Netherrealm

The Netherrealm, sometimes spelt as Nether Realm, is a realm in the Mortal Kombat series. The Netherrealm is comparable to the Underworld, also known as Hell, in religions and mythologies. It seems to resemble an eternally aflame "continent", containing many volcanic fields and lava pits. The area is also spelled Netherealm, as confirmed in the bios and endings for Mortal Kombat Gold and Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance.
== About The Netherrealm ==
Netherrealm appears to be like Outworld, a realm composed of thousands of different layers. In the Mortal Kombat universe, deceased souls or entities who have committed major crimes descend into the Netherrealm to undergo endless torture. In the older timeline, it was as if one could not enter the Netherrealm without being evil or having a tainted soul. Additionally, magic users and magical beings are slowly weakened while in this realm. It is an alternative, more generic name for the Abrahamic concept of Hell, as one of its former rulers was Lucifer (whose name appears only in the Sub-Zero game manual but not in-game). It is also described as "the darkest region of reality", and is inhabited by demons, monsters, and beings of the purest evil.
Though exits from and entrances to the Netherrealm are very limited for obvious reasons, the world had quite a tumultuous history. Millions of years ago, the fallen Elder God Shinnok was banished there. After ages of imprisonment, he was able to break free, deposing Lucifer in the process. He restructured the realm to bear some resemblance to Earthrealm, the world which he had long desired to make his own. He later used it as a staging ground for the invasion of Edenia but found himself cast into the depths of the realm again after this invasion was foiled. The abandoned war machines of Shinnok were then put to good use by one of his former acolytes, Noob Saibot.
Two locations within this realm include the Bridge of Immortality and the Prison of Souls. These are almost like the Di Yu in Chinese Mythology. The Prison of Souls is the Chamber of Grinding and so is the Slaughterhouse. Shinnok's Spire resembles that of Yan Wang's spire in 'Journey to the West.'
In Mortal Kombat: Deception's Konquest mode, Shujinko arrives during the "Festival of Torture", in which dead bodies burn and inhabitants watch them.
=== Native or unknown ===
* Quan Chi and the Brotherhood of Shadow
* Ashrah
* Sareena
* Kia and Jataaka
=== Non-Natives ===
* Drahmin
* Noob Saibot
* Reiko
* Scorpion
* Shinnok
* Smoke
* The revenants Liu Kang, Kitana, Kung Lao, Kabal, Kurtis Stryker, Nightwolf, Smoke, Jade, and Aiko (Shinnok's Uprising, Unaliving War)
=== Theme songs ===
* Netherrealm (MK4/GOLD)
* Konquest Mode: Netherrealm (Mortal Kombat: Deception Unchained)
* Netherrealm (Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks)
* Netherrealm (MK vs DC Universe)
== Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, Part II ==
The Netherrealm was the scariest realm in existence. It's said by Raiden that Shao Kahn may had either escaped from the Netherrealm or was simply resurrected. It turned out Quan Chi, an inhabitant, was the one who revived Kahn via his amulet. One of the random monks warned Kung Lao he mustn't take his own life to end the Champion's curse, otherwise his soul would wander to the Netherrealm.
After Kahn was destroyed by Liu Kang, Raiden speculated that the Konquerer's soul wandered there, with no chance on resurrection since the amulet was also decimated.
Little did the heroes, and the construction workers knew, that there was an infinitesimal rip leading into the underworld, where Quan Chi and Shang Tsung conjured their next plot by raising a certain fallen demon....
== Shinnok's Uprising ==
The Army of Darkness, Scorpion, Reiko, and Shinnok escaped from the damned realm after the enchanted opal shattered into their getaway portal leading to the Edenia Palace!
Shinnok dragged Kung Lao and Aiko into the underworld after he weakened them by disabling their hearts. He then took them to the Fire Well in order to lure in the Champion and the two Gods, Raiden and Fujin. The trio reached the twisted place, but they arrived too late for Lao and Aiko had their hearts corrupted. While Shinnok stunned the brothers, Liu was barely a match for the cardiokinetic and his best friend. Shinnok drew the hero close and was about to waste away his heart until Nightwolf performed a ritual that allowed his and the compatriots' strength to cross into the Netherrealm from the Edenia Palace. With Shinnok weakened, he lost the Amulet temporarily, though Lao retrieved it, and he attached it to the Staff! By the time Hanzo and Kuai restored the REAL Amulet at the Temple of Elements, Shinnok's powers ran out and realized he only was using the duplicate! Raiden stunned the usurped couple before taking them to the Jinsei while Liu backed the hapless Elder God to the spiked Well! Fujin pushed the monk aside before he and Raiden forced him into the massive spikes below!! The two Gods became the new Champions and escorted the hurt hero back to Edenia!
== Return of the Dragon King ==
In his astral form, Kung Lao followed Shujinko and Damashi into it, via red portal from the Nexus. Specifically in the city of Nekros, he spotted Shujinko helping Shinnok find his amulet, being trained by Scorpion, finding Ermac's Soul Stones, and keeping the benevolent demon, Ashrah, at bay. Lao couldn't help stopping the quarrels, and it was then he knew that Shujinko's up to no good! Sometimes he'd feel temptations due to the omnipresence as it jogged memories of him and Aiko being captured and soon thralled by Shinnok... Fortunately, Shujinko's quest always distracted him until they left the accursed domain as soon as Shujinko found the Kamidogu.
In the present time, Kuai and Sareena entered a portal leading them to the fifth plane. According to the demon, she once escaped from a scrimmage with Noob Saibot and took the portal from where Quan Chi was escaping while being chased by Moloch and Drahmin. For weeks, she was seeking asylum until she found Sub-Zero in Arctika who offered to go with her and solve the predicament of his brother. Unfortunately, she warned he was evil incarnate after he was slain twice and reborn by Quan Chi. This confirmed Kuai's inquiries, and he thought he'd have a better chance with the Dragon Medallion; alas, they were unsuccessful due to his brutal strength and umbrakinesis. That was until Ashrah intervened during the scrimmage and her holy energy was potent enough to override his deathly blows! She and Noob were then at a pushing war, until Sareena was strong enough to shove Noob into Ashrah's holy rays! She then impaled him with Kriss which made him dissipate! The trio soon ascended, with Ashrah finally emancipating from the accursed realm!
Nightwolf was soon able to breach it as soon as he collected enough tainted souls from Onaga's army. He then set up the trap taught by his forefathers and awaited the signal. Raiden soon gave him the intuition to release all the spirits which weighed down the dragon! Ashrah then found the shaman and escorted him out as Onaga's soul, voiced as Damashi, let out obscenities at him.
== Final Kombat ==
The Netherrealm was infiltrated by Raiden, Aiko, Kung Lao, Nightwolf, Hanzo and their new ally, Frederick San, in order to espionage on Shinnok and his machinations for Armageddon. Raiden went ahead and discussed payment with Kharon as he escorted the damned to their permanent prisons across the Sea of Blood. It wasn't long before the undead legions intruded the vessel and attacked the team, and Aiko, being she was the most susceptible to the impurities and hardly had time to digest wandered aimlessly and fell off deck! Until Caro came to her aide as she carried her aloft and caused the ship to sink! Luckily, everyone escaped thanks to Frederick's blip ability, transporting them to the sharp isle instantly! Together, they ascended the Spire as they fought thru legions of demons and imps till they breached the top floor where Taven met up the group! Raiden was dismayed he was aiding Shinnok, whom Taven was misinformed that he was banished by Raiden for warring against the Elder Gods. They actually found him as his weakened state; thanks to absorbing Nightwolf's positive energy in Liu's heart during the previous battle and mimicking Aiko's cardiokinesis, the light energy overwhelmed him and diffused thus creating a copy, leaving him gravely weak. He eavesdropped on his double walker he enlisted all the overlords to claim Blaze as their prize if they'd manage to defeat him despite the brutal melee in Armageddon. He wished to have his lost amulet in which Raiden refused. After retrieving his lost memories of the blindly loyal Cetrion and the power hungry Kronika, Caro made a portal to the Chaosrealm for Hanzo to escort Havik, and one back to Earthrealm for rest.
Further into the throne room, Shinnok watched a rip open and out came Quan Chi wounded from battle. The overlord was furious how he failed to obliterate an elderly dragon. Quan stated he wasn't alone and that a warrior wielding fire and lightning bested him. Shinnok was intrigued though he grew miffed over Daegon's disloyalty when he began to have more faith in Taven than him; he suspected he could be as powerful as the mysterious fighter, and he said to Daegon he shall expedite preparations for his cohorts. He still wanted to save the victory over Blaze for Daegon as he was the key for his ascension. He then explained that the so-called quest is much more than what Daegon's parents told him...
The weakened Shinnok became anxious on what was taking so long after transmitting his messages to Hanzo via Aiko's dark heart. Hanzo remembered Shinnok declaring him as his messenger to retrieve his amulet once his double kickstarts Armageddon with Shao Kahn. Only longing for his sister, Cetrion, to be restored in conjunction with the dark heart gem encasing their intact memories. Unfortunately, the victim's essence was consumed by him, thus using his antimatter to form a portal and thus lead the invasion! The real Shinnok already knew since Hanzo was employed by Quan after his death in the first tournament: he knew of the Elder Gods' deception of their promise to restoring Hanzo's family as their "Champion," he knew his descent into eternal madness, he knew well of Quan's treachery, and he's the only one since he'd been there and slip under Raiden's radar. He hoped he shall restore everyone if Cetrion's revival was possible...
Hanzo made it back to Shinnok's Spire and handed the amulet to the dying Elder God. Who explained his double absorbed his essence leaving him to rot, but thanks to Hanzo's quickness... He grabbed it with all his strength and the umbrakinesis seeped thru him. Filled with the intense energy in conjunction with positive energy, Shinnok became overwhelmed again and screeched for her sister, Cetrion, to return to form...Shinnok became overwhelmed as he hollered and unleashed his energy from both the amulet and the dark heart his doppelganger stole, which dissolved, sensing this was the end...
But...while Shinnok's double ceased to exist from Blaze's eruption, Cetrion was revived while Shinnok became his normal self and was actually emancipated as he wound up and governed Purgatory instead!
== Unaliving War ==
This realm, even the Bone Temple, became the main base of operations during the Unaliving War roleplay; Unaliving Liu Kang made this world his as he governs it and the Brotherhood of Shadow with Shinnok out of commission. After he converted Aiko into a Revenant, she eventually made both places hers serving close to Kang's side and recruiting many denizens and outsiders for the war onto the Elder Gods.
The realm also had their evil counterpart of the White Lotus Society known as the Dark Lotus Society. Even after Chieftain Liu Kang moved on to be Earth's protector and when Aiko, Lao and Nightwolf ascended as the new Elder Gods, they always look forward to returning there. It's likely control was handed back to Lucifer after eons being ruled over by Shinnok.
== Trivia ==
* Ikran mentioned it in her Igneous Levels.
== Gallery ==
File:MendingSpirit.webp|Mending Spirit
File:DeadlySpirit.webp|Deadly Spirit
File:GuardianSpirit.webp|Guardian Spirit
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