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hikariale · 4 months

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rite of life

For young minds that know nothing else, immortality is the basis that one's life operates on. When death rips your friend away, your heart is shattered and your world becomes a darker place. Your guardian tries to pick up the pieces in hopes that they can be put back together again.

warnings: death, mild gore, ask to tag

characters: fujin, liu kang, raiden

Fujin always told you that life is full of comings and goings. To cling to people too strongly when they decide to leave is to hold you both back. As a result of those words, you became somewhat aloof to the lives of others and failed to grow steady attachments with the mortals around you. It wasn't necessarily something that needed fixing, but Fujin began to fret about your ability to form ties with people who weren't gods. Given the solitary nature of gods, your options for socialisation were severely limited.

There was only so much that he could do as one who fell outside of the realm of mortals. Having gone through multiple arguments with Raiden, he knew that being too insistent would turn you away from the point he was trying to make. Living among humans was his greatest joy, but that was your baseline for as long as you could remember. Thinking that you would feel the same way by default, your earliest memories consisted of being carried around and greeted warmly by adults while seated comfortably on your guardian's hip. There was no desire to be rid of that company, so Fujin was mostly optimistic on the matter.

Whenever your gaze lingered on a human, Fujin would offer his hand to you. If you took it, he would lead you over to them, start a conversation, and then slowly fade into the background once he got the ball rolling. When he backed out of the scene, it would usually peter out quickly. Too young to relate much to adults and too otherworldly to easily converse with children who looked the same as you, it was easier to let a stranger slip away than struggle to keep them in place of their own volition. You formed a noncommittal attitude around strangers because of how much of a rush they seemed to be in. They had less time to stand around idly. It was a concept you knew of and tried to understand, but it manifested in that half-hearted way of talking to them.

That's why, when one started to talk to you, it was hard to respond or reciprocate appropriately. The first time it happened, Fujin took notice and jumped in to save the conversation before the stranger got put off and walked away.

Their name was Sonam. They were a nomad on a long pilgrimage, but you didn't really get what that was about. Things like reaching enlightenment and soul-searching were strange concepts to a young immortal who never had to dream of a peaceful forever. Outside of that grand quest, you found out that they were originally the third child of a travelling merchant family. The merchants were en route to Outworld, but after seeing its state of turmoil, they changed course. Sonam's family was taken by the beauty of Edenia, but Sonam alone chose to move beyond it.

You admired Sonam's will. To leave without one's family or even the promise of a better life, was terrifying. When you closed your eyes and tried to think of what it would be like to live without Fujin or Raiden watching out for you, your body grew tense with dread. More than the fighters of Earthrealm, you felt that Sonam was the most formidable human you ever met. Their steadfast will manifested in the way that they always sought you out while passing through the area.

Those interactions spurred you to begin keeping track of the passage of time. When the trees regained their leaves and the grass stood tall and green, Sonam would appear. Along with birdsong in the morning, Sonam returned. Sometimes they looked a little different. Their clothes would change or they'd come back with a small scar. Their face would look a little haggard or they'd carry a different assortment of items. But they always grinned broadly upon seeing you, opened up their arms to invite you for a long hug, and say that they missed you.

Fujin didn't always take you with him everywhere, but you were still well-travelled. Even so, Sonam's stories of their own travels made the world seem much vaster than you could imagine. Revisiting the same places every year like a migrating bird, Sonam found something new and spectacular in familiar locations. It was easy to tell that Sonam loved Earthrealm deeply. Though raised by two who took on the mantle of Earthrealm's protectors, you couldn't grasp what they saw in it until Sonam talked to you.

It saddened you when they didn't show up for a couple of years, but figuring that they may have moved on with life, you tried to let it go. In your stead, and without you knowing, Fujin searched for your lost friend. The only result of that search was... A letter. When you held it in your hands, your heart pounded wildly. You knew that opening it up would close a chapter of your life forever, so with a shaking voice, you quietly pleaded for Fujin to read the letter to you instead.

"My dear friend," Fujin sits down and invites you to sit against him as he reads, "I cannot meet you as I wish, but I hope that somehow my words can reach you. We may never talk again, but I would like to tell you one last story."

Sonam's final tale is just like all the others, but it doesn't shed any light on their disappearance. Fujin doesn't tell you anything either, though his face is solemn when you ask. Somehow, the words on the paper make you feel homesick. Ink covers it front and back, wasting zero space. You're afraid to take the letter back when Fujin finishes reading, afraid you might damage it.

It feels like someone drilled a hole through your chest. Longing to see your friend again, no matter what state they appear to you in, you almost want to curse the letter they left to you. Fujin watches your expression change. He sees the balling of your fists, the way you grit your teeth and alternate between pain and anger. Delicately, as if handling a single string of spider thread, Fujin rubs your back. It's a quiet consolation.

He knows that things aren't over yet. Until you can fully accept Sonam's passing, you cannot accept the idea of their death. And until you can do that, Fujin cannot offer any condolences. So instead, he lingers near you until the day you confront it, and he rubs your back when you're looking particularly down.

Long ago, when you were much younger, the Shaolin who would rock you in his lap and sing you lullabies died of old age. Preoccupied with the first Mortal Kombat tournament, Liu Kang returned from Outworld to find you surrounded by monks, wailing loud enough to pierce the Heavens. Because you were barely able to be considered a toddler, the only thing you knew was that the person you became so comfortable with was suddenly taken away from you. Caught off guard and unsure of whether it was too soon to introduce you to the concept of death, Liu Kang soothed you with a white lie:

"Earthrealmers are born with an incurable disease that makes their bodies to shut down with time."

He regretted that his lie caused you to develop an aversion to Earthrealmers, but he found solace in your friendship with an Edenian royal. To know that you were still willing to make friends smoothed out his growing concerns. Bolstered by the fact that your new friend stayed in good health as the centuries rolled by, you forgot all about the disease that took your first friend away.

In its place, an insidious force stalked your happy, peaceful days. An incredible violence began to sprout in Outworld's peaceful soils. As it rose from the ground, it speared through the bond you created like a force of nature, and you knew nothing of it until that point.

While eating Edenian pies with Lualhati, she fell into an aggressive coughing fit. Thinking that something went down the wrong way, you teased her for eating too fast while rubbing her back. It wasn't until she collapsed onto the table, begging hoarsely for help, that you realised that things were serious. When you ran out to find aid, your voice echoed through empty halls.

Since when did everybody leave? Why wasn't there anybody... Anywhere? No guards, attendants, not even a normal servant could be found.

Lualhati's coughing was reduced to wheezing when you returned to her side. It filled your ears, ragged and miserable. When you tried to help her sit up, streams of red poured from her lips and dribbled onto her beautiful robes. Without the tools to help her, you did your best to comfort her. Keep her clothes as clean as possible, even if you had to use your own to wipe away her blood and spit. Hold her hand and tell her that you called for help, but not that the palace was empty outside of the two of you. The room fell silent after her wheezing stopped. When you held her hand, she didn't squeeze back. The blood between your palms became sticky, unable to dry completely in the sealed pocket you both formed.

A portal opened up after your hundredth muttered plea to the gods, and answering your prayers was the one you depended on most.

"I have received some concerning news. I do not think it is safe for you or—" Liu Kang's heart sinks as soon as he notices the full situation. When you look up at him with a mix of hope and fear, he can barely meet your eyes.

"Help... Help Hati...!" at your weak request, Liu Kang's heart splits. He remembers the lie he told you. He was going to tell you about the inevitable, but he never expected Lualhati's life to be cut so short. That you would encounter death in one of its cruellest forms, all on your own, is something that makes him disappointed in himself as your guardian.

The weight of failing you, alongside your friend, takes him to the ground. He kneels next to you both and places a hand over yours. Your knuckles stick out prominently, fingers clamped down on Lualhati's cold hand. Instead of it leaking directly onto the floor, two napkins used to wipe up your friend's blood are crumpled up and discarded near your feet. Your sleeve and the front of your top is also soaked with it. Because he can't quite find the words for you yet, he pulls your head into his shoulder. The illusion of composure that you've kept up to then is melted away by his warmth. As it breaks down, Liu Kang knows he has to act. The blow has already been dealt. There is no way to soften it, so he has to do something other than just be there.

"You've tried your best, but there is nothing else that can be done," as he says this, he attempts to gently pry your fingers away from Lualhati's corpse. You resist him with strength you'd never displayed before. Any further supplications that he offers to you are drowned out by your wailing denials. When your hand finally lets go, Liu Kang's relief is short-lived. Once holding fast to your friend, it now grapples his shirt.

"You're a God, aren't you!? You have to do something! You have to!" pulling him down, trying to get him to look at Lualhati, you counter his soothing words with desperate begging.

It kills him to do so when you haven't done anything wrong, but he has to raise his voice to get a word in. When you fall into a stunned silence and release him, a bloody smear is left behind.

He rose his voice so authoritatively, yet he still can't find the right words. It's just like the first time: caught off guard, he isn't prepared to say what he needs to, but he doesn't want to leave you with nothing to hold on to. So he closes Lualhati's eyelids, offers a prayer for her to stall for time, and you're still there, crying into your scarlet-stained sleeves.

Liu Kang places a heavy hand on your head. Rubbing back and forth like he always does whenever you were afraid, he musters vague reassurances. They aren't nearly enough. It was something he should have said the first time. But it would have to suffice.

"This is not the end. For as long as you continue to love Lualhati, you will always be friends."

The Sky Temple was a terribly lonely place to raise a child. Though safe, it provided little else to do but meditate. Raiden knew this well, but it only truly sunk in that it was unfit for you when Fujin pointed out your lethargic behaviour.

"Children should be playing freely. Too much discipline will stunt their growth, brother," he advised. Having such an embarrassing oversight pointed out by his brother left Raiden scrambling for a solution that would leave you under his watchful eye while also granting you more freedom to roam and be a child.

It was no playground, but the Wu Shi Academy was well within Raiden's jurisdiction. Filled with trustworthy people and ample space to wander, his only concern was the altitude sickness that overcame you at the end of your descent. It was the most lively he'd seen you in a while, but that didn't mean much when you were clutching your head and groaning in pain. Before he could move to carry you up the stairs and through the gates, the voice of his closest disciple called his attention.

"Lord Raiden, is this a new initiate?" Kung Lao bowed respectfully, but his knitted brows betrayed his bewilderment. It wasn't unheard of to adopt children into the Order of Light, but given how the Mortal Kombat tournament loomed in the coming decade, bringing a new child into the fold without any warning felt like a bad omen. Such suspicions were not completely unfounded. Before answering, Raiden paused. Looking at his champion he suddenly saw a path forward for your development...

Through a period of time that would have been the blink of an eye if you actively lived more beforehand, Kung Lao became a pillar of your world. A mentor, a friend, an elder sibling, time could change the way that you interacted, but it never changed your attachment to him. He taught you how to fight and went as far as to widdle away at bamboo so you'd have a staff appropriate for your small stature.

"You're looking more like Raiden every year," he'd jest even though you barely aged a day. But whenever you spoke of that thing you'd heard about him, Champion of Earthrealm, he'd always change the subject. When you asked him if you could join him, he chuckled and said, "Those shoes are too big for you right now."

But you were taken under the wing of the Protector of Earthrealm. Sure, you couldn't wield his staff or shoot lightning, but you knew you could become a strong person. Stronger than Kung Lao even, though that would take a few decades more. Decades that the universe refused you.

A new Mortal Kombat tournament was decreed at the expected time. After fighting tooth and nail to be allowed to attend, you stood at the side lines to watch its proceedings. Earthrealm's other champions were impressive, but they could never compare to yours. Kung Lao's face was set into an expression you'd never seen before when it was his time to fight, but he still affectionately squeezed your hand on the way out when you reached out for him.

Thunk. Thud. Crack.

What a strange set of noises to hear a human body make in such quick succession. You know bruises and sprains. The sound of being thwacked on the arm as a punishment for messy defense is familiar to you, but this is a different sound. It's visceral and sickening. It makes the blood in your veins run cold until you're shaking. A four-armed giant looms over Kung Lao, and his shadow makes it look like his head is leaking ink instead of blood. You could write a poem in the sand by dipping a stick into the spreading puddle.

In the moments where you feel frozen in time, something wells up inside of you. What you think is a scream comes out far differently than you expect, tearing up your throat and propelling you forward.

"How could you!"

Kung Lao spares his opponents. Why can't he be spared? Isn't that completely unfair? You've never seen someone die until this tournament, but now you can instantly tell that he's never going to get up again.

"How dare you!"

Raiden can't grab you fast enough to stop your rush, but as Outworld's champion fills up more of your vision, crackling fills your ears. Your vision is overtaken by white strands of electricity and you find yourself striking air. Thin air, not enough to accommodate your angry heaving. Thunder rumbles over your head and lightning flashes in the clouds outside of your familiar living space. Forced to sit down, lest your consciousness fade completely, you try to close your eyes and imagine the arena again.

If Raiden can teleport you back to the Sky Temple and you are cut from a similar cloth as him, surely you can just teleport back. Try as you might, the only thing you can achieve is the image. Whenever you open your eyes, it's the same room that filled the monotonous days before you met Kung Lao. Your surroundings distort around you as tears begin to spill out.

They don't stop, even though it feels like you've been crying forever and your head aches. Raiden finally returns to see you clutching at your scalp, sucking in cold air that hurts your raw throat. You resemble a child having a meltdown at a playground after falling from the monkey bars and scraping open their knee, but he knows it's more than that. He regrets that it is more than that, and that he cannot understand the depth of your pain like he may have when he was younger.

You're angry at him too. He can tell by the way you try to avoid looking at him when he kneels in front of you. It's no way to have a conversation— definitely not the one that you need to have— so he doesn't push. Instead, he gingerly lays at your feet the red headband that Kung Lao always wore. It's completely soiled with blood and dirt, but you take it without reservation and cling to it like a lifeline.

"Why did you let this happen?" you question Raiden as he goes to leave. Between the sniffles and swallowed back sobs, he barely makes out what you're trying to say. His chest tightens and he cannot answer you. And you despise him for that.

#mortal kombat #mortal kombat x reader #liu kang #mk fujin #mk raiden #ahhhh ah i was going to do shinnok but i couldn't work it out.... i think he'd revive someone into something evil revenant or wraith style #its a compelling idea... i might write it later but i just wanted to finish this now hehe ^^#i also have cetrion's version in the works but i thought that perhaps i should do cetrion's and shinnok's together. they are ELDER gods

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