"The path's unbeaten, and it's all up hill, but you can meet if you have the will." May he listen while I can still stand by, but I–
"One with the universe, the Elder Gods, one with the Force." Lord Liu Kang jested, his concentration broken in the silence of his Lotus Position.
"Take this seriously, you are a God now. My energy flows within the river in you, but so does your own. That must not be taken lightly."
"I understand, Raiden, I am only joking."
"Defeating Kronika unveiled the true intentions of the Elder Gods." A most disturbing result of those events.
Though Kronika was defeated long ago, and Liu Kang had brought us to this point in time, the betrayal cannot be forgotten by me. Many years I sought their wisdom, but Kronika and Cetrion showed me that the Elder Gods care only for themselves and nothing for the realms.
"Their powers are great, Raiden, their wisdom vast, but time does not stand still for them." He understood. Liu Kang had realized the power of remaking time was greater than any being this universe had ever known. It was a power that could not be taken lightly. This, after many hardships, was learned, but for Kitana, the lesson was still hard to take in.
Liu Kang opened his eyes and turned to mine. I stood by a rack of scrolls on shelves built into the stone walls. This was no New York City, no Shaolin Temple in the modern era. This was a still considered the Medieval Era on Earth and Liu Kang had to adjust accordingly.
Things were slower here, but they were peaceful.
"Do you think she will every forgive me, Raiden?" No matter how long time went on to a God, he still felt guilty.
"That is for Kitana to discover." We had more important matters to address, "Liu Kang, as a God, I could not compete in the Mortal Kombat tournament. My powers were also weakened in Outworld."
"That is why I have asked you to compete for me, Raiden. I trust you, as you had trusted me."
"My powers are gone, and my abilities as a fighter, though rival yours as a human, may not be enough to defeat Goro."
"Under Kitana's rules, Goro will not fight to the death. I have faith you are stronger than him, Raiden. Stronger than Kung Lao."
"Why is it you believe I could defeat Goro?" No, that's not the question, and as soon as it came out, I saw him try to answer, but it had to be interrupted, "no, Liu Kang, why do you want me to be Champion?"
This one took a moment for him to answer. My age as a God was ageless, and my time timeless, but now as a mortal, and that of an Earthrealmer, it meant I would die. I had so many things that needed to be handed down Liu Kang in our lessons, but fate is fate, and time stops for no one. Only repeated.
"I don't know if I'm truly ready to be a God, Raiden."
"Nor was I, a long time ago."
"How did you do it?"
"I just did." You just go on. "I was like Kitana, Liu Kang, long ago. I stepped into save Earthrealm on many occasions, but then discovered my actions caused consequences I could not fix. Armageddon, Onaga's return."
"You stopped Kronika."
"You did, Liu. Yes, with my assistance, but I would not have succeeded had it not been for you."
"I have seen wars, old rivals rise and fall, but evil comes and goes as it pleases and cannot be stopped, even as the realms are free of Kronika's interfering."
"One thing Kronika maintained was balance in the realms. It meant constant turmoil, but it also meant that neither good, nor evil could triumph over the other. Be that as it may, you have made your choice, Liu Kang."
"A choice that has driven Kitana from me."
"A choice she will come to accept. A choice I myself had made."
"Oh, great, I am becoming like you." He jested.
"More and more everyday." I did not.
I know I said that I'd be standing by your side, but I–
"Lord Liu Kang!" A voice disrupted my thoughts.
The Edenian known as Jade. She marched through the archway into the meditation chamber we had sought peace in. Her very presence felt like a disturbance in the force, as Liu would say. The energy that peeled from her flesh felt like the night Kitana and Liu Kang parted ways. Bitter, negative, and uncertain.
"Stop there, Jade." It was my duty to protect Liu Kang. To put myself before Jade and him was all I could do, though I knew she would not stand a chance, but is that really the path Liu Kang would want to take? Jade must know her boundaries.
"You have betrayed me and Ko'atal, and all of the realms!" She blamed and projected loudly enough to echo within the chamber and breath that anger out into the world.
"I do not understand." Liu pulled himself from position and stood before us.
I held her shoulder with the hands of guidance, for it was not Liu Kang I would protect from getting into a fight, but Jade. She is no match for him.
"Kitana told me everything!"
"Kitana?"
"About sacrificing realms for your own, picking and choosing who lives and who dies. Siding with Shao Kahn!"
She misunderstood, and if this is how Kitana explained it, then perhaps the quarrel between Liu and her was greater than I had anticipated. Hurt, yes, but full betrayal? Kitana wouldn't be so bold.
"Enough!" My voice would have commanded her silence when I was a God of thunder. The rumble of the clouds and a shot of lightning that blistered the whites of my eyes, but now, just a mortal, all I could do was interrupt.
"Please, Jade, we have no need to fight. Let us talk." Liu was wiser by the day, but was Jade?
"I do not know who to trust anymore." She was.
My hand fell from her shoulder when her posture changed. She could see that Liu Kang would be no threat, but that was never my concern. This would be a moment, though, for me to see how my pupil handled situations like these that I had to deal with on many occasion, and usually with Johnny Cage.
"Please, Jade, explain what happened with Kitana?"
"She said that together you had shaped the realms to your liking. That you had decided the fate of realms that benefited your purpose together."
"Is this how she explained it to you?" These insinuations hurt Liu, and though a God, I could see the human suffering within him. He still loved her.
"Not quite," Jade continued, "but how could you choose who to save and who gets to suffer? Who gave you that power?"
Liu Kang and I shared a glance, but in truth, Jade was right. This is a lesson Liu Kang had learned long ago. He had tried to shape the realms after Kitana pleaded with him to do so. Originally, as I was told, they would allow the realms to continue unhindered and only battle the evils they thought were too great. It was Kitana's humanity that force Liu Kang's hand to interfere.
"Unfortunately," Liu Kang spoke, "somethings are a matter of fate." He added, as though the memories of those many timelines were still fresh, like blood on his hands. "We tried to make a better life for everyone, Jade. That was Kitana's intentions, but every time we saved one realm, or defeated one enemy, and other fell and another rose to meet them. Some worse than the last."
"I do not believe you."
"Then let me ask you this, Jade, where is Onaga?"
"He was defeated by Shao Kahn in battle."
"Many times over we had killed Shao Kahn at birth, but then Onaga would destroy the realms. Many times we let it happen, and then Shao Kahn would destroy the realms. Many times we had killed both of them, and then Shang Tsung and Quan Chi, and enemies worse than them would take their place and do exactly as they had."
"You didn't need to let Osh-Tekk fall, just to save Edenia."
"I didn't need to do anything. I wanted to. I am good friends with Ko'atal and his trust means a lot to me Jade, yours as well. The one thing I've learned is that somethings are chosen, not by the Gods, but fate alone."
"And Edenia?"
"In my timeline, though destroyed, Kitana was supposed to beat Shao Kahn at the pyramid of Argus, and restore the realms, and Edenia."
He had done well. Well enough that Liu Kang did not need me anymore. There were still a few more lessons to learn, and Jade would deal with this information as she saw fit, but I knew my time would be soon. I would fight for Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat, and then the realms would be in his hands.
As I stood there silent, with Liu Kang and Jade entrenched in conversation, I realized there would still be other things to do in preparation of the tournament. Kung Lao would need to be contacted. I had sought him out in my past, but now that task would belong to Liu Kang.
We also needed to deal with Kitana.
"I understand." She finally broke her stance. "Though I do not agree with it."
"I do not either, Jade."
"Where do we go from here, Lord Liu Kang?" She added, "where can we go, where fate cannot find us?"
"There is no escaping our destinies, but we still have the freedom to meet our destiny as we see choose to."
"What is your destiny?" She poised an important question even I had not asked.