"Fifty bucks says (Y/N) wins.", Johnny leaned into Kenshi, his eyes fixed onto you though.

Unimpressed, Kenshi kept his arms crossed in front of his chest. His attention was dedicated to the final round of the fight.

He hadn't agreed to join Liu Kang's training for fame. He couldn't have cared less who would be the winner. One was for certain, he didn't want to be.

But it seemed to tickle his interest to see who would make it.

You or Raiden.

"Make it interesting.", he threw Johnny a quick glance. "Bet me Sento."

"Ha!", Johnny huffed and frowned sarcastically. "Not on your life. I'm gonna give it to (Y/N). Would be a great fit for a (Y/G) like that."

Annoyed, Kenshi frowned.

"That's my family heirloom."

"And I paid three million for it. I decide who's gonna get it."

A growl of displeasure made Kenshi's throat trembled. With a twitch of his lip he turned away again to have a look at the fight.

Raiden and you stood facing each other, eyes closed and bowing.

A gentle breeze brushed through your hair. It was slowly getting colder. Spring wouldn't last much longer.

Lost in thought, you glanced up to see if anything was hiding in the shadows of the trees. But the temple of fire was quiet. As always.

Liu Kang rose from his chair. He proudly opened his arms to look at you two individually. You were already champions, the two best of those chosen by the guardian of the hourglass.

Now it would be decided if you'd become champions of this entire realm. Chosen by a god.

The thought made your skin crawl.

So many burdens to bear.

So many expectations to meet.

Yes, you'd be the best of the best, one of a kind from a line of many champions. But you'd always be the success of somebody else. The product of someone else's will.

Your eyes jumped to Liu Kang. He smiled.

It was odd to see how he managed to be this humanly prideful all of a sudden. For months he had acted like a higher being and now he almost looked like a normal man.

"(Y/N).", you flinched in surprise as the voice of the god cut through the thick veil of your thoughts. "Raiden. The winner of this match will represent Earthrealm against Outworld. It is a grave duty, not to be undertaken lightly. You may step back now and suffer no dishonour."

A shiver crawled down your back. All the muscles inside your body tensed and for a moment it felt like your lungs tried to push all air up your throat.

Something burning filled your chest with unease.

No dishonour perhaps, though it would always be known that you didn't even try. And you didn't want that. You didn't want to be a champion in your fathers image nor did you want to run away like a coward.

Your eyes jumped through the air, dark shadows mixed with the slight flicker of torches.

All of a sudden there it was.

A smile adored Johnny's face. He was beaming as always, yet so strangely different. Like he had so much to be proud of already.

As your eyes met the smirk broadened. Encouraging, he raised both thumbs and breathed a soft cheer into the air.

It made your heart skip a beat to see him so excited for you. You didn't want to disappoint him.

Yet again, you were sure of anything, really.

"I choose to fight, Lord Liu Kang.", Raiden was the complete opposite of you.

With a look of dedication on his face he turned to look at Liu Kang who nodded, satisfied that one of his most promising choices didn't object.

White burning eyes fell onto you. One eyebrow rose to ask a silent question. It felt like he knew about your inner conflict, maybe even more so than you knew yourself.

But there was something that made him still hold onto you as an option.

Perhaps it was your will to find your own way to the top. It wasn't your family's history with the mortal kombat that bothered you.

It was the fact that there was a path ahead of you that you had neither fought for nor chosen. You wanted to climb to the top of the mountain. But in your own way. Not the way the generation demanded.

Taking a deep breath, you closed your eyes and held it until the air started to burn in your lungs.

"Let's get this over with.", you gifted Raiden a warning smirk.

"Then may the best person win.", Liu Kang bowed to you and then Raiden before returning to his chair.

Immediately, you could feel how the temperature shifted. Goosebumps crawled over your arms. But you clenched your hands into fists anyways.

"I wish you all the luck, Raiden.", you said with a respectful bow. "But I will not loose simply to avoid stepping into my fathers footsteps."

"No?", he asked with his head tilted and his hands raised. "If the monks have taught us one thing, it's that the only constant in the universe is change."

Curling your nose, you let out a huff and threw him a judgemental glance before pressing one of your arms to your back while the other rose to invite him with a teasing gesture.

"We will see about that.", you muttered.

His legs flinched forward.

You knew this kind of movement from him. He used to do that in training all the time. He pretended to come forward to make his opponent back away and drop their guard.

Kung Lao always fell for it which was why he had lost to Raiden all the time.

Your legs remained standing still. Though you couldn't deny how your heart skipped a beat in surprise as he tried to pull this on you.

Curling your lips you let out a low sound and decided to take the first step. The distance between the two of you closed.

All of the tiny hairs in the back of your neck stood up straight. That was it.

The beginning of the end.