Disclaimer: I do not own Mortal Kombat or any of its characters. All rights belong to Ed Boon, Nether Realm Studios and Warner Bros.
The rest of the month went by without incident, Kurai's training with Grandmaster Han to learn the Phoenix Cleanse had gone smoothly. Drake's training with temple master Akuma, while initially difficult for him, had produced promising results.
The first few days of Drake's training with Akuma were strenuous for the young blonde warrior, but Kurai's faith in him was cause enough to persist and keep pushing forward with the training.
Regardless of the pain from Akuma's daily exercises, weight training, and new techniques, that he has learned from the new temple master, Drake, with Akuma's help, pushed himself past his own limits and felt himself get stronger.
While not bulky, but still lean and athletic, Drake gained a bit more muscle through his training with Akuma. He also had to unlearn Kouken's fighting style and learn Akuma's through a month long crash course.
The Oni Iron Fist.A brutal fighting style that specializes in precision on vital points on or in a persons body to kill them, or incapacitate them.
Whether the user chooses to kill their opponent or incapacitate them is entirely up to them.
With Kurai's training learning the Phoenix Cleanse allowed him to incorporate it with his own original fighting style. Many mixes he's learned over the years and mastered over time.
Jeet Kune Do, Jujitsu, Judo, Eagle Claw, Kung Fu, Tai Chi, Panther, Cobra, Tiger, and many others that he has developed into his own original style. Though he has yet to name it.
The Phoenix Cleanse, while solely a fighting technique, can be used with any style of fighting that gives a fighter an advantage during combat.
On his last day of learning the technique fully, though not mastering it, Kurai is approached by Han with one final warning.
"Kurai, before you head to your room to get cleaned up, I should warn you about one final thing about the Phoenix Cleanse." He states as Kurai walks up to him.
"It can also be used to kill my opponent if I so choose." Kurai bluntly says, causing Han's eyes to widen.
"How did you figure that out?" The Grandmaster asks him curiously, as Kurai looks around for a training dummy. He notices one across from him and Han then gestures for the Grandmaster to follow him.
Han does so as he, and Kurai, walk up the training dummy then stands beside it while Kurai stands in front. The Phoenix Cleanse begins with 3 strikes to the abdomen, which Kurai does, then follows with 8 rapid fire strikes all over the body before the 9th final strike lands on the chest.
However, instead of the training dummys core exploding and being flung back away from him, Kurai put much more force behind his strikes than necessary, which sent the training dummy flying and slamming into the wall inside the temple while the back of the training dummy also exploded instead of its core, which sends multiple wooden splinters all over the side of the room.
Sighing deeply from having used the Phoenix Cleanse twice within an hour, Kurai collapses to his knees and tries to catch his breath. Han looks down at him, understanding how Kurai figured out that the technique can also be used to kill, not just cleanse.
"I figured it out a few days ago when I accidentally put more force in my strike than what was needed. If you already knew that the technique can also be used for a darker purpose, Han, why teach it to me? Why teach me a technique that can also be used to kill, and not just cleanse?" Kurai asks the Grandmaster with a serious expression, causing the man to sigh.
"I taught it to you, Kurai, because of all the people here in the temple, I trust your judgment the most. Many students come here to learn to defend themselves. Others come to learn to seek vengeance, or power after they leave. We at the Dark Wu Shi Academy accept anyone that is willing to learn, but depending on their character, we do not teach them everything. We only teach what is necessary in order to protect and preserve our secrets from those that would seek to abuse them." Han explains as Kurai remains on his knees, listening, while still trying to catch his breath.
"However, with you, Kurai, you've been in Earth Realm for over 9,000 years now. You've seen many and done many things that will have driven a lesser man mad with insanity. You've seen friends live their lives, get married, have children, grow old, and die. You've loved, you've lost many in your life and... no doubt you will still remain long after many of us at the temple are gone." Han continues somberly while Kurai keeps his eyes on the floor.
"And yet, despite everything you've witnessed and experienced, you've managed to keep your mind stable and strong. A lesser man in your position would have committed suicide long before this point." Han continues as Kurai, finally managing to catch his breath, shakily stands up straight and looks Han in the eye.
"Which is why I trust you above all others, Kurai. Before you, there has only been one other person, besides me, that has learned this technique. The creator of the Phoenix Cleanse. And they existed long before any of us. That's how dangerous this technique is. Should more people learn it, countless more would die due to the individuals own inability to be humble." The Grandmaster states as Kurai looks down at the floor before shaking his head.
He sighs and closes his eyes. "Han, you shouldn't... you shouldn't show me that much trust." He states before opening his eyes to look at the elderly man while clenching his fists tightly. "I'm... I'm not one you should trust fully just because you've known me for so long."
"What do you mean, Kurai?" Han asks him curiously as Kurai sighs exasperatedly.
"Those people, who you say you taught only what was necessary to them, all had darkness in their hearts. Well, so do I, Han. While I don't actively go out looking for vengeance against those that are deserving, I still have a... great darkness inside me that I am barely able to contain or tame." Kurai explains, but Han doesn't look too surprised.
Noticing this, Kurai points it out. "You don't look too shocked to hear this, Han." He says to the Grandmaster, who nods stoically.
"You're right, I'm not. Kurai, you're the only person here who has lived in Earth Realm that is immortal. And has seen almost everything that has happened over the countless millennia. How many people in the world can say this? None." Han explains to the prince, who listens.
"I do not know, nor will I even begin to understand the things you've gone through, Kurai. But I will say this, I understand who you are as a person." He states, causing Kurai to look at him curiously.
"Who I am as a person? And who am I, Han?" He asks the Grandmaster curiously.
Han stands directly in front of Kurai with a serious, but genuine expression on his face. "Who you are, Kurai, is someone with a kind heart, but also a strong willed spirit. Unwavering, unyielding, and steadfast." He begins as Kurai listens.
"You have seen many things and fought in many wars, and battles, Kurai. All while immortal. Any man in your position would have gone insane before now from witnessing many of their friends and loved ones deaths and not be able to one day join them." Han continues as tears begin to build in Kurai's eyes.
"You have been through many trials, my friend, all of which, you have overcome. While also retaining your sanity-"
"Just barely."
"Regardless, Kurai. You may have darkness inside you that you have not yet tamed. But light and darkness inside one individual cannot be tamed. They must be embraced. One cannot exist without the other. Without darkness, there is no light. And without light, there is no darkness. You've learned to embrace the good side of yourself, Kurai. Now, it is time for you to learn to embrace the darker side of you. You must achieve balance. Light and dark. It will be a difficult trial, but you will overcome it, nonetheless." Han states to the prince, who gained an expression of uncertainty.
Kurai wasn't too sure about embracing a side of himself that he doesn't trust. But if Han has faith in him, he will try. However, he will be cautious about how he goes about it.
Nodding with understanding, Kurai sighs deeply as Han pats his shoulders reassuringly.
"Go get yourself cleaned up, Kurai, and relax for the rest of the day. But come back to the temple later tonight. I have a gift for you." He tells his friend, who says nothing and just nods as he begins to walk out of the temple.
Watching Kurai exit the temple, Han watches silently with a somber expression. "You are the best of all of us, Kurai. I hope one day you can understand that. Which is why I know you won't abuse the power of the Phoenix Cleanse. May the Elder Gods continue to watch over you, my friend." He whispers quietly before walking further into the main temple
Later that evening...
After cleaning up in the bathhouse, Kurai returned to his room to sit alone with his thoughts as he unwinded from the now known knowledge that the Phoenix Cleanse can also kill and not just cleanse one soul of corruption, or temporarily remove ones own power from them, leaving them defenseless.
After a while taking a breather, Kurai lets out a deep breath then gets up to exit his room and heads back towards the main temple. Walking through the temple grounds, Kurai sees many students, sensei's, and temple masters heading towards the bathhouse to clean up and head to bed for the night.
Seeing Drake among Akuma's students, Kurai notices that Drake was walking slightly slower than the others. Knowing why, Kurai chuckles and shakes his head at the thought of Drake having to work just as hard to catch up with Akuma's other students.
Although he finds humor at his friends expense, Kurai is genuinely happy that Drake stopped complaining after the first few days and is starting to be more serious with his training. It was definitely showing after the first week and a half when he started Akuma's class.
Walking up the steps to the main temple, Kurai gently opens the double doors, walks into the temple, and closes the doors behind him.
He walks up to Han's usual spot in the temple, but sees that there's no incense or candle lit. Shaking his head with a smile, he quietly looks around at the interior.
"You never really appreciate how beautiful a place like this truly is until you take a moment to look at it." He thinks to himself as he waits for Han. Looking around at the historical objects and weapons sitting inside glass cases lying around the interior of the temple.
He walks up to one of the cases and sees two swords inside. Both looking brand new. One of them he recognizes instantly. It was the sword his dark half used in his drug induced final test before the Mortal Kombat tournament a month ago.
The Soul Eater.
It sent shivers up his spine seeing that the blade actually exists. The other sword, however, is one he doesn't recognize. And the odd thing is, it doesn't have a name. But the sword itself was a unique design.
An interesting mix between a samurai katana and a greek sword. The design alone was putting Kurai's knowledge of weapon designs to the test, and it was making him question that knowledge.
"Is this a Kopis? No... a Katana? No. Damn. What is this?" He asks himself in his head with a frustrated tone.
He then senses a presence behind him, but knows it's Han, so he remains unfazed as he continues to figure out just what origin the blade is from.
"I see you've discovered the Soul Eater and the No Name." Han says walking up behind Kurai as he continues to examine the blade.
"No Name? That's not its actual name, is it?" Kurai asks Han humorously with a grin. Han shares a laugh with Kurai before shaking his head.
"No, no. That's not it's name, but no one knows where it came from." He explains, causing Kurai to look over at him with a curious glance. Han nods his head with a serious expression.
"Yes, Kurai. No one truly knows where this weapon came from. It just... appeared out of the heavens many, many years ago. Long before your time I'd imagine." He tells Kurai, who has a curious expression on his face as he looks back at the sword with wonder.
"So... what's the full story?" He asks the Grandmaster, who looks at the swords inside the cases, considering whether he should tell Kurai, or wait.
He then makes a decision. Looking up at Kurai with a smile, he pats the princes shoulder. "Another time, Kurai. For now, I want to present your gift to you." He says to him genuinely before walking away from the case and towards the door leading further into the temple.
Kurai takes a moment to look at the sword in the case one more time, before following Han.
Han walks up to a door, unlocks it, and opens it just as Kurai walks up to him. "Now, then, you ready?" Han asks, to which Kurai just nods.
Nodding himself, Han walks through the door with Kurai following close behind him.
Walking down the stairs leading further down into the temple, the Edenian prince and the Grandmaster walk down a narrow hallway with multiple doorways with names of warriors and fighters that were once aligned with the Dark Wu Shi Temple above the door. One of which was Han's name. No doubt it was his before he became Grandmaster of the temple.
They eventually both came upon a doorway with a Kurai's name, giving the prince a moment of pause. Han unlocks the door and opens it before looking back at Kurai. "What is it, my friend?" He asks him with curious concern.
Taking a moment to make sure that the name he sees above the door is indeed his, Kurai looks at Han with a curious expression on his face. "Han, where are we? What is this place?" He asks him curiously, causing Han to smile.
"Kurai, my dear friend, take a look around you. Tell me what you see." He tells the prince, causing Kurai to look at the countless doors around him with names at the top of the doorways, as well as the doorways that do not yet have names above them.
"I see... doorways with names above every door, and others that do not yet have names. Although I don't know or understand the meaning." He answers honestly with a shrug. This causes Han to smile.
He then begins to explain. "What you see, Kurai, are the names of people once aligned with the Dark Wu Shi Temple that have long since passed into the afterlife. Many of whom, were fighters, and warriors of ancient history. Unsung heroes that played major parts in history, but did not get the due respect or credit they rightly deserve." He tells Kurai, who briefly looks shocked, but then gains an expression of amazement.
"One name right there, I'm sure you can recognize." He says pointing to the door with the name of Han above it.
Kurai looks back at the door with Han's name and nods before looking back at the Grandmaster. "That's your door, right?" He asks curiously, but surprisingly, Han shakes his head, shocking Kurai.
"It is my name, but that's not my door. It's my father's door." He admits, shocking Kurai further. "I never got one that held my gi or my equipment. These doorways are a way for us to immortalize the heroes and warriors of this temple. I, unfortunately, never got one, because I didn't follow my fathers example. If you remember, my friend, I wasn't exactly the greatest hero I strived to be. Like my father. It was only after I lost my wife and child that I decided to be better than who I was before." He explained with a saddened expression as Kurai just remains silent.
After a moment, Han shakes his head to get rid of his negative thoughts then smiles at Kurai. "Which brings me to you." He says as he gestures for Kurai to walk in, so he does and sees a uniquely designed temple gi sitting on a headless and armless mannequin.
Kurai looks behind him just as Han walks into the room with him and stands next to the mannequin. The temple gi was all black with blue and silver accents all over.
On the back of the gi top, was the head of a blue Oni demon breathing out white flames, while the pants had another blue Oni demon on the left leg, a white/silver phoenix on the right leg, and a blue cloth belt. And sitting in a modest sized box, were black and blue leather fighting gauntlets with blue leather greaves.
Kurai laughs lightly with surprise at the more glamorous looking fighting gi, which causes Han to laugh with a smile. "This is for you, Kurai. I know how much you like the leather gauntlets you have now, so I had our stitchers here at the temple make you another pair, as well as another pair leather greaves." Han tells Kurai, who nods with a bright smile, but then he points at the Oni demon design.
"One question though. Why an Oni demon?" He asks the Grandmaster curiously, who smiles with a chuckle.
"Like I said. Balance. Wearing this gi will be the start of your journey to achieve it." He answers, causing Kurai to nod with understanding. But as Han had said earlier, it will be a difficult trial, but Kurai will most certainly try.
Han walks over to a wooden suitcase and proceeds to take the temple gi, gauntlets, and greaves from the mannequin, and places them neatly within the wooden suitcase.
As he does so, he brings up a new topic. "I had a visit from Lord Raiden today." He begins, which causes Kurai's eyes to widen.
"Did you really?"
Han nods his head before turning around to face the prince. "It's my understanding that both you AND Drake have been invited by Lord Raiden himself, to attend the victory ceremony at the Wi Shi Temple." He states as Kurai nods affirmatively, which Han nods as well.
"Then I guess I don't want to disappoint Lord Raiden. So, both you and Drake shall leave tomorrow morning. The victory ceremony is the day after tomorrow. We don't you, or Drake for that matter, to be late. Plus, it will give you a little more time to get to know your friends better." He says before handing Kurai the wooden suitcase, which now holds Kurai's new fighting gi.
Kurai takes accepts it humbly and bows respectfully to Han. "Thank you, Grandmaster Han. And I promise, I'll wear this gear with honor." He promises Han with conviction, which causes the grandmaster to nod with a smile.
"I have no doubt of that in my mind, Kurai. May the Elder Gods watch over you, my friend." He says to him respectfully as they both bow to each other before Kurai walks out of the room. Han smiles as Kurai leaves to head back to his room to rest so he can get up early in the morning to take a flight back to China.
Meanwhile, with Drake...
Walking into his room after cleaning up at the bathhouse, Drake puts on a change of clothes so he can get to bed and rest up while his body recovers, somewhat, from the strenuous training he's been doing for the past month with temple master Akuma.
Putting on a top then walking over to his bed to go to sleep, Drake suddenly feels a presence, not just behind him, but all around him. He looks all around him where he feels this ominous presence, but can't seem to locate it, but he doesn't panic.
"What the hell? There's someone here, I can sense them. But where the hell are they?" He thinks to himself vigilantly, but still can't track down the person from which he sense.
"Wait... unless...!" He thinks as he looks up to finally see a silhouette dropping down from the ceiling of his room, he tries to react and dodge, but his whole body still felt sore from the crash course training. So, the silhouetted figure manages to get the drop on Drake and strikes him across his face, knocking him against his dresser and knocking him unconscious from exhaustion as well as the force behind the figures strike.
The figure doesn't do anything else as they pick up Drake and throw him over their shoulder just as a green and black colored portal opens. The figure then walks through the portal, with Drake in tow, before it closes.