Onaga

"It is said that there is only one true ruler of Outworld… and that ruler had returned."

- Shujinko about Outworld's first and true ruler known as Onaga, the Dragon King, in the Mortal Kombat: Deception intro.

"I am Onaga, the Dragon King of Outworld and soon to be ruler of all that exists! I must thank you for bringing me so much power. The Kamidogu... are mine!"

- Onaga

Onaga (also known as The Dragon King) is the former ruler of Outworld and an antagonist in the Mortal Kombat universe, serving as the main antagonist of Mortal Kombat Deception and an antagonist in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon.

History
Millennia ago, Onaga, also known as the Dragon King, was the true ruler of Outworld. Hoping to gain eternal life, he ordered the last known dragon egg to be kept, hoping that the blood of an infant dragon would grant him immortality. However, he died before this could be fulfilled. Shao Kahn, one of his chief advisers, had him poisoned and took over his rule of Outworld. His army, however, was kept in a mummified state. This army was considered undefeatable because Onaga possessed the innate power to raise the dead. By means of constant resurrection during battles, his army truly was undefeatable. During the millennia that followed, Onaga was apparently forgotten.

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, claiming he was carrying out the will of the Elder Gods, as well as granting him the power to learn the fighting techniques of warriors he encountered. Shujinko readily embarked on his quest, beginning to set in motion events that Onaga hoped would lead to his eventual return to power. Additionally, 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.

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 the other realms 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 vampire Nitara convinced Reptile to 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, arrived almost as soon as she transported 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 himself from the dead through Shujinko's actions.

Just as his 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 due to being resistant to all forms of magic and was now in possession of the amulet Quan Chi previously held.

It was at this time in which Shujinko, finally realizing he had been duped, took action. He traveled through the realms in order to find recruits to fight Onaga. All of these warriors came from extremely diverse origins but Shujinko planned to unite them to fight this enormous threat, who was now in possession of the six Kamidogu (found in the Temple background) and attempting to unite all of them into one.

Unbeknownst to Onaga, Shujinko had united many warriors and absorbed their fighting abilities, and was planning an attack on the Dragon King's stronghold. Shujinko had destroyed each of the Kamidogu, giving him the opportunity to eliminate Onaga. But as Shujinko landed the final blow, Onaga's soul was forced from Reptile's body and dragged down to the Netherrealm, where he was bound by Nightwolf. He remained there for a long time until he was discovered by Shinnok, who had also been trapped there. The fallen Elder God proposed that he would give Onaga his place at the Outworld throne in exchange for his help in returning his own power. Onaga reluctantly agreed, for the time being.

Shinnok informed Onaga about Blaze and the godlike power that would be given upon whoever defeated him in kombat. He proposed that the Dragon King join with Quan Chi, Shang Tsung, and Shao Kahn so that he may stand a better chance at attaining the power. Onaga did not trust Shinnok, and suspected that the former Elder God had something else up his sleeve. But with no other alternative to escape the Netherrealm, he accepted. Satisfied, Shinnok opened a portal to Outworld and sent Onaga back through, where he met with Quan Chi, Shang Tsung, and Shao Kahn and allied with them. He vowed that he would take Blaze's prize for himself, and would destroy everyone who ever stood in his way.

However, Onaga's desire for revenge against Shao Kahn proved to be greater than his desire to gain Blaze's prize. When Shao Kahn was knocked towards the edge of the Pyramid of Argus, Onaga grabbed him and flew far away from the pyramid. His former adviser managed to escape and return to the battle, and Onaga was killed at some point during the battle.

Personality
Onaga is characterized as someone who desires ultimate power. After his resurrection, he immediately sought out to reclaim both his throne to Outworld and his army.

In Deception (hence the game's title), he displays a cunning, tactical, and manipulative side - acting as a spiritual avatar named Damashi, whom he uses to manipulate and trick Shujinko for many years into gathering all six Kamidogu.

Onaga has a deep seated animosity towards Shao Khan, since the latter was the cause of his death. This vengeful and malevolent nature in Armageddon came full circle, choosing to ignore Blaze's prize in favor of settling the score between them. In his non-canon Armageddon ending, he unleashes his wrath against the former chief advisor to the point of near death, but opts to leave Shao Kahn in his very own dungeon, tormented by those who once pledged their allegiance to him.

Powers and Abilities
Onaga's might in the past was infamous to the point that Shao Kahn himself was fearful of facing the Dragon King in direct combat, instead opting to resort to underhanded tactics. After claiming the six Kamidogu, Onaga proved practically unstoppable, since he took the attacks of Shang Tsung, Quan Chi, and Raiden all at once with it only succeeding in slowing him down, as well as all of Raiden's godly power, which didn't even leave a scratch on him.

Being a dragon, Onaga can fire blasts of fire out of his mouth and fly, as well as use his wings to create powerful gusts, and he also possesses necromantic powers which he used to give his army the reputation of being undefeatable. Onaga seems to possess some degree of magic, since he could create an avatar of himself anywhere he wants (Damashi).

In his Deception ending, Onaga had successfully became the One Being, after defeating all of the other fighters. Another testament to that ending was that even the Elder Gods themselves were helpless against him and fled in fear before him.

In Mortal Kombat X (Comic Series), Onaga has the power to regenerate lost limbs after having one removed, an ability even Goro himself sought out to regrow his own arms, after having them ripped off from his battle against Kotal Kahn.

The Dragon King's Army
The Dragon King's Army (also sometimes known as the Army of the Dragon King) is an army of long dead soldiers in samurai uniforms who are native Outworlders made up of the once undefeatable empire of Onaga the Dragon King. They are an antagonistic faction in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. Because they are undead, they are able to come back from the dead after each defeat/death (via either the Onaga's Heart of the Amulet of Shinnok). Their only objective is to serve whoever resurrected them and/or possesses the Amulet of Shinnok that controlled their spirits (formerly). Once Onaga gets control of them they aid Onaga in reclaiming his kingdom of Outworld and destroy Shao Kahn and all who followed him, conquer all realms and destroy all enemies in the name of the Dragon King.

Trivia

 * Onaga appeared within Raiden's visions in Mortal Kombat (2011). In that vision, he was seen with the corrupted Raiden, Shao Kahn, Shang Tsung, amd Quan Chi, discussing their "alliance" concerning the Battle of Armageddon.
 * Out of all the endbosses in the Mortal Kombat series, Onaga is the first one with a bestial appearance, unlike Shinnok or Shao Kahn.
 * The Dragon King's Army are seemingly loosely based on the Terracotta Army.
 * In the production gallery of Mortal Kombat: Deception, there exists a character called the Undead General, an Outworlder who is part of the Dragon King's Army.