The room was warm, too warm that was doubling the pain and agony she had been enduring for the last hours. Her eyes wept, leaked like a teary-eyed goddess and her mouth never stopped the cascading river of blood that left her body in a final gush. Her screams were piercing and heart-wrenching, she knew it was her time to go, but she was not ready, not ready to let go of her life. It wasn't going to end, this hell of his.
Shang Tsung was not satisfied, he was deeply disappointed with her. The seams of magic pulled her energy apart, like putting salt on a wound he had tortured her from within, like cutting her heart open and stabbing her again and again. She couldn't take it anymore, and he kept torturing her until she was nothing more than a broken shell of a person.
She clenched her claws in agony while Shang Tsung watched her spazz in pain. He had to teach her the error of her ways. He had to break her spirit.
"You've disappointed me, Kalliste." He said, "I understand your hatred with Kollector but you've gone bestial, careless, and angered the Emperor." The final blow was not meant to hurt her, not meant to break her, but she felt it all the same. She felt it all, her back arching upward before she slammed down on the marble floor.
"I would take this time to contemplate your actions." Said Shang Tsung who disappeared slowly out of the room, leaving the girl alone in pain and agony. Her head spun, her blood pressure dropping, her heartbeat slowing to a painful pace. She was done for, it was all over. Kalliste wiped the sweat on her face, the blood that dribbled from her lips and nose, and kept going.
She felt her body move, and she was no longer laying down on the floor but sitting up. Her head ached, and her bones could barely move normally, but she was alive. She looked down at her hand, the one that Shang Tsung had stabbed her with, and she smiled in distress.
She blamed herself for this, letting her anger get the best of her, letting her hatred consume her. She regretted her last words, the hatred and vitriol spewed at the man that had brought her so much pain.
"I'm such a fool." But no, self-loathing, the negativity she spoke to herself wasn't the reason, wasn't and shouldn't be the reason for her survival. She wasn't going to wallow in self-pity, she was going to do something about it. Time was cherished in her silence, in her isolation of herself from the world, but time was all that she had left, and she was not going to waste it in her self-loathing. A mirror in the room was clouded but enough just to see her reflection.
Her face was red, her lips were torn apart and bloody, and her eyes looked like two black pits, the dark liquid that leaked out of her eyes was a clear sign of her deep pain. She got up on shaky legs, and she brushed the dust off her clothes.
The dark was swallowed by warm darkness but the day was still out there, waiting for her to let it in. She was going to embrace it. She stepped out of the bathroom and looked at the hallway where her bodyguard lay dead. She was still covered by the blood of the beast she had previously slayed from before, this time it was rotting all over her skin and clothes.
Slowly and steadily she drew a bath that was located in the bathing room of the chamber that she was staying in. Kalliste tore the bloodied clothes off of her body and threw them on the floor where she slowly dipped her bare feet into a small patch of water that gradually filled the bathtub.
The hot water felt so good, the blood that had covered her was a distant memory. She held her legs close to her chest, her knees bent and her body leaned over the tub. The water was just deep enough for her to submerge her entire head, but not deep enough for her to actually be submerged to her chin.
She rubbed the muck off of her skin and allowed the blood to drip down into the tub. Her hair was still dripping wet when she stepped out of the tub. Kalliste didn't mind the chilling coolness that embraced her, she was far too numb to its discomfort, she wiped her wet hair out of her face and let it hang freely. The blood on her face, which had started to dry, looked less gory, more like a nasty-looking bruise. She wasn't ready to head out yet, she needed to console herself in the darkness of the room for a little bit longer.
She grabbed a towel and wiped off the dirt and sweat from her face. As she dried herself, she thought of Shang Tsung. Shang Tsung. It was just how it was, she couldn't let him take anything else from her. She had to be ready for him. She had to be a danger to him. She had to be a force to be reckoned with.
The reddening bruises were visible so she covered herself with bandages and a new outfit for her to wear. She brushed out her hair again and tied it back as she covered herself with a black mask that wrapped around her neck, down her nose, and covered her entire mouth.
Kalliste stepped out of her room and closed the door behind her.
Then she headed down the stairs where her only desire was to drink, drink and drink some more, so she led to the canteen area where she knew they had served drinks After a few minutes of walking through the tunnel that led to the canteen. She sloppily seated herself near the bar and stared at the colorful drinks that lined the shelves.
A gnarly man approached her for her request, "...Strongest you have." She said simply. After a few minutes of waiting and staring at the other patrons, the bartender finally approached her with her requested drink and grabbed it from him eagerly. She had regard for her messy hair that flew all over the place, the long platinum locks were long and wavy, and she didn't really care how they looked.
The drink was a dark, reddish-purple in color. She put it in her mouth and didn't give a second thought about the taste. The next set of hours was filled with misery and recklessness, the drink was a new high, and she was determined to keep going, to keep getting higher and higher, and to never, ever, stop drinking. Turning into a hurricane drunk of the night.
"I would suggest that you stop." A voice spoke to her from behind, it was a woman's voice, a familiar one, and it was saying something that she really didn't want to hear. Kalliste turned to see that Jade had suddenly appeared beside her.
"...Um, Jade, correct?" Kalliste slurred in question.
Kalliste asked her. She put a hand to her hip while glaring at her with dismay. "I've heard of what happened. It was reckless but you should not drown yourself in drinking." Kalliste just rolled her eyes and took another large sip of her drink.
Jade smacked the drink out of hand, "Come, perhaps you should spare yourself from a drunken hurricane." Jade pulled Kalliste off of her stool and accompanied her out of the canteen and into the hallway.
Kalliste was groggy as she could barely walk on her own two feet, but she managed to keep up with Jade who was walking much more quickly than her.
"You appear to be much more pathetic than you look. You are young and you still let pettiness get the better of you. I know that I do not know you, but your actions in Shao Kahn's court aren't welcomed." Kalliste mumbled something unintelligible in response to Jade's comment.
"What was that?" Jade asked her.
"...You are right, you don't know me- or-or the pain I endured as a child!" Kalliste slurred with bitterness.
"You need to stop letting it control your life. There is more to living than being a slave to your past."
Kalliste lifted her head up and charged at Jade, pinning her against the wall. She glares at her with detest, "-The control is still there, it hasn't passed! Your attempt to commune with me i-is worthless!" Her voice roared to the point of being painful to hear. She growled one last time before she realized that there were guards brought to attention. Kalliste immediately released her arm around Jade's neck, slowly regretting her actions.
"Jade!" Another voice called out, a woman dressed in silky blue had appeared from the distance, watching with concern. Kalliste backed away.
"I'm... sorry. Maybe you're right. -I'm just too worn out at the... moment." Kalliste solemnly nodded her head.
Jade looked at her with concern and regard, she was about to say something when Kalliste walked away from out of her sight and into the shadowy corridors.
The night came faster than ever as Kalliste needed a breath of fresh air after the altercation with Jade.
She seated herself on a stone surface that was located in the courtyard. It was pretty but somewhat neglected. The moon that was high in the sky gave off a dim light that was barely enough for Kalliste to see her surroundings.
Alone and quiet she decided to let free of her face and long hair that had been covered by her hood and mask. The cold wind greeted her like ghostly kisses on her skin, but she welcomed it anyway. It felt refreshing on her heated skin.
She wondered about her past and all of the pain that she had endured as a child. But no, she needed to free her mind for a moment, covering her face with her cold palms, she let her body unwind in the placid silence.
Then, the clinking of coins occurred out and into the serenity of the silent breeze. She moved one finger from her face where she could see a figure approach her. The protrusion from their upper frame brought familiarity. Of course, it had to be Kollector. Kalliste immediately sat up as she walked away from the stone she was sitting upon.
"I see that you are still alive," Kollector remarks, that Kalliste did not look back at him.
She looked at the courtyard and the moon, her back facing him.
"...The deal's off." She said in a low voice.
"Pardon?" He says with a dumbfounded face.
"You heard me, Kollector. Why should I diminish my dignity with a lowlife?!" Kalliste spoke as she turned to face him, her eyes were darkened by weariness and outrage.
She gave one last scowl at him and proceeded to leave, passing by him. Kollector stepped back in response, but he regained his composure. Before Kalliste could venture off, he had grabbed her arm by force as he made her face him. His claws tightened as she tried to yank him off.
Kollector compressed once more, and Kalliste let out a gasp of discomfort. With his other free arm, he seized her by the jaw, shifting her closer to his gaze.
Suddenly, he felt beguiled by her eyes. They were two different colored eyes, one ocean blue, and the other golden brown. And yet, they were so similar. He hadn't noticed the individualism in her face, "Your eyes are most captivating. I had not noticed your peculiarity." He stated.
Kalliste tried to move away from his force, but he tightened his grip. Kollector's fingers slowly dug into the forest of her long hair, the soft locks wrapped around his hand as he began to pull her head towards his chest. He lifted her hair a little, and his nose caught a faint smell of her hair. It was intoxicating.
"—What are you doing?" She grunted in affliction.
"If I do not receive profit from Shang Tsung's treasure room. I will have you then." Suddenly, his grin grew large and unnerving.
Kalliste snapped and shoved him away from her, "That's not going to happen!" She hissed.
"I will get what I want! No deed comes undone." Kollector scoffed at her words and let his hands fall to his sides. Kalliste pursed her lips and then quickly left him in the night of the swallow.