3rd POV
It is currently early seventeenth century Japan. 1617 to be exact. Right now though, a scorpion is fighting off multiple ants that are surround it it, both with its pincers and stinger, with the ants that are dying letting out shrieks before they're killed.
As this was happening, a boy who is about eight to ten years old watched as a man who looks around thirty walks over to the boy and places a hand on his shoulder. This is Y/n Hasashi.
Y/n: "Look, what do you see?"
The boy, whose name is Satoshi, looks up at his father.
Satoshi: "Papa, the scorpion, it needs help."
Y/n then kneels down next to his son as he wraps an arm around his shoulder.
Y/n: "Life is cruel, Satoshi. It doesn't care where you are from, what God you pray to. It is. So you must face it head on. See the scorpion?"
They both shift their attention towards said animal as it continues to fight off against the ants surrounding it.
Y/n: "No matter how many enemies, it continues on. It is strong, yes. It is fast. But do you know why the scorpion is feared?"
Satoshi shakes his head no.
Y/n: "Its will."
Said scorpion then proceeds to use its tail and stinger to kill even more ants that are surrounding it as they climb further upon the ant hill. That is until the scorpion descends said the hill, which causes the ants to follow. Then Y/n knelt down in front of his son.
Y/n: "Willpower is what makes your destiny your own. Learn to be strong, here and here." He said as he pointed at both Satoshi's head and heart. "Promise me you'll remember that?"
Satoshi: "I will, Papa."
Y/n runs a hand affectionately through his son's hair before he stands up.
Y/n: "Now, let's get home. Your mother is making dinner, and she won't be happy if we're late."
He kneels down as Satoshi chuckles a bit before he jumps on his father's back and wraps his arms around the older man's neck as Y/n got a good grip on Satoshi's legs to keep him from falling.
Y/n: "Hold on."
Satoshi yells in joy before he laughs as his father ran back towards their village while carrying him.
Satoshi: "Faster, Papa, faster!"
By the time the pair of father and son get back to the village of where Y/n's clan, the Shirai Ryu, is located, the sun has soon set and it is now the evening, shown by the full moon shining brightly up above. As Y/n approaches to the entrance of the village with Satoshi on his back, his son laughs in delight as he had enjoyed the piggyback ride his father has given him.
Satoshi: "More!"
Y/n merely chuckles at his son's excitement.
Y/n: "Your papa needs a break."
As Y/n began to walk through the village, he noticed that two Kwan Daos are left out in the open at the entrance, with one leaning on a pillar to the torii gate and the other left on the ground which he takes note of, seeing that there would normally be guards posted there in case there was any hostile enemies. He breaks his focus off of the weapons before he continues to walk through the village, which is deathly quiet, with the only light sources being the lanterns that are hung up nearby.
While Y/n continues to cautiously walk through the village, a figure within the shadows swiftly moves out of sight before Y/n walks down an alley with multiple different products on either side for a market, before he stops, suspicious about all that he has observed as of now since entering the village and looks around to see that the place he and his son are in is completely vacant.
Satoshi: "Where is everyone, Papa?"
Y/n: "Hold tight, Satoshi."
Before anything else can happen, an assassin in a familiar blue garb of the Lin Kuei Clan of Assassins with a knife rushes Y/n from behind, but the Grandmaster of the Shirai Ryu knew what was coming and instantly dodged to his right as the assassin attempted to stab him and blocked the next few attacks that would've been fatal if it were anyone else as he has a tight grip on Satoshi. Then Y/n grabs a lid from a nearby basket and blocked the knife of the assassin before Y/n hits the Lin Kuei member to daze him, while he spins the basket lid with the knife still in it as he grabs the weapon and stabs the assassin through the head and swipes through the top of the Lin Kuei's head which breaks the lid in the process, blood and brain matter splatter on the pavement.
Then another Lin Kuei assassin with a chain sickle comes out from the shadows behind Y/n and Satoshi and tries to wrap the chain around his neck in an attempt to strangle him, but Y/n stops the chain with the knife. Satoshi then bites the hand of the assassin which causes him to yelp in pain, which was a distraction enough for the young boy to drop the the ground from between his father and the Lin Kuei and backs away a little bit as this gives Y/n enough space to grab the Lin Kuei from behind him as he pulls and throws the assassin to the ground and stabs him in the heart, which once again causes blood to splatter on the pavement.
Afterwards, another Lin Kuei assassin with a katana rushes Y/n, who pushes Satoshi out of the way as he blocks one strike from the assassin with the knife from earlier before he lands a flying knee to the assassin's chest. The two fighters briefly clash with their bladed weapons before Y/n stabs his knife through the side of the assassin's mask and through the mouth, with the force of it causing his eyeballs to pop out of their sockets.
As Y/n takes the knife out of the deceased Lin Kuei, another assassin with the same weapon as before comes in and tries to strike Y/n, but the Grandmaster of the Shirai Ryu dodges each swing. The assassin goes to thrust his sword forward, but Y/n dodges that as well. While he did, he threw the knife into the air and does a spinning jump kick as he hits the knife, which causes it to go flying into the Lin Kuei assassin's heart, the force of the stab causing him to go flying and collapsing into a wall.
After Y/n had killed the assassin, more Lin Kuei members showed up. When he saw them, all he could think of his son's safety and ran in the opposite direction towards Satoshi and had quickly grabbed onto the ten year old as they all ran throughout the village as the boy screams in a bit of fear before Y/n pulls his son up to carry him as he did before as he expertly jumped tp and from the many poles sticking out from the water that are between the two parts of houses within the village, with the Lin Kuei assassins also expertly following the grandmaster. But as this was all happening, a chilling presence was watching them all from upon a roof nearby.
Once they got to the other part of the village, the assassins followed the pair via rooftops and threw a multitude of range weapons, such as shurikens at the pair, but they missed. Then Y/n took to the rooftops as well, with the Lin Kuei members following him, but Y/n was quick enough to hide on a ledge of a house with Satoshi as he observed the assassins jump to the next rooftop above. Y/n then jumped down to ground level and once he landed he made sure there were no other Lin Kuei members that were near him or his son to spot them. Afterward, Y/n closed the door to a house that he and Satoshi are in so they can stay out of sight for now as he lets out a brief sigh of relief. Once Y/n takes a step forward, his foot hit a puddle of red liquid, which he knows exactly what it is as he gasps in shock as Satoshi is horrified by what he and his father saw: multiple Shirai Ryu members dead. Satoshi lets multiple tears fall and was about to let out a cry of distraught but Y/n covered his son's mouth so he wouldn't be heard as one more person he hopes didn't suffer this fate crosses his mind.
Y/n: "Harumi."
Then he heard sounds coming from outside as Lin Kuei members were breaking in to the other houses trying to find both Y/n and Satoshi. After the got through the others, there was only one left which was the one the two they were after were in. Once a few members surrounded the door, one kicked it in only to find just the dead Shirai Ryu members from earlier but no sign of the grandmaster and his son. The group walked inside to search for the pair until one Lin Kuei member noticed some dust and small pebbles dropped from above him as he looked up, figuring out why they no longer can find who they're looking for.
Meanwhile, Y/n and Satoshi rush quickly to their home as they run up the steps before Y/n opens the door and run up the staircase of their home and opens the sliding door as he sets Satoshi down.
Y/n: "Harumi!"
Then Y/n opens another door looking for his wife.
Y/n: "Harumi!"
Satoshi: "Mama!"
The boy's father walks over to where his son is only to see a horrific sight as Satoshi's whimpers and let's tears flow down his cheeks as Y/n lets out a silent gasp of shock. His wife, Harumi, mother to Satoshi, is dead. Surrounded by a puddle of her own blood. Y/n then puts a hand on his son's shoulder in an effort to comfort his son.
Y/n then closes his eyes and grits his teeth as he goes over everything that has happened so far. The bodies of the men and women from his clan, the Lin Kuei attacking him and his son, and now the death of Harumi. All this fills him up with one emotion as he opens his eyes: Rage.
Y/n then turns around and elbows the Lin Kuei assassin behind him in the head, following up with a punch to the gut and grabbing the sides of the assassin's head and knees him in the face. The daze causes the assassin's grip on his weapon of choice, a sickle, to loosen as Y/n grabs it and bisects him twice at the waste and head. Another assassin swings at him with a sword, but he blocks it before he grabs the blade and uses the sickle to viciously hack at the Lin Kuei's shoulder as his right arm that was holding the sword almost become brutally separated before Y/n rips it off. Before the assassin could begin to feel any pain over the shock and adrenaline, Y/n uses the sickle to cut through the assassin's head as he pulls back, blood and brain matter drop to the floor. Y/n then takes a breath before he uses the sickle in his left hand to gut off the limp fingers still holding the sword before he has the handle in his grasp as Satoshi watches all of this. Then another assassin that was with a group of others by the door charges at Y/n, but all he does in response is give out a primal roar of rage as he charges at the others.
Y/n cuts the first assassin in half before he turns to another and cuts deeply into their neck which causes blood to spurt out and their head almost flop off as the body hits the ground. Then Y/n pivots and cuts the third assassin's right arm off and with the sickle in his left hand, Y/n slices upward across the body and uses it as leverage to lift the Lin Kuei off his feet with his own strength and uses his sword to cut of the remaining left arm of the assassin before slashing across his chest and decapitating him before he slams the remains of the Lin Kuei assassin to the floor as more members of the Lin Kuei show up.
Y/n once again yell ins rage as he engages the others as some blood splatters across the nearby door the the room Satoshi was hiding from as he watches his father fight as his eyes are still glassy and wet with tears, as a little bit of the blood that has splattered on the door got on his face. As he's watching, he shivers a little bit before letting out a breath as mist came from it, signaling someone else is near.
Then a Lin Kuei member is thrown through a wall and slumps down, clearly dead as Y/n lifts three more members above his head and slams them to the ground and uses his sword as he slashes them all violently before he plunges his sword into the body of one of the three he butchered before pulling it out as other Lin Kuei members watched on in fear. Y/n then looks at them with clear malice and rage in his eyes before he runs after them as he lets out a yell of rage as the three Lin Kuei assassins attempt to run away in pure fear, but Y/n is able to catch up to them, bisecting the head of the first assassin, cutting the second one in half diagonally, and finally shoving his sword through the chin of the third assassin as the blade comes out the top of the head as the blade imbeds into the ceiling, blood splattered it as well. Then Y/n pulls the sword back towards him through the face of the now deceased assassin which exposed part of his brain and skull as blood is spurts out with some landing on Y/n.
Before Y/n can do anything else, he gets stabbed through the side of his abdomen by a Kwan Dao by a Lin Kuei assassin from behind as he yelps in pain before he uses the sword to stab through the assassin's chest, killing him and sending him to the floor. Then Y/n pulls the blade through his wound before he breaks a piece off from the handle of the weapon so he can hold the blade in his left hand as he reaches behind him to pull the rest of the staff-like handle out of him from his wound as more Lin Kuei assassins surround him. He then breathes heavily for a moment before he lets out another guttural yell of rage as all he sees now is red.
Afterward, Y/n rushes all of the Lin Kuei in sight as he brutally kills them all ranging from dismemberment, bisection, decapitation, an many many more ways he can think of. The final two go attack him from behind, but Y/n is fast enough to stab the first one through the chest with the blade of the Kwan Dao before he uses the broken handle to stab the second one through the chest as well, but not through the heart before he throws the remaining assassin to the ground and brutally mutilates and stabs him to death as he grunt in rage and closes his eyes before giving one last yell before he slams both weapons downward as blood splatters even more around him.
Y/n then breathes heavily as he looks around at what he's done as he's currently outside on a bridge as he looks at the now heavily mutilated corpse of the assassin he just killed along with the other bodies around him, with the blood dripping off the bridge and into the waterfall below, making it blood red. But before Y/n can do anything else, someone else reveals themself.
???: "Enough!"
The person in question walks out of the shadows as he is holding Satoshi by the neck in his right hand as the child whimpers against the grip on his neck. Y/n also knows him quite well, too, with the attire being also very familiar to him. The man he is staring at is none other than the one only known as Sub-Zero.
As Y/n begins to walk towards the cold assassin, Sub-Zero hold out Satoshi in front of him as a way for Y/n to stop.
Sub-Zero: "Come further, and he dies."
To prove a point, he freezes Satoshi's neck a minor bit as Y/n looks on with scorn beneath his eyes.
Y/n: "What do you want?"
The frost on Satoshi's neck grows in intensity as Sub-Zero glares at Y/n.
Sub-Zero: "On your knees."
Not wanting to have anything bad to befallen his son, Y/n does as he's told and gets on his knees as he continues to glare at the assassin in front of him. Then Sub-Zero blast ice towards Y/n, trapping him within it, with the many bodies of the Lin Kuei being torn to shreds from the blast, body parts being flung around.
Y/n grunts as he briefly tries to get out before he returns his focus to Sub-Zero.
Y/n: "If you touch a hair on his head..."
Sub-Zero merely narrows his eyes before his grip tightens around Satoshi's neck, the child choking more in the process.
Satoshi: "Papa!"
Then Sub-Zero does the unthinkable. An icicle shoots through Satoshi's throat as Y/n is completely horrified at what the assassin has done to his only son.
Satoshi: weakly "Papa."
Blood continues to spurt out of the child's throat as Sub-Zero's narrowed eyes stay on Y/n.
Y/n: "Satoshi! Satoshi!"
Satoshi then spits out some blood that runs down the corners of his mouth as he weakly calls out to his father one last time before he's mercilessly dropped face first to the ground by Sub-Zero, with Y/n's eyes becoming glassy over his son.
Y/n: sobs "Satoshi. Satoshi! Satoshi!"
Sub-Zero then coldly flicks his hand a few times to get the child's blood of his hands as Y/n grits his teeth in anger and glares hard towards the man who killed his son.
Y/n: "I'll kill you! I'LL KILL YOU!"
The now enraged Y/n strains against the ice before he grunts as he gets both of his arms free as Sub-Zero walks over to the still immobilized grandmaster of the Shirai Ryu, an icicle forming in the palm of his left hand. Now the tears Y/n was holding back are now running down his cheeks, but he doesn't care.
Y/n: "You'll die for this!"
Sub-Zero: "You first."
The cold-hearted assassin then shoots the icicle through Y/n's mouth as blood spurts out from behind him as it exits through near the base of his skull and the cervical vertebrae.
The force of the blow makes Y/n fall back as the icicle imbeds into the ice behind him that he was also immobilized in as he lets out one final breath as the blood slowly flows down the ice before Sub-Zero walks away and into the shadows, not bothering to look back at what he's done.
Timeskip
Y/n wakes up with a yell, but he's not where he was before. He's somewhere else entirely as he notices that the land is of fire and brimstone. His black hair is out of its ponytail before and falls a little past his shoulders. His forearms, palms and back of his hands are wrapped in some bandages and his only form of clothing is a torn piece of cloth that covers his private areas and stops just around the middle of his thighs.
Y/n: "Satoshi. Harumi."
Then Y/n looks around the landscape of where he is and notices multiple demons.
Y/n: "What is this? Where am I?"
He looks down to see that there's a table with a different assortment of weapons on it, but the design of them he's never seen before. He suddenly gasps as he sees that his arms and legs are impaled with sickles that are connected to chains which are connected to two different pillars on either side of him. He tries to move his right arm, but some blood spurts and Y/n screams in pain. Afterward, he can hear someone chuckling nearby.
???: chuckles "Don't start without me."
Then a tall, blueish grey-skinned three-eyed demon appears before Y/n, who goes by the name of Moloch.
Moloch: "Ah! Fresh meat."
The oni then licks the blade in his right hand before using another to sharpen it afterwards as he walks towards Y/n.
Y/n: "What in the hell..."
Moloch: "Close. Netherrealm."
Y/n grunts as he tries to get out of his chains, but he doesn't succeed, which Moloch notices.
Moloch: "It's no use. You are a prisoner here."
Y/n: pants "For how long?"
Moloch: laughs maliciously "Forever."
Then Moloch turns to his left a bit as he hold the knife in his right hand closer to Y/n.
Moloch: "Listen."
Many different screams can be heard throughout the Netherrealm, of pain and agony.
Moloch: "Ah! Do you hear it? The symphony of pain. Your voice with soon join the others, rising up to please the great Dormammu." he says as he grabs a large sword from the table.
Y/n: "Dormammu?"
Moloch: "The true master of Netherrealm."
Then sadistic oni torturer points towards a fortress within the distance of this realm.
Moloch: "There. The only place of reprieve in this realm. Look on it and weep."
The torturer chuckles before he uses the sword to cut the palm of his left hand as orange blood oozes out and onto the ground as it sizzles, signaling its heat, which Y/n notices.
Moloch: "Sharp enough."
Y/n strains against the blades of the sickles before he moves his arm a little bit as blood once against spurts out, but more this time as it lands on his arm as he grunts in pain while Moloch walks over with the blade and raises the edge to Y/n's chin and lifts his head up to meet his gaze.
Moloch: "Calm yourself. Save your energy for what is about to come."
Y/n gasps slightly as the cold blade briefly grazes him as its lowered to his abdomen and is stabbed through his right side, causing him to scream and groan in pain before Moloch leans forward to get in Y/n's face, a sadistic smile can be heard through his voice as Y/n has his eyes closed.
Moloch: "Now you see, you feel pain, though you can no longer perish. We can do this for all eternity."
What Moloch didn't notice during his mini-monologue was that had grasp the handle to the sickle in his right forearm with his right hand. Now, he can be heard muttering to himself, which Moloch steps forward, his right ear pointed at Y/n to get a better idea as to exactly he's saying.
Moloch: "Huh? What is it you say? Is that a prayer?" He laughs briefly before continuing. "No. No God can help you here."
Y/n: "I need no God!"
Then Y/n bites off Moloch's right ear, which causes the oni to groan in pain before Y/n spits the ear towards the chain holding his right arm, the blood from the oni heating the chain up enough for Y/n to snap it as he gives it a good pull as he uses the chain like a whip and severed the others chains before he lands in a crouch on the ground. Then he pulls out the sickles from his shins and other arm before he stands up and drops chain sickles as he looked towards the table of weapons before shifting his gaze back at Moloch as the oni let go of where he was feeling pain of where he had his right ear bit off before seeing his blood on his left hand.
Moloch: "I WILL TAKE PLEASURE IN RIPPING YOUR FLESH FROM YOUR BONES!"
The oni then ran and slammed his massive sword down, but Y/n easily dodged it before he ran forward and punched Moloch in the knee, shattering it.
Moloch roars in pain as he's forced to a knee as Y/n ran towards the table and grabbed a sword before he ran towards the oni, who is now back on his feet as he roars while he attempts to hit Y/n with his own weapon, but the man dodges the attack which hit the ground beneath them before jumps forward as he lands a flying knee to Moloch's chin which causes him to spit out blood. As he was still in the air and due to his own momentum, Y/n yells as he swings downward, cutting Moloch's head in half as the sword slide down only to stop roughly at the oni's abdomen before Y/n lets go of the sword as the body of the now deceased Moloch falls backward, orange blood flowing on the ground.
Y/n then walks to the body of the recently deceased and pulls off a rather large piece of cloth on his person and large enough for Y/n to wrap around his waist as he adjusts the wrappings around his forearms and hands as he notices that multiple demons are around him.
Demon: "Human, you have made a big mistake."
Y/n also takes some cloth and uses it as a makeshift mask for himself as he looks around at all the demons surrounding him.
Demon: "There are thousands of us, and only one of you."
Then a chain sickle is thrown towards the demon that was talking to Y/n as it wraps around its neck, choking the demon as the chain and blade begin to cut through its neck before the weapon is pulled and the demon's head is thrown away from its body as it falls backward.
Y/n: "Minus one."
Afterwards, all the demons growl and rush towards Y/n, but he's more than ready for a fight.
Timeskip
Some birds within the Netherrealm can be seen feasting on a corpse as the two fight over an eyeball before they fly away. Meanwhile, a man with white skin, red tattoos and some form of armor can be seen sitting on a throne with a rather sinister smirk on his face. This is Quan Chi.
Then a head of a demon can be seen thrown and coming the sorcerer's way before landing on the ground and tumbling forward before stopping in front of him. He looks at it before he looks ahead and sees Y/n, his entire body covered in blood, no longer with his mask or weapon, as he walks up some steps.
Y/n: "Dormammu!"
The sorcerer then stands up from his throne to address Y/n.
Quan Chi: "No, Dormammu is... dealing with far more important matters."
Y/n: "Then go fetch him for me."
Quan Chi: "It's not as simple as some make it to be. I am Quan Chi, in charge of this realm until my master needs my services again. And who do I have to to thank for ruining my rug?"
Y/n: "Y/n Hasashi."
Quan Chi: "Your reputation precedes you, Y/n Hasashi. Welcome. Though, I'm not entirely sure how you made it here. What is it you want, Y/n?"
Y/n: "To return home. To seek my revenge."
Quan Chi: "Home?" He laughs briefly in amusement. "You can't return home."
Y/n grits his teeth in anger before he grabs Quan Chi as he moves at inhuman speeds and pins the sorcerer to a wall as he holds up his fist in a threatening manner.
Y/n: "You will do as I say, or I will flay you alive."
Quan Chi merely smirks before he raises his left hand and flicks his left pointer finger as green energy flashed, which made Y/n go flying and tumble to the ground.
Quan Chi: "Did you think me defenseless, dog? In my realm no less."
The sorcerer's left hand then glows as he lifts Y/n off the ground before making a fist as Y/n can feel his bones breaking as he groans in pain.
Quan Chi: "You may be a vengeful spirit, but even they have their limits. Just like everyone else."
Then the sorcerer makes more of Y/n's bones break and limbs bend all the wrong way in virtually every place on his body as he screams in pain. Then Quan Chi lets Y/n go as he falls to the ground, his wounds already healing at a very fast rate as the sorcerer turns around and walks over to a table that has a bottle of what can be assume some form of liquor and a chalice and poured the drink within the chalice.
Quan Chi: "Besides, that's not what you really want, is it? I haven't had someone be my advocate in many years. You could be that person." he says as he takes a drink from his chalice.
Y/n: "Why would I fight for you?"
Quan Chi: "Because he will be there within Earthrealm."
Then Quan Chi shows a projection of Sub-Zero, which Y/n narrows his eyes at before looking back at the sorcerer in front of him.
Y/n: "What do you want?"
Quan Chi: "Good, skilled and smart. There is an ancient book containing secrets and information of many things, being said to hold infinite knowledge. I want you to retrieve it for me. This is the book of which I speak of."
Then he snaps his fingers as he shows a projection of what the book looks like.
Quan Chi: "Mortals have used this before, but have only been driven mad. I know not what its current location is, but I know it is somewhere within Earthrealm."
Then he walks over to the side of Y/n as he continues to talk and goad him.
Quan Chi: "Get me that book. Once you have given it to me, my master can return your family. Even you, back to the mortal realm."
The sorcerer changed the image of the book to then one of Y/n's wife and son, Harumi and Satoshi.
Quan Chi: "Do we understand each other, Y/n?"
Y/n looks over to the image to his family before he closes his eyes and thinks of his answer, but to him, he doesn't have to take long as he reopens his eyes and looks to Quan Chi.
Y/n: "Y/n is dead. Call me Scorpion."
Quan Chi merely chuckles sinisterly, liking that Y/n not only accepted his offer, but also help him in what he wants to find. It's only a matter of time before that book is within his hands.
A/N: I hope you all have enjoyed the prologue. I also know that all of you who have been waiting for this story to be updated has been waiting for a very long time, and I apologize for that. I've been having to push back the chapter being released multiple times and now I finally publish it for you all. So, I hope you're all happy to know that this story will continue, because there will be plenty of surprises along the way.