Creation of a Soulless Warrior

Upon his return to The Emperor Shao Khans palace in Outworld, The Sorcerer Shang Tsung expected a punishment worse than death. He knew his only hope would be to try and convince the Emperor otherwise. To his surprise however Khan was more forgiving than anticipated.

"So," Khan said to the wallowing Shang Tsung from his mighty throne, "The Deadly Alliance has failed?"

"Yes my Lord," the Sorcerer flinched. He and Quan Chi had believed they had finished Khan long ago, but it had turned out that they had only killed a decoy; now he could sense the clear majestic pleasure that The Emperor was taking in his servant's failure.

"Well," Khan bellowing, "This is excellent news Sorcerer."

"Yes my Lord,"

"Now I will strike Shang Tsung," The Emperor proclaimed. "The warriors of Earthrealm will still be reeling from the damage you and that pathetic Quan Chi caused with your futile little alliance. They will not be expecting an attack from the mighty Shao Khan the conqueror for a while yet, but I will attack fast. My army will be so swift I will have taken both Earthrealm and Edenia before either can call for aid."

Shang Tsung looked up at his master in bewilderment, "And what would you have of me my Lord?" The Emperor looked down on the Sorcerer with a look of great disappointment,

"Ah yes," He said, having clearly forgotten all about Tsungs presence in his excitement. "Sorcerer you betrayed me, you even thought you'd killed me. But you have always been a good servant to me. To which end I have one very special task for you Shang Tsung."

"Anything you wish my lord, I will only beg of you, and thank you for showing me mercy in the face of my wrong doings my Lord."

"Indeed," The Emperor mocked. "You have been loyal to me in the past Sorcerer, but that is not the case anymore, I can no longer give you my undivided trust. You understand that?"

"Yes my lord"

"I need a man who can command my Outworld troops and who will obey my every command without question."

"Yes my lord."

"Sorcerer, I require you to create me a warrior."

"What?" the Sorcerer was baffled by his master's bizarre request, "But how?"

"Using the souls of one hundred men Shang Tsung, I wish you to make me a warrior like no other. Use every bit of power you have Tsung just make it happen. You have proven your treachery once, and once is enough. This warrior is to become my right-hand man Tsung, he must be able to protect me cowardly Sorcerer, he must be able to command one-thousand men! But most importantly of all Shang Tsung, he must be able to manipulate the black arts and wield enough magical power to rival yourself."

"My Lord," Shang muttered in self doubt, "My Lord I…"

"Do it Tsung!" The Emperor yelled now standing before his big stone throne, "Do it, or Die." The colossal ruler then sat back down in his seat or power and watched and waited for the Sorcerers reply.

"Yes my Lord," the Sorcerer said before turning and leaving the room.

The work Shao Khan had asked for wasn't as toilsome as Shang Tsung had expected it to be. He worked in the Soul Chamber beneath Shao Khans palace. That was where Shao Khan kept all the souls he had taken from the warriors he had killed in battle and stored them for dark purposes such as this.

Tsung first found the body of one The Emperors own fallen warriors. A typical fighters body, fairly well toned, light skin colour and this particular body had emerald green eyes and tousled jet black hair.

Features mattered not to Shang Tsung however; the body was merely a vessel. The hardest part of the job came next. Tsung was to absorb the souls floating around the chamber itself, then transfer them through his own body and into that of the vessel, which was now lay flat out sprawled face up on a stone slab in the centre of the chamber.

One hundred souls The Emperor had asked for and one hundred souls Shang Tsung had given to the still lifeless body. Yet nothing happened. The Sorcerer cast a shadowy palm over the warrior's deflated chest.

"Souls of the darkness- awaken!" Tsung muttered between incantations, but nothing happened. Frustrated he tried again, "Souls of the darkness- AWAKEN!" Again, nothing. Now the Sorcerer was sweating and began pacing. His life was on the line here and for once he couldn't deliver.

"Shang Tsung!" came the booming, all too familiar voice of The Emperor, although he was not in the chamber but still in his throne room.

"Yes my Lord," Shang whimpered,

"Come to me, bring my new Soldier."

As instructed Shang Tsung made his way to the throne room, two guards followed him carrying the warrior vessel still on the stone slab. The guards placed the stone gently between the Emperor on his throne and the standing, shaking Sorcerer.

"Why does my creation not awaken Shang Tsung?"

"I do not know my Lord? It should have, I did everything you instructed."

"Let me tell you why Sorcerer. To animate this new breed of warrior will require the soul of one exceptional warrior, as well as the souls it already contains."

"But what such soul exists my Lord?" Tsung asked twitching at his collar nervously as he guessed at what his master was about to say, "There were certainly no such souls in the Soul Chamber."

"Ah but there was when you were down there Shang Tsung."

"How do you mean my Lord?" Tsung asked dryly, knowing the answer."

"DO NOT FOOL WITH ME SORCERER!" The Emperor yelled, again standing before his seat before sitting back down and regaining his composure. "That is," he continued, "I know of how you and Quan Chi brought Liu Kangs life to an end. And that you achieved the ultimate goal of adding the Champion of Mortal Kombats soul to your ever-growing collection."

"Yes my Lord," Tsung groaned.

"That soul Shang Tsung is the key to bringing this warrior before us to life! Use it and I shall spare your pathetic life this time."

"Yes my Lord." The Sorcerer cursed his master in his mind. He felt as though this whole creation of a warrior task had all been just a charade, a means of making him hand over his most prized trophy ever to The Emperor. That trophy being the soul of his long time nemesis Liu Kang. But then he thought, even the creation was another way for Khan to get at him. He knew he should be thankful to be spared his life, but this seemed just as bad to him; the ultimate humiliation of the Great Shang Tsung.

As asked Tsung quickly began to pass the soul of Liu Kang from himself to the vessel. Shao Khan had demanded he do it in front of him although Tsung had been reluctant to do so. The process went very smoothly, in his own way however Shang Tsung got one up on The Emperor. He only allowed half of Kangs soul to pass through. Also, Tsung made sure that only the kindred, compassionate, merciful part of the champion's soul went into the making of Khans new soldier. The Sorcerer himself ensured he retained Kangs aggressive, battle ready instincts; the part of Kangs soul that contained the killer instinct that led him to victory four times in Mortal Kombat.

And so it was that Shao Khans warrior cane into being. Khan had his new Commander garbed in a uniformal red and black ninja's suit- another masked assassin in the eyes of Shang Tsung. But to an impressed Shao Khan this ninja was better than all those others. This one was a Sorcerer and a ninja in one; he fight hand-to-hand with man or men, and could even control his surroundings with the dark art of Telekinesis.

One of the first things The Emperor had done was have a stone disc embedded with a green gemstone attached to his warrior's belt. The green stone was enchanted and would enable Shao Khan to control the mind of his Commander from any point in Outworld. With that stone Shao Khan could have his Commander wreak havoc in any place he liked.

Khan named his Commander- Ermac. Ermac Commander of Outworld, the man with one hundred souls would become one of the most feared men across the realms. Ermac, the man with one hundred souls, but not one he could call his own.