Volume 1 Chapter 4 - First Training

  A glimmer of dim light slid across the room as the boy awoke. It felt like only a few seconds had passed since he closed his eyes, but a strange sense of emptiness in time and space made him feel lost. The cold still enveloped the room, and the silence was so oppressive that any movement seemed bsphemous.

  He swung his feet onto the cold floor and noticed how the symbols on the walls flickered faintly, as if alive. Suddenly, the door to the room swung open, and Quan Chi stood there once more.

  Quan Chi:

  "It is time," he said with an intonation that brooked no refusal.

  The boy silently rose and followed him. They walked along the same gloomy corridors of the citadel, but this time their path led downwards. The stone walls began to shake from strange sounds - the dull cnking of chains, screams that seemed to come from the very depths.

  "Where are we going?" the boy finally asked.

  Quan Chi:

  "Where you will begin to become what you were created to be."

  The dim light of the Underworld filtered through the heavy clouds, illuminating the bck nds around the citadel. The boy stood at the edge of a courtyard surrounded by high walls strewn with symbols and spikes. The air was thick with the smell of sulfur and ash, and from afar, echoes of screams could be heard, as if the Underworld itself were moaning in agony.

  Quan Chi:

  "Look around you, Vakas." His voice was calm, but there was a hint of harshness in it. "These nds... Your first school. Here you will learn to wield your power.

  The boy was silent, looking around. He felt the ground beneath his feet pulsating with a faint energy, as if the darkness itself was alive.

  Quan Chi: —Follow me.

  They came out onto an open area in front of the citadel. Grim guards in bck armor stood motionless along the walls, their gazes boring into the boy. In the center of the area was a circle of scorched earth, and at the other end of it stood a massive figure — a demon with four arms and a dim crimson light streaming from its eyes.

  Quan Chi:

  —This golem, your first test, — he said, stopping at the edge of the circle.

  —And how do I defeat it? — asked the boy, looking at the giant, who seemed like a motionless rock.

  Quan Chi:

  —Listen to your power. It will tell you.

  The boy took a step forward, and the golem seemed to come to life. His eyes fshed, and his massive body moved. He moved slowly, but every step he took made the ground shake.

  The boy felt fear. When the golem swung, trying to crush him with its fist, the boy jumped to the side.

  He walked towards it again, quickening his pace. Something inside the boy broke - his gaze darkened, and his heart began to beat faster. He did not think, did not try to resist. The strength itself burst out. The boy rushed forward, fire enveloping his hands, and he struck the golem right in the chest.

  A loud crack echoed across the courtyard. The golem froze, and then fell to the ground, flying into stone fragments. The silence was broken only by the sound of the boy's breathing, standing over his fallen opponent.

  Quan Chi nodded approvingly.

  Quan Chi:

  - Not bad. Next time will be harder.

  The boy turned away from the rubble, his thoughts a mess. He could feel Quan Chi's pride in him, but something in him rebelled against this path.

  Quan Chi:

  "Now, it's time for you to meet someone who should be close to you."

  They climbed up one of the citadel's towers. In a rge hall filled with dim light and magical symbols, the boy saw her.

  She stood by a huge window through which the endless ashen sky could be seen. Tall, with the bearing of a queen, her long bck hair fell to her waist, her blood-red eyes met the boy's.

  Quan Chi:

  "Meet. This is your sister, Lilith."

  Lilith turned slowly, her gaze full of barely concealed contempt.

  Lilith:

  "My brother?" she said with a slight grin. "More like a mistake.

  Lilith stepped closer, looking him over from head to toe, as if assessing him.

  Lilith:

  "He is not ready," she said coldly, turning to Quan Chi. "You pce too much hope in someone who does not even understand who he is."

  Quan Chi:

  "He will become what he must be. And you will be there to watch over him."

  "Watch over?" Lilith raised an eyebrow. "I have more important things to do than babysit a child."

  She turned back to the boy, her eyes narrowing slightly.

  Lilith:

  "Remember. You will never be what Shinnok was. His legacy is my right, and you are... a weak shadow."

  The boy did not answer. He clenched his fists, feeling the anger rising inside him again. But he knew now was not the time.

  Quan Chi:

  "Lilith, He still has much to do. And you are part of his path"

  Lilith:

  “We’ll see" she said, heading for the exit.

  As Lilith left, Quan Chi looked at the boy.

  Quan Chi:

  "Do not let her words lead you astray. She may be the heir to the throne, but her arrogance blinds her. Time will tell which of you is worthy of Shinnok's power."

  The boy nodded silently, but his thoughts were still on Lilith. "Mistake" - the word echoed within him. He did not know what he was destined to become, but deep down he knew that his strength was not just an accident.

  Perhaps one day he would prove Lilith wrong.