Unable to rest peacefully and Ekibyigami still asleep, Serenity went off in search for Marek. After searching some of the island, Serenity sees off in the distance what appears to be Marek and something else fighting, she rushes over there to assist.

A mute warrior steps in front of the woman rushing to stop reptile from stopping the Shadow priest. Though unable to speak, the words he uses take physical form,at this moment consisting of his signature laugh,ha ha ha's appearing around him.
He takes a threatening posture towards the woman,making it perfectly clear he will not let her pass.

There he was again at the same tracks. The same tracks that showed the crash landing from the portal. The same tracks that he had come across not an hour ago.

All around there was dust and red. Even the dust was red. The dust was so prevalent that it caused choking fog for every direction. Nothing could be made out past the red soup. No sun, no mountains, nothing but flat landscape.

Yaray sits by the tracks that he created with his earlier tumble. Without thinking, one of his fingers on his left hand begins to draw out a map on the ground. The lines are incredibly precise and neat. His right hand claws at the same ground, trying to stave off boredom.

"Why will nothing ever be straight forward with these Gods! If you want my participation is this tournament, why not just place me there?"

There is no response except for the commonplace red floating about.

However, seconds later Yaray feels an echo. Perhaps there are mountains nearby. He stands and listens intently.

It is not an echo but some sort of chant. One single word over and over. He grabs the silk, white flag given to him by Hotaru and points it in the air. It flaps towards the east. Yaray heads towards the west.

He sees nothing through the crimson fog but the chants get louder. He can almost make out the words. Figures seem to appear in the distance. Figures his size. He pushes onwards.

More silhouettes appear. All seem to be moving in hectic fashion. There are large figures now.

Yaray's heart thumps wildly. It can sense the chaos abound. It pushes him forward, closer to that one word being repeated over and over and over.

He finally sees a figure. Bladed, sharp teeth, tattered clothing. He's never seen one before but he knows it as a Tarkatan. It suddenly is flung forward by an incredible force. This new figure is still a silhouette but Yaray notices its horse body and massive tail.

He still goes forward, not stopping, not wanting to stop but not wanting to go forward either. Thoughts evaporate as easily as the dust on the ground.

Another Tarkatan. This one looks back and sees the misplaced figure. It points its blades at Yaray and rushes forward.

The word can be made out now. It sounds in a constant drone that seems to get louder.

"Kombat! Kombat! Kombat. Kombat! Kombat..."

Yaray continues on his path towards the bedlam.

Serenity looks at the warrior. Never before has she seen a warrior quite like this, least fight one. "Stand aside, mortal you do NOT want to interfere" Serenity's ring blade materializes out of thin air. Seeing no reaction from the warrior, she prepares for the upcoming battle.

Cocking his head to the side,looking like a child staring at something curiously. He lifts a hand. The word clock appears,and behind the woman a giant clock appears,which starts falling towards her.....

Clock? what does that mean? Serenity thought. CREEEEAKKK! She turns and sees a giant clock falling down. Out of instinct she shoots a clear orb at it, which freezes the clock in place, and moves out of the way as it eventually falls and crashes on the ground .what are you? she thought. Serenity spins and launches her ring blade at the strange fighter cutting through the air with great speed..

Mr.Mute tilts his head to the side just in time,finding that the ring managed to cut his neck. A menacing OWW appeared above his head.The word sword appears,again and again and again,until it is nearly impossible to see the woman behind them. At once the words become real and a barrage of swords are sent hurling towards the woman.

What seems to be hundreds of swords race to her. Serenity, as if moving in fast forward, runs out of the way dodging most of the swords. Slices in her arms, thighs and cheek allow a small steady stream of blood to flow down. Wiping the blood off her cheeck, she begins to understand that this warrior is out for blood. Serenity rushes to the warrior in her super speed, and throws a punch aiming at his throat.

Ekibyogami wakes up to the noise of battle and travels to the source.

Mr. Mute manages to dodge just enough to lessen the blows impact, narrowly avoiding a kill shot. He gets up slowly,the laughs appearing as he does.Just then a giant hole appears below the woman,the word spikes waiting at the bottom.

Falling down towards the spike she manages to materialize her ring blade and jams it into the wall. Hanging on the ring blade, Serenity is narrowly escapes death by the spikes. Gracefully she swings on the ring blade until she manages to jump on top of it. The ring blade struggles to hold her up, Serenity out of options tries to run up the side of the hole. To her surprise her enhanced speed allows her to run along the wall out of the hole. She crawls out of the hole, and is on her hands and knees. Serenity looks up and sees the warrior coming at her..

Mr. Mute stops short,and the word enlarge appears,as the hole suddenly expands.

Suddenly a cloud of locust appear and hold Serenity aloft.Quickly Ekibyogami turns around and spits a cloud of poison at the mute warrior.

Mr. Mute summons a giant paper fan and disperses the fog. Realizing that he was now outnumbered,Mr. Mute summons a door and makes his escape, making a slit throat gesture to serenity as he left.

Serenity turns and sees Ekibyogami, "Thank you Lord Ekibyogami" the goddess says as she jumps off the locust and into safety. Seeing the warriors gesture as he leaves, she feels nothing but relief that he has gone.

"Ehh, you could have taken him yourself,this was just faster,i guess we will have to grab that ring from the bottom of the hole though. You were incredibly skilled during the fight,i commend you."

Okorik has just finished sharpening his blade to perfection and stands up. The sun shines through the holes in the tent which indicates the next day has begun. "My match will be soon. I must gather more information on the one called Nirvana," though Okorik as he journeyed back to the center of the tournament to investigate more on Nirvana.

A note appears from the sky, addressed from Mr. Mute. The note states:

This is not over
This is not done
Your friend is still fighting alone
I may yet have won
I will find you alone
I do not give up
This game has just started
Unless of course you blow up

Mr.Mute

The note then explodes.....

As the note explodes she contains the explosion in a time stasis , giving the two gods a chance to escape. As the smoke clears, Serenity dusts off and says "Yes, i believe i could of but he was a strange one. Nothing like i've seen before. I'm sure i will meet this Mr. Mute again." She thought of this strange warrior. "Oh and don't worry about my ring", Serenity says as she snaps her fingers. The blade disappears out of the hole and materializes in her hand. "I was on my way to see Merek, for he was fighting some creature, when that warrior appeared. He might need our help."

Khaali stares at the girl for a moment, one black eyebrow slowly arching.
"The Twilight shores of Outland. The moon is bigger there, brighter. And would that I were a statue.... I'd be even harder to break."
She folds her powerful arms over her chest.

"Why would a girl need to dress up for a tournament?" She hisses, glancing down at herself. wearing next to nothing. "Will flighty cloth protect you from an attack? I'd trip over my own feet wearing so much clothing. How are you supposed to move freely in that? Do all Earth women wear so many garments? Do they have significance? Everyhwere I look...they are all dressed like jesters, not warriors."
She gestures with a shakes of her head, dreadlocks dangling, to where Shang Tsung is seated observing.
"Even the old men wear dresses here. Your land is half mad."

"Alright lets go"

Feeling more assured as it appeared the woman was just as unfamiliar with her surroundings, Annette replied confidantly, "Half of this tournament is just performance... These clothes are for show. To put it plainly, I like them. I've no need for protection... Combat is more complex than that. If they manage to strike me, they've earned it."

She stands still now, at ease, finding Khaali's analysis of Earthrealm fashion humorous.

"It's not too outlandish for one to appreciate aesthetics, is it? You wear next to nothing, and I'm to believe it is simply the most practical choice? I'd call it distracting, and I'd say you're well aware of that. If my labor of love has taught me anything, it's this: Nothing is too strange to be sexy, and these men are strange enough in their own right... Bring four arms to the bedroom and you'll be pretty popular, hahaha!"

Annette quiets down, realizing her sense of humor isn't exactly universal.

As the two gods headed toward Marek, Serenity was drifting off, thinking of what has happened in such a short amount of time.( I'm becoming a traitor) she thought, (these thoughts of abandoning my mission are blasphemy, I'm starting to care for what happens to this realm, look at me I'm running to assist a former priest of shang tsung, whom i just met. May the Elder Gods help me...)

Reptile leaps into the air, spitting acid at the Shadow Priest Marek, who merely covers himself in his robes and vanishes into thin air, leaving Reptile alone and confused on the Pit bridge. Suddenly, Marek materializes behind Reptile and kicks him hard in the back of his knees. Marek takes advantage of Reptile's confusion to grab him by the neck and levitate them both into the air, using his free hand to drain Reptile's health. Weakening the Zaterran warrior, Marek holds him by the throat, contemplating what to do with his would-be assassin. To the surprise of the injured Raptor, Marek drops him to the floor of the bridge, leaving him to gasp for air. "Why did you let me live, sssssssorcerer?" Marek gives Reptile a somber look before turning around and walking away from the Zaterran assassin. "It was not your time to die, Reptile. Besides, as I already said, I pity you." Marek looks over his shoulder and sees that Reptile has passed out. "I only hope that someday, you will realize the truth about your people's genocide and defy the emperor, and make your own destiny." Marek spies Serenity and Ekibyogami in the distance, both appearing to have been gone through a battle of their own. "I think the time to speak with Lord Raiden has come." Marek strides toward the two Gods.

As the two gods approached Marek, to Serenity's surprise Marek was in no need for help. "Hello mortal.. i mean Marek. i see you defeated your opponent. Are you hurt?" She turns to see the defeated reptilian but to her surprise he is gone. "i believe your opponent fled."