STORY EDITED APRIL 30, 2014

Author's Notes: Hello everyone! If you are reading this series for the first time, please keep these important notes in mind;

-Everything that happens in the series will have an explanation whether in this story or later in the sequels. These include some of the character personalities and/or certain actions and expansions on a story line.

-Raiden in this particular story is based off of the one from the 1995 Mortal Kombat movie, just very, very slightly exaggerated in the first 20 chapters or so.

-Yes, OC's are involved (six of them in this story), and they only represent about 9% of the cast in this story. Three of them have prominent roles compared to the other three, and they are treated as equals to the main cast (aka they are not going to dominate the entire story). However, please note that two of these OC's will be paired with a canon character in the series. So, if you think you won't be able to tolerate the presence of these OC's at the very least, then this series is clearly not for you.

-I try to do my best to give the characters a share in the spotlight. It's not, however, always possible for whatever reason, so apologies in advance.

-Considering that this story was written between 2005 to 2007, please keep this timeline in mind... if an event in the canon happened but is not mentioned in the story, there's a pretty good chance it's because said canon wasn't known around the time I wrote the story.

Sorry for the wall of text, but sadly, this stuff needed to be explained. Either way, I truly hope that you enjoy the series!

Prelude

For as long as time existed, wars waged, legends emerged, and armies battled for what they desired; peace, dominance... power. At times, peace would remain, but then a new wave of enemies would emerge in the hopes of being on top of the food chain. It is a never ending cycle that forces even the most noble of warriors to turn to greed in order to protect all that they've known and loved.

I myself fell into that notion our of desperation one day, more than four-hundred years ago, when I stumbled upon an underground lair. There, I discovered a legend so old that it's true origin is unknown to this day – Chishio No Me. One would not think that the simple gold medallion – one with a red tear dripping from the etched eye on the artifact (hence the rough translation of the medallion's name; The Bloody Eye) – would hold all the power in the universe. That was according to the small scroll that accompanied the artifact.

I didn't believe it at first – it seemed too good to be true – until the moment I held the artifact in my hand. The red tear glow and its power surged within me and through my veins. In that moment, I believed in the legend... and knew that with its help, my clan and I would fight for what we always believed in.

And for twenty years, Chishio No Me served me well. I was able to protect my two lands – my home and the one I've adopted – from the tyranny of those who wished harm upon the innocents, as I've always upheld since becoming the clan's leader.

But as they say, such power came with a high price.

In the middle of a bloody battle, Chishio No Me chose that moment to take its hold on me. I still remember the blinding light surrounding me. It was only by luck that I was able to look down to see what was happening to me. My right arm, the one where I strapped the medallion to as a form of good luck, began to twist and blackened into something sinister. I saw it climbing up my arm and it would only be a matter of moments before I was completely in its thralls. I had no choice but to chop my arm off with my won sword to free myself. I was not about to let myself find out what it would had done to my clan – or the innocent – had it completely taken over me.

We had barely won our battle that day and it was only then that I realized my error. Although the medallion had granted many victories over the years, it only revealed its true nature to me in that very moment. I had been a fool and my foolishness nearly cost me the lives of my clan.

The medallion's final gift, however, was to grant me and a select few in my clan an extended lifetime. It's now only a wonder of when my time will eventually come. For now however, my clan and I will continue to protect the realms from falling into the clutches of the wicked.

For four-hundred years, I believe Chishio No Me to be lost forever. That was, until I heard that the artifact had fallen into the hands of evil. Worse, they were royalty from the realm of Outworld, a world which, not even a few years ago, tried to claim and merge all the realms for themselves. I can only imagine the power the artifact would give them – it would be nothing short of chaos.

I must find a way to stop them before either they succeed or the medallion's power corrupts them. The realms depend on it.

~The Words of Yoshimitsu

Cast

(Note: the characters were picked NOT based on popularity, but by how they can contribute to the story)

Street Fighter

Ryu, Ken, Chun Li, Akuma, Guile, Guy, Sakura, Cammy, Rose, Dan, R. Mika, Cody, Ibuki, Vega, Sagat, Yun, Yang, Maki, Adon, Sodom.

Mortal Kombat

Kenshi, Jade, Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Kira, Kabal, Ashrah, Havik, Mileena, Kitana, Sheeva, Sindel, Tanya, Baraka, Smoke (Cyborg), Noob, Ermac, Quan Chi, Shang Tsung, Shao Kahn, Reptile, Sonya, Raiden, Sektor, Li Mei, Nightwolf.

Soulcalibur

Cassandra, Kilik, Xianghua, Ivy, Nightmare, Astaroth, Seong Mi-na, Maxi, Yoshimitsu, Hwang.

Tekken

Jin Kazama, Heihachi Mishima, Julia Chang, Nina Williams, Anna Williams, Asuka Kazama, Ogre, Lei Wulong, Raven, Paul Phoenix.

Original Characters

Alex Walker, Scott K. Wagner, Matrik, Berserk, Lisa 'Viper' Wagner, Yin Lee

Keisei – A realm with many similarities to Earth, but with historical differences. This is the realm where the cast of Soulcalibur will hail from in the story.

The OC Yin Lee belongs to her owner, DeNice, who I would like to give thanks for letting me use her.

Special thanks goes to MetadragonX for big help, Metal Harbinger for the title suggestion, and Trutenor for the translation. Enjoy the fic!