*During the Armageddon war, all warriors from the realms have been killed, leaving only Raiden and Shao Kahn remaining. Having defeated Blaze, Shao Kahn is imbued with godlike power and easily overpowers Raiden. In a final attempt to stop Shao Kahn, Raiden casts one last spell to send a message to his past self through his shattered amulet, with the vague message "He must win" before Shao Kahn delivers a killing blow on him.

Back to the events of the first tournament, the past Raiden sees visions of the future due to the message he received and notices his amulet has been damaged. Raiden concludes that Liu Kang must win the tournament to save Earthrealm.

During the tournament, Raiden pleads with Scorpion to spare Bi-Han, better known as Sub-Zero, in exchange for asking the Elder Gods to resurrect Scorpion's clan, which had been supposedly assaulted by Sub-Zero. Scorpion reluctantly agrees, but Quan Chi produces false visions in Scorpion's mind, illustrating Sub-Zero's massacre of Shirai Ryu clan including Scorpion's wife and infant son some years earlier. An enraged Scorpion slays Sub-Zero as he did in the original timeline.

Liu Kang becomes the only remaining Earthrealm contender. He successfully defeats the Shokan Prince Goro, as well as the crafty sorcerer Shang Tsung. Raiden's amulet, however, cracks further, a sign that future events remain unchanged.

Disappointed with the sorcerer's failure, emperor Shao Kahn orders Shang Tsung's execution, but is convinced otherwise when the sorcerer suggests holding a second tournament in Outworld with different stakes: if Earthrealm wins, Outworld will leave them alone forever, but if Outworld wins, they will be allowed to invade Earthrealm uninhibited. Though he initially refuses, Raiden relents when Tarkatans invade Earthrealm as part of Shang Tsung's blackmail against Earthrealm.

During the second tournament, Bi-Han's younger brother Kuai Liang decides to become the new Sub-Zero, and he and his friend Smoke arrive to avenge his brother.*