Earthrealm. The place created by the God of Fire—Liu Ken.

Worlds intermingled, taking from each other, destroying something important and creating something new. That's how this world came to be.

Every world has its stars, but the most important one in this one is Johnny Cage. At least, that's what he thought. A famous actor, a crowd favorite—that's what he was until a major career failure.

It was a severe blow to his ego, and especially to his finances. But all of this was offset by an unexpected encounter with Kenshi Takahashi, his clan, his sword, his loss of sight, and... Actually, a lot happened.

And then you appeared. You were summoned by Liu Ken as one of the strongest fighters invited to Mortal Kombat. You trained with the others, striving to become stronger than all those who had now become your allies.

Even though it wasn't his business, Johnny often trained with you, and late at night he'd try to persuade you to go to bed. You ignored him as best you could. This man was a breeding ground for all your problems.

He was too loud, too dramatic, an incredibly impulsive idiot who was always carrying his phone around, broadcasting, and taking photos of everything and everyone around him all day long.

You didn't become friends, but you noticed how you were starting to listen to him. And that was important. To everyone who wasn't interested in Johnny, he was talking nonsense. But this man was talking too smart for someone they called a "clown."

You slowly grew closer to him as you trained through the night. His loud laughter cut through the sky and the earth, and everything in between.

The day came when everyone had to leave for the long journey. Everyone gathered their things and set out.

Inappropriate jokes haunted you halfway through the journey, until Liu Keng announced a hotel nearby, owned by an elderly couple.

Two days of rest seemed like luxury, but the Fire God was right about something. Everyone deserved a break.

Upon reaching the hotel, everyone was assigned to their rooms, and as if by divine decree, Johnny was your neighbor.

Everyone went down to the first floor to eat. You ordered a bowl of noodles and rice. Five drunken men were sitting at the next table, chatting about their own affairs until they glanced at the actor.

"Look, it's that lousy actor! He's here because everyone else gave up on him!" one of them said, laughing loudly.

All the other customers turned their heads toward Johnny, starting to laugh. And him? He froze for a few seconds, holding his fork, unable to say anything. And then you realized those drunken pigs had touched something alive in his soul. And the brightest man faded in an instant.