The Villain Of This Story

Next minute, he was gasping for breathe against a cold stone floor.

He clenched his fists, his vision blurred, but blinking slowly started to clear it. He placed a hand by the side of his head, slowly pushing himself up and attempting to get a look at his surroundings. He didn't recognise where he was, but the architecture reminded him of the sky temple. It possible he was somewhere deep within it, an area he had never been in before.

But if this is the sky temple then...

“Rise, Quan Chi.” His eyes snapped to Raiden, who stood above him, arms crossed in front of his chest. There was something different about him now however, outfit no longer the brilliant whites and soft blues but dark blacks and reds. His eyes glowed an eerie red colour, there was only one thing this could mean.

Corruption...

If he wasn't so confused right now, he'd have laughed.

He managed to manoeuvre himself into a kneeling position, feeling too light headed to stand completely. “What is the meaning of this, Thunder God?” Quan Chi's hand made it's way to his neck, where he was sure only seconds earlier there was a sword was tearing through his throat. “I... Should be dead... How is it that I am here now?”

“I have revived you,” Raiden explained, pacing to one side as Quan Chi narrowed his eyes. “You have unfinished business in the realm of the living.”

“Unfinished business?” He didn't understand. Raiden paused his pacing and glared him down. Oh. “The Revenants?” he questioned, and Raiden gave a hum to confirm. “So what? You revive me and expect me to help you?” He spat the words out, teeth bared. “You should know by now I am not that grateful.”

“Oh. I am aware.” Those words spoke in such a dark tone even Quan Chi felt a shiver down his spine at them. “That is why I have one more gift to bestow upon you.”

That was ominous at best, and Quan Chi felt himself scrambling to his feet, trying to find a route of escape. Raiden simply raised a hand, pointing it at Quan Chi. A bolt of red lightning shot from them, hitting Quan Chi square in the chest and sending him flying backwards. He slammed into the wall with such force that he heard it crack behind him. He tumbled back down to the floor, unsure if that had just been a warning not to run or something else.

And then he felt it.

The absolute agony in his chest, feeling like his heart was being torn apart. Every awful thing he'd ever done played in his mind, every death by his hands, every betrayal, every soul he'd doomed to an eternity of suffering. The weight of his sins settled in, feeling like it was crushing his bones as the screams echoed in his head. He gasped, clawing at his chest like ripping his heart out would solve the issue.

The Revenants... the Shirai Ryu Massacre...

What have I done?

He could feel his eyes sting with tears, and with every blink they rolled down his cheeks. Was he crying because of the pain or because of the sudden regret he was faced with? He wasn't sure.

What have I done?

Raiden was stood above him once again, observing his work. What had the Thunder God done to him to cause such a sudden realisation?

“W-What did you do to me?” Quan Chi hissed, but a sharp stabbing pain made him gasp, fingernails digging into his pale skin.

“As I said, I have bestowed a gift upon you.” Raiden got down to Quan Chi's level, removing his hands and pointing at Quan Chi's heart. “I have returned your sense of empathy to you.”

Empathy? Is that why Quan Chi was suddenly so aware of the evils he had committed? This feeling, the pains in his chest like something was trying to break free, was guilt? Returned to me? He did not remember ever having empathy, he had just assumed it was something he had been born without. Returned to him suggested that he'd had it at some point. Was this just one more thing the Elder God's stripped from him when he was relegated to hell?

“Take it away again,” Quan Chi growled, his body still trembling under the pain. Guilt was admittedly not an emotion he was an expert on, but he was fairly sure that no emotion was supposed to cause physical pain. “I will do anything you ask, just take it away!”

“Yes, you will do what I ask of you, but your empathy is to remain.” As Raiden said those words, Quan Chi couldn't help the sob that escaped his lips. Usually too proud to beg, but he would if that's what it took to once again become blissfully unaware of just how terrible he was. “You will give your life for this...”

“My life for what?” He managed to hiss out. Raiden looked wholly unsympathetic. “What else was I good for?”

What else was there to him? He killed, he back stabbed, he hurt everyone around him. He had no real cause, nothing to believe in, just an insatiable urge to destroy everything he touched. Was he always like this? He didn't remember much of his life before he awoke in the Netherrealm, he'd just assumed he was thrown down there because he had always been a monster, his decent a punishment for failing the divine.

“With the right guidance, I believe you could be capable of truly heroic acts,” Raiden announced and Quan Chi didn't even bother to hold back the bitter laugh in the back of his throat. Even without my immorality, I am still nothing but a coward. Some hero I could be. “With this maybe you can actually earn your redemption.”

The visions of his actions came back, the screams louder than ever. Who was the Thunder God fooling with talk of redemption?

I can't be redeemed.

“Who knows,” Raiden started, tilting his head slightly, a strange smile coming over his face that did nothing but fill Quan Chi with yet more dread, “maybe you will even earn back your wings.”

The noise Quan Chi made was somewhere between a gasp and a snarl, as soon as the words were said he felt the pain in his back. The phantom feeling of limbs he no longer possessed, burning sensation from two large scars on his shoulder blades and spreading along invisible feathers. He reached back, sure that his wings were suddenly now there, but instead his fingers met nothing but the scars left behind. It was yet another memory stolen from him, all he remembered was them burning as he fell down from heaven. His own screams inside his head now joining the ones of the people he had hurt.

But that was just one of many problems right now...

Raiden knew he had once had wings. Raiden knew he had once been holy.

What else did Raiden know about his life before he became demonic?

“I will be handing your rehabilitation to the capable hands of Special Forces, specifically Cassandra and her team,” Raiden explained, but Quan Chi wasn't really listening. There was too much static in his brain, pressure in his chest and the scorching of wings that no longer existed. “I do hope you will see the error of your ways.”

He barely registered being teleported away, being placed in cuffs, or even being guided along the halls of the Special Forces' base. He only really came back to reality in time to realise he'd been placed in a small room, a cell he realised, and the door was slammed behind him. He took a few steps, trying not to focus on any of the pain he felt or the way his legs shook. He got into the corner, back to it, and slid down it, even as his mind protested the action, you should have wings, your back should not be directly against the wall because you should have fucking wings.

He tucked his legs up against his chest, looking his arms around as best he could with the cuffs in place, as he stared vacantly across the room. Now with the clarity of guilt to guide him, he looked once more upon the horrors he had committed, no idea how in a millions years he could ever set anything he'd done right again.

I am the villain of this story...

What else could I ever be?

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