Chapter Sixty

The day of the final round of The Blood Tournament has arrived…

Mid-Afternoon

Forest

Since noon after having some lunch, Jin Kazama trained immensely, more than he has ever trained since arriving here in Outworld. Mostly, he did some meditation and katas, but also performed some of his own moves, pretending as though his opponent was right in front of him at this very moment. His mind was completely cleared from any thoughts.

Jin always believed that he would make it far into the tournament. It seemed like ages since he received an invitation to this very tournament back at home in the middle of the night. The invitation had stated that he had been chosen to attend simply because he was one of the best of the best fighters in the universe. It was the type of opportunity one couldn't resist, getting the chance to fight some of the best fighters known to exist.

The young man, upon arriving at the docks the day of departure, was expecting things to go as it normally would at any tournament. However, not even a day goes by when he was suddenly chosen by Raiden to be a part of his Chosen Ones. Throughout most of their time here, the group's main focus has been to make sure that, by the end of the tournament, that Chishio No Me doesn't fall into the wrong hands… the hands of evil.

Now here they were in the final round of The Blood Tournament. Since the end of Round Six, Jin has been the only Chosen One in the tournament. With that, his allies and leaders now rely on him to make sure to win the medallion.

Today, Jin would do just that.

As he continued to train, Raiden showed up from behind him. For a while, Raiden believed that it was best to not disrupt one of his chosen ones, especially at a crucial time like this.

Soon, Jin turned around and noticed the Thunder God standing a couple of yards away. Raiden smirked before saying, "Good afternoon Jin."

Jin straightened himself out before bowing to Raiden in respect. "Good afternoon."

"I see that you're practicing for the tournament later."

Jin nodded. "Yes… what time is it?"

"You only have another three hours before the match begins," Raiden mentioned. He then paced himself a little before proceeding. "I must say… I'm quite proud of you and everyone else here in the cave. You all have done quite well with contributing with our cause."

"Yes," Jin replied with a nod. "And let's hope that I emerge the victor in the tournament."

Raiden stopped himself from pacing then. "Let me give you some advice… just something for your thoughts if you feel you get any doubts; Put your mind into the fight and nothing more or less. I want to say more, but I have a good feeling that you've received good guidance throughout your life."

Jin forced himself to smirk, knowing that he was able to half-lie. "You could say that."

"Now you remember," Raiden continued. "Upon your return to the cave after the tournament, hand over the medallion to Rose and I."

"I shall," Jin agreed. Indeed he does plan to give his two leaders the medallion… but he also wanted to rid his devil gene first beforehand.

He would have to come up with some sort of plan to do this without being noticed…

"And if you do happen to be defeated," Raiden proceeded. "Do not stress about it. What matters most is that you have done well. No matter the outcome, you will represent the Chosen Ones with honor."

"Thank you Raiden," Jin answered. "But I'll make sure that I win on behalf of all of us. I won't fail."

Raiden nodded. "Now let's head back to the cave. I prefer that you get some read and perhaps a quick bite to eat. This way, you'll have some more energy for the fight."

"Sounds like a good idea," Jin agreed.

With that, the two began heading back to the cave.

Shao Kahn's Fortress

Throughout the late morning and early afternoon, Ivy Valentine trained with her sword inside Shao Kahn's throne room. Normally, she would train herself outside in the forest nearby, but Shao Kahn had insisted that she'd train in his throne room. This way, she would have more privacy and practice without any disruption.

Ivy was able to keep her focus on her training. Once in a while, she would do some katas. Mostly though, she would perform her favorite moves with her sword, switching on and off between making her sword coil or uncoil.

Once in a while, thoughts played in her mind. It suddenly felt like only yesterday when one of her servants delivered her the envelope to her while she was training. So much has happened since then that she had completely forgotten the original reason why she joined with Shao Kahn… long before she discovered the medallion, a powerful artifact that would hold the key to finally freeing her from her own curse.

The last thought had been Ivy's motivation all throughout The Blood Tournament. She tried to stay as positive as possible during her time here. Now here she was. Ivy was now only one step away from retrieving the medallion for herself and could have it in her very own hands within the next few hours.

She only hoped that she doesn't fall one step short.

Ivy wasn't sure how long she had been training by the time she heard footsteps coming into the throne room. Ivy turned around and saw the Emperor himself walking in. Eventually, he stopped just a few feet away from her.

"You seem to be training quite well," Shao Kahn said. "At this point, I suggest that you rest a bit. That way, you will save some of your energy for your match."

"Perhaps I should," Ivy agreed. "I am a bit hungry."

"I have already ordered the servants to prepare you a quick meal in your quarters," the Emperor mentioned.

Ivy couldn't help but smirk over his generosity. She was quite sure that he doesn't make those sort of orders for anyone else in the fortress. "Thank you," she only said.

"Now," Shao Kahn began. "It won't be long before you retain the medallion for us with you being the primary owner. So I wonder… what do you plan to do with the artifact if you win?"

Ivy didn't answer the question right away. It wasn't just about getting rid of the curse upon her shoulder. But she knew that she would be leaving Outworld soon enough, having served her own purpose here.

Obviously, that was one thing she was not going to mention to the Emperor.

"I'm not quite sure as of now," Ivy eventually answered. "After all, there is no rush to think of something to wish for. The medallion's power is limitless, therefore I have plenty of time to think of what I truly want to do with it."

"I see," Shao Kahn nodded.

Another question came to Ivy. "So, will you be watching my match?"

"I won't be," the Emperor replied. "I believe that my presence there is unnecessary. Instead, I will be staying here in the fortress. However, once the tournament is over, one of the Shadow Priests who will be attending will inform me of the results."

Before Ivy could speak again, another set of footsteps entered the throne room. Both Ivy and Shao Kahn turned their heads and noticed the sorcerer Shang Tsung walking over towards them. They both stared at him until he was a couple of yards away.

Shang Tsung turned his head to Shao Kahn and briefly bowed his head to him. Immediately afterwards, he turned his head to the young woman next to him.

"The match will begin in just one hour."

Ivy replied with a single nodded. The time has finally come…

One Hour Later, Courtyard

Shang Tsung could hear the sound of people talking amongst themselves as he approached his throne. He stood in front of the seat and briefly looked at his surroundings. The crowd had not only gathered themselves around the Courtyard ring. The sorcerer could also see some of them up on the hills not too far from here and a few of them sat themselves on the thick branches of surrounding trees in order to get a better view of the ring.

The sorcerer smirked to himself. It would seem as though everyone who has attended the tournament was here, at least those who have… survived up to this point.

For Shang Tsung, the first round of the tournament suddenly seemed so far away. In the beginning, hundreds of fighters from all over the realms came here to Outworld to fight the best of the best in hopes of becoming the winner. Now, out of those hundreds of people, two of them have advanced to the final round. The winner would receive Chishio No Me, the artifact in which the sorcerer had with him at this very moment.

As the viewers began to quiet down upon seeing the sorcerer, Shang Tsung turned his head to the right. He saw Ivy standing just behind the ring staring up at him. She was Shao Kahn's only hope in retaining the medallion.

You better win this, the sorcerer thought. I can only imagine what the Emperor has in store for you if you fail.'

Shang Tsung then turned his head to his left and saw Jin Kazama standing there. The young man looked up at him as well. Next to him, a young woman with her blonde hair in two long braids had her arms linked around his one arm and she had briefly whispered in her ear, mouthing a 'good luck' before turning her attention to the ring.

Soon, he turned his attention to everyone. "Greetings! It has been a long-time coming, but today, you will finally see the results of The Blood Tournament! Two warriors will compete and one will emerge the victor!" Shang Tsung then reached into his pocket, taking out the medallion before raising it above his head for all to see. "The winner will receive this… along with it, all the unlimited power in the world!"

The sorcerer then placed the medallion back in his pocket. "Now, without further ado, the match shall begin!"

Silence lingered as the viewers awaited for the match to start. This time, the sorcerer took the opportunity to let the silence linger longer than normal. Soon, however, he called upon the first of the two fighters.

"Jin Kazama!"

Jin took a deep breath upon hearing his name being called. As he entered the ring, he tried not to think about the fact that his fellow allies were relying on him to win. It would only add more pressure if he thought about it anyway. Jin knew that he would do better in the match if he only focused on the fight at hand.

It was Raiden's advice to him after all.

Soon, Jin reached the middle of the ring. Normally, he would stretch himself out a bit, but this time he didn't. He had done so much training for the past forty-eight hours that he felt that it wasn't really necessary.

After more silence lingered, Shang Tsung announced his opponent.

"Ivy Valentine!"

With confidence, Ivy walked herself into the ring. Normally she would have her sword in her hand, but she decided to keep it in it's scabbard behind her back just for a moment.

Soon, Jin and Ivy were only just a foot away from each other. They were both very close to being the same height so it was easy for them to have a stare down. After weeks of fighting their way through the tournament, it now came down to this… and both were determined to leave the ring the winner.

After a moment, Ivy showed off a side smirk. "I promise you won't suffer… much."

Jin got himself into a fighting stance without saying a word. Ivy's smirk disappeared then as she grabbed on to the hilt of her sword.

Shang Tsung smirked as he saw that the two were ready for battle. He sat down at his throne and soon yelled out a single word…

"Begin!"

For a while, the two of them stared at each other as they waited for the other to make the first move. The wait was already making everyone watching a bit antsy as they couldn't wait for the official results of the tournament.

Then, at the same time, they both quickly covered the small space between then and they soon began their match. Jin was able to quickly get himself on offense as he attacked Ivy with punches aimed at her from different directions. Using her forearm, Ivy was able to block his attacks for a bit.

Then, Jin was able to land a punch on Ivy's face. He then followed it with a spinning roundhouse kick smacking her with some lightning surrounding his foot. Ivy was forced to stumble sideways for a couple of feet, but she quickly regained her footing.

As soon as Jin was closer to her again, Ivy rammed her shoulder into his chest, causing him to lose his breath for a moment. Taking this opportunity while he was briefly distracted, Ivy quickly crouches down to perform a full-circled sweep kick. However, Jin was able to catch this time and he quickly jumped over her leg before she was able to trip him. Ivy then quickly got herself up giving Jin the chance to perform a spinning back kick, a maneuver that caught Ivy right in her face again.

"Ugh!" Ivy cried out as she stumbled back. Feeling her face throbbing now, she narrowed her blue eyes at the young man. "You're an impressive fighter… but I'm only getting warmed up!"

Her sword already in her hand, Ivy quickly spin herself around while lashing her weapon causing the blade to uncoil into eight pieces. Jin's eyes widened a bit upon seeing this… he had nearly forgotten that she could do this.

Quickly, Ivy extended her blade out forward at Jin's feet. Just as fast, Jin jumped above the tip of the blade, causing Ivy to miss. He flew forward and attempted to aim his feet at her, but Ivy got herself out of the way, forcing Jin to land back on the ground.

Ivy then attempted to elbow Jin the face, but he moved out of the way, leaving her open. He then managed to grab her arm, spinning around while jumping in the air before somersaulting to the ground, forcing Ivy to land on her back.

By then, Ivy's blade was coiled once again. She drew in a breath as she felt the pain going up and down her back. As Jin got himself back up on his feet, Ivy rolled herself back to give enough space between her and Jin.

"You'll pay for that!" she yelled out.

Quickly then, Jin ran towards her and he performed various attacks on Ivy again. Ivy was forced to block, but not for long this time. Using her sword, she briefly charged up some energy before it swinging it sideways towards Jin's midsection. The blade was suddenly surrounded by a fiery fire and Jin quickly maneuvered himself back to avoid the attack. As the blade was inches away as it passed him, he was able to feel the extreme heat from the fire.

That was close! he thought.

Once the blade was completely passed him, Jin lifted his left foot and kicked one of Ivy's knees, causing her to bend down in pain. This gave him the chance to lift his right foot to kick her in the face, forcing her to stumble to the ground.

Only being briefly distracted by the pain, Ivy quickly turned herself on her back and once again extended her sword out. Jin moved himself out of the way again once he saw this. However, when the sword began retracting itself, the tip reached for Jin's left leg and wrapped itself around his leg.

"What the-" Jin was beginning to say. Suddenly, Ivy pulled her sword back, forcing Jin to go flying in the air before landing hard on his back.

Ivy got herself back on her feet while she still had Jin in her hold. "Having fun yet?"

Quickly, she pulled her sword and forced Jin to go flying passed her. He flew another few feet before he found himself skidding on the ground. Soon he came to a stop… just inches away from the edge of the ring.

Being close to the viewers now, Jin was able to hear them chanting various things. He was able to hear a couple of 'Go Jin!' chants, most likely from his allies.

Just hearing that alone gave him more encouragement.

Slowly, Jin got himself back on his feet before turning his head to Ivy, who stood where she was as she waited. The young man took another deep breath before he began running towards her again. Ivy got herself in her own fighting stance, ready to battle again.

Quickly, Jin launched an axe kick, a move Ivy dodged herself from. She then attempted a back kick at his stomach, but Jin was able to block her with both of his hands in time. Then, he performed a side kick in which Ivy blocked as well. He then performed a double lift kick with the second kick connecting to Ivy's chin, forcing her head to snap back. He then followed up the move with a roundhouse, forcing her to stumble back again.

After recovering, Ivy jumped up in the air and lashed her uncoiled sword downward. Jin attempted to get out of the way. However, one of the blades managed to cut his shoulder, sending out a stinging sensation as small amount of blood was drawn out.

From there, Ivy attempted to attack with her sword again. However, Jin was able to get passed her attack and performed a double punch with one fist quickly following the other. The last punch was powerful enough to force her to fly back a few feet before crashing back into the ground.

Jin stood where he was as Ivy slowly got herself back up after the attack. As she did, Jin raised both of his fists in front of him. A glowing red aura surrounded both of his closed hands.

It's time to finish this, he thought to himself with determination.

Soon, Ivy was back on her feet. She swung her sword a couple of times in front of her and it surrounded itself with electricity. She narrowed her eyes at Jin.

I think it's about time this ends, she thought to herself.

The two started at each other for a moment as they recollected their energy. Each one felt their sweat on their bodies and they both found themselves catching their breath. Both of them were ready to end the match… but neither one of them knew that the other was thinking the same thing they were.

Gathering up the last of their energy, Jin and Ivy began to run after one another, the both of them letting out their battle cries.

Soon, they both covered the space between them. Jin lowered himself down, his glowing fist prepared for a powerful uppercut. Before he was able to perform the move, Ivy quickly dodged herself out of the way and managed to get herself behind him.

Jin was caught by surprise, not expecting her to move out of the way. He attempted to regain himself from his own attack. However, before he could, Ivy's uncoiled sword suddenly extended and tied itself around Jin's body. Ivy then pulled him forward with his back turned to her and she held the hilt of her sword just next to his neck.

"My sword… SCREAM!" she yelled out.

Suddenly, a group of lighting energies in various different colors surrounded the two. Then, one by one, they shot themselves into Jin's midsection, each one causing him to clench his teeth more in sheer pain. Soon, the last one, a red color, entered him and what sounded like an explosion was heard.

Then, all was silent.

Once the move was complete, Ivy released her hold on Jin, her sword reconnecting itself again into a full blade. Upon releasing him, Jin fell down to his knees as a soft moan escaped his lips. He seemed to tried to hang in there for a moment. Soon, he fell the rest of the way forward with his head facing sideways while on his stomach.

The final attack had rendered him unconscious…

All the viewers were dead silent as they all stared into the ring. Ignoring their reaction, Ivy placed her sword back in it's scabbard as she looked down at Jin's unconscious form.

It seems…this is the end, she thought.

At his throne, Shang Tsung stood himself up. He looked over at the viewers at his made the same type of announcement he always had… for the final time.

"Winner: Ivy Valentine!"

After hearing the announcement and the clapping of the viewers around her, the fact began to sink into Ivy's mind. She always had confidence that she would win the tournament. Now that she did, it suddenly seemed like a surreal moment for her.

Ivy Valentine had won The Blood Tournament.

As she took in the moment, Shang Tsung approached her. Ivy turned her eyes to him. The two stared at each other for a moment before he reached a hand to her. Ivy looked down and saw Chishio No Me in his hand.

"You have won the tournament," Shang Tsung said. "You are indeed well deserving of the medallion."

Ivy kept staring down at the medallion. Did this powerful artifact really belong to her now? She was a bit hesitant for a moment, but soon she took it into her hand. Ivy got a closer look at the medallion…but for some reason, she didn't feel impressed by it and she couldn't understand why.

Besides, this was the very artifact that would finally break Ivy's curse…

Shang Tsung then went into a whisper. "Shao Kahn will be most pleased."

Ivy nodded. "Yes… he will be indeed…"

So ended The Blood Tournament…

Shao Kahn's Fortress, A Few Minutes Later…

In the throne room, Shao Kahn sat at his throne quietly as he awaited word of the results of the tournament. He always had a feeling that the results would go either way, but he believed that the win would be on his side.

She better not fail, Shao Kahn thought to himself about Ivy.

It was at that moment that a purple portal developed just a few yards away. Shao Kahn eyed the portal as a Shadow Priest exited. As soon as it did, the portal disintegrated and the Shadow Priest walked a few more feet forward.

This was it. The Emperor was about to find out the results.

Shao Kahn nodded at the Shadow Priest. Immediately after, it lifted up a hand and a card appeared in it's hand. Then, it threw the card forward and it soon landed just in front of the Emperor's feet.

He looked down at the card and saw the picture. The picture contained a woman holding a sword and was surrounded by a purple aura.

Shao Kahn immediately realized that Ivy had indeed won the tournament.

He looked up at the Shadow Priest again and nodded. A purple portal appeared behind the Shadow Priest, who floated backwards back into it before it disintegrated.

Once he was alone, a grin came over Shao Kahn's face. For a moment, he tried to withhold a laugh. However, he soon opened his mouth and let loose a sadistic laugh that echoed all around the throne room.

This was all because, with Ivy's win, the plans he had developed since the beginning will now go smoothly without interruption…