Story and Lore of Mortal Kombat series

Fighting is a paradoxical genre. And one of these fundamental paradoxes is the plot, this thing that is completely optional for this genre, with its depth it can sometimes overshadow even the tales of other mighty RPGs.

Of course, games from Japan stand out in this field. However, the Americans can sometimes go all out, and the Mortal Kombat series is a vivid confirmation of this.

The new Mortal Kombat, before the release of which there are only a few days left, will make you forget about what happened to the brave fighters of the Mortal Kombat tournament during the previous games. Therefore, I decided to piece together the scattered fragments of the Mortal Kombat universe and put together a coherent chronology of events.

After all, as Maxim Gorky said: "Without knowing the past, it is impossible to understand the true meaning of the present and the goals of the future."

Thousands of years ago, a sage had a vision. He saw a dark and terrifying world ruled by a cruel emperor named Shao Kahn. The sage realized that sooner or later the balance between light and darkness, between good and evil, will be violated, which means that the gates between the Earthrealm and the Outworld will open. Filled with fear for his planet, a sage in a conical hat named Raiden turned to the Elder Gods, and they decided that when Shao Kahn turned his gaze on Earth, in ten tournaments in a row his fighters would have to defeat the defenders' planets. Only then will the world be in his power.

500 years before the events of the first game of the Mortal Kombat series, the champion of the Earth - Shaolin monk Kung Lao, later called the Great, defeated Shang Tsung, Shao Kahn's henchman. However, in the next tournament, Kun Lao suffered defeat in battle with Shokan prince Goro, who held the title of Mortal Kombat champion for the next eight tournaments.

When only one tournament separated the Earth from the final defeat, the god of thunder and the protector of the planet Raiden decided to take matters into his own hands. He staked on the young Shaolin monk Liu Kang and was right. The ones who took part in the Mortal Kombat tournament, along with movie star Johnny Cage were Special Forces Lieutenant Sonya Blade, mortal enemies Scorpion and Sub Zero, and Raiden himself, Liu Kang not only earned the right to fight Goro but also defeated him.

It seemed that peace should reign on Earth for many years, but Shao Kahn, for obvious reasons, was dissatisfied with this turn of affairs. And then his follower and servant Shang Tsung advised him to arrange another tournament - this time in the Outworld. The warriors invited to the "Mortal Kombat" could not refuse to participate, because it would be considered as defeat. The defenders of the Earth decided on an adventure into the Outworld, where Shao Kahn and his fighters had a noticeable advantage.

Despite this, the warriors of the Earth got the victory again. However, they realized too late that the second tournament was only a distraction. While the defenders left their world, Shao Kahn found a way to resurrect his deceased Queen Sindel. She was reborn on Earth, which allowed the overlord to break the rules of Mortal Kombat, infiltrate Raiden's world, and annex it to his empire.

During the cataclysm caused by the unification of the worlds, millions of people died. Raiden managed to protect the survivors with the help of his divine powers, but after that he became mortal. In the Outworld, the thunder god did not have power, and the Earth had already become part of Shao Kahn's empire. Then the irreconcilable opponents took extreme measures - Shao Kahn gave his fighters the task to kill all the survivors, and Raiden again gathered his warriors together to protect the remnants of humanity.

The victory of the warriors of the Earth ends the plot of the original Mortal Kombat trilogy. Before moving further along the chronology of events, it is necessary to make a small retreat and go back in time, to the events of the very first "Mortal Kombat".

Everything in the world of Mortal Kombat obeys the will of the Elder gods. They punish and reward, observe, and sometimes interfere in the course of history, decide destinies, and administer judgment. One of them was named Shinnok. But even the gods are subject to human weakness. Shinnok desired absolute power and decided that the Earth was optimal for this purpose. But humanity was lucky that the young god of thunder Raiden did not agree with this state of affairs. A terrible battle broke out, during which the planet was practically destroyed. In the fire of that war, the race of intelligent reptiles perished, the last representatives of which were the Reptile and the Chameleon. Until the end of time, Raiden blamed himself for what happened ... But this is not the case now.

While fighting Shinnok, Raiden noticed that the Elder God draws his strength from a special amulet - an artifact that exists in a single copy and allows you to travel between worlds at any time. With the help of the Elder Gods, Raiden nevertheless got the victory - Shinnok was imprisoned in the gloomy and almost uninhabited Netherrealm, and his amulet was buried in the Himalayas, under the protection of the guardians of wind, water, fire, and earth.

And they would have kept this order forever, if one day the necromancer Quan Chi, who has the ability to travel between worlds without the permission of the gods, did not get to the Lower World. An enterprising sorcerer offered Shinnok a deal - Quan Chi helps him escape from captivity, and in return, the Elder god rewards him with strength and makes him his ally. The agreement was concluded, and the first step towards achieving the goal was the complete submission of the Lower World.

And then the notorious Shang Tsung turned to the wonderful couple. Having defeated the Great Kung Lao 400 years ago, the sorcerer (apparently out of habit) absorbed the monk's soul, and with it the secret of the ancient map, on which the path to the Temple of the Amulet was marked. Shang Tsung offered to exchange this knowledge for help in resurrecting the Queen of the Outworld, Sindel.

Having learned the location of the amulet, Quan Chi, not being a fool, did not go after it himself, but decided to find someone who could get it. The choice fell on the young warrior Lin Kuei, who bears the name of Sub-Zero and knows how to skillfully control ice, as well as a ninja from the Shirai clan Ryu Hanzo Hasashi aka Skorpion. The rivals did not know about each other - in the fight that took place at the time of their meeting, Sub-Zero defeated Scorpion, and he also delivered the map to Quan Chi, and then the coveted amulet.

Subsequently, after Sub-Zero had communicated with Raiden, he realized his mistake and stole the amulet back from Shinnok... However, the relic would later turn out to be fake - the insidious Quan Chi would once again deceive everyone and leave the real artifact for himself.

These events are covered in the side game of the Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero series, while in Mortal Kombat 4 the plot revolves around the aftermath of Shinnok's release.

The god who escaped from the Lower World, with the support of Quan Chi, destroyed almost all the Elder Gods, but the surviving Raiden, Fujin, and their followers found the strength to resist the invaders and win.

Once again, the forces of darkness are defeated. Quan Chi is forced to hide in the Lower World, as Skorpion, a ninja whose clan died at the hands of a sorcerer, is following him. Fleeing, the necromancer accidentally discovers a secret tomb containing many mummified bodies - the army of the Dragon King Onaga, the first emperor of the Outworld, overthrown by Shao Kahn. These warriors were immortal and invincible, and Quan Chi decided to find a way to resurrect them and subdue them to his will. To achieve this goal, he got the support of the notorious Shang Tsung, promising him eternal life. This is how the Deadly Alliance was born.

Only two could interfere with their plans - Emperor Shao Kang and the champion of the Earth Liu Kang. After treacherously killing the first one, the allies went to Earth, where they fought with Liu Kang. In a fierce and bloody battle, the warrior of Earth was also defeated... Nothing further separated Quan Chi and Shang Tsung from their goal - returning to the Outworld, they used the souls of defeated opponents to bring back to life the invincible army of the Dragon King. It seemed that the Outworld and the Earth were doomed

In this virtually hopeless situation, the god of thunder Raiden intervened again. He gave up his power and status as the Elder god and traveled to the Earth to lead the planet's surviving defenders and led them into battle against the Deadly Alliance. However, for the Earth, a series of failures clearly began - Liu Kang was killed, Kitana, Kung Lao, Jax, Sonya Blade, and Johnny Cage lost to the Tarkatan warriors, frost's abilities got out of control, and Sub-Zero was lost in the Outworld. And then, against the will of the Elder Gods, Raiden himself summoned Shang Tsung and Quan Chi to a mortal battle.

The fight was long and fierce, and for some time the defender of the Earth seemed to be close to victory. However, having achieved the desired victory, Quan Chi and Shang Tsung turned their weapons against each other - the Deadly Alliance collapsed. Although the necromancer prevailed this time, his triumph was short. The incident upset the balance in the world and awakened to live another ancient force - the first emperor of the Outworld, Onaga.

The Dragon King decided to re-unite the six existing worlds into a One Being, which meant the inevitable death of all living beings. However, for this, he needed to find six artifacts - Kamidogu. Onaga's spirit appeared to a warrior named Shujinko. Allegedly on behalf of the Elder gods, the Dragon King gave him a task - to collect all six Kamidogu. Unfortunately, Shujinko realized too late that he had been deceived. The Kamidogu teamed up, the last of the existing dragon eggs cracked, and Onaga's soul entered the Reptile's body. The Dragon King is back.

Before the face of the most terrible evil, even old enemies were forced to unite. Shang Tsung, Quan, and Raiden entered the fray using all their strength and power ...

But all this was not enough to defeat the Dragon King. The allies were inevitably defeated, and Onaga had the keys to dominance over all worlds. But there was another hero who could resist evil. Admitting his fatal mistake, Shujinko set out on a journey across all known worlds, trying to collect the surviving warriors who could resist Onaga. Shujinko's unique ability to absorb the skills of other fighters helped him to fight on equal terms with the Dragon King and even win. However, before the final blow, the Dragon King's soul left the body of the Reptile and hid in the Nether.

There was a calm before the storm, but Armageddon's clock was already running, and nothing could save the universe from destruction. The prophecy of the Edenian sorceress Delia began to come true. For thousands of years, her sons Taven and Daegon slept under the protection of the dragon and fire spirit Blaze to awaken at the decisive moment and keep the universe from destruction. But once it is planned, it is not so easy to change. Having returned to life before his brother, Daegon fell under the influence of Shinnok and switched to the dark side of the force ...

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon does not have a single ending - for each of the 62 characters, the end of the world happens in its own way. For example, Raiden makes an agreement with Shao Kahn, according to which the Emperor promises to leave the Earth alone if the god of thunder destroys Taven. During this fight, Onaga, Shang Tsung, Quan Chi, and Shao Kahn manage through the portal to Edenia. As a result, Taven wins, but time is lost. According to Shao Kahn's history, the Emperor at this moment enters into the final battle with the fiery spirit Blaze and wins. After that, all the worlds merge into one, the ruler of which becomes Shao Kahn.

However, another victorious battle awaits the Emperor ahead - the battle against Raiden. However, before the final death, the god of thunder manages to confuse all Shao Kahn's plans. He sends a mental message to himself in the past, during the eleventh tournament "Mortal Kombat", in which the young Shaolin monk Liu Kang is to take part.

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