"Speech"
'Thoughts'
"Dark Character Speech"
'Dark Character Thoughts'
Chapter 1: Hellfire
It was seemingly a normal spring day in the kingdom to the east of Ken.
The morning sun had been up for a few hours but it was still somewhat early in the day. The ground was still moist with a light due and the air itself held a small layer of fog.
People that lived there were going about their duties in a simple manor, it was after all relatively far from the main campaign of the millennium long war that had been going on to the north.
There in the center of it all stood a large city bordering a river with a single lone mountain in the center of it. This place is named Heiwana Basho and it is the capital of the Easter region of Eostia.
Now like the other regions or kingdoms this one was given a seat at the Seven Shield Alliance, but where it differs is that the kingdom itself is not ruled by its Princess Knight or rather Shrine Maiden in this case. Rather this was the only kingdom that was ruled by a council of people rather than a single totalitarian style of rule.
This council was made up of individuals that lead lives of great importance in the community. From wealthy land owners, merchants who controlled portions of the shops around the capital and traveling caravans, to powerful and hardened military leaders who had served in the war and maned the defense of the city, and of course the high priestess and also their resident Sheild Princess.
Today was to be a council meeting of sorts to discuss the outcome of the still raging war. As while the other kingdoms welcomed the use of more mercenary type groups to bolster their numbers the Eastern Kingdom was the only one to say no to this idea. But while the others sent less and less of their own people they were finally starting to see the effects of war, even with their postings being quiet a fair distance from the larger battles.
A thousand years will catch up to anyone.
And so at the top of the sole mountain was the temple that watched over the entire city, and where both the council was held and the shrine maidens and head Priestess/Princess lived.
Inside the temple the council meeting was underway with it almost being split on an issue brought to light.
"We must trust in our allies to do the right thing general, they surly have a reason to putting this much trust in a single mercenary group. Besides we've all heard of their reputation, they are most certainly impressive. So why do we not hire them as well?" Asked a well dressed and overweight man with a gold ring on almost every finger.
The general in question that he was speaking to was a man in red and white samurai armor with his helm and sword sitting next him. His sword being held in a crimson colored sheath with ivory lining and a large white bull carved into the side. His helm was of the same colors with it having a small masked portion covering the lower half of his face when wore along with with a white and long mustache.
His own appearance was tan skin, a short and trimmed goatee and mustache combo, a small graying ponytail that reached the top of his shoulders, and very stern steel grey eyes that seemed to be constantly scanning the room.
This was general Hādoai Oushi, commander of the region's offensive force and thirty year veteran of the war before a troll's axe nearly tore out his intestines. Thank the gods for enchanted armor.
The merchant on the other hand was Kanashiri Tāko he happen to be the head of the city's largest port and owner of the fish market that was ran not even a street over.
"I've told you and everyone else who has asked me this question, that while we can pay doesn't mean we should. Our warriors are some of the most elite Eostia has to offer, and our offensive force has not seen a major defeat in almost twenty years. Why would we change now and rely on those who do not know the land or those we have no control over?" He asks with a hand tightly gripping into a fist at answering again for seems like the tenth time this month.
"Surly we can request that they give us men from our land, or more experienced members to help, and as for control general these are simple mercenaries. They answer to gold, which our city has more than enough to offer."
The others watching this either began to shake their heads or nod and speak in hushed tones of agreement.
It was then that another man stood up, he too in red and white samurai armor but with a helm of no mask but large curved horns atop it. "Perhaps this could give us the chance to more properly line our defenses then? If we send the mercenaries out ahead we could reenforce our defensive positions and then reorganize our soldiers to advance along side them."
This was Atarashī Chi the new acting commander of the defensive garrison for the kingdom. He was a much younger man then most there as seen by his still black hair and more curious colored dark brown eyes.
And while the man was young almost half of Hādoai's age he was no less a skilled swordsman and tactical thinker, but he lacked the wisdom and experience that the older general had something that was made clear since the two butted heads almost every time they spoke.
The older general growled at being unsupported in this meeting but held his tongue and let the younger man speak.
"I agree that our warriors are more than enough to defend the kingdom and city, but I am not someone who wants to leave anything to chance. So perhaps brining in more manpower is required to tip some of the scales to our favor more than they already are." His piece finished he sat down.
It was then that a woman stood up and looked to the younger general, "While I agree that reenforcing our key defensive positions are important, I'm not comfortable letting all of our information go to a group that isn't even an ally kingdom, merely a lot of men fighting for glory and coin."
This was Shichiko Saseko the owner and operator of the city's largest three farming plots and a disgraced former priestess who broke her vows to the temple and then quickly ran away with a man who was to inherit a large plot of land. She then comes back with the land and enough gold to buy double the amount before once again going away to manage the land with her husband, only to come back alone a year later and with more than enough wealth to essentially buy herself a seat on the council.
This was the current power of the council whoever controlled the most land, the docks, the banks, the two generals, and of course the Shield Princess. Who had yet to speak.
She herself had been listening to both sides for almost a week ever since a messenger had come and told them that the neighboring kingdom and their capital city of Feoh had started using mercenaries as well specifically the Black Dogs who were well known for their prowess in battle.
Some say hire them and bring their own men back, but on the other end that would leave them open to something else, of what she didn't know but the magic in the air told her something was coming. She's been having a bad feeling and every now and then she's experience a chill down her spine whenever she found herself alone in her chambers.
"Kaguya-sama what do you think of all this?" Asked Tāko from looking up at her.
As the Shield Princess and ambassador to the Capital city of Ken she had a much larger voice than any other single person so it was always a fight to see who she would side with. It also helped that she herself was powerful mage, who was not afraid to use either her position or her own ability to do what she thought was best for the city. Though more often than not her intellect and patience led to great progress.
As for her appearance the head shrine maiden/priestess she had pale flawless skin and coal black hair that was somewhat on the shorter side going only to her shoulders with two small bundles going down the sides of her face held by two small white ribbons, a small assortment of bangs dangling just over her eyes atop her head was a small ceremonial headpiece of gold and silver with two strings of red hanging off the sides. Her eyes were a warm honey color that held a calm and neutral feel to them.
Her clothing consists of red and white shrine attire that had her bottom layer of red ending at just above the knee with a small white overlaying portion that ended at the ankle. Her legs for the most part were covered as well with silk but somewhat see through silk leggings. And to end it underneath all of that was white fundoshi to cover her modesty, just in case someone were to try and take a peek.
She let out a deep sigh at them looking to her when she herself was torn, "Both make good points. We will preserve our own people, but at the cost of letting the frontlines of our kingdom be controlled by men who only answer to gold. This is troubling decision, therefore I say that we use this time to look at how our allies have taken to using the Dogs. Feoh has in fact seen its men return from the frontlines, but I here from others that because of this their guards and soldiers become fat and lazy with no responsibility to hold there attention. No….I've made my decision, we will not hire the Dogs, unless our own warriors require rest. We will hire them when the winter comes so that our own may return home. No more than a winter, we will use it as a way to put these men on trial. If they pass we extend their time, if not we replace them." The Tāko and Chi looked like they wanted to protest but they knew that without her they would need to rethink their arguments, as it is a fair compromise…for now.
Everyone nodded to that decision and slowly people started to chatter amount the council chamber. So looking around Kaguya herself sits a little more straight and clears her throat.
"If there is nothing else then this council is done with the discussion of hiring the Black Dogs, what is the next point of business?" She asks with neutral tone in her voice.
The two generals look to one another and shake their heads before Oushi stood up, "There are no more military matters Kaguya-sama."
She then looks to the merchants, bankers, and landowners who all shake their heads.
She then stands up, "If that is the case then is there anything that will be need to discuss tomorrow?"
No one speaks, "Very well then this council meeting is….."
They all look at her as her voice trails off and her eyes begin to widen. Those close to her took notice and the two generals immediately had their men on high alert as the head maiden had sensed something, something terrifying from the way her eyes were.
"Sorcery…a powerful sorcerer is near." She says quietly but with a small tone of fear in her voice as she slowly began to feel the sheer amount and potency of this person's magic
The civilian side quickly led the room in a panic and made their ways out to the courtyard as fast as they could. While the guards quickly taking positions around the generals and Princess. And just as everyone got the chamber doors open to where they could get out into the open courtyard they immediately felt that something was very wrong.
It was supposed to be a pleasant spring morning, so why was everyone feeling as if they just just walked into the scorching heat of a dessert.
Kaguya snaps her eyes to the center of the yard and knows that something is about appear, "Get away from the center!" She shouts to them all.
Hearing the mage everyone heeds her warning just in the nick of time as not even a second later a massive spiraling pillar of fire emerged from the ground in front of them.
Everyone could do nothing but stare at the raging tornado of an inferno in front of them as it spun and roared into the sky. Those closest had already lost eyebrows to the blaze and yet they were somewhat too mesmerized by it to move.
Then as quickly as came it dispersed leaving only embers and small quickly dying blazes on the stone floor.
And a crouched silhouette in the center of where the inferno had been.
The figure then rose to his feet and looked to the crowd that was before him.
Dead white eyes stared out at all of them and looked between those closest and the armed guards that stared at him in fear.
The figure was tall and packed with muscle both size and tone with tanned skin and the aforementioned pure white eyes that somehow seemed to be looking into their very souls.
His clothing was definitely that of a shinobi covered head to toe with yellow, black, and red cloth along with signs of both steel and leather armor on him. His feet had the traditional sandals of her kingdom, which was a slight surprise to her, moving upward his shins with covered with steel leg guards held in place with leather straps running behind his legs and a lone piece of rope looped at the torso was a red under cloth with overlaying yellow and black crossing over each other before ending where his waist was held by a sturdy leather belt which continued to solid black and somewhat baggy pants. Although that was quickly overlooked as it also held both an excellently crafted mugai ryu and accompanying tanto that both had a yellow cloth wrap and silver colored guard.
Upward again he wore metal shoulder guards with a thick leather neck guard to both hold the steel in place and add a bit more protection. His arms were much like his legs covered in steel and held by both leather straps and a piece of rope, but the peculiar part was the dangling kunai and chain that could be seen casually hanging from his right hand.
And finally was the head which for the most part was obscured by both a solid black hood and an eerie almost skeletal looking dark yellow mask that made clear distinctions of the nose and cheek bones.
It was an almost suffocatingly tense moment between what must've been thirty armed guards, two generals, and an experienced mage. And all of them were borderline terrified of this thing in front of them.
He just appeared in probably the most powerful fire spell she had ever seen, the power flowing off of him was again suffocating to her.
He then takes a step forward and reels his kunai into his sleeve, "You there, priestess. Where am I? What realm is this?" He asked in a deep, angry, and unnatural voice as he walked towards her.
The civilian council members were almost clawing over themselves to get away from the monster in front of them and the guards quickly got between him and her.
He stops for a moment, "Order your guards to stand down. Or they will suffer." He says his hands twitching for a brief moment.
She goes to open her mouth but suddenly the man grabs his head with one hand much like he was having a headache.
The generals order their men to seize him seeing this as a prime opportunity, but he snaps back to them and fired out that kunai from his right hand and stabs one guard in the shoulder before he lashed out and whipped him into another throwing both around like rag dolls across the courtyard.
More guards appeared with their swords drawn but the dead-eyed newcomer merely cracked his neck and retracted his chain. He dodged the first over head swing and expertly blocked a second strike from another guard, he then turns back to the first and lashed out with a nasty hook kick nearly snapping the man's jaw off. The second one was dispatched with three lightning fast strikes to the torso.
Looking over the second one's shoulder the ninja leapt into the air with his fist now ablaze as he slammed into the next guard with bone shattering force knocking him out cold in a single blow.
The rest of the guards now throughly terrified circled into defensive positions around the council members and mainly Kaguya. All of them now having a nervous sweat as the man had yet to really draw his blades or use his kunai and chain again.
He looks around to all of them, the generals, and other council members, before he then locks eyes with the high priestess and before anyone could so much as breath he disappears in a fiery haze.
Only to reappear right behind her and wrap an arm around her torso. "I don't have time for this, I want answers!"
And like that he was gone in another fiery burst taking Kaguya with him.
Everyone else that was there stood in absolute shock for a moment, before panic quickly became the larger presence. "Put the city on high alert! All guard are to be vigilant and watch for anything wearing yellow, or signs of fire. I want that bastard found! We must secure Kaguya-sama's safety, move men get it done!" General Chi shouts with a commanding voice.
The men quickly scatter all of them going down into the city to spread and alert all the others to the new threat that had suddenly appeared and taken the high priestess.
Elsewhere
Kaguya felt as if the world itself moved around her as she appeared in a blaze of fire and suddenly a flash of light, and she found herself in one of of the many wild flower patches that surrounded the riverbank.
She looked next to her as the mysterious man looked around at the fields of red and orange flowers in what looked like remembrance, 'This place…it reminds me of the Fire Gardens. Why does it have to look so much like home?' He thought somewhat sadly in his mind.
Sighing he looks to the Shrine Maiden and waits for her to stand.
She looks at him and sees what he wants and slowly stands up and straightened her maiden's attire. "Who are you?"
She asks with a stern and no nonsense attitude towards the man. Though if she were honest this one scared her to an unnatural degree. And it wasn't the fact that he was a man built for combat, his weapons, or his unbelievable amount of powerful fire magic. No it was those eyes of his, those unnatural dead eyes, that now since she's closer she can see the outlines of his iris and pupil.
The man looked at her for a moment and then spoke, "I am Scorpion. And now I will ask again what realm and I in, and who are you?" He asks in that deep and echoing voice.
Kaguya stares into those eyes for a moment and for a brief moment looses herself before answering, "I am Kaguya high priestess of all Eostia, member of the Seven Shield Alliance, and magical consultant to the goddess reborn herself."
Scorpion tilted his head at the answer, "I do not know of a realm called Eostia, or any goddess other than that damned traitor Cetrion. Is it her you serve?" He says with a more threatening undertone to his voice at the thought of one of Kronika's underlings slipping through their fingers at the final assault.
At the mere mention of an enemy the very air around Scorpion began to heat up adding new layer of small sweat beads on the Shrine Maiden's face as she thought about how to get out of this situation with being forced to fight, as she knew that it would be a fight she was completely and totally unprepared for, and completely outmatched by the ninja in front of her.
She quickly swallows her fear and shakes her head, "No I do not serve any goddess by the name of Cetrion, I've never even heard of that name before. I serve the goddess reborn Celestine Lucross, she is the queen and leader of our land, the kingdom of Eostia."
The specter hearing no deception in her voice slowly lowered his hellfire's power until it was able to be felt by the priestess.
Seeing that he was giving her a bit more space to speak continued, "I do not know of realms, as you call them, could you perhaps enlighten me so that I could better help you?" She asks wanting to know something about the man in front of her for the sake of finding something she could use against him should he go back to being hostile.
The former human narrows his eyes, "You really don't know? Realms? Earthrealm, Outworld, the Nether? What of the Elder Gods, surly you know of the council that all lesser gods answer to."
This made her eyes widen at the thought of a literal council of gods that all other gods answered to. Were there really beings like this? If so would Celestine benefit from learning this or perhaps speaking to them?
"No I do not know of Elder Gods, our land's legends tell of a Great War between hell and heaven that ended with many gods dead or choosing to remain in their world." She said recalling what she knew from some of Eostia's earlier history. But this was before even the Northern and Southern half's had been divided.
"A war in the heavens, fitting I suppose. If you truly do not know then there is only one more thing I can ask." He says before taking steps forward and he slowly leaned forward and looked the maiden directly into her soul.
"What do you know of Mortal Kombat?" He asks with a dead serious tone.
To which she shook her head, "I-I know nothing of this."
Hearing the fear in her voice he backed up and slowly rage began to build inside the specter.
No Elder Gods.
No Raiden.
No familiar realms.
Not even Kronika
And no possibility of the tournament.
Just where in name of all the hells was he.
And just why the hell was he here?!
Kaguya backs away from him as fire began to spread from beneath his feet as he stood there almost shaking in anger. It even got to the point where she had to put up a magical barrier in front of her and she was forced to seek shelter behind a large boulder.
Soon the grass around him began to be turned to ash and the trees withered from the sheer heat produced. Then he became a whole new kind of terrifying to the woman, if she were able to see him. His skin began to burn away, the flesh and cloth that he wore and was made of melted until all there was left was a brightly glowing orange skeleton in his place.
And then suddenly it was if the sun itself burst from him, turning everything the light touched into charred earth, burning ashes, or molten rock and glass.
She felt the heat through her sheild from behind her cover and desperately put her all into stopping the seemingly unstoppable firestorm that had burst from him as she was beginning to feel her own skin become red and burnt from this power.
And then as suddenly as it began it ended, and in that ethereal glowing wraith's place stood the same man who she spoke to no more than a moment ago.
She heard a small disruption of the air and felt slight heat at her back and suddenly he was behind her.
So slowly and with a terrified expression she turned and looked to this man who she was convinced was a monster from the fiery pits of hell itself.
"If there truly is nothing here that I know then perhaps you can explain this realm to me?" He more demanded then asked.
But the woman could barely stand let alone speak to him. And after what she just experienced did the only thing most people who had seen this would do.
She fainted.
'Elder Gods help me I'm already beginning again.' He sadly thought as he looked around at what was once a beautiful patch of mountain side forest, with a wonderful field of orange and red wild flowers. Now barren and burnt into oblivion, because of him.
He sighed knowing that whoever sent him here or just as to why he was here, he would most likely have to figure that out on his own. So he supposed that cooler heads needed to prevail if he were to make any kind of real progress in this new realm.
So gently scooping the woman into his arms he winced to himself as he saw the small burn marks on her arms from when she shielded herself from his explosion. So he decided that both a change of scenery and perhaps a more calm approach may be for the better.
So once again he feels the rushing sensation of teleportation and they were gone in a second.
Back in the City
Scorpion didn't know why he brought her back, he honestly didn't. But after learning of his new predicament he decided that perhaps it would be best to try and smooth things over with her and hopefully gain an ally in this new realm.
And that was the main thing that had been bothering him, this new realm felt…..different.
There was a strange feeling in the air, his body felt like it was back in Earthrealm but his hellfire felt as if he were back in the pits of the Netherrealm.
He then looked around and became quite aware that he had brought the two of them to what appeared to be a library of all places.
So while the specter waited in this castle he had brought her back to he decided that perhaps it would be best if he were to learn about this place on his own, at least until the maiden awoke. So he laid the woman down on a piece of furniture and began to look over some of the books that lined the shelves of the place.
And after what he assumed to be maybe an hour the woman began to wake up, or at least she was close to waking up as she was beginning to somewhat groan as she felt her magical energy return to her.
She slowly rose up off the couch a hand on her head as magical drain was quite a pain to deal with. And when she realized that she had woken up in the temple archives, she quickly looked around for the fiery ninja.
He turns the corner with a scroll in his hand, "You're awake, good."
The girl nervously got up to her feet and stared at him with a nervous glance then to the countless shelves of scrolls and books. "You've been reading?"
This made Scorpion nod with a bit mirth in his voice, "I'm not completely destructive. I too can recognize a place of learning. Now then, what can you tell me of Eostia? Tell me priestess, what sort of world do I find myself in?"
The Shield Princess looked at him shock as he placed the scroll he was reading in front of her, a scroll of Eostia's history. Perhaps she could convince him to help them, if she worded everything right that is.
So she tried to start from the beginning from how the two main factions were formed from the Seven Shield Alliance and the Dark Queen and her monster horde to all the smaller kingdoms that made up the Alliance. Then she tried her best to tell him the monsters that plagued her world.
But that got a rather questionable look from the specter, "Monsters that care for lust rather than bloodshed? Seems strange, is there no malevolent god that creates them to kill, burn, and destroy all living beings to one day rule a barren and completely destroyed wasteland of a world where only darkness and the dead reign?"
Kaguya looked at him wide eyed at the very casual response of what seemed like an apocalyptic type of event. "No they are simply mindless beasts who seek to find women for their never ending lust and are willing to kill any got get in there way."
Scorpion actually huffs, "Then what of demons? Monsters from hell itself?"
Kaguya again shakes her head, "The last Demon Lord or recorded opening of a sort of hell would be during the war of heaven. Where monsters were first given form, but I do not know if they were actually given their forms by a god or demon. Many believe that they escaped from wherever it was that they came from, and the gods simply do not see them as a threat."
Scorpion nodded kind of understanding the explanation, "Then how are they still here? Demons in my land are mindless violent monsters that care only for battle and the blood of the living so that their souls will be added to their ranks."
Kaguya sighed a bit knowing what she had to explain, "Monsters in this world do not replenish their numbers by killing humans, elves or any other kind of non monster. They instead….well rape every female they find until they become pregnant, then within a matter of moments to days the woman will give birth to another monster or monsters, to which they will grow and mature in a matter of again moments to hours. That is why they have such powerful lust so that they can find more and more victims to implant their seed into."
To Scorpion it sounded almost like those bugs of Outworld, but to a much more unmerciful degree. Sure the Kytinn planted eggs inside the corpses, or if you were unfortunate enough, living victims. But at least you were either already dead, or were about to die quickly, painfully but quickly. This was a new level of savages that Scorpion would not tolerate.
"These monsters sound like truly barbaric and cruel beings. What is being done to exterminate them from your realm? Surly there must be some effort?"
He gets a downed look from the woman, "There is a war being fought against them right now, but it has been going on for almost a thousand years. And it only seems to be going more and more bleak as the days go on. The other cities of the Alliance have even began resorting to armies of mercenaries to help combat to the threat. And now my city is looking to do the same, we must decide whether to hold our forces to the front or to pull them back to reenforce defenses for the city itself." She says with a frustrated tone to her voice at the state of affairs that she found herself in.
Scorpion sat there listening to her, mostly out of curiosity wanting to learn of this world for the most part. But hearing of war with monsters after quite literally finishing his own realm's war against monsters, revenants, and a titan. He was not happy to hear that this realm had been at war for nearly an entire millennium.
He thought about how these monster were tearing into people, men and boys slaughtered while trying to protect wives, mothers, sisters, and friends.
And then he remembered his future self. He had rebuilt his clan and had dedicated his life and efforts to protecting them, and their home.
A dedication that he gave his life for.
And then he remembered that he would be willing to do the same, for his clan and his family once before.
Scorpion had made his decision, and while he may not be ready to fully invite this woman to help him in this task, he thought she should at least know of it.
He stands up and politely places the scroll back where he found it and then came back to Kaguya and gave a slight bow, making her normally emotionless face stretch in surprise for what seemed like the hundredth time today when dealing with him. "I apologize for doing you or your men any harm. I was confused as to what happened to me and how I came to be here, but now none of that matters. I Scorpion will be leaving you and your city in peace. For now I must leave in order to bring those who have wronged this realm to their knees."
Kaguya begins to feel that sudden heat again and before he can fully disappear she calls out, "Wait what do you mean?! What are you talking about?! Who are you?!" She asks in rapid order to the man who stopped his teleport and then toward her.
"I'm leaving, to kill every disgraceful excuse that calls itself a monster. I will blacken and char their bones, turn their flesh to ashes, and cut them down like the dogs they deserve to die as. I will bring vengeance to those who have been murdered or worse by these creatures, and I will not stop until every single one lies dead at my feet."
He then looked her dead in the eye one last time, "I am Scorpion, a spirit of fire and vengeance. Here to burn away any and all who stand against me."
And like that he was gone.
Leaving a shaking Kaguya in the library to her thoughts, 'Spirit? Amazing, I do hope we meet again Scorpion.'
And Done
Ok so not too much action in this one mainly just Scorpion making a hell of an entrance and meeting more or less his connection to the rest of the Alliance. I will definitely remedy the lack of blood and violence with the next chapter and his next appearance.
But yeah I'm thinking about throwing in one or two more characters from MK in here later and I already have an idea as to who will be joining them, but things can change.
So anyway that one done and I'm going to start working on the next chapter very soon after posting this.
But anyway please Read and Review if you liked it or point out any mistakes I can go and correct.
Stay Cool