Legend
The series takes place in a fictional universe consisting of eighteen surviving realms which were created by the Elder Gods. There are six realms Earthrealm, Netherrealm, Outworld, Seido, The Realm of Chaos,and Edenia.The Elder Gods decreed that the denizens of one realm could only conquer another realm by defeating the defending realm's greatest warriors in ten consecutive Mortal Kombat tournaments.
The first Mortal Kombat game takes place in Earthrealm (Earth) where seven different warriors with their own reasons for entering participated in the tournament with the eventual prize being the continued freedom of their realm, threatened with a takeover by Outworld. Among the established warriors were Liu Kang, Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade. With the help of the Thunder God Raiden, the Earthrealm warriors were victorious and Liu Kang became the new champion of Mortal Kombat.
Shao Kahn was unable to deal with his minion Shang Tsung's failure, so he lures the Earthrealm warriors to the Outworld where the Earthrealm warriors eventually defeat Shao Kahn. Later Shao Kahn revives Edenia's (now a part of his Outworld domain) former queen Sindel in Earthrealm, combining it with Outworld as well and has another failed attempt to invade Earthrealm. After Kahn's defeat, Edenia was freed from Kahn's grasp and returned to a peaceful realm, ruled by Princess Kitana. After the former elder god Shinnok attempts to conquer the realms and attempting to kill the thunder god Raiden. However, he is also defeated by the Earthrealm warriors.
Sometime later, the evil sorcerers Quan Chi and Shang Tsung join forces to conquer the realms and after several fights, the sorcerers emerge victorious having killed most of Earthrealms' warriors until Raiden steps forth to oppose them. The Dragon King Onaga, who had been freed by Reptile, had deceived Shujinko into searching for six pieces of Kamidogu, the source of his power. Onaga then confronted the alliance of Raiden, Shang Tsung, and Quan Chi and thus obtained Quan Chi's amulet, the final piece of his power. Only a few warriors remained to combat against the Dragon King and his forces. Shujinko eventually triumphed over the Dragon King and removed his threat to the Mortal Kombat universe.
In the next game the catastrophe known as Armageddon starts. Centuries before the first Mortal Kombat, Queen Delia foretold the realms would be destroyed in an event known as Armageddon. King Argus had his sons, Taven, and Daegon, put into incubation who would one day be awakened to save the realms from Armageddon. In the end, however, Shao Kahn is the one who defeats Blaze, causing Armageddon.
After it is revealed that the battle between the warriors of the six realms culminated into only two survivors: Shao Kahn and Raiden. Badly beaten, Raiden had only one last move he could make to prevent Shao Kahn from claiming the power of Blaze. He sends last-ditch visions of the entire course of the Mortal Kombat timeline to himself in the past right before the tenth Mortal Kombat tournament(first game). The information to his former self causes a change in time, causing a new timeline to happen that splits off from the original Armageddon timeline, with a new outcome of Mortal Kombat history to be written. But this story leads to even worse unforeseen events, ending with many of the main game characters dying at the hands of Queen Sindel and Raiden accidentally killing Liu Kang in self-defense. Eventually, the Elder Gods aid Raiden in killing Shao Kahn and saving Earthrealm. But as the scene goes on it is later revealed that this was all a plan by Lord Shinnok and Quan Chi.
Shinnok and Quan Chi are seen following their plan, leading an army of undead revenants of those that were killed in Shao Kahn's invasion against the realms. A team of warriors led by Raiden, Johnny Cage, and Sonya Blade oppose Shinnok, and in the ensuing battle, Shinnok is imprisoned, Quan Chi escapes, and various warriors are resurrected and freed from Shinnok's thrall. Twenty-five years later, Quan Chi resurfaces and allies himself with the insect-like D'Vorah in manipulating events that lead to Shinnok's release. Though Quan Chi is killed by a vengeful Scorpion in the process, Shinnok resumes his assault against the realms. After a grueling, protracted battle, Shinnok is defeated by Cassandra Cage representing the next generation of Earthrealm's warriors. With both Quan Chi and Shinnok gone, the undead revenants of Liu Kang and Kitana assume control of the Netherrealm.
