The Lost Soul in the Machine

It was 1992, and the arcade was alive with the sounds of flashing screens,
clanking quarters, and the cheers of kids gathered around the latest hit -
Mortal Kombat. The game had exploded in popularity, with rumors and
secrets swirling around it like a hidden force. Fatalities, secret battles,
and whispers of something... more. Tommy was just another arcade rat,
thirteen years old with a knack for uncovering secrets in video games.
He had heard the rumors - something about a fighter named "Ermac"
hidden deep within the Mortal Kombat arcade machine. Most people
dismissed it as a glitch, a figment of players’ imaginations.
But Tommy wasn't convinced.

A Ghost in the Code

One Saturday afternoon, he stood in front of the Mortal Kombat cabinet,
feeding it another quarter. He knew about Reptile, the hidden green
ninja that required bizarre conditions to fight. But Ermac? There was
no solid proof. Just a line in the game’s audit menu:

"ERMACS – 1"

Some said it stood for "Error Macro," a debugging term. But Tommy
believed otherwise. Determined, he played round after round,
trying different combinations - beating the game without blocking,
winning with perfects, anything that might trigger something unusual.
He had almost given up when, during his 50th playthrough,
something strange happened.

The Encounter

Tommy was fighting against Scorpion on the Warrior Shrine when,
suddenly, the screen flickered. A red static flashed, and the words
"CHALLENGE?" appeared in blood-red letters. His heart pounded. He
hadn't seen this before. Then, the screen cut to black. For a moment,
there was nothing but the distorted hum of the arcade cabinet.
Then, text faded in:

"YOU HAVE FOUND ME"

The screen glitched violently, and a figure emerged - a crimson-clad ninja with
shifting, ghostly green energy. His name flashed:

ERMAC

The fight began instantly. Tommy barely had time to react as Ermac unleashed
a flurry of psychic attacks, sending him flying across the screen. This wasn't
just another palette swap ninja - this was something else entirely. His movements
were unnatural, almost... spectral. Tommy struggled, trying to land hits, but
Ermac was relentless. Then, just as suddenly as the battle started, the game crashed.
The screen turned to garbled code, flashing symbols that didn't belong.
Then, three words appeared:

"WE ARE MANY"

The arcade rebooted.
Mortal Kombat’s attract mode played as if nothing had happened.

Tommy looked around. No one else had seen it. No one else believed him.
He rushed to tell the arcade owner, but the guy just shrugged.
"You probably just saw a glitch, kid." Tommy knew better.
He had fought something that wasn't supposed to exist. And somewhere,
deep inside that arcade cabinet, he knew Ermac was still there - waiting.


Click here to read a deep dive on Ermac

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