The Hourglass trickled with sand from top to bottom, slow and steady as time moved on. Reiko gazed upon it, a hand rubbed his chin and the other crossed his chest as he pondered its power. Behind him, Tanya, Kia, King Gorbac and Prince Duroc stood with him. Unsure of how to move forward, if they could.
"Seems dumb to hide this thing in the one place The Brotherhood of Shadow knows best." Reiko turned to them, "but Bi-Han was able to gather some information about the missing piece."
"Missing piece?" Kia pondered, though a captive, it did intrigue her. "Looks complete to me."
"Should be common knowledge at this point, we're all aware Raiden and Kitana, probably that weird frinkly guy she was dating had a hand in tampering with time. Bi-Han mentioned that to control it, you must have Kronika's Crown."
"This someone we can find and get it off of?" Tanya wondered.
"No clue." He explained to them, "but if we turn back time we can create the realms in the image of the Brotherhood of Shadow. No more Raiden and the Gods, no Daegon or Taven to play on Pyramids."
Beyond the Sea of Blood where no man could travel, the shadows still lurked and there they had discovered the former Keep of Kronika, Keeper of Time. Though known to Bi-Han for many, many years, without knowledge of the crown's location, the hourglass was merely a relic.
Bi-Han emerged from the crevices and formed from the shadow before Reiko and the others. The view he had was stunning.
The Keep was shattered beyond repair and restoration, the gold and white staircase and constructs all destroyed, likely by Raiden and pillagers over the course of eons, but what still remained was the Hourglass and the view beyond the Netherrealm out to the sea of blood between mountains and storms that brewed heavily overhead. The outcrop of stone and crystal was the perfect hideaway for such an item, even on an island as inaccessible as this.
"The crown is in the Chaos Realm." Bi-Han answered. His voice like a whisper, guttural and graveled, yet travelled like he had whispered directly into each of their ears.
"It would be difficult to make it out of there alive. One bad day, Bi-Han, and even you could be torn from existence." Reiko warned. He joined Bi-Han at the edge of the crag and looked over to the Sea of Blood. "Is there any other way?"
"Havik holds no alliance, but he has sworn to protect its location." Bi-Han revealed.
"Raiden promised something to him, very likely." Reiko assumed, but each of them were lost in thought.
Neither the Shokan nor even Bi-Han could figure out how to find and retrieve it at little to no cost to them. Should their numbers dwell further, there would be no chance to obtain it and even less to deal with the consequence of Armageddon.
Should they have known the answer sunk slowly into the depths of the infinite Sea of Blood, they still would have had no chance to find it. Instead, Kia and Tanya offered to return to Raiden's encampment to gather information.
Betrayal would mean death on both sides, but to remain in the shadows in the hopes of a whisper, that might help them escape all of it together. No more Brotherhood, no more Raiden or Daegon, Kia and Tanya could take over the Hourglass themselves.
Their intentions unknown to him, Bi-Han nodded and Reiko gave the order.
As they dissipated into the shadow, Reiko assured the Shokan of the plan. Bi-Han turned to the Sea of Blood and eyed hell itself for an answer.
"Raiden and his wacky pals are only going to make it so far before they turn on themselves." Reiko mused, "Daegon has ruled with cruelty and stupidity. Likely everyone behind him is ready to stab him in the back the moment that pyramid emerges."
"What chances do we have if we can't find this Crown?" Prince Duroc pondered.
"Raiden's forces are hanging on by a thread. Old flames, new ones, old rivalries and new, it'll all tear them to shreds the moment they realize each and every one of them has a chance at something greater." He added, "we know Daegon is being manipulated by hell itself to destroy all of reality. Existence itself will cease, and though Raiden wishes to stop that, I am not keen on Raiden's version of reality. While they're all fighting," he finally answered, "we have our best chance at working together to defeat the elemental at the top of the pyramid."
"The Brotherhood of Shadow is eternal." Bi-Han warned the Shokan. "There is no way out."
"Kitana has been slain, Goro's death has been avenged," he was so sure it had been her, Bi-Han knew otherwise, but let him speak, "this is the way."
"This is the way." Bi-Han mused.
Reiko knew even this group hung by many loose fibers all ready to cut loose or burn them together. Bi-Han would betray them at any moment should he desire, as he had to the Lin Kuei. The Shokan were only loyal should it benefit the Shokan, but yet if they realized it was Kia and the Brotherhood of Shadow that killed Goro, that vengeance would be on his head. Tanya and Kia would likely inform Raiden of their plans, but even still, he might divulge something and all it would take is the ears of the ever-present shadow to listen.
Somewhere, someway, there was a means to an end. Once they had it, time itself would bend before him.