Chapter Sixty-One: In the Know

"So, this was all some sort of… test?"

Back within one of the many halls of the temple, Tomas leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and tried to process what Pyros was telling him.

"I suppose you could call it that, my boy. You see, the courtyard, Edenia, they were illusions to try and disorient you. We wanted to see how you would handle such a situation where what you may believe to be real is, in truth, nothing but a hallucination created by your own mind."

"Why? And what do you mean "we"?"

Smoke's gaze fell upon Sindel, who had been quiet as she allowed Pyros to explain the situation to the silver-haired man. But once she noticed Tomas looking at her, the queen took that as her cue to speak.

"I apologize for the deception, my child, but I needed to know if you were in the right state of mind to fight in this war. I… I know about the Enenra. Pyros told me everything."

"Oh, really?"

Turning back to the telepath, Smoke scoffed and shrugged his shoulders.

"And when did you two get so friendly, huh?"

Pyros could hear the irritation in Tomas' voice, but he understood why his charge was upset. The telepath knew he needed to explain himself and he could feel Sindel's eyes on him, pushing him to speak up.

"He should know, Pyros."

Knowing the Edenian was right, Pyros sighed and grabbed Smoke's shoulder.

"I am sure you already know about the relationship between Edenia's royal family and their protector Argus."

Tomas nodded, thinking back to his conversation with Jade at the zoo. The Edenian had told him about how close Sindel and her husband Jerrod had been to Argus and his wife Delia.

"Well, there is something else you should know about Delia. You see, I… Delia is my sister."

Eyes widening, Smoke let his arms fall to his sides and he stood up from the wall. The last thing he had expected to hear from Pyros was that he is Delia's brother. The telepath continued.

"My existence is only known to a few, including Sindel. And there is a reason for that."

"And that reason would be…?"

Pyros opened his mouth to answer the question, but he quickly shut it. Tomas felt the telepath's hand tighten on his shoulder and Sindel quickly took Pyros' hand off him. She then held it with both of her hands and turned to Smoke.

"I think that is a story for another time."

Now Tomas was really curious about Pyros' past, but seeing how upset the telepath looked, he nodded his head to Sindel in agreement. If whatever Pyros was going to say bothered him that much, maybe it would be better to wait for when the telepath was ready to talk. After all, he had been very patient with Smoke all this time, so it was only fair. Anyway, Tomas decided to get the conversation back on track.

"Okay, I understand showing me the courtyard. It was an important place to me back when I was in the Lin Kuei. But what about Edenia? I have never been to Edenia, so I have no attachment to it."

Sindel nodded.

"You are right. But Pyros created those illusions using memories. Not just yours, but mine as well, since Edenia is dear to me. And as I said before, Armageddon begins in Edenia."

"But that is impossible. Shao Kahn merged Edenia with Outworld, so…"

"There is a way to unmerge the realms, Tomas."

That was surprising. Tomas thought that once realms were merged, the process was permanent. But Sindel seemed to know a way to reverse it, so the silver-haired man decided to hear what she had to say.

"How do we do that?"

"It is not a simple task, I assure you."

Sindel let go of Pyros' hand and held out her hands in front of her. Smoke again saw how violet wisps enveloped her hands, but instead of her power being used against him, the wisps assembled into a sphere. It hovered above the Edenian's hands and Tomas could see images forming within it.

"Do you know about the Kamidogu, Tomas?"

Tomas shook his head.

"No. I have never heard of it."

"Not many people have, my boy."

Smoke and Sindel both looked at Pyros, who had taken a seat on the floor and had his hands on his knees.

"The Kamidogu are relics created by the Elder Gods and each one contains the essence of one of the six realms. If all the Kamidogu are fused together, one person can gain their power, the power of the One Being."

"The One Being?"

Inside the orb in Sindel's hands, the images within it became clear. Tomas could see pictures of what appeared to be a set of knives, six in all. Each had their own unique design and colors. Smoke took a moment to examine them as Pyros continued.

"The One Being is the reason the realms even exist. The realms were built upon its own essence."

"So, it he some sort of god?"

"No. IT is a being much more powerful than the Elder Gods. Even more powerful than the Titans."

"You mean like Kronika?"

Pyros' eyes widened and Tomas saw the worried expression on his face. Did he say something wrong?

"Wh... Where did you hear that name, Tomas?"

"I told him."

Hearing the voice from beside him, Pyros immediately swung his arm to his left to try and strike the newcomer. But his arm was caught, and he could hear the person who grabbed him chuckling.

"Heh, heh, heh. You are always so tense."

Pyros scowled and jerked his arm out of the red-haired man's grasp.

"And you are a nuisance, Enenra."

Enenra kept a smirk on his face as he turned to Tomas, who stared at him with wide eyes and his mouth hanging open.

"Wha… How are…?"

"I know, I know. You are so excited to see me. Unfortunately, this is temporary."

"Temporary?"

"Yes. I can maintain a physical form outside your body for only a short period of time. And that means that I do not have time to explain all the details of this ability."

Standing up, the demon made his way over to Sindel and chuckled as he stopped in front of her.

"Now this is an honor. The former queen of Edenia, dethroned and made into nothing more than a concubine for Shao Kahn."

Sindel glared at the demon and a low growl resonated from her throat. Before things could escalate, Smoke grabbed Enenra's shoulder and pulled him back.

"There is no need for that, Enenra. You said it yourself that you do not have much time. So, why is it that you have come out?"

The demon scoffed and removed his host's hand from his shoulder. He then pointed to the sphere still present in Sindel's hands.

"You are missing one."

Sindel arched a brow and looked down at her orb.

"What are you talking about? These are the six Kamidogu daggers."

"That is where you are wrong."

In a flash, Enenra sliced through the orb and it dispersed back into wisps. The demon quickly grabbed them and moved them around in his hands until they turned from violet to crimson.

"I will handle this, since it seems that you two are too incompetent to do it yourselves."

Pyros shook his head and Sindel scoffed, both knowing that Enenra was referring to them. Making a sphere of his own, the red-haired man looked at Tomas and spoke.

"The seventh Kamidogu is said to be even more powerful than its six counterparts combined. It holds the essence of not a realm, but the entire universe."

An image appeared within the orb and it showed another Kamidogu dagger, but this one had a pure white handle and engraved on the blade were the symbols of the other Kamidogu.

"Think of this Kamidogu as the adhesive that keeps everything together. In order to use the power of one of the daggers, you will have to fulfill the Blood Code."

"What is that?"

"Well, the Kamidogu are connected to Blood Magik, hence the Blood Code. Blood Magik originates from the blood of the One Being and you will have to offer your blood to use its power. But as with all magic, there is a price you must pay. While Blood Magik may give you an incredible boost of strength, once it wears off, you will be severely weakened for days. If you use too much Blood Magik, however, it will more than likely consume your soul."

Smoke has heard of Blood Magik before, but he never looked too much into it. The sound of it just never sat right with him and now hearing these facts about Blood Magik really made him despise it.

"So, what will happen if someone uses the power of all the Kamidogu?"

"That is where the seventh Kamidogu comes in. Since its power is of the whole universe, it will keep the other Kamidogu's power in check. It will… keep you from going insane."

"Insane?"

"Have you ever heard the phrase "driven mad with power"? Well, Blood Magik takes that to whole new level. Using one Kamidogu will cause you to go temporarily insane, mercilessly killing anything and anyone who gets in your way until the magic wears off. Now imagine if someone does get the power of all the Kamidogu except the seventh and it suddenly gets out of control. One of two things will happen: either the user will die due to the immense power, or they will become a literal god. And once they are driven mad by the power, we will all be… how can I put this delicately… we will all be FUCKED."

Tomas took a moment to process all this information. The Kamidogu, The One Being, Blood Magik… it was a lot for the silver-haired man to take in. While Smoke was in his own thoughts, Pyros decided to speak up.

"Alright then, Enenra. Do you happen to know where this seventh Kamidogu is?"

The demon laughed.

"I have a pretty good idea where. Would you like to hear it?"

"So, the fate of the realms rest upon you having a "pretty good idea" of the seventh Kamidogu's location!?" That is, if it even exists!"

"Trust me. It exists."

"And how can you be so sure?"

"I just am. Take my word for it."

"Forgive me, but that is easier said than done."

"Pyros."

The telepath turned to Smoke and felt the silver-haired man's grab his arm.

"A word, please."

Tomas pulled Pyros away from Enenra and Sindel and whispered so the others would not hear him. Although, he was sure that the demon could hear them just fine due to his enhanced hearing.

"Pyros, I understand your distrust of Enenra, but… something is telling me that we should listen to him. I believe he knows more than he has been letting on."

"That may be, but do you believe that he will give us the information we need without wanting something in return?"

"I know what he wants, and I know he cannot get it without our help. MY help."

"You are talking about the amulet, correct?"

Tomas sighed. He should have known that Pyros knew about Shinnok's amulet being the key to Enenra's freedom.

"And I also should have known that Enenra would try to manipulate you into getting it for him."

"By the gods, neither you nor Enenra have no problem peering into my thoughts. My mind is not…"

"Tomas, listen to me. Demons are not to be trusted. Especially those that are as cunning as Enenra. He is probably leading us on an absurd search for something that is nonexistent. I suggest…"

"Then trust me."

Pyros froze. He looked into Smoke's eyes and could see the determination that burned within them.

"I am aware that Enenra is not exactly on the side of good. But he is not evil either."

"Tomas, you…"

"For once since I began this journey, I am sure that I know what I am doing. And I know that Enenra is telling the truth about the Kamidogu. So, if you will not trust him… then trust me."

Pyros could tell that Tomas meant everything that he had said. There was no doubt in his words. So, the telepath sighed and then nodded his head, not able to go against Smoke.

"…Alright, my boy. I trust you."

"Thank you, Pyros."

After giving a quick smile, Pyros walked back the way they came with Smoke right behind him. They could see Enenra and Sindel standing on opposite sides of the hall and Tomas could feel the hate radiating off Sindel like heat from a fire. She really disliked Enenra, but after he made those vulgar remarks about her earlier, Smoke could not blame her for feeling that way.

"Okay…"

Stopping in front of the demon, Pyros crossed his arms and looked Enenra dead in his crimson eyes.

"I am listening, Enenra."

"It is about time. And here I started to think that you disliked me."

Pyros scoffed.

"But as much as I would like to share my wonderful knowledge with you all…"

Enenra raised his hand and Sindel let out a small gasp. His body was beginning to fade into nothing.

"I believe we have run out of time. But this is convenient."

"How so?"

The demon turned to Smoke and smirked.

"Hydro. He has awakened."

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and the new cover I drew. I'm not so good with coloring and I think that is why I did not like the other picture so much, so I decided with the new cover that I was just going to outline most of it in pen except for the black parts. Let me know what you guys think of it and the story so far!