The good ending of Mortal Kombat franchise. After the time-travelling journey of the past three games, the Mortal Kombat series had written itself out of yet another corner in the original conclusion of MK11 by ending the game with Liu Kang having the ability to shape the future (and past) of the realms as he saw fit, having destroyed Kronika and gained control of her powerful mythic hourglass.
However, as show in the trailer for Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath, this was a short-lived victory, as Shang Tsung, flanked by Liu Kang's friends Nightwolf and Fujin, appears through a portal and tells Liu Kang that all of reality will be destroyed if he attempts to operate the hourglass without Kronika's crown, a McGuffin which acts as the driving force behind the plot of Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath. Depending on the player's choices, however, only one character ends up victorious.
[WARNING: Spoilers for the ending of Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath below this point.]
Before the final battle of Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath's story, the player is given the choice to decide whether they will be fighting as the Fire God Liu Kang or the sorcerer Shang Tsung. If they pick the latter, Shang Tsung will gain control over time itself and bend the realms to his evil will, but if the player chooses to beat the final encounter as Liu Kang they are treated to what might be the best finale the Mortal Kombat franchise will ever get.
Mortal Kombat 11 Aftermath's Ending Explained
After Shang Tsung betrays both Raiden and Fujin, draining their souls from their bodies and leaving them husks on the ground, he then murders not only Kronika but also his former leader Shao Kahn and the recently-resurrected Sindel. Right before he is about to take control of the hourglass, however, he is interrupted by Liu Kang (in a manner which mirrored how Shang Tsung interrupts him at the beginning of the Mortal Kombat 11 Aftermath DLC) and the two of them engage in combat for the last time. When Liu Kang is victorious he takes Kronika's crown from a helpless, cowering Shang Tsung, who then dissolves into sand and dust.
Liu Kang then finally shows players what his vision for a new world will be like. The location jumps to what appears to be the White Lotus Temple at an undetermined time, and monks are seen training in a courtyard. Liu Kang floats down and enters the home of a man who is sitting in prayer, calling him by name. "Kung Lao," the new god says, startling the man greatly. Liu Kang introduces himself as the "God of Fire and Lightning, Liu Kang." The man is stunned but respectful, and Liu Kang says that he is much more humble than the Kung Lao he knew. This Kung Lao is confused, and Liu Kang takes him by the shoulders and tells him he has been chosen to be a champion, and that he will need to train.
This is likely the Great Kung Lao, the one who was mentioned in the very first Mortal Kombat game as the last champion of Earthrealm and the ancestor of both Liu Kang and the Kung Lao players are familiar with. Liu Kang has seemingly replaced Raiden as the guardian of Earthrealm and will now begin training this original Kung Lao, likely in preparation for future Mortal Kombat tournaments.
Despite lingering questions about why Liu Kang would choose to keep the Mortal Kombat tournaments in his new reality at all, this is quite possibly the best ending the Mortal Kombat franchise could ask for. It not only resets the timeline, erasing all the plot holes and inconsistencies with it, but it also creates a nice sense of nostalgia, closure, and accomplishment, and in a series so full of darkness it's nice to see evil finally banished and a new, hopefully better world put in its place. Perhaps Liu Kang's utopia doesn't include Mortal Kombat at all, and maybe he just wants to train the Great Kung Lao to stay vigilant enough to keep it that way.
