By all rights, Mortal Kombat 1 should be called Mortal Kombat 12 – the storyline continues from the ending of MK11's DLC Aftermath, after all. After Liu Kang used the powers of the Hourglass to completely restart the Mortal Kombat universe and all of its characters, he "retired" from being the Keeper of Time, losing his godlike powers to become protector of Earthrealm as the God of Fire.