Amulet of Shinnok

The Amulet of Shinnok.

The Amulet of Shinnok is among the most potent and powerful of all mystic talismans within all the realms. It is the most magnificent treasure, and also greatest weapon, of its creator, the fallen Elder God Shinnok.

Appearance

It is a bronze medallion with a green gemstone embedded in its center. The four sections of the amulet are etched with the elemental forces of Wind, Earth, Water, and Fire. Each includes alchemical symbols, shapes, and parts of I Ching trigrams, all of which pertain to their respective element.

In Mortal Kombat X, the Amulet of Shinnok is now made of gold but otherwise remains identical to its original incarnation.

Storyline

Original Timeline

Millennia ago, Shinnok created the amulet as a central focus of his divine power, in a bid to control all of the realms. He was only narrowly thwarted by Raiden. For ages thereafter, the amulet remained mostly unknown and hidden deep within the Temple of Elements in Earthrealm. It was later retrieved by the original Sub-Zero after the Lin Kuei were hired by the demon sorcerer, Quan Chi. Quan Chi had delivered to his master Shinnok an exact duplicate, while he kept the original himself.

It would thereafter continue to play a major role in the various Mortal Kombat and struggles for the realms; most notably, during the events of Mortal Kombat 4, when Shinnok would rise from the Netherrealm in another bid for total conquest.

Before the events of Mortal Kombat: Deception, when Shujinko gathered all six Kamidogu and placed them on the altar in the Nexus, Onaga the Dragon King of Outworld appears to Shujinko and reveals that the seventh and final spot on the altar is meant for the Sacred Amulet -- Shinnok's Amulet in the hands of the sorcerer Quan Chi. Onaga then returns to Outworld to seek this amulet and begin to reshape the realms.

The sacred Amulet of Shinnok is the only one relic still revered as divine within the twisted religion of the Brotherhood of the Shadow because it was the malevolent Elder God's most precious treasure and his greatest creation.

The amulet is also itself featured as one of the collectible Relics within the Konquest mode of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon under the name "Quan Chi's Amulet" thanks to the clever deception of the wicked demon sorcerer Quan Chi, who has given Shinnok an exact copy of the real amulet he had stolen, hence its renaming.

The amulet, in the original timeline, was last seen on Quan Chi's corpse.

Current Timeline

In the new timeline, the amulet was seen in Quan Chi's possession throughout the first two tournaments and Shao Kahn's invasion of Earthrealm. By the time of Shinnok's invasion, Quan Chi had returned the true amulet to Shinnok. The fallen elder god used the amulet to nearly trap Raiden and Fujin inside it, only to end trapped himself after being defeated by Johnny Cage.

The amulet was brought before the Elder Gods, who used the Kamidogu to seal the amulet away in a dark dimension in the hopes that it could be sealed away forever, as destroying it would only release Shinnok. This seal would be undone by the cleric of chaos, Havik, who used Reiko as a vessel to summon the amulet through in conjunction with the Kamidogu under the orders of Quan Chi. Though Quan Chi wanted Havik to return the amulet to him, Havik planned to use the relic to sow chaos throughout the realms, but was defeated, his severed head cast into the Netherrealm. The amulet was then entrusted to Sonya Blade and Special Forces to protect.

Special Forces hid the amulet in Earthrealm, and in a plan masterminded by Rain, it would be stolen by Kano and sold to Mileena as a powerful weapon to use against her usurper, Kotal Kahn. The amulet was recovered by Kotal Kahn after Mileena's death, and the relic was stolen by D'Vorah, who was an acolyte of Shinnok, and brought to Quan Chi in Earthrealm. As Quan Chi was executed by Hanzo Hasashi, the sorcerer undid the seal on his master, releasing Shinnok.

Shinnok would use the amulet to torture Bo' Rai Cho and absorb Earthrealm's Jinsei, taking on a more powerful "Corrupted" form that had the amulet fused with his stomach. After Shinnok was defeated by Cassie Cage, Raiden purified the Jinsei, becoming corrupted himself, and claimed the amulet for himself after beheading Shinnok.

Raiden continued to wear the amulet as a symbol of his newfound intolerance against those who would harm Earthrealm. When Raiden had Special Forces lead a mission to destroy the revenant Liu Kang and Kitana's demon army, he used the amulet in conjunction with his lightning power to almost effortlessly fight the entire army off singlehandedly. When the current era Raiden vanished due to Kronika's manipulation of time, the past era Raiden refused to use the amulet's power out of fear of it corrupting him as it had his counterpart, noting even away from it, he could feel the amulet tempting him.

Raiden eventually gave in to the amulet's siren call and used it to viciously torture the past era Scorpion when he returned in his present self's place. It was only after battling Liu Kang once again did Raiden have a revelation over the true source of his anger, and he dropped the amulet, refusing to use it anymore. What became of Shinnok's Amulet after this is unknown.

Uses

Shinnok's Amulet is one of the most powerful weapons in the Mortal Kombat universe. It symbolizes greatness in the magical arts and was the weapon that Shinnok used when he and the other Elder Gods waged war against The One Being. Anyone who wields the accursed amulet of Shinnok will increase their powers drastically. For example; when Shinnok wields the amulet, his main power, immortality, increased to the point of pure immortality, which is the ability to resurrect himself, thus never be vanquished. Another use of the amulet is teleportation via portal. These portals may teleport the user anywhere in any realm, as long as it is a real environment. Raiden states in Deception that Quan Chi only knows how to use a small fraction of the amulet's power, but this itself is enough to make him a tremendous threat.

As demonstrated in the new timeline, the amulet possesses the power to trap multiple beings inside itself, and unleash waves of crimson energy that can kill lesser beings instantly. However, out of Shinnok's or a demigod's hands, this power harms even the wielder. Raiden, in his corrupted state, even weakened by being in Netherrealm, was able to use the amulet combined with his control over lightning to destroy wave after wave of demons rushing to attack him singlehandedly.

Wielders

Original Timeline:

• Shinnok (Real and Fake)
• Quan Chi (Current and Last Wielder)
• Onaga
• Sub-Zero (Fake)
• Raiden (Fake)

Current Timeline:

• Quan Chi
• Shinnok
• Raiden (Last Wielder)
• Havik
• Kano
• Mileena
• Kotal Kahn
• D'Vorah

Trivia

• In the non-canon action game Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, the amulet is presumably in Shao Kahn's possession throughout the game, and after his defeat, Quan Chi appears and steals it from his remains.
• In Quan Chi's non-canon Armageddon ending, his punishment meant that he was turned into the very same amulet that belonged to Shinnok as he tried to challenge Argus and the Elder Gods.
• In the second MK movie, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Shinnok along with his Sacred Amulet is shown throughout the film. However, the amulet is made of gold with a ruby gem embedded in it, instead of bronze with an emerald gem.
• In Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, an Amulet that resembles Shinnok's can be seen in Wonder Woman's ending.
• The Amulet can be seen in the background of the Metropolis Museum stage in Injustice: Gods Among Us.
• In Mortal Kombat 11, its called "Thunder Elemental" and is a Medallion gear for Raiden.

Gallery

Shinnok, the creator of the Sacred Amulet (Amulet of Shinnok).

The Sacred Amulet and Shinnok's Staff.

Quan Chi and the actual Amulet of Shinnok.

Onaga holding the Amulet.

Raiden capturing Shinnok into the Amulet.

Mileena using the Amulet.

The Amulet on the waist of Corrupted Shinnok.

The Amulet with Dark Raiden on his pectoral.

Shinnok holding the Amulet.

Shinnok with the alternate Amulet of Shinnok in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.

Raiden holding the Amulet.

The Amulet in a recipe in Mortal Kombat 11.

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