Chapter Text
Soft steps echoed through the snow-white forest. A group of Lin Kuei warriors were patrolling, looking for possible threats to their territory.
A bitter cold air surrounded two of the warriors. One of them was the grandmaster of the Lin Kuei, a cryomancer known as "Sub-Zero". The second one was his student Frost. She also had the gift to manipulate and create ice, but she wasn't near the league of Sub-Zeros skill.
"What are we doing out here?" snapped Frost angrily at the Grandmaster.
Sub-Zero gave her a sharp look and reluctantly she added "Grandmaster."
He wasn't pleased with her disrespectful attitude towards him, but he chooses to ignore it for now. There were more important things on his mind.
"The thunder god informed me that there seems to a problem with instable portals. Travelling between realms has become dangerous, because the portals are no longer reliable and could lead anywhere. Raiden wanted to make sure that no threats were discarded to Earthrealm." he explained to her.
Frost brightened up at the mention of "threats".
"What should we do if we find one?" she asked curiously.
Sub-Zero eyed her warily. He knew of her brutal behavior, has seen it when she trained with the other Lin Kuei warriors. Very few of the Lin Kuei could hold their own against Frost. Sub-Zero waited for the day her attitude towards others would backfire.
Despite the problems the woman created, he enjoyed having her around. Since his brother’s death, he missed training with someone who had the same abilities as him. Thinking about his brother made his chest ache with grieve.
His brother Bi-Han was the former Sub-Zero before he was killed by a hellspawn spectre called Scorpion. Now his brother was a dark shadow, of the man he used to be.
The Grandmaster became aware that Frost was staring at him, expecting an answer. He cleared histhroat and replied: "Only kill, if it is necessary. Maybe one of them even knows what's going on."
He turned around to face the other Lin Kuei.
"Split up! We have to search the whole area for any intruders! Frost, you stay with me."
Frost had disbelieve written all over her face as she watched the warriors scramble away.
"What-"
"Be quiet and listen!", interrupted Sub-Zero her "I know, you too want to search alone, but I have an idea where we should look first and I need you in case something goes wrong."
She was confused. She knew how strong and skillful her sifu was. Why would he possible need her as backup? There was something about the portals Sub-Zero seemed to know and he wasn't telling her. But why would he hide it?
"Grandmaster...? Is there something I should know?" she asked quietly.
Sub-Zero let out a sigh and turned away from her.
"There is a portal a few miles east from here, hidden inside a cave. It's almost impossible to find when the cave is covered in snow. Only the vilest creatures come out of it. The other Lin Kuei wouldn't be a help against that opponents, but you would do fine. However, I'm worried something will happen to you. You are still inexperienced against that caliber of an enemy."
He waited for her response. Maybe she was furious that he called her inexperienced but it was the true. She still had much to learn and her hot-headed attitude was often testing his patience. To his surprise she replied very calmly:
"I will be fine, don’t worry Grandmaster."
With a short nod Sub-Zero began walking east. Frost was following him like a shadow through the snow-covered forest.
The walk towards the cave, was mostly filled with silence. Even the forest that was usually filled with noise, was quiet.
Something was definitely wrong here. Frost watched her surroundings while continuing walking and almost crashed into her grandmaster.
"Something wrong?", she asked and looked around.
Sub-Zero held up his hand, signaling her to keep quiet.
He could feel it in his very bones. An ominous, dark presence was near. It was awfully familiar.
Sub-Zero's frown darkened when he realized to whom the presence belonged.
"I can finally settle the score...", he whispered under his breath to a very confused Frost.