Chapter 6. Thunder and Wind
Shang Tsung dragged the paralyzed Fujin roughly yet with a semblance of care down the corridor, like a rag doll. His boots beat a dull rhythm on the tiles, where dried brown stains—traces of the great battle—were still visible. The sorcerer savored every moment: he felt the very embodiment of the element trembling in his hands from powerless rage.
"Do you feel the smell of ozone and defeat here?" Shang Tsung turned, his smile like a predator's snarl. "Your brother turned this sanctuary into a crypt. How ironic..."
They stopped before the massive doors on the upper floor of the Temple of the Elements, leading to Raiden's private chambers. The door, carved from monolithic white marble, was covered in glowing runes that pulsed in time with the God of Thunder's weak heartbeat. Shang Tsung frowned, touching the barrier's surface first with his magic-laced hand, then with the 'Reaper of Essences.' His fingers were scorched by white flame, and he yanked his hand back with a hiss.
"Protection?" the sorcerer struck the runes with the 'Reaper's' hilt in confusion, but the door only flashed brightly, throwing him and Fujin back a step. "Raiden is near death, his spark barely flickers in the void, yet he still finds the strength to maintain a barrier that defies my sorcery?"
Shang Tsung instantly grabbed Fujin, who, despite the poison paralyzing the Wind God's body, tried to crawl further away. The sorcerer mercilessly dug his fingers into Fujin's chin, forcing him to look at the barrier.
"Your brother is a stubborn idiot!" he hissed. "But I have the key. You."
He pressed the tip of the blade to Fujin's very neck.
"If you don't open this passage right now, I will use true devastating magic to destroy this Temple. And when I get inside, I won't just kill Raiden. I will turn his existence into an eternal cycle of pain. I will tear out his soul, savoring its scream, return it to its mangled body, and again, and again... It will be an endless symphony of suffering. Do you want him to become my eternal test subject? My toy, whose death will last forever?"
Fujin wanted to cry out, but only a wave of convulsions ran through his body. In his mind, locked in a numb shell, tears flowed.
"Raiden, forgive me... Forgive me for having to betray your peace..." he prayed, putting the last remnants of his divine power into an attempt to submit to the coercion.
"Come on, Fujin..." Shang Tsung whispered, pressing the blade harder into the god's skin. "Open the door for your executioner."
Fujin shuddered. Tears streamed down his cheeks, unable to be wiped away.
"He will do it. He is a bottomless monster," he sobbed to himself.
"Come on!" the sorcerer shouted, punching Fujin in the gut. "Or do you want me to start with you? Your flesh will be the first victim of this steel right now!"
"I... cannot..." Fujin's voice was a faint whisper, saturated with despair. "Kill me... this is betrayal..."
"This is salvation!" Shang Tsung bared his teeth. "Open it, or I will cut out your heart and make it beat before the dying Raiden's eyes."
Fujin closed his eyes. His will shattered like a thin twig under the pressure of an avalanche. He called upon the last crumbs of his element, sending a mental plea to the protective dome.
"Brother, forgive me... I am compelled..."
Fujin, gathering the dregs of his will, directed a stream of energy into the runes. The marble yielded with a heavy, groaning sound. The barrier flickered and fell like smoke on the wind.
"Clever boy..." Shang Tsung smirked.
He roughly shoved Fujin in the back, forcing him to move forward into the semi-darkness of the chambers. The sorcerer followed, not releasing the dagger, savoring how tears flowed down Fujin's face with every step.
"I am a traitor..." the thought beat in the Wind God's head. "I am leading death to the door of the one who was everything to me. If I could just reach him, if I could just whisper 'run' to him... But I am merely a puppet. My body doesn't obey, my voice is suppressed."
Fujin walked, stumbling, while Shang Tsung behind him, like a shadow, fondled the blade of the 'Reaper.'
"Don't cry, my beautiful beloved wind god..." the sorcerer taunted. "You will see his lightning turn to dust. It will be the greatest spectacle in the history of the worlds."
They did not know that at that moment they were being watched. High on a cornice, just under the ceiling, birds lurked—sacred messengers of the Temple, their tiny bead-like eyes watching the sorcerer's every move. One of the birds, fluttering, silently took flight, slipping out a narrow window, carrying the news that the last line of defense had fallen.
"Where are you looking, little god?" Shang Tsung shoved Fujin harder. "Look ahead. Your brother is waiting for us. He is in there... so defenseless. Almost as much as you are now."
In the depths of the chambers, in the semi-darkness, on a stone bed, the silhouette of Raiden flickered faintly. His breath was ragged, and each exhalation was accompanied by sparks of electricity that died uselessly on the floor, lacking the strength to rise to the sky. Shang Tsung approached, anticipating the final chord of his symphony of death.
"Silence..." Shang Tsung whispered, inhaling the air of the chambers. "I smell his fear. Soon he will be mine. What, are you scared?" Shang Tsung walked directly behind Fujin, his steps noiseless as creeping death. "Look at him... so quiet now. Not at all the powerful god all worlds feared. One more moment, Fujin, and I will become his heir. And you will be my witness. You will watch me rewrite history, erasing his name from the memory of every mortal."
Fujin stumbled, but the sorcerer held him by the hair, jerking him upright.
"Don't fall!" Shang Tsung whispered, savoring the anticipated finale. "The best part is just beginning."
Fujin stumbled, his lips trembling.
"You will never win... even in death, he is stronger than you..."
"In death..." the sorcerer retorted, fondling the blade, "...he will simply become part of my power. And you, Fujin... you will be the first to bow to me when I become the sole Elder God."
Fujin felt a whole world crumble inside him. The sight of Raiden—once the mighty God of Thunder, whose steel and discharges inspired awe throughout the entire universe—was unbearable. Now he lay like a broken doll thrown on cold stone. In Fujin's consciousness, the cry of despair mingled with the realization of what the sorcerer planned to do to his brother. Shang Tsung wanted to turn Raiden into an eternal battery for his experiments, to transform divine essence into an inexhaustible source of agony.
"No... not that..." Fujin prayed mentally, feeling a tiny spark of rage ignite inside him, despite the poison.
Suddenly, overcoming the stupor, Fujin jerked. His fingers, numb from the poison, clutched the sorcerer's sleeve. It was a desperate, almost insane movement. He tried to turn to strike Shang Tsung, to knock the cursed 'Reaper of Essences' from his hands, but his body betrayed him. Muscles screamed in pain, and he fell to his knees, barely missing hitting his face on the floor.
Shang Tsung burst out laughing. The laugh was dry, like the crackle of breaking bones. He crouched before Fujin, grabbed his chin, and forcefully pulled him close, so their faces were inches apart.
"What touching bravery..." the sorcerer whispered, carefully and gently running the blade from the Wind God's cheek to his chest. "You are like a wounded bird trying to peck a cat. You do understand, Fujin, that your loyalty is not valor? It is just corrosion of your mind. He is your god, your beloved older brother, your idol... and soon he will become my most obedient slave. I will carve out his soul every hour, savoring the melody of his pain, and you will stand by and watch. You do want to see how the 'great' Raiden begs for oblivion, don't you?"
"Be silent..." Fujin rasped, and tears poured down his cheeks like hail, mixing with the dirt on the floor. "You... you are worse than death itself. Kill me, but do not dare touch him!"
In a burst of pure, primal terror for his brother, Fujin, with his last strength, flung up his hand, trying to knock the dagger away. It was a weak move, but he put all his love into it. Shang Tsung didn't even flinch. He deftly caught the god's wrist and, with a clang, activated magical shackles. Black, smoking chains wrapped around Fujin's neck and wrists, tightening into a tight collar that immediately began to absorb the remnants of his divine aura.
"You are so noisy," Shang Tsung cooed softly, stroking the chain. "Do you like it? It's a necklace of emptiness. It will tighten every time you think of rebellion. Consider it my special gift to you."
At that moment, the silence of the temple was torn by a piercing screech. A flock of sacred birds—guardians of the Garden of Elements—flew through the narrow window openings. They dive-bombed the sorcerer, turning into living arrows, sinking their claws into his robe, trying to peck out his eyes and hands.
"Away!" Shang Tsung roared.
He waved his free hand, releasing waves of emerald flame. The air filled with the smell of burnt feathers and the dying cries of creatures. The birds fell to the floor as charred lumps, their little lives extinguished defending their lord.
While the sorcerer was distracted by the little friends of the Temple's gods, Fujin fell to the floor and, using the remnants of his strength and will, crawled towards Raiden. He dragged the heavy chains behind him, leaving a bloody trail and traces of salty tears on the marble.
"Brother... Raiden..." he whispered barely audibly, trying to reach the god's fingers. "A little more... Hold on... I beg you..."
"Enough!" Shang Tsung's voice sounded right above his ear.
The sorcerer stepped on Fujin's back, pressing him to the floor. He pressed his palm to the Wind God's head, channeling a charge of soporific magic through him.
"Sleep, Fujin. When you wake, your brother will already belong to me completely. And you will understand that even gods have no right to resist my will."
Fujin's eyes began to close. The last thing he saw was Shang Tsung's face, contorted with triumph, and Raiden's motionless, pale hand, just a few centimeters out of his reach. Darkness consumed him, leaving only the echo of his own helpless weeping.
The Temple of the Elements sank into oppressive twilight. Shang Tsung, with sadistic relish, surveyed the chambers and threw Fujin onto the stone floor next to the dying Raiden's bed. The Wind God was even paler, his breathing still ragged, but the paralysis from the poison was gradually receding. The sorcerer, with the speed of a snake, shackled Fujin's wrists with magical chains, pulling them to a heavy ring in the wall, and then, with a snap of his fingers, sealed the temple doors with a barrier of necrotic energy.
"Now no one will disturb us..." Shang Tsung hissed, rubbing his hands. "It's just you, the silence, and your doom."
Raiden, whose consciousness was swimming in an ocean of pain, opened his heavy eyelids with difficulty. Before him, blurry and terrifying, emerged the silhouette of the sorcerer. The God of Thunder tried to rise, but every movement caused an unbearable burning sensation in his throat. From the wound inflicted by the revenant, azure blood continued to ooze, soaking into the sacred slabs.
Raiden gathered the remains of his divine will; his palm began to glow with a timid lightning discharge. But Shang Tsung was faster. He lunged forward, grabbed the God of Thunder's throat, and forcefully pressed his fingers directly onto the bleeding wound. Raiden let out a stifled wheeze, his eyes rolling back.
"Don't even try it, Protector!" the sorcerer snarled, bringing his face close to Raiden's. "One more move, one more tiny flash of power, and I will tear out your brother's heart. Look, he is here. He sees your shame."
Raiden focused his gaze and saw Fujin. His heart clenched—his younger brother, once the embodiment of freedom and spring winds, was now shackled, exhausted, and pinned to the wall. Tear tracks lined his face, turning to dust.
"Don't touch him..." Raiden rasped, his voice a barely audible rustle of dry leaves.
Shang Tsung grinned contentedly, pressing his fingers deeper into the wound on Raiden's neck. The god's azure blood flowed over his fingers, and the sorcerer inhaled this scent with relish, full of ozone and fading power.
"Do you see him, Raiden?" Shang Tsung whispered, not taking his eyes off the tormented Fujin. "Fifty years. Fifty fucking years you scoured the worlds, tore the fabric of reality, searched for this 'free wind,' never suspecting that I held him in a cage made of your own doubts. You thought he ran away from me? No... You raised him in a greenhouse, and I... I gave him a true taste of defeat."
Raiden choked. The world swam before his eyes. His thoughts, usually sharp and clear as mountain peaks, were now like broken glass.
"Fifty years..." echoed in his mind. "I searched for him everywhere. I prayed to the Elder Gods, I made sacrifices, I was ready to burn all the kingdoms just to hear his voice. And he was so close all along. He was always near, but my eyes were covered by a veil of my own greatness. I betrayed him with my blindness."
"You... vile... worm..." Raiden rasped, feeling the cold of death beginning to stiffen his limbs. "You stole his life to break me. But you forgot one truth, sorcerer: the wind cannot be imprisoned forever."
"Oh, but I have imprisoned him!" Shang Tsung laughed, releasing the god's throat so he could take a convulsive breath. "Look at him. He is no longer the God of Wind. He is your reflection in the mud. Once I tear out your spark, Fujin will become my faithful hound. He will weep when I order him to kill innocents, but he will do everything! Isn't that what you wanted for him? Eternal life under your wing? Now he will be under mine."
Raiden, gathering the last crumbs of divine potential, tried to jump up. He wanted to knock the sorcerer down with a powerful thunderclap, but the wound on his neck exploded with unbearable pain. Blood gushed from the cut, washing over his white robes, and his legs, treacherously buckling, gave way. He fell to his knees, leaning heavily on his hands, feeling the world spinning around him in a mad dance.
Shang Tsung slowly walked around him, enjoying the spectacle of humiliation.
"Oh, look at yourself! The God of Thunder on his knees. Where is your pride? Where is your pomp?" Shang Tsung kicked him in the shoulder with his boot, forcing Raiden to bend even lower.
He kicked Raiden in the shoulder, making him sway but not fall completely.
"You know..." the sorcerer drawled mockingly, "I am merciful. If right now, on your knees, you renounce your oath as protector and accept my seal, I will release Fujin. He will go into the wastelands, alive and free. Come on, Raiden. Just one word. Become my servant, and your 'beloved brother' will live. What matters more to you: your pride or his life?"
Raiden lifted his head. His eyes, usually blindingly white, now flickered with a dull, ragged light. He remembered the words Johnny Cage had spoken to him dome days ago in the heat of battle:
"You know, Raiden, sometimes, to beat a bastard, you gotta stop being a saint and just punch him in the mouth."
The God of Thunder smiled weakly, spitting blood on the floor.
"You know, Shang Tsung..." Raiden's voice gained unexpected, hoarse strength. "Fuck... you!"
With a final, desperate effort, Raiden flung up his hands. He didn't aim for the sorcerer—he summoned everything that remained in his wounded body: every atom, every spark, every lightning bolt that once shook the sky. He didn't direct the charge at Shang Tsung; he directed it at the chains binding Fujin.
Shang Tsung, confident in his victory, merely smirked, easily dodging the energy stream, not realizing the god's true target. The lightning, dazzling and furious, tore through the air, struck precisely the metal of Fujin's collar and chains. A deafening crack echoed, the smell of ozone filled the chambers, and the magical shackles, unable to withstand the pure divine wrath, shattered into thousands of sparkling fragments.
Shang Tsung froze, his face contorted with rage. He didn't even have time to process what had happened before a devastating kick to his stomach sent him flying. Raiden, gathering his last strength, put all his indignation, all the pain of fifty years of separation, and all his contempt into that kick. The sorcerer flew back, crashing through a marble partition and collapsing into the shadows of the chambers.
Raiden breathed heavily, leaning on the floor with his hand. His hopeful gaze turned to Fujin, who, shocked by his liberation, slowly raised his head, for the first time in years feeling the element stir within him again.
"Don't count on it!" Shang Tsung attacked Raiden, catching him off guard.
At that moment, Fujin, feeling the proximity of the celestial currents Raiden was trying to summon, felt the shackles in his veins crack. Anger, pure and cold as a mountain stream, flooded his consciousness. With a roar, he wrenched his hands apart. The magical chains, unable to withstand the surge of furious divine energy, shattered into sparks. Grabbing the fallen ceremonial Kusanagi sword nearby, Fujin lunged at the sorcerer.
"Away from him, carrion!" he cried, delivering a sweeping strike.
Shang Tsung, not expecting such vigor, recoiled, nearly losing his hand. Fujin, losing not a second, rushed to his brother and pressed his head to his chest. Tears poured down Raiden's shoulders like hail.
"Brother... I'm here, I'm here..." Fujin whispered, pressing his palms to Raiden's chest.
He began to share his energy, pouring a golden glow into the God of Thunder's fading body.
"Enough!" Shang Tsung waved his hand, creating a vortex of black shadows that roughly threw Fujin aside. "That energy belongs to me!"
A desperate struggle began. Fujin, staggering, blocked the sorcerer's thrusts, his movements becoming swift as a gust of storm. But Shang Tsung, using forbidden magic, knocked the sword from the Wind God's hands with a feint. When Fujin was open, the sorcerer grabbed his throat and raised his hands. A semi-transparent black sphere closed around Fujin, isolating him from reality.
"Look, Fujin! Look how your idol falls!" Shang Tsung exulted.
Raiden tried to rise, grasping for supports, but the wound on his neck had become a fountain of divine essence. He was choking, his limbs shaking.
Shang Tsung approached him, raising the 'Reaper of Essences' high. Fujin beat hysterically against the sphere, pounding his fists on the barrier.
"Raiden, forgive me! I beg you, forgive me! I should have been stronger! Don't go, brother!" he cried, his voice full of despair.
Raiden raised his clouded gaze to Fujin and, with difficulty, choking on air, forced out:
"Fujin... for these fifty years... I never... for a moment... stopped... looking for you... You are my only light..."
The sorcerer, seeing that his victim was ready, raised the blade over Raiden's neck. But at that moment, the air in the Temple became electrified. Shinnok's Amulet, which the heroes had shattered earlier, began to pulse in the void—its fragments, hidden in space, resonated with the dying cry of the god. Suddenly, Raiden stopped choking. The wound on his neck closed with a golden seam, and his body was enveloped in a blinding radiance.
Shang Tsung recoiled, his eyes widening in horror.
"This cannot be! You were supposed to die!"
"You miscalculated, Shang Tsung!" Raiden's voice thundered like a clap of thunder, shaking the Temple's foundation. "The gods of Earth do not fall while their brothers breathe."
In a panic, Shang Tsung rushed towards the sphere to grab Fujin as a shield, but Raiden was faster. The God of Thunder brought a crushing lightning strike down upon the floor. The Temple walls collapsed, and the shockwave hurled Shang Tsung far over the cliff's edge into the abyss, where he disappeared with a cry of rage.
The barrier around Fujin dissipated. Raiden, staggering, took a step forward and caught his falling brother, pulling him into a tight embrace.
"You came back..." Raiden whispered, pressing his forehead to Fujin's. "We will never be apart again. Now we will crush them all."
The Temple of the Elements shook from the recent explosion, but in the center of the ruins, time seemed to stand still. Raiden, whose divine energy still pulsed with golden sparks on his armor, carefully held Fujin close. His hands, always accustomed to punishing enemies with lightning, now trembled, as if afraid his younger brother would again dissolve into the air like morning mist.
"Forgive me," Raiden whispered, burying his face in his brother's ash-white hair. His voice, usually formidable and commanding, faltered. "Fifty years... Fifty endless human lifetimes I scoured every corner of the worlds, every dimension, searching for the whisper of your name in the winds, but I found only silence. I was blind, Fujin. I was so consumed by protecting, I didn't notice the shadow steal the most precious thing I had. My support. My soul."
Fujin, whose eyes were red from the suffering endured, gripped the edges of his brother's battle regalia so hard his knuckles turned white. He didn't just cry—he sobbed, allowing himself, for the first time in half a century, to shed the mask of the unshakable god.
"I don't blame you, brother," Fujin sobbed, pressing against his chest and feeling the steady beat of the divine heart. "Even in the deepest darkness, in that lair of horror, I held onto only the thought that you were out there somewhere. That you were alive. I knew you would come. You always come."
Their embrace, saturated with the bitterness of loss and the light of reunion, was interrupted by a heavy grinding of stones. Two figures burst into the broken opening of the Temple. Johnny Cage, his glasses shattered and his skin covered in soot, and Sonya Blade, clutching a discharged rifle, froze on the threshold.
"Raiden?" Sonya lowered her weapon, catching her breath. "We thought... we thought we were too late."
Raiden slowly rose, supporting Fujin by the shoulder.
"You survived," said the God of Thunder, and genuine relief flickered in his eyes.
"Barely..." Cage wiped blood from his split brow, trying to flash his usual cocky grin, but it came out crooked. "But... we have news, old man. And you're gonna like it."
Sonya stepped forward, her face becoming serious.
"Shao Kahn has fallen, Raiden. His army is defeated, and he himself... he is no more, during the final assault. Kitana has taken the throne of the Outworld. She sent messengers: a truce has been signed. Earthrealm is safe."
Raiden shifted his gaze to Fujin, then back to the mortals.
"Johnny, Sonya, allow me to introduce you to the one whose loss was as great for Earth as it was for me. This is Fujin. My younger brother and the true Protector of this world, the Keeper of the Winds."
Fujin bowed slightly, his eyes radiating a calmness that contrasted with the chaos around.
"Pleased to meet you," he said softly. "I have heard much of your deeds."
Three days later, the foot of the Temple of the Elements was quiet. Three monoliths stood above the ground—monuments to Cole Young, Jax Briggs, and Liu Kang. Raiden stood at the head of the procession, his face stern as granite.
"Their battles are over..." he said, looking at those gathered. "But their souls have not found peace. Shang Tsung's power distorted the very essence of their transition. Like Kung Lao, they may become puppets of darkness. We need to restore their will before they become revenants."
Cage, who had become more serious in recent days than in his entire acting career, nodded.
"What needs to be done? We're in. We don't abandon our own, right?"
Sonya and Fujin stood beside him.
"We will go to the Soul Realm," Blade said decisively. "As many times as it takes."
That same night, as moonlight flooded the balcony of the ancient Temple, Raiden and Fujin stood, looking at the stars. Beside them, on the stone railing, sat the sacred birds. Fujin carefully scattered grain, his fingers slightly trembling.
"Look at them," he whispered, gazing at the calm sky. "The birds know nothing of war. They simply fly where the wind calls."
Raiden stepped closer and put his arm around his brother's shoulders. They were both gods, but now they felt like children who had survived a great storm.
"For fifty years, I dreamed of this moment," Raiden said softly. "To just stand here, knowing you are breathing, that you are near."
Fujin leaned into him, and tears again rolled from his eyes, but now they were tears of purification. "We won't let them separate us again, brother. No amulets, no emperors. We are the wind and the thunder. Together, we are an indestructible wall."
Raiden kissed his brother's temple, closing his eyes. The wind gently tousled their robes, and at that moment, both gods knew: despite the coming trials and the salvation of fallen souls, they were finally home. A reunion bought at such a high price was the only thing that mattered in all of eternity.
