in free-will, and as such, it was.

The Law of Free-Will

As the eons passed, life continued to evolve across a multitude of destined realms, ultimately taking the forms of many different creatures and beings of all shapes and sizes. Commonly across all worlds though, the end of the evolutionary path would always came to a similar head; albeit at different seasons as according to each realm's 'world-soul'. The bipedal beings were forged in the image of their creator, and would prove to be the kings of their respective realms, but so too would they be their destroyers.

In the time since creation, many civilizations have grown, flourished, and fell under the watchful eyes of the Elders, and through that time many of those civilizations, such as the Edenians, have found ways to endure by harnessing the spiritual energies of their world's soul. Through the manipulation of these natural energies, mortal beings stumbled upon a power seemingly of the gods; the knowledge and means to break through the natural barriers of the fabric of the realms. This power allowed them to do many great things, among which was the ability to travel to other realms in order to explore…expand…and ultimately conquer.

Through the many excursions across the many different worlds, it was inevitable that the Netherrealm would eventually be accessed, and thus the negative energies of that realm would finally be tapped and unleashed upon the outside world.

The mortals haphazardly discovered that the Nether was nothing to be trifled with, as when a living body entered the hellish environment of the Netherrealm, the physical and spiritual being of that body would enter a state of accelerated decay. Of that first encounter, only one mortal escaped the realms grasp; but after only having crossed the threshold for a moment, it was clear that he had not escaped it influence entirely.

The stories of what the man saw and the stories of the death he suffered, were a testament to the dead realm's power and influence, as well as the only warning the Gods would ever send of its threat. The mere breath of the dead land caused the physical body to wither and die, just as the soul would become twisted and fall to madness. The effects were swift and severe, as the body and soul were corrupted to their core.

The Elder's watched on in disappointment of the mortals, but this path was of free-will's dictation. Free-will had released the Nether's hunger and influence; the Nether's seedwas sown as it was always was meant to be.

Whether naively decided, or deliberately guided, in the coming seasons the mortals began to abuse the use of the doorways to the wastes. The dead realm became a means of punishment, a way of execution for the country-men and criminals the mortals considered unworthy of life. Like the Elders in the beginning, the mortals would filter the souls of the realms. Unforeseen by any mortal however, these acts were the beginnings of a turning point in the Netherrealm, one that would reverberate throughout the cosmos.

The decay affect the mortals had initially witnessed befell all those who were banished to the Netherrealm wastes, but as time progressed…things changed. Seemingly chosen by the realm itself, the Netherrealm allowed two to flourish, in a matter of speaking. 1 man and 1 woman were spared from death and allowed to bring a new a life in their new home. The seed of the One would be sown.

The Gods, bound by the rules set forth by the Elders, remained idle in the mortal's decision to use the Netherrealm as their plaything even at this turn of events. Though they foresaw many of the coming tribulations that would come from this action, all was deemed according to the great design of fate, and the consequences of this action were for all to reap accordingly, mortal and God alike.

The Law of Fate

Time passed, and this new darkness continued to spread across to the Netherrealm. As this mixture of living and dead energies continued to intertwine and evolve through the generations, this new race became the future, and the realm itself was transformed.

Naturally, or rather unnaturally, these beings were somewhat resistant to the negative and soul twisting effects of the Nether world. Like life across the other realms, the Oni, as they came to call themselves, would grow in number, and take on different shapes and sizes as according to the Nether world's soul as each generation passed. Throughout their nativeland they spread, and soon their scattered existence was even known beyond their home world.

Whether the notion of the existence was spread by the Gods or through actual encounters, the Oni were regarded primarily as nothing more than rumor or myth among the mortals of the outside world. They became known as the 'demons of the underworld' as their infamy spread like wildfire; a warning to all those who would do evil. Stories of Oni escaping the confines of the nether were passed down through generations. To say that the Oni were the influence of all evil, however erroneous, was common place, but never could any actual accounts could ever be substantiated. Regardless of true evidence, the Oni were a real source of fear, but even those who knew the truth, truly didn't know to what depth that fear shouldrun.

The Oni are quite literally the descendants the greatest civilizations in the realms, the greatest melting-pot in the history of the universe, but they were held back by their deep resentment and hatred for their 'fathers'. The world-soul of the nether served to only further degrade the Oni's sinful natures, making them darker, and keeping them vicious. Instead of their physical and spiritual energies coming under constant attack from the realm itself, the Oni were seemingly empowered by those energies, and thus their all consuming hatred and the realms natural darkness, were symbiotic in nature. Their race was one which thrived off the baser instincts of their fathers, as the will to survive is what drove them. The natural scarcity of resources in their world taught the Oni to fight for everything, as nothing, and no one, is safe from their twisted nature…not even themselves.

Tribal societies formed throughout the Netherrealm across its many different regions. One constant existed within the collective of Oni civilizations however, that strength and brutality was to be revered. Just like the fathers, the Oni conquered and killed for resources, power and influence, and just like their fathers, they were their own worst enemy. This fact was one that Gods took note of, as it would serve their purposes for the moment, and ensure the Oni never became a threat to balance. Through a constant state of civil unrest, war, and chaos, the stage was set for the Oni to stay just what they were: a barbarian race of savages and animals, never to breach the barriers of their nether home.

The Constant of Change

However...

As the Elder Gods knew, the only true constant in the realms is change, and all that was needed was for a leader to take charge.

In time one would come with the ability to step forward and take the helm of the Oni world; in time the balancewould need to be protected.

A threat to all things was on the horizon, a being of the realms with the potential to uproot even the Laws of the Gods.

The Lord of all Oni was coming...