Thunder rolled in the distance as a young Earthrealm warrior stood at the edge of one of the Himalayan summits, her inked, exposed skin paying no mind to the intense cold. She merely held the cloth that protected her head like a hood close to her body with one hand, her hair and bead necklaces covering her chest, and the ends of the fabric billowing behind her. Her other hand clutched the sampaguita pendant that rested on her bosom; the only inheritance her mother ever left her.

"Soon we'll be all together in hell," she somberly muttered to herself, taking a small step forward, feet bare as well. Thunder struck the ground a few feet behind her, and the babaylan descendant knew what this entailed.

"Esther Valdez, heed me." Her master's tone is stern, yet there was a quaver of desperation in it. "Esther is dead. Nightwolf killed her," she snapped. "Do not call me by that name."

Raiden took a hesitant step towards his student. "I anchored your soul to Earthrealm and pulled you from the Netherrealm. I had hoped you would appreciate my efforts," he explains. There was no response from his student. "What name would you prefer then?" The Thunder God tried to distract her, but his question sparked irritation within the self-loathing woman. "I prefer nothing." The god took another step, making Esther move further away. "Your great aunt wanted to name you after your grandmother," Raiden informed her, doing his best to divert her from her objective by speaking of those she held dear.

"What was her name?"

"Sinagtala. I had preferred the name as well."

"Starlight. I like it. I never liked 'Esther' anyway. But not that it mattered anymore," she replied, voice nothing but an audible whisper in the howling wind. "Your judgement is clouded. Come with me, back to the Sky Temple. Let us meditate, pray to the Elder Gods if we must."

Sinagtala spun around abruptly, face contorted with anger and hopelessness. "You think a forsaken prayer will change anything?! I'm doomed Raiden. My fate is predestined. I'm bound to be Quan Chi's servant because of my ancestor's selfish pact, no matter how many times you pull me back from hell!"

The deity held back his indignation; he understood why his student felt this way, though she is misinformed. "The visions Quan Chi showed you were false," he began, his voice akin to a crack of thunder. "She sealed the pact with the sorcerer so she can save her village from foreign conquistadors. Corrupting her bloodline and harvesting her descendants' souls was never part of it," the deity boomed, extending his hand to Sinagtala's direction. "I arrived too late to aid her. As a result, she was deceived and exploited for her desperation to save lives. She's anything but selfish, Sinagtala."

The babaylan descendant held back her tears, silently guilty for slandering her ancestor's name under the influence of the Netherrealm demon's pretense. "Even if you're telling the truth, my soul is still doomed. I'm going to be a Netherrealm demon regardless. Why not just get it over with?!"

"Your self-loathing and defeatist behavior will do you no good, Tala. Think of your great-aunt. Think of Erika Valdez, your cousin. What would they do-"

"Enough! There's no point bringing them up, Raiden." Her yell reverberated throughout the range, eyes brimming with hot tears that stung. She faced the howling wind, trying to hide the pathetic expression on her visage from the thunder god. "It's been an honor to be your student, Lord Raiden."

"Sinagtala, no!"

Headfirst, she plunged herself to her demise with her eyes closed in resignation. Raven hair flew freely in the wind as a deafening crack of thunder illuminated the surroundings with blinding light. Sinagtala dared to open her eyes and saw her mentor before her, his arms extending to catch her. Tears escaped her eyes and all the hairs on her body stood stiff from the static as Raiden enclosed his arms around her small frame. In a split second, she felt her body disintegrate, the feeling of nothingness sending a small wave of relief and release. As soon as her mind was at ease at the lack of sensation, reality came crashing down on her, cheeks wet with rain and tears. Petite hands clawed for the robes at her master's back and sobs began to escape her throat.

She looked up and saw a pained expression on her master's face, his calm façade broken. Taking note of her surroundings, she realized they were no longer on the summit, but in a room in the Sky Temple. "Stay here," he sternly warns her, and he broke from his embrace, if one could call it that. He opens one of the cabinets and hands her clean clothing, consisting of a simple robe. The god of Thunder drew open the screen door and left her in the cold room. Sinagtala took off her soaked garments and accessories, save for her sampaguita necklace, and slipped into the robes. She sank down and sat on the tatami flooring in resignation, and crawled towards the futon on the corner of the room, bringing her legs against her chest and embracing herself. Several minutes later, Raiden returned with several comforters and gently covered her shaking body, unsure if she is shivering or still sobbing. Emotionally drained, he sits beside her curled-up form and exhaled, his eyes fluttering shut.

From where she was lying, she faced her master, eyes red. "I'm sorry, Lord Raiden."

"Liu Kang. Kung Lao. Nightwolf. Stryker. Kabal. Sindel. Kitana. Smoke. Remember their names. They are the ones lost in Earthrealm's pyrrhic victory," the Thunder God finally spoke after moments of quiet. "Shao Kahn sold their souls to Quan Chi for his allegiance. I failed to redeem them, and bringing them back will be difficult. I have lost so many friends and allies to Quan Chi," Raiden continued. "I cannot afford to lose another one. I want to offer you salvation."

Guilt and pity struck Sinagtala's heart, prompting her to sit up and crawl over to Raiden. Tears are starting to prick her eyes again, her suicidal urges halted by the realization that the Thunder God held her dear. "Then I will help you bring them back. I don't know how, but I want to help." Raiden opened his eyes, two white dots in the dark, and they met her obsidian ones. "I've been selfish, master. You promised to help me free my family and ancestors, but I didn't realize Quan Chi held multitudes of souls. And you had a realm to protect too. My mind was so narrow I failed to realize you carried unimaginable burdens. I'm so sorry, Lord Raiden."

There was no response from the deity. Only a warm hand on her shoulder.

"I won't leave you," she continued after contemplating whether she still should continue speaking. "Even in death."

Words failed her when his arms coiled around her.

A/N: More backstory for Sinagtala. A break from the earthly matters concerning Kuro, Sida, and her cousin.

Goodness, I figured after that trauma conga line he experienced from MK9's ending, Raiden's bound to fall apart sooner or later, especially if one of the people he cares for becomes despondent. I hope the embrace in the end wasn't OOC for him though; I rarely see him touch anyone except if they're electrocuting them or beating them to a bloody pulp. Then again, neither does the other characters; this is Mortal Kombat after all.

Translations:
sampaguita - Filipino term for the Jasminum sambac/Arabian jasmine flower. It's a species of jasmine native to a small region in the eastern Himalayas in Bhutan and neighbouring India and Pakistan, and is the national flower of the Philippines.
babaylan - a Visayan term identifying an indigenous Filipino religious leader, who functions as a healer, a shaman, a seer and a community "miracle-worker" (or a combination of any of those). They can be male, female, or male transgenders (known as asog, bayoc, or bayog), but most of the babaylan were female.
tatami - a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms, traditionally made using rice straw to form the core