Still slightly unsteady on your feet, you lie lost in thought along the corridor of the Wo Shi temple. Bowls of fire were burning along the red-painted wooden arches.

It smelled of smoke and ash, mixed with the crackling of flaming tongues. Footsteps echoed in your ears. Blinking, you looked up over your shoulder. Blue fabric caught your attention.

You looked around scrutinisingly. The two of you were alone.

"Bibi.", his nickname from your mouth softened his face.

There was no smile, but by his standards he looked relaxed, like an ordinary man, not someone who had been born with the burden of preserving a clan.

Wordlessly, he stopped in front of you, his massive shoulders loosened. Brown eyes travelled over your body. Smiling, you took a step towards him, bridging the last distance between you.

Now his chest was so close that you could feel it rise and fall with each breath. His chin almost pressed to his chest, he met your gaze. You smiled. He responded with a deep breath, caressing your face.

"I'm fine.", you assured him, one hand raised to show how still your fingers remained in the air.

For a moment, he looked at the slightly rough tips, which were battle-scarred and tattered. Then he covered it with his hand, holding it right where he wanted to.

Although his nature was deeply rooted in ice, there was something warm about his touch. Gentle, so different from what one expected from his appearance.

"Rest.", he said.

Defeated, you closed your eyes and sighed. Your fingers curled to hold him, to join your hands.

"I will be able to fight.", you assured him. "Besides, my powers won't be needed."

"We have to expect everything."

"We will respect Liu Kang's wishes. There will be no injured. No dead."

The expression on his face darkened. Black eyebrows drew together and the bitter gleam returned to his eyes.

No, it wasn't bitterness. He was displeased.

Secretly, you could understand him. His father had lived by the principle that the clan served. Serving a god was far more honourable than serving humans, but that didn't change the fact that you were only servants.

Nevertheless, you had been taught since childhood that you were much more. He could be much more. As a men with supernatural abilities, the Lin Kuei brothers were at the top of the rankings. That would have been the case even if they had not been the sons of a Grand Master. And yet they were nothing but servants.

For decades, Liu Kang had made no attempt to change this. The resentment in the clan grew with each generation. Looking at him, you could see that this attitude was now rubbing off on Bi Han as well.

You could well understand your close confidant. Maybe it was just arrogance, but you thought you were too good to do simple things like espionage.

You were a born and bred warrior, capable of wiping out entire battalions if need be. Liu Kang treated you like fighting dogs that he wanted to turn into pets.

Sometimes one couldn't outwit nature. Especially when it resisted.

And yet.

In this respect, you were caught between two fronts. Bi Han longed for change. Even a blind man would have been able to recognise this.

As much as he was a capable leader, he could be impatient. Kuai Liang, on the other hand, had endless patience. So much so that he himself would have waited to his death.

He hesitated to change things. Bi Han would force a change. Neither of these were ideal conditions.

Still, you could find something meaningful in both. And something that could drive a wedge between the Lin Kuei Clan and the God of Fire.

If there was one thing you wanted to avoid, it was having a god as your enemy. You weren't that complacent after all.

"A battle at last.", Bi Han's voice echoed in the emptiness of the temple, making the flames in the bowls flicker. "And then it's nothing but a spectacle."

His fingers tightened around you. It hurt slightly. You gently patted his hand. He reacted, loosening his grip. But he didn't pull away completely.

"A mission is a mission.", you try to calm your mind. "It's better than staying here and waiting until it's all too late."

Scoffing, he lifted his chin. A muscle in his jaw twitched.

"He's collecting new champions for a mere parade.", he said instead. "A tournament won't prevent war."

You nodded, following his gaze out into the sky where mountains with snow-covered peaks pierced the blue. The temple was so high up that the air smelled of ice and iron. It was cold whenever the sun wasn't shining.

You were used to it. Bi Han was born for these weather conditions.

"That means we must stay alert.", you moved your fingers in his grip, but he still didn't let go. "Earthrealm champions. I wonder who it will be. We've never seen some. For the longest time I've thought them to be old tales."

You moved your arm. This time he let go, but instead brought your hand to his chest and pressed your palm against it.

The beat of his heart surprised you again and again, strangely calm. Too calm. Like it was slowed down by a thin layer of ice. And still you could feel warmth flowing from your body into yours.

"Father has worked all his life to one day see these champions.", nostalgia resonated in his words, his gaze lowered to look at you. "Barely half a decade later, it is now we who will see them."

"We will test them.", you assured him with the calmness of a Lin Kuei ninja. "It is an honour."

"It's an excuse. To feed us unnecessary distractions."

"Liu Kang choose them himself."

"Just like he choose my father. And what did it bring him? A life of irrelevance.", a spark flared in the brown of his eyes. "No recognition. And in the end, he died with nothing."

"He died a great leader.", your fingers pressed into the fabric of his uniform. "Not everything he taught was useless."

The expression on his face loosened as he leaned down closer to your face.

"Mûdān.", a strange expression played around his lips. "Wouldn't the Lin Kuei be worthy to be at the top? Next to Liu Kang instead of in his shadow?"

The thought sent electricity coursing through his veins. But before an answer could leave your lips, footsteps sounded.

"Bi Han. Brother!"