Although some don’t believe it, those who lacked vision were able to see in their dreams. This wasn’t any different for Kenshi. The thing was, whenever he dreamt, it was either a nightmare or a dream that he could hardly remember. Even after the pleasure he shared with Kitana that night, a nightmare came to him.

Kenshi could hear shrieks. He could see green-colored winds.

"Thank you for letting me have the souls of the Warrior Kings, Kenshi," he heard a deep voice say. It was followed by an evil laugh. Then, a sword ripped through the green-colored winds causing the picture in Kenshi’s mind to split in half. Then, he could hear the loud shrieks again from the souls, calling out Kenshi's name.

‘What is this?’ Kenshi asked himself.

Then, a familiar figure appeared before him. As soon as he saw him, more flashes came to him. He could never forget it…walking with an old man to a catacomb, opening an altar-like structure where he was told of a great sword inside, and the very last thing he saw which caused his blindness…the large green blast containing the souls of his forefathers.

The figure who stood there in front of the pitch black was none other than the man who caused his blindness and the one who had taken his ancestors;

Shang Tsung.

“You!” Kenshi cried out.

Shang Tsung let out a manical laughed. "Die fool!" He took out his sword and jabbed it quickly at Kenshi.

Green blasts past his vision until it was nothing but darkness. From there, Kenshi quickly and deeply gasped for breath as he woke up from his nightmare. He felt cold sweat pouring down his face. As he caught his breath, he took his hands and wiped the sweat off of his face.

Afterward, he kept one hand over his eyes. The past came back to him again, one he hadn’t thought about since he arrival in Edenia. And at one point, he found Shang Tsung while he and Kitana were escaping the castle. It was his chance for revenge, but it wasn’t until later that he realized it was the worst time for it. For Kitana’s sake, he had to put his personal agenda behind.

Sure, he and Kitana shared their past memories, but Kenshi only shared the ones from the first 15 years of his life before he became alone…before he endured the life of pain and suffering…before he became tricked into releasing his ancestors’ souls, which Shang Tsung now had his grasps on…

Before he became blind.

Kenshi let out a sigh. He then slightly turned his head. He could hear Kitana in her slumber softly breathing rhythmically. He was relieved that she didn’t wake up from his movements.

Until he met her, he couldn’t remember what happiness felt like. Everything was happening to him so much that he had forgotten the good things in life. Even when he joined Special Forces, things didn’t seemed lifted. It was when he found himself in the Edenian castle that things seemed peaceful for once. He always enjoyed the company of the royal family, but he enjoyed Kitana’s company the most.

When the bad came, Kenshi tried his best to keep Kitana on her feet even after all that he endured. He knew deep down, the Princess did not deserve any of this.

What they shared last night was beyond anything Kenshi could ever imagine. He had his shares with two other women during his travels, but none of them were compared to what he and Kitana shared. When they became one, he immediately realized that he was Kitana’s first. He felt bad, afraid to hurt her, but Kitana insisted on continuing. He knew then that he meant something to her and it got the best of him. When he fell asleep, before the nightmares occurred, he felt happiness for the first time.

As his thoughts passed his mind, he then felt Kitana slightly move under her blanket. He brought himself closer to her. He wrapped one arm around her waist and brought up his free hand to touch her face. He stroked her cheek a bit feeling her flawless skin underneath his rough fingers.

It was then that Kitana fluttered her eyes open as she felt Kenshi’s soft touch on her face. She let out a moan and when her vision cleared, she found herself face to face with him.

“Good morning,” Kitana said softly.

Kenshi was a bit surprised to hear this. “Is the sun up already?”

“Yes,” Kitana replied in the same volume.

Kenshi smiled a little. “Good morning as well.”

Kitana smiled before leaning in to share a soft kiss with Kenshi. They held the kiss for a brief moment before pulling away. Then, she brought Kenshi into a warm embrace. For quite sometime, they held each other, their bare bodies pressed against one another under the sheets.

The Princess felt a small single tear crawl down her cheek. She knew Kenshi figured it out by then, but it was her first time and she had no regrets as she fell asleep. The feelings and emotions she shared with him nearly made her cry, it was that overwhelming in a good way. He was all she had left in her life and if he left now or soon, her world would collapse.

Neither one of them knew it until later, but last night, they made an emotional connection.

Soon, they slightly pulled away from each other. Then, they once again shared another kiss, but it was longer. Not too long after, they became one once again, which seemed to last a bit longer than last night. When they finished, Kitana rested herself in Kenshi’s arm, her head on his broad chest.

They stayed like that for a few minutes until Kitana looked up at him. “Well after that, it calls for a bath.”

Kenshi laughed a little. “Go ahead. I’ll set your day clothes on the table.”

“Actually…I was kind of hoping you would join me.”

Kenshi smirked a little. That one little wish where he could see again buzzed his mind, which obviously happened a lot when something was about to happen. They got themselves out of bed and went into their private bathroom. The ivory tub wasn’t big, but it was enough that Kenshi and Kitana would just fit themselves in. Once the tub was filled, Kenshi went in first, then Kitana who sat in front of him. The water went up to Kitana’s shoulders and Kenshi’s chest. Kenshi took both of his arms and wrapped them around Kitana. Kitana leaned her back into him.

“Last night,” Kitana said. “I just can’t describe it.”

“Neither can I,” Kenshi replied. “…I didn’t hurt you did I?”

Kitana smirked a little. “It didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would. I think it’s different for everyone.”

“Guess so.” Then, Kenshi moved his hands down and placed them on her stomach and brought her closer.

It was then that a disturbing thought came to him. He felt stupid for not even giving it a thought before last night’s events. ‘I hope I didn’t…’

Kitana had turned her head a bit and saw the worried expression on his face. “Kenshi, is something wrong?”

Kenshi shook his head a little. “I…I don’t know…Kitana…do you think maybe I got you with….”

He was having trouble saying it, but then Kitana realized what he was trying to say. He feared that he may have gotten her with child. She placed a hand on his face. “Don’t you worry…in Edenia, one of the laws is that every woman must take the pill until her first marriage, in case things like this, and unfortunately rapes, occur beforehand. I take it regularly and I luckily had it in my cloak, so unless for some reason it failed, which is 2 percent of the time, we should be fine.”

Kenshi let out a sigh of relief. “Good. I feel better about it now.”

Later, they finished bathing and got out of the tub. They got themselves dressed and then went downstairs to join the others in the house in another beautiful day.

…

After what was a pleasant day for the villagers, the sun soon set for the day. Kenshi was outside helping Devante placing the logs on the side of the house. They finally placed the last of them on top.

“Phew,” Devante said drinking a bottle of water. He then looked over at Kenshi. “You know…it’s nice to finally have a roommate who can help me with chores like these. As much as I like Musashi, he’s just, how can I put it…out of work.”

“It happens with old age,” Kenshi replied. “From what I can understand, he has done much work in his years.”

“Yeah…plus he let us live here when the odds were against us. It’s something we should be grateful for. I could never repay him…Well, let’s get inside, it’s getting cold out.”

Just as they were stepping forward, Kenshi’s keen senses suddenly kicked in. The aura dropped and he was able to sense extreme evil within a far distance. Eventually, he was able to pick up what sounded like hooves quickly pacing.

Devante saw the worried expression on Kenshi’s face. “What’s wrong? Everything was fine just a second ago.” Then, he turned his head and saw what Kenshi felt. In the distance, countless men in black armor rode in black horses. In one hand were their weapons, and in the other were torches engulf in flames.

“No…” Devante whispered. “They found us…but how…”

Kenshi quickly turned his head to Devante. “Is there a safe place to go?”

Devante shook his head regaining his composure from the fear that took over him. “There’s a cellar in the woods, everyone knows where it is in case of emergencies.”

“This is definitely an emergency. Warn the village. I’ll get the others out.”

Devante nodded and quickly began warning the town. Kenshi went inside. He could sense Musashi and Keiko in the living room.

“Musashi!” he cried out. “We have to evacuate. The Outworld army is invading the town.”

“What?” Musashi said. He quickly, as his old feet could get him, got up and looked out the window. He could see the flames in the distance.

“Where’s Devante?” Keiko cried out frantically.

“He went to warn the villagers,” Kenshi replied.

Then, Kitana and Sapphire came down the stairs, both with fear in their faces. They had already seen the army out the upstairs windows.

“They found the village…” Kitana said.

“Cara!” Sapphire called out. “She’s at a friend’s house. I must get to her!” She then ran out the door.

“Sapphire!” Keiko called out, but it was too late. Sapphire was already out the door.

Musashi turned to everyone. “Kenshi, get Keiko and Kitana in the cellar right away.”

“What about you?” asked Kitana.

Musashi lifted his wooden cane. “My duties have been fulfilled. Knowing that this day would come, I will face them and if I die, I will die with honor.” He then went outside and joined the crowd that was beginning to flee out of the village.

“I’m going to go find Devante,” said Keiko.

Kenshi then unsheathed his katana. “We’ll come with you.” As he said this, Kitana took out her fan blades and opened them up.

Keiko looked at them in surprise. “Are you sure?” she asked unsurely.

“They took my family,” said Kitana. “And I will not sit and watch those who took us in perish.”

Keiko grabbed a short sword and the three went out just as the army reached the village and began their horrific chaos.

As soon as they got on the grass, a handful of houses were in flames and most of the villagers were already slain. The images took a toll on Kitana deep inside. ‘It’s all happening so quickly.’

Those who knew how to fight fought the army will all of they had, most of them failing and falling to their deaths. Fire, chaos, and blood spread around the village. Families and friends were forced to separate and lose each other in the struggle of survival.

Kitana and Kenshi fought with ferocity. Kitana was heartbroken as Keiko was slain and fell to her death right next to her. Sadly, there was no time to grieve. The fight was still going and it was only just the beginning.

Suddenly, a female voice was heard. “Back away!” the voice cried out. “We will take care of these two.”

Kenshi and Kitana kept their guards up as two shadows appeared behind the fire. Once the shadows disappeared, Kitana was able to see the two who were approaching them. She narrowed her eyes at the both of them.

“Tanya. Rain.”

A sadistic grin spread over Tanya’s face. “Well, I didn’t expect you to in a place like this. Now I can stop hunting for you and bring you back to Outworld. Rain, take care of the blind one!”

“With pleasure,” said Rain. He unsheathed an Odachi sword, a long sword with a hilt the same length as the blade. Kenshi’s now-bloody sword was already out and ready for more. The two circled each other for a minute before colliding their swords with one another, beginning their battle.

Tanya looked at Kitana sadistically and took out her double Kobu Jutsu, or elbow blades. Kitana held out her two fan blades and they too circled each other before jumping into battle.

The battles went on for some time. At one point, the four of them were drawn away from the village became of the spreading fire. It soon caught on the trees and the fire spread rapidly forcing the four farther away from the burning area. Eventually, they were lead to a cliff area, now far from where the village was.

Kitana quickly looked over at the edge of the cliff while fighting Tanya. If only she would find a way to lead Tanya there and manage to get rid of her that way.

Soon enough, Kitana managed to take Tanya down, knocking her weapons out of her hands. She then took the edge of her fan and held it an inch away from Tanya’s neck. “It ends here, traitor!”

Suddenly, the both of them heard a male-like cry. They both turned around and saw the fight between Kenshi and Rain. Rain managed to land a hard blow to Kenshi’s head forcing him down to the ground. Blood trickled down from his head as Rain bent down and picked him up by the neck. Then, before anyone knew it, Rain threw Kenshi down the cliff, disappearing without a sound along with his sword.

“NOO! KENSHI!” the Princess shrieked. This gave Tanya an opportunity. She quickly got up and kicked Kitana’s weapons out of her hands. Then, Rain came from behind and managed to grab a hold of her. To his surprise, Kitana did not try to escape.

“About time,” Tanya said dusting herself off. “Our duty has been fulfilled.”

With his free hand, Rain took his mask off. “It has.”

Then, Rain and Tanya shared a violent kiss, much to Kitana’s surprise as Rain kept his grip on her. But that surprise quickly drained out of her. She no longer cared about anything that was going on around her. Within days, all those she had grown to care for and loved were all gone. Her mother, her best friend, the servants, the villagers…and now Kenshi. Thick tears fell down her face.

So many thoughts came through Kitana’s mind that she didn’t not even realize Rain and Tanya dragging her to a portal and taking her to Outworld. As the portal disappeared, the area continued to engulf in flames.