Kronika is a primordial being in the Mortal Kombat franchise, appearing as the main antagonist in Mortal Kombat 11. Known as the Keeper of Time, she engineers the timelines in order to maintain her ideal of balance in the universe. She is also the mother of two of the Elder Gods: Cetrion, the embodiment of life and virtue, and Shinnok, lord of death and corruption. As fundamental opposites, Cetrion and Shinnok play a key part in Kronika's plans of achieving perfect balance across reality. However, these plans are disrupted when the Thunder God Raiden decapitates Shinnok, rendering the fallen deity catatonic. As such, Kronika takes it upon herself to restore balance by resetting time, creating a New Era where Raiden doesn't exist and the struggle between good and evil remains balanced.
Biography[]
After being released from his amulet, Shinnok corrupted the Jinsei of Earthrealm, contaminating the world's lifeforce and threatening to destroy the entire planet. However, Shinnok was defeated by Cassie Cage while Raiden entered the Jinsei Chamber in order to purify it. While this action saved Earthrealm, Raiden himself became distorted by Shinnok's dark essence, becoming more ruthless and less forgiving. Though unable to kill the immortal Shinnok, Raiden was able to permanently incapacitate the fallen Elder God by severing his head from his body.
Kronika, the Keeper of Time, had witnessed Shinnok's fate and was outraged by Raiden's actions. Using her Hourglass, she began reshaping the Sands of Time, determined to create a New Era where Raiden didn't exist and the eternal struggle between good and evil would remain balanced, dooming the realms to an endless loop of conflict. Her shifting of the Sands resulted in a merger of past and present, causing several past kontenders of Mortal Kombat to appear in the present, some of whom had died and others who would come to interact with their future selves. Raiden's dark, present self was erased, but his uncorrupted past self would appear alongside past versions of Johnny Cage, Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, Kung Lao, Kitana, Jade and Jax Briggs.
To ensure that her plan to create the New Era goes smoothly, Kronika enlists several villainous allies to defend her keep and oppose Raiden's warriors: Shao Kahn and his loyalists, the revenant version of Liu Kang, the Black Dragon and even the Cyber Lin Kuei. She also recruits the present version of Jax Briggs and the past version of Scorpion, manipulating them with false promises of a better life in the New Era. Though she made promises of wealth, power and glory to all of her allies, Kronika had no intention of keeping any of them.
In order to complete her plan, Kronika required a supply of pure Jinsei energy and the Soul Crown that had been forged by Shang Tsung long ago. She sent her construct Geras, accompanied by the revenant Liu Kang and Kung Lao, to the Wu Shi Academy to acquire samples of Jinsei from the spring below the grounds. She also sent the present Jax and Cetrion to Shang Tsung's Island to obtain the Soul Crown. Despite the best efforts of Raiden and his heroes, Kronika obtains what she needs and has Shao Kahn and the revenant Kitana rally their armies to defend Kronika's Keep. She then proceeds to kidnap the past Liu Kang and imprison him at the keep where the revenant Liu Kang uses the power of the crown to consume the soul of his past self.
Having rallied armies of their own, Raiden and his allies sail across the Sea of Blood to Kronika's Keep. Along the way, they are attacked by Present-Jax and Present-Liu Kang, but Jax is swayed back to the side of good by his past self and his daughter Jacqui. Liu Kang, in the meantime, is defeated by Raiden, who then merges his essence with his former pupil. Liu Kang is revived as a Fire God, retaining the mind of his past self and his revenant self's memories. He then leads his friends into battle against Kronika's forces before heading into the keep to face the Titan herself.
When confronted by Liu Kang, Kronika reverts time back to the Prehistoric Era, erasing Liu Kang's allies and the armies fighting outside. She then pits Cetrion against Liu Kang, but the Fire God defeats her. With no other option, Kronika battles Liu Kang herself. Despite her control over time, this does not guarantee her victory and she is ultimately destroyed when Liu Kang vitrifies her body into glass and shatters her. With Kronika gone, Liu Kang takes possession of the Hourglass. Guided by a now-human Raiden, Liu Kang must now reset the timeline and create a New Era.
Abilities[]
- Immortality - Kronika has existed since the Dawn of Time and can never die, at least not naturally. Like all Mortal Kombat characters, however, she can apparently be killed, though it is unknown if she will be reborn in some fashion as the other godly characters in the series.
- Kronomancy - As the Keeper of Time, Kronika is able to manipulate time and space according to her will. She is able to stop time, reverse or accelerate it, summon other beings from across timelines and even erase them from existence.
- Timecrafting - With her Hourglass, Kronika is able to manipulate the Sands of Time to engineer timelines to her liking. However, this power must be fueled by outside sources, such as mortal souls or pure Jinsei energy.
- Soul Magic - Kronika is known to possess the power to manipulate soul energy. In fact, she was the one who originally cursed Shang Tsung to consume the souls of his opponents.