What the…
My head felt like a baseball after nine innings. I didn't know how I got out here or where here even was for that matter. All I did know was that I was back. Somehow. My very existence denied all possible logic and reason, but there I was on my hands and knees practically kissing the wet, muddy earth.
As I looked around at the forest that surrounded me, the memories that struck me landed without impact. Everything I had been through seemed like a distant dream. My unparalleled rise through the ranks of that sickening sorcerer's tournament, the pride I had felt in being the first to challenge Prince Goro and potentially end the contest before anyone else was killed, my fatigued attempt that ended in my humiliating demise.
That was only the beginning. I'd lost more than just the match, even more than my life. Shang Tsung had taken my soul. The Shokkan warrior prince toyed with me before snapping my neck like a pencil, but the nightmare he put me through was paltry compared to my torment under the sorcerer.
After a while, I had apparently worn out my usefulness and was the first of several thousand captured souls to be poured into the living vessel we all called Ermac. Fighting for dominance within Ermac was a daily struggle. I figured that if I could take complete control, I'd somehow be able to take my life back.
Fast forward to the last thing I remember, which was that kid giving all of us inside Ermac the beating of our respective lifetimes. That bladed rope had been wrapped around our neck just before I awoke out here. A horrible thought crossed me as I recalled this. I'd been sharing Ermac with some pretty despicable, irredeemable souls.
If I was back, did that mean they were too? Also, my body. There was no way it shouldn't have been decomposed by then. What type of black magi–
A twig snapped behind me. I turned to see what it was. My breath caught. Some goon in purple was standing in the shadow of a tree and staring back at me. The rainfall wasn't really bothering me; after being trapped for so long, the cold wind and the harsh rain were nothing short of welcome. But this clown? I almost laughed at him. Standing there getting all drenched for what. To look scary?
"Listen guy," I managed, my own voice sounding foreign to me as I struggled to my feet. "I don't have time for... Whatever this is."
Where the hell were my shoes? Why was I in my gi? Had I died in this? I couldn't remember. The stranger quickly grabbed my attention by collapsing into a puddle and rising up from it with both arms raised. I blinked.
"I am no mere commoner to be shrugged off. I am a son of Argus, and you will show me respect," he barked.
I stared at the guy, stunned. Could he not see that I needed some goddamn space? Couldn't he just let me enjoy the moment and regain my bearings?
Squinting at him, I responded, "You know what? Fine. I got some respect for you right here."
