He is named as the
one true ruler of Outworld. Onaga is the antagonist in Mortal Kombat: Deception
and one of the most powerful characters in the Mortal Kombat series. He
was first introduced in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance under the cryptic
name of the "Dragon King", the long-dead ruler of Outworld, even before
Shao Kahn. Not much was known
about him, save for the fact that his army was deemed undefeatable but,
at his untimely death, allowed itself to be mummified and kept in a tomb
that was not uncovered until the necromancer Quan
Chi stumbled upon it. Onaga is one of the series' characters through
which the One Being is rumored to work. His most important powers include
superhuman strength and resistance to all forms of magic, and the innate
power to raise the dead as well.
Millennia ago, Onaga,
also known as the Dragon King, was a ruler of Outworld. Seeking eternal
life he ordered the last known dragon egg to be kept hidden and guarded
hoping the blood of an infant dragon would grant him immortality. However,
he died before this could be fulfilled. Shao Kahn, one of his chief advisors,
had him poisoned and took over his rule of Outworld. As a result Onaga's
army (considered undefeatable because Onaga possessed the innate power
to raise the dead) was cast into a mummified state. During the years that
followed, Onaga was apparently forgotten. With the exception of his holy
men, nobody knew that Onaga had actually cheated death and was able to
retain consciousness from beyond the grave. It's unknown for sure how this
is, but it's speculated to be because Onaga drank the infant dragon's blood
in the past.
Quite some time before
Liu Kang's victory over Goro and Shang Tsung
at the Shaolin Mortal Kombat tournament, Onaga communicated through death
to Shujinko through an avatar named Damashi. He persuaded Shujinko
to embark on a quest to unite the Kamidogu From Earthrealm, The Neatherealm,
Edenia, The realm of order, The Realm of Chaos and Outworld, claiming he
was carrying out the will of the Elder Gods, as well as granting him the
power to learn the fighting techniques of any warrior he encountered and
faced in battle. Shujinko readily embarked on his quest, beginning to set
in motion events that Onaga hoped would lead to his eventual return to
power. As well, a sect of holy men still dedicated to him had been guarding
the egg of the last great dragon in a chamber of molten lava. During the
events of Mortal Kombat II, they captured the Outworld elemental Blaze,
who was forced to guard the egg until it was ready to hatch and revive
the king (Onaga's soul residing inside the infant dragon).
A
few years later,
Quan Chi and Shang Tsung,
the Deadly Alliance, used their powers to resurrect Onaga's army. Their
plan was to use this army to conquer Outworld and eventually, all other
realms with as well. Raiden embarked on a mission with the Earthrealm warriors
to Outworld to stop their plans, but his attempt ultimately failed. His
comrades were slain and he himself was defeated by the Deadly Alliance
in person. However, their victory was short-lived. The vampiress Nitara
tricked Reptile into helping
her disable Cyrax's arm console
so he could help her access the chamber of the last dragon egg. The chamber
also held an orb that would separate Outworld from the vampire realm. After
she destroyed the orb, Nitara left, but Reptile, feeling betrayed, followed
them and arrived shortly after she transported Cyrax to Earthrealm and
herself to her native realm. At that moment, the egg hatched and sent its
energy into Reptile, which fulfilled the prophecy of Onaga's return. The
Dragon King, as such, used the transformed body of Reptile as a host, after
he had gained the ability to rise from the dead himself through Shujinko's
actions. Shujinko having placed all the Kamidogu in the Nexus made their
power accessible to the Dragon King. From beyond the grave he absorbed
a portion of Kamidogu power and gained the ability to rise from the dead.
After he was revived he first went to the Nexus to reveal to Shujinko that
he manipulated him into collecting the Kamidogu for him and not for the
Elder Gods. Shujinko realized that his life had been mislead by evil and
ran out of the Nexus which left Onaga to collect the Kamidogu for himself,
making him invulnerable and augmenting all his current abilities.
Just as the army stood
ready to receive commands from Quan Chi, who had emerged victorious in
a battle with his former ally Shang Tsung, Onaga returned. Even the combined
might of Shang Tsung, Quan Chi and Raiden
was not sufficient to defeat him. Raiden's desperate last measure was to
use a self-destruct magic that released his godly essence, but that only
succeeded in destroying Onaga's army and, presumably, the two sorcerers.
Onaga was unaffected and was now in possession of the amulet Quan Chi previously
held. He then revived the Earth warriors as his pawns and used them and
a newly-forged alliance with the Tarkatan horde to keep Edenia's army at
bay while he searched for the spells that would allow him to fuse the Kamidogu
together and grant him supreme power. However, just as he was about to
do so, Shujinko rallied the remaining warriors against him and, empowered
beyond the Dragon King's own expectations by his ability to absorb other
warriors' fighting abilities, defeated Onaga and destroyed the Kamidogu,
leaving Onaga with only Shinnok's
amulet as his sole form of protection. It was at this time in which Nightwolf
took action. Having absorbed the sins of his tribe, he traveled to the
Netherrealm with the intention of sealing Onaga's soul within the realm.
His mission was successful, as he bound Onaga's soul to a mystic symbol,
weighed down by his people's sin.
Some time later, Onaga
was approached by Shinnok in the Netherealm. Shinnok offered to restore
Onaga's rule over Outworld if Onaga would help Daegon defeat Blaze and
gain godlike power. As this would also ensure his release from the Netherealm,
Onaga reluctantly agreed, though he held his own suspicions against the
Elder God. He was released from his bondage and returned to his own body,
surrounded by Shao Kahn and the sorcerers Quan Chi and Shang Tsung. He
then feigned reluctant acceptance into a treaty between himself and the
others, but swore to gain Blaze's power for himself. In his Mortal Kombat:
Armageddon ending, Onaga defeats Blaze and becomes all powerful. He then
uses his new power to take revenge on his enemy, Shao Kahn. After beating
him to the point of death, he refuses to kill him. Instead, he hires Shang
Tsung and Quan Chi to torment Shao Kahn forever while Onaga became the
ruler of outworld once again.
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