Again and again you were overwhelmed by the beauty of Outworld. Day had turned to night and yet soft light illuminated the darkness. Fireflies floated through the air while creatures in colourful dresses huddled close together.

They craned their necks curiously to see the large stage on which the princesses waved to the people. Traditional robes fell in even rivers like water from their shoulders to their ankles. Beads adorned their heads.

As always, Kitana wore blue and silver while Mileena was dressed in a reddish pink.

The thundering of drums swallowed voices and cheers. You were surprised that the princess had chosen such an impractical outfit for such an important battle. It would restrict her as much as it would you.

Small beads of glass rustled with your every step. It felt like you were made of glass. So fragile and yet dangerous. If you broke, the others would cut themselves on you.

Every single step up the stairs felt like cement was growing on your legs. The beat of your heart mingled with the rhythm of the drums.

"Princesses.L, you bowed to Kitana and Mileena.

They glanced briefly over their shoulders.

"Join us, Earthrealmer.", Mileena took a step to the side so that you could step into the centre of the two.

Glaring light blinded you. Torches flickered in the wind. Then there were faces and cheers that crushed your skull.

Overwhelmed by it all, you couldn't help but freeze. An icy shiver caused goose bumps to grow all over your body.

For a brief moment, your breath was choked.

"Are you nervous?", Kitana asked, glancing out of the corner of her eye.

It was frightening how calm she was, so completely unaffected by all the people, all the eyes on you. She must have been brought up for this since the beginning of her life. And yet you marvelled at how little this moment affected her. As if there was nothing else.

Even Mileena seemed to feel more uncertainty, even if you couldn't see it directly. Nevertheless, her eyes kept jumping to Tanya, her Umgadi priestess. Presumably this was the pressure on the shoulders of a future empress.

Kitana was just a princess. And she would probably never be anything else. If her mother died one day, Mileena would take the throne. And many millennia would pass before Mileena's life came to an end. By then, Kitana would be almost as old.

Or dead. Depending on what decisions she would make.

You, on the other hand, would be dead as soon as you left Outworld. Not literally.

But what time was a human's life compared to those of the Outworlders?

One breath and they would have forgotten you. And yet now you stood beside them on that stage, waving down at the same people as the princesses did.

The future empress.

This moment had to count. And it was your job to make sure that Earthrealm would once again go down in history. Both in the timeline and in that of Outworld.

Without thinking about it, your gaze skipped through the crowd.

Where was Liu Kang?

You wanted to look into his calm face and know that there was no shame in failure. And then you wanted to win. Simply because you could.

Strange faces looked back at you. The god of fire was nowhere to be seen. Of course he wasn't. Now, when you needed a mentor the most, he wasn't there.

With a suppressed sigh, you rolled your eyes. But the disappointment couldn't settle in your chest for long. Suddenly there was a camera, shining a light on you from the darkness.

Johnny's brown hair stood out from the crowd. The silver of his wristwatch sparkled in the light of the moon.

Your eyes met. A smile appeared on his lips before he raised his thumb and silently breathed a few words in your direction.

I believe in you.

Warmth filled your head and you thought your cheeks would melt at any moment. Everything about him made the weight fall from your shoulders.

Suddenly it was just the two of you. Johnny's eyes sparkling with pride and the smile on his lips. Even if you lost this fight, you would still be the most special thing that had ever happened to him. If you hadn't been your parents' child, part of a family full of champions, you would never have met him.

Not everything was bad. Sometimes you had to find the good in the little things.

You returned his love with a gentle gesture.

"You are nervous.", Mileena sounded indifferent and yet there was that will to win in her eyes.

Agreeing, you nodded.

"I'm going to fight the two best warriors of Outworld.", you glanced at her out of the corner of your eye. "A future empress. I would never dare to be snooty and say it will be easy."

"We appreciate the praise.", Kitana lifted her chin and for the first time she smiled.

It was a warm smile. One that made you understand what Liu Kang saw in her.

"This will be a glorious battle between Outworld and Earthrealm.", Mileena took two steps back to bow to you. "I'll be curious to see how it ends."

Nodding, you thanked her for her respect and then turned to the princess in blue.

Kitana pulled a fan from a flap on her leg. With dignity, she let the blades at the end of it dance through the air. The thundering of the drums fell silent.

"I honour your faith in the cause, Earthrealmer.", her voice was so powerful that the audience held their breath in admiration. "May it bring you a satisfactory result."

You had no faith in the cause at all. But she didn't need to know that.

With your hands clenched into fists, you took a fighting stance.

And right at that moment, it happened.

For the very first time, a small bolt of lightning flashed across your skin. It was so powerful that it almost took your breath away.