I don't know who writes the endings to these games, but I'm kind of sick and tired of just anyone managing to become a god and then destroying any or all realms within, like, ten minutes.

But whatever. There's not even a specific game this is supposed to take place in. This is the only situation in which I could see the above happening, so here it goes. (Bonus: Journey to the Hanamachi would probably make a fitting soundtrack to this.)

The Shaolin warrior stood deathly still and gazed upon the destruction around him. Although his face didn't register emotion, deep inside shock and despair clawed at the warrior's throat. He had seen fires raging throughout Edenia's arcadian countryside and palace, corpses strewn throughout Outworld and Earthrealm, the former obliterated and the latter left to decay in the wake of doom, but yet the only realm left standing. The sky was tainted red with the blood and souls of the fallen: warriors, villagers, and children, all gone. Eradicated to a Netherrealm that no longer existed, stuck in enternal limbo between worlds that could never be restored. Nearly all life had been wiped out from the Realms.

And the one responsible was standing right in front of him.

Black static crackled around him, corrupted with the essence absorbed from the Dragon King. Raiden was still also, calculating, waiting for his final opponent to make the next move that would be his last. Furious red eyes that Liu Kang still refused to recognize as his former mentor's stared him down from twenty feet away at the heart of the Nexus portal.

Liu Kang struggled to act upon what the few remaining Elder Gods had sent him to accomplish, but he couldn't bring himself to just attack and get it over with. The command to take down his teacher, his counselor, his friend, tore him in half more than any other decision he had had to make in his life, and now he was stuck to determine the fate of what little was left of the only remaining realm.

Liu Kang recalled Quan Chi, Sindel and Kitana, all brutally slaughtered in the throne room of Edenia's principal palace; Kung Lao dismembered at the monastery, Baraka and his army impaled from being thrown onto each other's blades, Mileena tossed to rot into the very Flesh Pits from which she had been created, Johnny, Sonya and Jax left helplessly to tend to the badly battered remains of Earthrealm, and countless other visions the Elder Gods had forced him to view in order to make clear to him his duty.

But it was still not enough.

It wasn't enough to convince him to take down the deity responsible, ridiculously enough. For Liu Kang had been taught to believe in second chances, no matter how farfetched they may seem. But everything he had learned had been shattered in the last day.

His opponent still waited for him, either not sensing or not caring about the turmoil that Liu Kang was currently experiencing.

Fists shaking, Liu Kang took one last deep breath and raised his arms defensively. The harmless motion, however, was enough to trigger an immediate response in the mad god, who took off from his spot at the speed of a bullet ready to smite his last obstacle into dust.

But even in the tumult of his emotions, instinct took over, and Liu kang quickly intercepted any chance of attack with a well-placed high kick that sent his attacker flying skyward and leaving him dazed enough to not realize he was falling back down. With near impossible precision, Liu Kang grabbed his opponent by the neck, tightly enough to effectively render any chance of resistance null.

While his adversary struggled, Liu Kang tried a last-ditch attempt to think of any other option, anything at all. But he knew it was in vain. The Elder Gods would surely not allow Raiden to be resurrected this time, but perhaps it was for the best. He had only tried to protect what was rightfully his domain, but in the process became so obssessed with guarding it at all costs that the measures taken ultimately defeated their own purposes.

Knowing this, Liu Kang still took one last look at his mentor, who was struggling to release himself from the grip of the warrior.

This was it.

There were no options left.

"...I'm sorry, Raiden."

Imbued with the will and power of the Elder Gods, Liu Kang raised his other hand behind him, where a small but deadly concentration of fire began to swirl in his palm. Raiden stopped long enough to give a fearful look at the opponent who was about to permanently best him, weakening Liu's resolve even further.

But he had to do it.

Closing his eyes, Liu Kang brought his hand down, plunging through the thunder god's chest cavity and incinerating the heart that came out of the other side. The look on Raiden's face would haunt him forever; right before the shock became cemented into his expression, Liu Kang could see a flicker of the old friend that encouraged him to do it, to eliminate the threat that had brought about his own and everybody's undoing.

Hot tears stained the floor as Raiden dropped to the ground.